StevieB

Anyone who has worked in the public sectors knows that money is the major constraint for both new works and maintenance. It is, after all, our money being spent, not governments, they only have it because of the tax they take off us. With the benefit of hindsight, and don’t we all have that in abundance, everything would be built so that it never needed to be improved, only replaced when life expired but then it always surprises me that the general public don’t understand the concept of a working life, everything just goes on forever. Rant over. Stephen

Hi John How much are the covered vans, please? Stephen

I did wonder if the weather might play a part in the desire to run chimney first. As you say, running tender first with no protection through a storm would have been decidedly unpleasant. Thanks. Stephen

The railways of Ireland and Great Britain have a great many similarities but also a number of distinct differences, the most obvious being that of track gauge. A less obvious one is the, apparent, distinct lack of tender first working. Almost every terminus had a turntable, even the narrow gauge ones. Any ideas why this might be. I did, however, recently come across a photo of a freight train coming off the Waterford line at Cherryville Junction with the train engine, a J15, running tender first. The situation nowadays is different, with so few turntables around. Stephen

What was the date of this special? Stephen

I’m sorry for all those whose orders of 6w coaches are taking an age to arrive. My only complaint was selecting Parcelforce Next Day, or whatever was the name for it. All other Cartier’s seem to work 7 day weeks but not Parcelforce. Anyway, the wait was worth it! Stephen

You have to remember that Southern green came in two shades, Maunsell’s olive green and Bulleid’s malachite green. Stephen

I stand corrected, thanks. Stephen

I think that would be rather difficult as Hattons no longer exists, hence the involvement of Rails to complete matters. Stephen

So, does that mean you’ve paid for something that’s not been delivered? They’re clearly unconcerned about two versions of your order, one you got from Hattons and one Hattons sent them. Stephen

There’s no reference to them on the website. Stephen

More nothing more that, sold out. Stephen

I’ve paid for one so let’s see if it arrives tomorrow. Stephen

I’m intrigued by the dropped platform by the crossing, not seen very often. Stephen

It’s amazing how stupid some people can be these days. There is, therefore, the need to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’, sadly! Stephen