PhilJ W

Would it be an idea to start another thread so no best wishes will be missed?

I think the Matchbox Commer/Karrier van is slightly underscale and the resin kit, as many once were, is taken from the Matchbox model and perpetuates the same faults. Matchbox quote a scale of 1/78 which is about right bearing in mind that Matchbox didn't always quote the correct scale.

I put a Husky Zephyr 6 estate alongside the Oxford saloon version and they are dimensionaly identical in all respects. Another Husky model that is exactly to scale is the forward control Land Rover. There are other models in the range such as the Citroen DS that are said to be 00 scale but I have no examples for comparison.

Matchbox made three vans as well as the Morris pick-up that were close to or exactly 00 scale. The pick-up was actually 1/75 scale as was the Trojan van. They made a Volkswagen van and a Thames 400E minibus that were spot on at 1/76 scale. Most of the British/European cars they produced were far overscale for 00 but some of the American cars were also very close to 00 scale. Other manufacturers such as Husky produced models that were more or less 00 scale as well. Most of these models with a little bit of work can be made presentable by changing the wheels and adding glazing and interiors as neccessary. I will try composing a list of such models including some from modern manufacturers such as Tomica.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Dave, I'm only taking two Co-codamol each day of an evening, the rest of the time I'm relying on the paracetamol. I haven't noticed any adverse side effects but I'm now getting a good nights sleep. Bit cloudy this morning but already brightening up so I might take a walk into town again today

Goodnight all. (Is there anybody there or have you all gone to bed?)

The different makes had different grills, the Morris grill sloped inwards to the top whereas the Austin grill was rectangular. Other than that they were identical, badge engineering at its best (worst?).

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Normally I'm at the model railway club tonight but as I'm on the painkillers for the sciatica I decided not to chance driving. Just sent an e-mail to the head cockwomble CEO of Atlas Editions. They really are the pits to deal with and if they didn't produce such desirable models I would tell them where to stick their series. Thats enough ranting for now, the new painkillers are kicking in and I'm now feeling quite cheerful.

A nice model, almost exactly 00 scale. Can still be found at toy fairs and swap meets for a couple of quid and easily fitted with glazing, wheels and interior. It might be possible to use such components from the Oxford or Corgi Trackside van versions of the same vehicle.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. The new painkillers worked well last night and I slept well only the effects had worn of a bit this morning and it was still a bit of a struggle to get the socks on. The tablets are called Co-Codamil and are about the strongest painkillers available without a prescription, the pharmacist advised me that they could cause drowsiness so I'm only using them in the evenings and taking paracetamol during the day, like paracetamol the limit is 6 a day and taken instead of and not with (4 paracetamol/2 codine and no more for example). The book that I acquired yesterday was 'Portrait of the Liverpool Overhead Railway' by Adrian Jarvis. Quite an interesting read, it deals more with the politics of the line than many other books on the subject but is a bit light on the day to day operation of the railway prefering to concentrate more on the technical/engineering aspects. It does however include quite a bit of information useful for modellers including a scale drawing of one of the motor cars. Chris, my passport needs renewing as well but as another Luddite I will not avail myself of the on line service. My local Post Office has decamped to the back of W H Smiths but still has the old steam powered photo booth. EDIT Jock, you posted as I was typing the above, glad to hear that all went well. I used to enjoy a good curry, even having tried a lobster curry. I have never even thought of a haggis curry but it reminded me of that TV presenter (I cant remember his name) who is a Sikh born in Scotland who wears a turban and a kilt, a combination nowhere as bad as it sounds.

Evening all, glad to see the site is up and running again. When I popped into town this morning I called by the second hand book stall in the market. They had a book on the Liverpool Overhead Railway for £3 so I snaffled that one.

GROAN button now!

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Made it into town today, but took the bus back home. Still haven't had my ears lowered (haircut), the barbers was heaving, I'd forgotten it was half term. The sciatica seems to be getting better but taking its time so I popped into the chemists and asked the pharmacist for some stronger painkillers. As the ones I obtained can cause drowsiness I will only take them of an evening and stick to the paracetamol during the day.

Thanks for that information about the cinema Pete. I remember the bomb site at the foot of the hill, it was still an open site until the late 60's. The character I mentioned above has been removed by the mods, a very strange character judging by his posts.

Been going through this mornings posts on RMweb. There is one new member who has made six new posts all criticising RMweb. I can see him getting banned very soon, I suspect by his tone he has been barred before.

I think those sort of premises although highly desirable are far outside the budget of all but the wealthiest clubs.

Morning all from a bright but still cold and frosty Estuary-Land. Yesterday afternoon I went to wash my hands and the water was cold, the boiler had shut down. Earlier yesterday I noticed that the mains pressure was down and this must have been the reason. I just managed to climb into the loft and re-pressurise the boiler and it started straight away. Not easy due to the sciatica but there is a slight improvement today and hopefully I will be able to make it into town as my ears need lowering urgently (haircut). I hope all goes well for you today Jock and they will find a brain, floating in single malt. Belated condolences to Gordon and family, and codolences or congratulations where neccessary to all others. Chris, I too have brown withered fingers rather than the green variety, not helped by having very thin topsoil over good old Essex clay. I honestly can't remember the name though I seem to recall a co-operative society?

Goodnight all

Batteries also have environmental issues as they use a lot of heavy metals and lithium can catch fire.

Thats right, I couldn't remember the name of the turning except the road junction was where Victoria Road crossed the Romford-Upminster line. It had become a housing estate by about 1974, I knew someone who lived in one of the houses. Ironically that person worked for Hoveringham aggregates, he was captain of a gravel dredger.

Not for long, only for about a year '67/'68. They had an office in South Street Romford where I worked and the depot was off of Victoria Road still rail served off of the LT&S Upminster-Romford line. Most memorable moment was when the old ECR tarpaulin works at Gidea Park went up in flames. By then it was a furniture factory and despite being about three miles away there were no tall buildings in the way and being on the fourth floor of the office block we could see the flames shooting into the air. EDIT I was there at the time of the RMC takeover, I think the Romford depot was closed not long after I left and IIRC moved to the RMC place in Grays and a housing estate was built on the site.

Most had gone by the early years of nationalisation, the last ones were on the Isle of Wight and lasted a bit longer one or two until the end of steam on the island.

I remember Saturday childrens matinee's in that Cinema. It would have been better if they had shown silent films as the kids were so noisy, on a couple of occasions the manager stopped the film and came out front to tell us the film would only continue when the noise ceased. EDIT My grandparents lived quite near the cinema, just a bit further up the hill where the road levels off and on the same side. I used to work for Hall's as well for a while. I'm pretty sure it wasn't them though, I seem to remember a longer name. Possibly one of the Kent pits?

Ford had acquired Jaguar by then and were trying to use the name for the 'up market' models. This resulted in the 'X' type which was a breathed on Mondeo and obviously so and suffered as a result but in all fairness it was a pretty good car. There was also the 'S' type which used the floorpan from an American Ford model, another model that suffered from 'its only a Ford' syndrome. IMHO the retro styling was more in keeping with the original S type than for example the VW 'Beetle' or even the BMW mini.

My grandparents lived in Norman Road, which ran parallel too but just behind Grand Parade just before Marine Court. Behind Marine Court there was a sandstone staircase leading down to the service road behind Marine Court, this has long almost disappeared except for a few steps sticking out of the wall. One of the attractions to an 8 or 9 year-old was the toy shop on Marine Court that had a model railway that could be operated by a penny coin slot either side of the shop window, not any old model railway either, it was a pre-war Lionel O gauge 3-rail one. When I visited about twenty years ago the toy shop was long gone but the same shop front was there still with the coin slots. Another memory is St. Leonards Warrior Square Station, the road up to the station was lined with shops one of which was a coal merchants that had a large (18 inches long at least) model private owner coal wagon in the window. All I can remember was that it was painted red with IIRC white lettering shaded black. A few doors from my grandparents house was a cafe run by a couple who could be described as 'Bohemian', they had a daughter a couple of years older than me, about 10 years old. It was she who introduced my brother and myself to the delights of Rock-a-Nore. As I said her parents were rather Bohemian and she followed suit, she never bothered with a swimsuit and as there was few people about she thought nothing of skinny dipping there. I was a bit to shy and kept my swimming trunks on. I can imagine the sort of headline todays press would make of it.