Alcanman

Great to see the pics of Plessey Road crossing. Still very much in use today, of course, and recently seeing more activity with the introduction of the GBRf biomass trains from Port of Tyne to Lynemouth power station. Glad you are feeling more comfortable. Your Blyth & Tyne photos are always a source of great memories or me. A few weeks ago I saw this passing Plessey Road crossing.

Continuing to plan a new layout and hope to start building in the autumn. Meantime, I do have an old layout on which I can run trains. I believe 60007 is still currently active with DB Cargo.

Freightliner 66512 with 671N / 1435 North Blyth - York Yard South at Newsham, Northumberland.

Great Blyth & Tyne pics, particularly the 37s double heading, a common sight before the 56s came along.

I hope they have more than one copy. I'm going to buy one tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up! Mal

Springburn Sidings is no more. However, I'm currently planning another small layout which will probably feature a small wagon repair depot and a stabling point. Similar to Tees Yard WRD but using a fictitious location. Meanwhile, I've added another loco to my small fleet. Colas 47727 'Rebecca' fitted with correct oval buffers, Legomanbiffo sound and weathered by 'Lees Locos'

Looks like you've simply used the extra 6 inches to add even more points and track. Sorry, but for me 'less is more' How about including some scenery. Have a look at look at some of the excellent small TMD layouts here on RMWeb.eg 'Meadow Lane' As you are modelling EWS it is much more likely that the track around a TMD would have been rationalised and reduced.

Great photos and memories for me! Sadly, all gone except, of course, Plessey Road in the last photo. Thanks for sharing, Dave

How about 47851 and and a matching HST!

10.00am this morning. GBRf 66733 arrives in the loop at Newsham with 6S45 / 0925 North Blyth Alcan - Fort William. The loco will run around and proceed north to Bedlington Junction taking the Blyth & Tyne line to Morpeth where the train will access the ECML

Great pics of the Blyth & Tyne. The Class 40 at South Newsham is stunning! I know the location well and assume the photo must have been taken in the early morning judging by the sunrise. South Newsham and Bedlington haven't changed much over the years. The semaphores and signal boxes are still intact.

I've just been reading through your layout thread again. Great work and inspirational! Got me thinking it's about time I built another small WRD layout. It's been 3 years since Tees Yard WRD.

Caught up with GBRf 66733 and 66716 again this morning. Having spent a couple of days at the seaside due to the cancellation of Tuesday's North Blyth Alcan - Fort William, 66733 eventually headed for Fort William on Thursday returning to North Blyth with 6E45 last night. 66733 waits in the loop at Newsham to run around 6S45 and for 4N67 Tyne Coal Terminal - North Blyth to pass with 66716 leading.

I just read through your layout thread. Great modelling and I always enjoy videos. Brought back great memories for me of visits to Glasgow QS and Eastfield. I thought you might be interested in some prototype photos of a couple of your locos 37003 at Sunderland South Dock 37051 at Polmadie Your avatar photo reminds me of 37022 at Glasgow QS And lastly, heavily weathered LL 37407 at Glasgow QS Mal ps I studied Francais at school for 4 years but sadly have forgotten most of it. Quelle domage!

Bonjour Alain. Votre layout est tres bien. The blocks of tenement flats remind me of Springburn back in the 1980s when I used to visit Eastfield shed.

GBRf's newly built IIA-C biomass hopper wagons have begun to appear on the recently commenced Port of Tyne - Lynemouth Power Station trains. This is a welcome upturn in traffic on the Blyth & Tyne which has suffered from the decline in coal traffic in recent times.

Great pics Dave. I was over at North Blyth this afternoon and 66733 was still there!

A busy afternoon on the Blyth & Tyne! Headed to North Blyth to catch FLHH 649V leaving Battleship Wharf for York Yard South but surprised to see Gbrf 66733 stabled at North Blyth Alcan. A very unusual sighting at this time of the day. Back along the road at Battleship Wharf I caught FL 66538 departing. Chased 66538 a few miles to Winning. Thought I'd manage to catch 66538 at Newsham and found it waiting in the loop for GBrf 4N80 to pass, with 66716 leading. Finally FL 66538 departs Newsham

Great pic. Winning is my favouite location on the Blyth & Tyne. Hasn't changed much today. The signal box and semaphores are still there but overgrown bushes obstruct the view preventing pics from that exact location.

When I photographed 92006 at Wakefield in 1966 it looked ex-works. Certainly the cleanest 9F I saw in the last years of steam

Sounds like an interesting project. I'm also a big fan of New England railroads. Atlas have released RS11s in both the gold and green paint schemes some years ago. US E-bay (ebay.com) will be your best bet for finding one. Mal

Great pics. The snow looks very effective and adds to the realism. Shame you are no longer enjoying operating your excellent layout although I can understand your reasons. Although 'tail chasers' are not for me, I can understand their appeal. I find that 20 to 30 mins switching, early evening, provides relaxation for me.

John. - Thanks for the info. I did try posting a few photos on Flickr but found navigating it rather confusing, probably just me having a senior moment. I can appreciate that Flickr seems to be a good photo reference source. Peter - I hope you continue posting your photos, they are always enjoyable to see. Mal

Peter, I was wondering why you and many others use photo hosting sites. I seem to remember problems with fotopic and photobucket. I simply post my photos on RMweb or Facebook. Am I missing something?

Have a look at e-bay.