Blog 17
by Phil Cooper
Don’t panic I do have some more of Sean’s photos for you and also some photos from his friend, David Styles but I want to show you some of the excellent posters that James and his family offer you at a very reasonable price. I’ve said before that these little features add great detail to everybody’s layout, even my shoddy attempt. Anyway, pop along to:
https://tracksidesigns.co.uk/advertising-billboards
They are excellent. However, I have to remove the supporting struts. They all come with these struts making it very easy to glue them onto your platforms. I have to remove my wooden struts because I have a weird phobia. I hate (with a passion) little sticks. I’ve no idea when this started but it wouldn’t surprise me if my big brother, Robert, is involved. He was always doing disgusting things like sticking a match up his nose as I was trying to eat my supper. He was a very good and subtle torturer! So, I hate things like match sticks – so much so that I would never buy any “Matchbox” cars-remember them? And don’t get me started on toothpicks. Sometimes in films you see somebody speaking while he’s holding a match or a toothpick in his mouth. Toothpick, matches, etc. All these things are horrendous. Anyway, here’s some photos of the advertising board with wooden struts still in place.
While I’m on about phobias I should mention another couple I have. First is the Adams Apple. I never shave over mine because I fear the blade may open up my neck and my Adams Apple will fall out. Then there’s the drinking straw which is similar to sticks. I’m old enough to have experienced free milk at my primary school. Some of my fellow brats used to take pleasure in sticking their straws up their noses (probably learnt from my brother). I’m not sure if this led to a Cocaine habit. And finally, another primary school problem was when any of the other brats used to pull down their face revealing the goo under their eyes. I think my brother did this too. Did I hate my brother? No, I didn’t. He’s the bravest guy I know. He’s beaten cancer, survived open heart surgery and took his family to Australia in 1982 to give his kids, Alyson and Paul, a better chance of getting a job. Back in 1982 there was a serious unemployment problem in the Highlands, so it was a brave attempt to help his family and it worked but I imagine those first days in Perth were difficult as they looked for somewhere to live. Speaking of his kids, Alyson and Paul, they both had horrendous eating habits. I remember a day I spent with them up in Inverness when I took them out for a meal, I’m not sure who was worse. It resembled the old Chimpanzee Tea Party which was held every afternoon at London Zoo although the chimps weren’t quite so messy. Paul would repeatedly cough up mouthfuls of food while Alyson lifted the ham off her plate, held it above her upturned head and dangled it towards her mouth biting bits off it. Sometimes she forked the ham and then held the ham and the fork above her head to eat it. It was horrific to me. I had to leave the restaurant! I blame my brother and, hopefully, they can eat with some dignity now.
No, they can’t
Here's Paul demonstrating his eating habits even now in Perth, WA
I didn’t want to post a photo of Alyson pigging her way through bits of ham
Lucky Australia!
Rob’s co-workers In Inverness got revenge for having to watch him chomp his way through some pies the day before he married his true-love, Mary.
Moving quickly on I have more concerns about locos I’ve bought from eBay. I seem to have bought quite a few locos, Class43s especially, which run well at first but within weeks they fail. I’m beginning to suspect some sellers are somehow making their stuff run well at first but then fail. This has happened to me with 8 locos, all Class 43s. It’s almost like how certain “George Cole” car dealers who clean up their cars knowing they’ll be belching out black smoke as soon as the buyer gets round the corner. You won’t be surprised to know I’ve had a few of those as well. 2nd hand car dealers used to rub their hands with glee when I stepped onto their patch. My worst buy was a Saab 99 I bought from a dealer with an East London accent. Within days of purchase, it literally began to fall apart. The first to go was the passenger door which suddenly opened wide as I went round a right-hand bed. Luckily the passenger was wearing a seat belt so didn’t fall out.
I did mention last time that my last 3 buys from eBay have been excellent. But will they still run well in 3 or 4 weeks? I’ll let you know.
This week I’ve spent 3 days in the trains room getting my locos counted and catalogued. I’m going to trust you all here because “Nanny Barb” will kill me if she knew I was the proud owner of 61 locomotives. To be fair to her she’s always moaned about me having too many locos because, in her world, you only need 3 or 4 locos! Utter madness, although it does mean that some of my locos don’t get out on the track for several weeks which can’t be very good for them. Although I can only run 2 trains at a time, I like to have other locos out on the track waiting at the TMD, stations and container base. And with DCC I can bring them into play whenever I want - one of the reasons I strongly recommend DCC control for your layouts. But I may have to sell some locos on eBay -“Used Class 43, Runs well” sounds good to me.
If you’ve stayed the course with me, you might know I am NOT a lover of steam. Some of that is influenced by my dad who hated driving steam engines because of the dirt and the grime. Let’s face it if you look back just to the stations of the steam era, they are horrendous and dirty. I’m the same as my dad but I just prefer the modern diesels or electric locomotives. Give me a beautiful red Pendolino or a Transpennine Class 68 before any A4. I still remember the thrill of receiving my first Hornby Virgin Pendolino and Hornby GWR Class 802 – both beautiful to me. Oh, do stop shouting at me-it’s my personal choice and you’re welcome to yours, too. BUT have you seen the steam locomotive Hornby are going to sell to honour HM’s Platinum jubilee? It is beautiful with a dramatic livery which probably won’t go down well with everybody. But I think it looks great.
Hornby are releasing the model in partnership with the Severn Valley Railway in a limited edition of 1500. However, that 1500 went like hot cakes and Hornby are waiting for another 1000 to sell. Some people won’t be happy about this extra 1000 but you can hardly blame Hornby and their decision helps more people get hold of these beautiful locomotives. I don’t doubt the extra 1000 will go very quickly. A proportion of profits from the sale of Hornby’s model will go to The Patron’s Fund which supports charitable organisations across the UK and the Commonwealth for which Her Majesty acts as a Patron. It’s going to cost £269.99 which isn’t too bad, and Hornby are allowing time to pay via “Clearplay” which will allow payment in 4 instalments payable every 2 weeks. The Royal family haven’t had the best of times this year but our Queen is a fantastic part of this country’s heritage and I’ll be buying this model. I fully expect it to be a very popular buy and is my clear front runner for “Locomotive of The Year” at the end-of-year awards. I think Simon Kohler and his Hornby team are on a winner with this stunning locomotive. Get your pre-booking in now.
You’ve all been very patient so I can now show you some more of Sean Selley-West’s photos of his outstanding work. You can contact Sean on Facebook if you need help or advice. Don’t be shy. He really wants to help and he’s the exact opposite of the arrogant patronising buffooniums on Facebook (see below). Stay tuned in after looking at Sean’s stuff because I’ve got some terrific photos from one of his friends, David Styles.
Sean tells me that this latest batch of photos are from “Lighthouse Quay” and the Anglia in the tree is from Archton. He also says that he is scratching the bottom of the barrel. What do you think?
Now here’s another real treat and if these photos and Sean’s photos don’t get you in the mood for playing, uh sorry, I mean, developing your model railway you must be dead! Now we move on to David Styles, who, like Sean is a contributor to the Facebook group, “Model Railway Enthusiasts”. David modestly says that he is 77yr old, retired joiner who started his layout 5yrs ago as a complete novice! What’s he going to produce when he gets the hang of playing, sorry again, I mean developing his layout. The word, “awesome” is over-used by many teenagers but the only word to describe David’s layout is “awesome”.
Sean and David are examples of good blokes on Facebook but unfortunately there are some arrogant, patronising people on there too. The latest put-downs have been against Hornby declaring that Hornby sell toys. Have you had a close look at any Hornby loco, coach or truck? I mean a really close look. These “toys” are precision engineering in miniature. How on Earth can they make them look so good and so real. My first blog mentioned an old Hornby Eurostar which had sat in a box under my bed for almost 30 years but worked first time without even a push when I resumed my addiction to trains a few years ago after my stroke (Ed Comment: WHAT! the penultimate line and it’s the stroke) I doubt very much something like a motor car would start almost 30 years after its first use.
See you next time.
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The views and opinions expressed within the content are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Trackside Signs or its affiliates.
