PhilJ W

The boot was stretched so another foot or so could be added at the rear. The rear suspension was independent so the diff would be fixed so no live rear axle bouncing around on outback roads.

I've had pedestrians step out in front of me completely engrossed in their phones. http://youtube.com/watch?v=nYgTM1pPjKQ

Snow in Queensland! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-48507582

Did they ever sell or build the Austin 3-litre in Oz? Just thinking it would make a fantastic ute.

If the air-bag goes off they'll have to sort out what bits are him or the dog.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-48507582

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Like ChrisF I was at a loss what to do without RMweb so in the end I had an early night. I did see somewhere that 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' was showing on TV but thats not until next Tuesday (11th, 15:05 BBC 2) so no relief there from a certain visit. As a result of that early night as you can see I'm up early but now I'm going back to bed for a bit.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Amongst the items cleared from the shed en route to the workmate was a directors chair. Its seen very little use as I bought a replacement over a year ago so I will be passing it onto the young lad as the chair he used to have had broken. All the baseboard items except for the ends have been measured and cut. The ends will be done when the rest has been assembled so that if any adjustments are necessary they can be done then.

The land crab 'ute' was indeed a factory built example. They even have the Hydrolastic suspension modified to carry a load which was basically using the front units on the back as well.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Will finish excavating the shed today to recover the workmate. I can see it but I have to remove a lot of rubbish to be able to reach it. A bit cooler today but still muggy and the thermometer indoors is already at 24.5 C. The replacement tea arrived just now and it is the right stuff so its just a case of decanting it into the tea caddy. Thats all for now, be back later.

Bad driving is not confined to certain makes/models of cars. There are long standing road works on the A13 on the eastern approach to the Sadlers Farm junction. Both lanes on the left for the roundabout are open but the offside lane for the A130 is coned off. A few days ago one idiot was in a hurry switching lanes and carving up other cars. When he approached where the road divided he was in the left hand lane so he simply carved his way across two lanes of traffic forcing other drivers to brake. The car he was driving? A 1973/74 Jensen.

Goodnight all.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Couldn't get out of my drive this lunchtime, and the street was blocked because of one badly parked car. After half an hour of trying to locate the owner it turned out she was standing a few yards away conversing with her companions with a full view of the carnage she was causing. She and her companions were leafleting for a church of all things. The weather forecast for the next few days is dry so I hope to get on with the lads layout. Dinner to be got ready so I'll be back later.

Fords once had (has) a reputation for using materials of the cheapest specification.

Cararama made a gritting truck in HO scale. Unfortunately its been out of production for some time.

A similar arrangement is envisaged on the A23 when the Kent and East Sussex extends to Robertsbridge.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Congratulations Jamie and Beth, that cat stuck on the bridge must have heard that you were going to wear your shorts and rushed home. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-48455242 Assembling the tools required for layout construction, I've got everything required except a pencil for marking out so I will use a Biro. Thats it for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

I would like to see a model of one of the 1930's Lacre roadsweepers.

The LT&SR ones were not that bad but the GER banned them from Fenchurch Street ostensibly due to their weight but possibly due to the GER being a bit miffed at the Midland for snatching the LT&SR from under their noses. As a consequence the Midland, what with their small engine policy didn't really want them.

Probably dodgy Italian electrics.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I decided that the piece of MDF was not after all suitable for the lads layout so I popped into Homebase on the way to Tess Coes and found that they stocked plywood that was flat. Even better they stocked a size (2' X 4') that could be cut to provide almost all of what is required. Today has been a scorcher, 27 degrees I hear. After my shopping trip I felt a bit knackered and went for a lie down, I didn't wake up until 7 so nothing else got done today. Next week will be cooler so hopefully I can assemble the baseboard and then start track laying, with the aid of the young man himself as it is set track and will not involve sharp tools.

Gresley didn't really have much choice other than to continue other pre-grouping designs firstly because the money was not available and secondly because there were several very good designs. The Raven pacifics were not a bad design overall but being only a small none standard class early withdrawal was perhaps inevitable. Also some of the constituent companies as has been stated had excellent designs suitable for development such as the GER B12.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Looks as if we're in for a scorcher today so too hot to do anything. I've found a few more off cuts of 9 mm ply with the added bonus that many are 10.5 cm wide which is exactly the depth required for the sides of the layout, (46 mm frame + 9 mm base + 50 mm insulation foam = 105 mm). Also when I visited the Orange Emporium I purchased a large mitre block with all the flutes and whistles so at least with my (lack of) carpentry skills the corners will be square. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Debs and hope to hear from her soon. Bye for now, be back later.

You've got to catch the tides when you can. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon (and the sun, pedants please note). But the moons distance from the earth increases every year by a few centimetres so every year the gravitational pull reduces and the tides will be less. This will take a few million years so we don't need to worry about it just yet.