What have you done today

[Chuffer]

Good spot Chevrolet ! They played that number last night andthat Youtube is not the best representation of them as the sound quality was much better last night . By coincidence I am listening to the new album right now and A Better Day track played as I read your post !!!

 

[CaptainK]

Yesterday took the child out to see his first steam engine at the West Somerset Railway Christmas Market on the Minehead station. All quite nice, and coincidentally it was 7828 Odney Manor that was in the station for a while doing its thing when we were there - this is the engine I drove on the steam engine training course earlier this year. So it was nice to show the child the loco that daddy drove.

No pictures, because I don't agree with putting baby photos all over the internet.

 

[Chuffer]

Good on yer CaptainK , teach `em young to get into steam locos . I really enjoyed all the years I worked on Santa Specials on the Severn Valley Railway both as fireman and then as driver . Great atmosphere with families and kids all excited by a trip on a steam hauled train to see Santa . The stations all illuminated and carols playing . The kids loved being invited onto the footplate to see the fire and pull the whistle . Roasting chestnuts on the rim of the fire hole whilst stationary in the platform was fun .
Contrary to popular belief it could be chuffin chilly rattling along on the footplate when we had a `White Christmas` I was a project coordinator on the 9 year rebuild of soul surviving Ivatt Class 4 loco 43106 , so it was always a treat when I was rostered to drive it .

 

[CaptainK]

Good on yer CaptainK , teach `em young to get into steam locos .

That is a wonderful winter scene with the loco. Nice. And yeah, getting the child into steam early - he's only 4 weeks old, and seemed to be interested in looking at the steam locos. So fingers crossed for the future with him.

 

[Chuffer]

That is a wonderful winter scene with the loco. Nice. And yeah, getting the child into steam early - he's only 4 weeks old, and seemed to be interested in looking at the steam locos. So fingers crossed for the future with him.

So much to look forward to with little man . I often found that small children were either totally fascinated by steam locos or absolutely terrified !

 

[Chuffer]

Called in on the guys at Williams Brothers Speed Shop today to have a chat about having some work done on the C3 in the New Year . Always good to have a catch up with them and drool over what they are working on . Currently very busy and the premises was full . A beautiful 1967 Dodge Challenger stood out along with a Pro Street `57 Chevy , a `67 silhouette Plymouth Barracuda `Funny Car` plus several Street Rods and humungous American pick up trucks . Must be sure to have my camera handy next time !

 

[Mr. Cricket]

Spent too much time on the Jaguar thread

 

[Chuffer]

Spent too much time on the Jaguar thread

Definitely ! It`s making my brain hurt now .

 

[Chuffer]

Grabbed my self another dose of nostalgia today by going to one of my local old trainspotting locations as a boy to see Royal Scot Class loco 46100 ` Royal Scot ` coming powering through on the West Coast Mainline with the empty coaches from Southall Depot in West London back to Crewe . Unfortunately the cold clear morning had given way to a dull and dismal damp afternoon by the time it passed Ashton in Northamptonshire . Still an impressive sight though going well with the syncopated exhaust roar of a 3 cylinder loco being worked hard . Pure vintage late 1950`s early 1960`s nostalgia with period liveried ` Blood & Custard ` carriages and sporting `The Irish Mail `headboard recalling the days when Royal Scot class locos regularly hauled that express from London Euston to Holiday to connect with the Mail & Steamers sailing to Ireland . I well recall watching them pass by in the `good old days ` !
46100 has been busy over the last three days as it came south from Crewe via Northampton to Southall with the empty coaches on Monday , hauled a Private Charter train from London Victoria to Canterbury yesterday , the returned home to Crewe today. `Royal Scot ` was the pioneer of a class of 70 such locos built , the majority all named after British Army Regiments . Built in 1927 at North British Locomotive Works in Glasgow its claim to fame was being shipped to the USA in 1930 to take part in the `Century of Progress Exposition ` where it covered a total of 11,194 miles on the railroads of North America and carries the name plate to this day that records this feat . It is recorded that the American`s were amazed that such a small locomotive ( by their standards ) was so powerful hauling trains through the Rockies etc . In 1950 the entire class was rebuilt at Crewe Works with more modern tapered boilers , new cylinders and double blast pipe chimneys that improved performance even more !

 

[Oneball]

Put my entry in for Speedfest at Brands Hatch in June.

American Speedfest 12 powered by Lucas Oil @ Brands Hatch June 2025

www.speedfest.co.uk

 

[Chuffer]

Just got back from the BIG TOYS box at Loughborough . Had a day of painstakingly hand polishing surface rust off the coupling rods and connecting rods and applying a protective film of oil on our other loco 45305 also undergoing overhaul . Will go into more detail about today`s activities on `The Train of Thought ` topic later for those interested .

 

[johng]

Put my entry in for Speedfest at Brands Hatch in June.

American Speedfest 12 powered by Lucas Oil @ Brands Hatch June 2025

www.speedfest.co.uk

Luckily we haven't yet booked a holiday for next year, so I can make sure we aren't away then. The only trouble is that the Sunday is my wife's birthday, this could call for some careful persuasion as to how she'd like to celebrate the day.

 

[Chuffer]

Another day spent with the BIG toys today and took advantage of a rare dry and not too cold day to get some more work done outdoors on `Sir Lamiels` boiler . Was surrounded by much activity in the shed yard with locos being lit up for a busy weekend hauling Santa Specials back and forth between Loughborough and Leicester . I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa and ask him for a train set for Christmas but no such luck !
Will do an update on `Train of Thought` topic with the latest news on progess for those of you following the thread .

 

[Chuffer]

Was up just after first light this morning for a brisk 4.5 mile walk from regular Christmas week remote hideaway in Eryri ( Snowdonia ) the land of myths and legends . The clouds were scudding low over the summit of Cadair Idris still peppered with ice patches from yesterdays hail storms as the weak winter sun crept of the ridge to bath the Rhynogedd Mountains on the opposite of the valley in golden sunlight . Walked up one side of the valley to the foot of Craig Castell topped by an Iron Age hill fort and back down the other side ready for a hearty cooked breakfast . Just perfect !!!
Merry Christmas and New Year ( or Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda as they say up here ) to everyone in CCCUK land and forum readers .

 

[Mr. Cricket]

As we went into last year's Christmas break I decided I had to do something with the bare concrete walls in the garage, ship out all the non garage stuff including 100's of tins of paint, wood stain, varnish and make it more functional. Took all year doing what I could when to white wash all the walls by brush (as I'm stubborn), build benches, fit all my signs, neon, lights, sockets, air conditioning and new doors replacing the temporary wood doors me and some Corvette mates fitted not long after we moved in. Now my attention is on covering the concrete floor and insulating the roof. At my last place I used a diamond plate design vinyl tile 330mm square supplied by Mototile but was less than impressed with how hard they were to keep clean and the cost to do the same in my now much larger garage space. A mate showed me his done in vinyl tile by Big Dug that used a larger tile 500mm sq that worked out less than half the cost of doing it in Mototile again so that is what I went with. I started laying the floor playing Jenga with the Corvettes and got the first half wrapped up in a couple of days before moving onto insulating the roof above the car lift as that had to be done off scaffolding being two story and I didn't want to use scaffolding on the new floor. By far the worst job ever with no two spaces between trusses the same, some taper and some slant. Every board had to be measured, marked, cut, test fitted, tweaked then final fitted at a snails pace. I've put the rest on hold until Spring but at least the rest is all reached standing on the floor!

First roof section to insulate including huge spider webs to remove. I cut the mains leads off the skylights as I have no need to ever open them.



Done and taped



First floor area. So satisfying covering up the cold, bare concrete



I'm 20 odd tiles short of finishing the other area and I can't get them before 2nd Jan

Anyone else jazzing up their workspace this Christmas?

 

[Chuffer]

Quite the Christmas present to oneself : very impressed I am !

 

[mickn]

As we went into last year's Christmas break I decided I had to do something with the bare concrete walls in the garage, ship out all the non garage stuff including 100's of tins of paint, wood stain, varnish and make it more functional. Took all year doing what I could when to white wash all the walls by brush (as I'm stubborn), build benches, fit all my signs, neon, lights, sockets, air conditioning and new doors replacing the temporary wood doors me and some Corvette mates fitted not long after we moved in. Now my attention is on covering the concrete floor and insulating the roof. At my last place I used a diamond plate design vinyl tile 330mm square supplied by Mototile but was less than impressed with how hard they were to keep clean and the cost to do the same in my now much larger garage space. A mate showed me his done in vinyl tile by Big Dug that used a larger tile 500mm sq that worked out less than half the cost of doing it in Mototile again so that is what I went with. I started laying the floor playing Jenga with the Corvettes and got the first half wrapped up in a couple of days before moving onto insulating the roof above the car lift as that had to be done off scaffolding being two story and I didn't want to use scaffolding on the new floor. By far the worst job ever with no two spaces between trusses the same, some taper and some slant. Every board had to be measured, marked, cut, test fitted, tweaked then final fitted at a snails pace. I've put the rest on hold until Spring but at least the rest is all reached standing on the floor!

First roof section to insulate including huge spider webs to remove. I cut the mains leads off the skylights as I have no need to ever open them.

View attachment 28839

Done and taped

View attachment 28840

First floor area. So satisfying covering up the cold, bare concrete

View attachment 28841

I'm 20 odd tiles short of finishing the other area and I can't get them before 2nd Jan

Anyone else jazzing up their workspace this Christmas?

I'm looking to cover my painted concrete garage floor with those sort of tiles, you would definitely recommend them then? By the way is Big Dug the make of tiles or the bloke that fitted them?

 

[Mr. Cricket]

I'm looking to cover my painted concrete garage floor with those sort of tiles, you would definitely recommend them then? By the way is Big Dug the make of tiles or the bloke that fitted them?

They are very good but some sense is needed that I learned at my last place - let your tyres cool off before putting it in the garage and have a square of plywood to rest your jack or axle stands on as it will scuff the tile.

BiGDUG Industrial Floor Tiles | Raised Disc

Buy Raised Disc Industrial Floor TIles from BiGDUG. Choose from our range of workshop flooring solutions with free delivery available on orders over £400

www.bigdug.co.uk

 

[mickn]

Thanks Stuart, have a great Xmas.

 

[Mr. Cricket]

Quite the Christmas present to oneself : very impressed I am !

Have to spoil the babies