Horsetan

I can see Squires Tools possibly making a pitch for the remains of Eileen's - they seem to be on the lookout for ways to expand their empire. Just look at how well their takeover of South Eastern Finecast went. Coopercraft wagons were probably the only usable part left. There has been some doubt expressed elsewhere about Slaters reclaiming the tooling for their coaching stock (GWR Toplights, basically). Last I heard was that some of the tools/moulds might be scrap because they hadn't been properly stored or otherwise looked after. If you want SSM to expand, then you need to have a serious discussion with @Weshtyas to what is practical. He's not been on the Forum for a while, so I'm guessing he has other priorities which don't necessarily involve new kit design.

Sometimes the box is worth more when it's empty.....

It may not even start at all if the drivers are on strike.

Edited for accuracy

The lettuce will be frozen, so will last longer

We actually have an alternative Advent Calendar now. Every day that you open a door has some sort of strike behind it

Enjoy it. The postal strikes over here mean that you'll be lucky to get any post this side of Christmas......or New Year.

Ireland once had a number of 3ft narrow gauge lines - the central buffer was common.

"Chancers' Greed Thread" might cover many many retail sins.

What exactly was the design flaw that led to this happening?

I think a case might also be made for the Bazin "500" class 4-6-0s, as their splashers are but mere bumps in the footplate.

Certainly feels like it.

Boris seemed quite keen on Cincinnatus.....

I had to sit down for a moment when I saw what he wanted for a copy of the first MRJ Compendium.

Probably OT, but did you manage to rectify the missing crankpin web in the post-1930 driving wheel in the end?

I went to his oul shop in Stamford station years ago. He doesn't exactly undercharge.....

I'm amazed I can't hear the sound of cans being kicked.

They weren’t the only ones, especially if they sensed they could get someone else to pay for it.

Imagine the Healy-Raes getting involved....

...although nowadays, it's probably more brown than green because of decades of pollution.

Et tu, Brute? Et tu? Actually mine does get a run now and then, and she has the extra tender for additional water capacity.... What you really need is a Br.45 2-10-2, and a Br.85 2-10-2T. Just those two are already a lot to look at. There's no reason for having German engines other than the fact that I like them, and occasionally they come up very cheaply on eBay. From 1926, they were up to 25 years ahead of Britain when it came to standardisation. Before the Wagner standard era, there were things like this Saxon XX HV 2-8-2. This model came cheap because - as the photos show - it was slightly broken, but it works. The real 19.017 still exists but has never steamed in preservation; it owes its survival to having been used by the Halle research facility as a brake test engine during the East German DR era, and is the only one (of three Br.19s kept by Halle) that escaped being massively rebuilt.

I got distracted and ended up reading the whole of that! The final article, Dalcassian Steam, was fascinating.

Their "O" gauge Gresley A3 and A4s don't seem to have sold like hot cakes. Wonder why that is....?

There's an outside chance of your coaches turning up before my order for five Irish driving wheel axles is completed by Ultrascale #eightmonths

For up-to-date authenticity, there should be a double-decker being driven along a pavement somewhere.....