Third Time Lucky

 It is hard to be optimistic.

We might have sold the cottage, again.

A major downside is the lack of suitable properties for sale.

We have one shortlisted, which is a lovely house in many ways, but isn't quite where we want to be, and has a small garden. This could be the end of the ELR, except as a temporary line.

On the plus side it will be ideal for a 16mm and 7/8ths line, particularly the latter, and whilst the attic room couldn't really home a major project, as I'd envisaged, it could home a number of smaller layouts rotated between use, display and storage.

To cheer myself up, I took delivery of my 60th birthday present to myself

Show Time

We had our grandson to stay this weekend, so  wedecided to take him to our local Holbeach Country Fayre.

It didn't start well, but after two doughnuts and an ice-cream I think he ended up enjoying it.

Whilst the car park and beer tent were full, there seemed to be a distinct lack of people actually looking at the exhibits. It is a shame because it attracts a large number of historic vehicles. With Freddie in toe, along with Gigi, I didn't get a chance to take as many photos as I would have liked.

It also meant I didn't have time to capture details of many things, hence the lack of descriptive captions.

Since Freddie enjoyed his train ride I decided to get Teddy out on the newly cleared track. I don't think he was impressed.

I've no more ****s to give

Having held fire so our second prospective buyer could get a new mortgage after the redundancy, and having been assured they had the mortgage, they have pulled out because they can't afford it.

Words fail me. The implications for Issy and our extended family are considerable with old and sick parents at one end of the spectrum and new grandchildren.

Now we need to unpack, but our hearts aren't in it. Any motivation for modelling has flown out the window. I did spend Sunday continuing the process of uncovering the ELR, but I can't say I even see a point in that.

First, Find the Railway!

 

The delayed house move, still not sorted, has given the ELR an unexpected reprieve. Unfortunately, the early mowing of the goat-droppping enhanced grass this year led to considerable damage to the hidden track. It is still several years since any trains ran, given Teddy was away for rebuild and Tug had electrical problems.

A request for a demo run of Teddy for someone with a Scamp under build has forced me to try and get something running for later this week, and also, the need to start demolishing it.

Having tried to ignore the issue, during No Mow May, this is typical of what I had to contend with at the weekend.

I would love to report line clear, but after many hours with bushcutter and mower I really can't.


And update, the house sale has just fallen through yet again...

Tug's Travels

As part of the planned house move, Tug went to stay with Steve Purves of There & Back Light Railways. I  free up some space and get Tug working again, and he gets spare motive power. Otherwise, I doubt if Tug would see any use for a long time. 

An added bonus is following Steve's FB posts is like getting postcards from Tug

The driver looks oddly familiar...

All photos by Steve Purves

I can honestly say that in all the years I've known Leamington Spa I never expected to see my loco running down The Parade!  It is just a pity I can't see it for myself, or with my grandson. So Steve's photos will have to suffice.

Oh No, Not Again.

 This time our buyer has just been made redundant.

At times like this modelling could be a great way of dealing with the stress. But of course all my projects are now packed up.

Meanwhile, the twins are due to be born in the next couple of weeks, and Issy is still having a difficult recovery from the hip replacement.

Other than that, everything is just Dandy...

Guinness is Good For You

I don't know if I'll get to Ireland for pleasure this year. There is a good chance I'll be there for work with an old client. Perhaps I'll even get around to sorting out my Irish passport. Being an EU citizen does have advantages.

I was both surprised and pleased by the news that Regner are producing a Guinness loco. 

The video I've seen suggests it is capable of extremely slow running. So slow that its use indoors on a short layout could be possible. It wouldn't be an overtly Guiness-based layout, but something very industrial. perhaps featuring limekilns and a canal.