Free at last

-- or at least getting cheaper by the day? Finally reached the end of term and early retirement. Next job is to get my strength back and tackle a backlog of UFOs (unfinished objects) on the shelf above the computer. Stocklist is shrinking at the moment- I'm getting rid of a few LNER pacifics and other types so the survivors can all get into the stock boxes.

better than a B17...

Parnhams at Nottingham had an electrical fault develop over the weekend- nothing serious but we couldn't run two trains out of siding six. This meant combining them to make an 11-coach mega express hauled by a pair of B17s (one alone couldonly just manage seven as the exhibition floor wasn't quite level). Looked very impressive

End of March already...

More work and not enough railway modelling, same old story. Nottingham exhibition has been and gone. Successful weekend except that we had a high casualty rate. Alberta has done another stand-in stint, not bad for a 30-year old Peco loco. Parnhams got a good crowd all weekend. A lot of people also took away with them fliers for the Bingham show at Cotgrave on 30th April and 1st May. Cotgrave will be without Farndon Road unfortunately- more technical problems mean Parnhams will have to substitute. Never mind, there's always next year. In the mean time I'm going to upgrade as many of my FR locos as I can afford to do. The WD has gone- though the Royal Mail took sixteen days to deliver a first-class packet AND delivered it at 6pm on a Friday evening!!!! One A1 (the one needing a repair has gone, with the Grafar-chassised one to follow (Abbotsford). Two A3s so far with a third up for auction, and one A4 with one waiting. I've also sold a spare 04 diesel (three are too many) and from the Parnhams fleet a director, a J39 and the N7 are going shortly, together with Trafalgar when fixed. Replacements will be fewer in number and better in quality.

Yet another half-term

Little modelling done as I've been up to my neck in work. Still at the clubroom work on Farndon Road has progressed with the first two boards wired apart from the rear yard, and successfully tested.

At home 61005 has been part-weathered. Next job here is to run the colour in a bit further and matt varnish.

Also I've got enough of the resin tender top for an A3/A4 ground out for it to actually sit on the Farish chassis. Still a slight crack to repair then weather properly- the grot on it at the moment is resin dust.

Attached to 60016 as Silver King was a Gateshead engine and always had a non-corridoor tender. Not yet sure how much to weather it yet.

Almost February

Yet again four weeks since filling in what's been going on. On the positive side we've got the main line running with points working across the Station and Maltings boards on Farndon Road. On the negative side I'm going to have to replace the switch on the bay platform for a full DPDT switch as the idea I had of switching it didn't work. Still it is a small price to pay.

We've decided not to wire up the yard just yet as the main line needs finishing first, and the fiddle yard still needs two days work doing. Pic shows Sayajirao arriving in the Northbound platform with a parcels train.

January again

Another month, another load of excuses. Actually, it has been fairly busy with two daytime sessions on Farndon Road and another trip to Wendy's. This time D9555 has arrived and is now running sweetly on the test track. The picture is one I took of the real thing at Burradon in about 1974.

FR's control panel is on the dining room table having a whole set of new return wires added to avoid crossovers from one controller to the other causing short circuits.

Christmas again

Another month with little progress on the railways- work has got in the way yet again. Two new locos - a second B1 and the latest B17 (61647 Helmingham Hall). The latter one came from Wendy's two days ago. Sadly she didn't have a D9555 "Teddy Bear" yet- it arrived yesterday at the shop.

The first of the B1s is now 61005 Bongo, while the second one will be 61018 Gnu once it has been run in. Bongo is waiting for me to get round to weathering it.