Vespa

For interest the "offsite warehouse" is a set of shipping containers outside in the carpark of their current address. I have been there and seen them open.

Bodies were interchangeable and by wipers I assume you mean window wipers. The 3 Rail pick ups were central shoes, as similar to the larger locos but as two smaller attachments and not  as the Bo Bo and 8F's. If it has spoon shaped pick ups underneath it is still 3 rail and needs converting to 2 Rail or it won't run on 2 rail track.

@yelrow

have you re joined model railway forum, i belive you have my email address, we could compare notes. St Paddy,  city of liverpool, are on my wish list

I still have it but at present not 100% sure what I want to do.

@yelrow

vespa. whats in your 3 rail collection

E3002 in 3 rail, Crepello, St Paddy, 3x 8f's but sold the ringfield 3 rail version, Mallard, DOM, City of Liverpool, Dorchester, Co Bo, Bo Bo,0-6-0 diesel shunter, Silver King and other Triang conversions to 3 rail, possibly other Dublo locos that I have forgotton about. Loads of wagonsnearly all SD and many rarer items. No track all sold already. Several SD buildings and add on extras, signals  loads of SD coaches, breakdown crane with supports etc etc.

I already have a Jaguar XE 180 Bhp and fancy having a big spend on another and the Project 8 XE looks the business. I can get a lesser powered 300 bhp version for much less but the P8 will increase in value eventually.

I cannot see any interest flaring up in model railways anytime soon as I have tried by coming back at times on here and looking at Hattons bargains. My main interest now is the car. Even my photography has suffered and the cameras haven't been out of the bag for 18 months. Preserved railways also show no interest anymore and I haven't been to the NRM for nearly 3 years. I think I can say my interest in railways has waned to the finish.

Well, I am glad everyone is happy with the notification I gave. I have bought nothing as my interest in model railways has waned to a point where I am considering selling the lot to fund a new Project 8 Jaguar XE.

https://www.jaguar.co.uk/about-jaguar/special-vehicle-operations/project-8.html

Have a look at this lot................   https://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/New.aspx

Looks like a clear out of stock.

Well I saw this and thought it was interesting. Many years ago at school, I had a dream of being in a very large house with a balcony overlooking a street which was ancient. I was wearing some sort of white robe. End of dream. In 1989 I went to Italy and visited Pompeii. Some buildings you can go into and I ventured into one and the view immediatley recognised it as that in the dream from somewhere in the 1960's that I had.

Next was a situation from my career in psychiatric nursing, where I was looking after an old blind chap. He had been a regular at a pub near to my old school ( The Cheshire Cheese for Erics info). His favourite drink was Bulls Eye Brown Ale. I got permission from the charge nurse to get him some ( My money) "Cup of tea here Tom", I said. " It's not tea, it's Bulls Eye Brown" he replied. That night I went home and was on one of those back at 7.00 am shifts. In the night I woke up at 1.00 am to see Tom standing at the bottom of my bed. I checked my watch so that was how I new the time. The following morning I went back on the ward and Tom's bed was empty. He had died at 1.00 am.

In the mid 70's my father was very ill in intensive care and he had been moaning to my mum a few days earlier that he hated a new pair of yellow/gold coloured pyjamas she had bought him. Once again I woke up and my dad was looking at me from the bottom of the bed wearing those pyjamas. At 7.30 am the hospital rang to say he was dying and to get there as quick as we could. We arrived and the pyjamas were still clean in the locker as in ITU it was unusual to wear your own clothing. I told my sister to get them out of the hospital. Around 2 hours later he was getting better with his breathing and his observations (BP,pulse, temp) were returning to normal limits. He lived another 6 years after that.

Once again a asleep, I woke suddenly to see an old woman in the room. I shouted at her and there was no reply. This lasted about 5 secs or so and my wife woke up asking me what was the matter. I could still see that figure for a few more seconds. Then it faded away. The next day nothing unusual. The day after we had a phone call from Sunderland to say  my grandfathers sister had died two days earlier.

The last one was when I was on nights at the local hospital and I was chatting to a nurse in the office when we heard footsteps. We thought it was the night sister. So we stood up to see a female figure approach the office and then just disappear from the bottom upwards. That day my next door neighbour had been admitted to another ward and the 3rd nurse on duty with us had gone to another ward for her break. When she returned she informed me that my neighbour had died on the ward while she was there about 10 mins earlier.

All that happened as real to me but has not happened again since 1990

I picked out 3 names that had changed and got them all correct. Writing style is easlily detectable. Has this site become a pop star site eg Prince, P Diddy and Kanye West as all those have changed names too. Perhaps I should change my name to "Riddles Pacific of the Britannia Class 70047 unnamed with handrail smoke deflectors and large dome". No I am not back in any way but thanks for the kind remarks.

I did say I wasn't coming back to this website but had to reply to this. Firstly there is a good model shop in Warrington on Orford Lane (Sankey Scenics) AKA Grimey Times. There is another in Culcheth. Not far away in Widnes is another model shop and just that bit furtur Hattons. The latter needs a car to access easily. ALL have many modelling items. Hattons was a shop in Smithdown Road started by Mr Norman Hatton. When he got older his son and daughter, Keith and Christine took over. Keith had the business acumen to go to internet selling. Sadly Keith died but Christine is still in the business. The new premises is a shop and warehose combined selling most guages and many modelling bits. The major owner now is Richard Davies who owns around 75% of the shares. Going back to Sankey Scenics/Grimey Times, there are two pleasant chaps there that have a good stock and knowledge of model railways with a great weathering service. Parking is available in nearby streets. There is also a good bus service from the town centre.

The reason that model railway shops are closing at an alarming rate is the declining grey hair department with spare cash and the ridiculous prices being asked for the product. My purchasing is now almost nil but I got a bargain recently for two O2 Heljan locos on offer at £89 a reduction of almost £100 from list. Hornby and Bachmann are now so slow at getting stock many bigger shops have  found Chinese makers and have their own items made rather than wait for the big makers. Oxford Rail can put out really nice wagons for £10 but Bachmann and Hornby want £15 + for similar items.

Lastly how many name changes have been made to posters on this forum, as I see some new names with the same writing pattern as older contributors under other names????