Hello from Southampton

[Midland60]

Many thanks for welcoming me to your forum, as a few other newbees have said, bit of refugee from the other manic site that just got tedious with cars. Having read the rules prior to applying and seeing all the sins one can commit I think I should confess that I am not an engineer, just love railways and in particular Midland locos as you may see in due course. It all started when my dad got out the O gauge railway and laid it in the garden when I was about 3, that was in south London and the jerries were still dropping bombs!
After the war my Dad was offered a job with International paper and we emigrated to Canada and lived in a small town west of Montreal. Here we found glorious basements and again the O gauge was set up and I built the Basset Lowke Mogul kit at about 14. Life went on as it does and the next 'almost engineering' was watch keeping as a young cadet with two four cylinder triple expansion engines in the engine room. Huge they were, a bit bigger than Simplyloco's little one!! I could happily stand watches down there when I should have been learning navigation. Railway matters were put aside for some 12 years but after getting a couple of degrees I was hired by Procor in Oakville. Procor make tank cars!!! Lots of railway and engineering although I was more of a watcher. Procor bought the English wagon builder Charles Roberts of Wakefield and also a fleet of some 3,000 wagons. It was a bit of a mess so I was sent to Wakefield to help them. I used to watch the machinists making all the bits and vowed that one day I would get my hands on one of those machines.
Jumping ahead again, after we sold the UK rail assets at the end of the 80's I ended up in Southampton amongst other things got married and my new wife enrolled me in the Southampton Model Engineers and bought me a Myford ML10. Still very much a learner, lathe in one hand and the instructions in the other but one learns. I have to tell you I have actually learnt more about the hobby from Simplyloco over the past five years than all the time before, thanks John.
Run a 5" Princess of Wales and am getting a No 60 4-4-0 boiler tested and running alongside, hopefully. Projects under the bench or maybe dreams include a part built Midland compound, a Jinty and I have been working on an Aspinal 'A' class 0-6-0 for 25 years, that will probably go in my coffin!!  So, apologies for a rather long intro but I am trying to be a good engineer!
Cheers David

[steamer]

Welcome!

Dave

[springcrocus]

Morning, David
Good to see you've joined the club. Quite a few of us spending more time over here now that the other site is becoming a bit of a monologue.
Regards, Steve

[flying fox]

Hi David, I am here too.
Regards
Brian B
Flying Fox

[vtsteam]

Welcome, David! 

[Mike Bondarczuk]

Welcome to the forum David and I am almost from Southampton as I live in Eastleigh and though not a moving steam engine man I try to build stationary steam engines instead and run them on compressed air.

I would imagine that you will also receive a post from "Vixen" who is on this forum and Southampton based as well.

Mike

[Vixen]

Welcome to the forum David and all the other refugees for the 'other site' whatever that was.  Loco's and live steam are not really my scene, I prefer I/C engines.

Actually, I'm not Southampton based, I'm a bit further down the road in Fareham.

Mike (another one)

[Chipswitheverything]

Hello David, enjoyed your write up of your model engineering CV.  Just to add to the theme here, I had better say that my name is also David, and I am in the very same city as you are!  My workshop interests are mostly tooling and equipment and stationary engines. I like locomotives but have not made one.  My late friend Merlin Biddlecombe, of the Southampton MES for many years, whom you may perhaps have known, had castings and bits for a Don Young Aspinall which he sold locally years ago; I just wondered if that might be the genesis of your Aspinall?  I like the design of that older loco, would be pleased to see a few pictures..   Dave

[Kim]

Hi David, and welcome to the forum!

Kim

[Dave Otto]

Hi David, welcome to MEM!

Dave

[Midland60]

Hello David, enjoyed your write up of your model engineering CV.  Just to add to the theme here, I had better say that my name is also David, and I am in the very same city as you are!  My workshop interests are mostly tooling and equipment and stationary engines. I like locomotives but have not made one.  My late friend Merlin Biddlecombe, of the Southampton MES for many years, whom you may perhaps have known, had castings and bits for a Don Young Aspinall which he sold locally years ago; I just wondered if that might be the genesis of your Aspinall?  I like the design of that older loco, would be pleased to see a few pictures..   Dave

Hi Dave
Around 1978 my, Canadian boss sent me to England, Wakefield actually, to help with an acquisition, Charles Roberts wagon builders. On the week end I found a model shop with lots of gorgeous stuff. In the window was a kit for the Aspinal in Gauge O so I snapped it up. Between my Dad and I we built it, me chassis, he body and she was a fine runner. Try, searching for Brigandchief Train 6.mov on YouTube to see her in action. Fast forward 15 years and I was in a ME store and on display was a set of castings for the Aspinal. Too much money for me but as I went off to delivery a yacht, my wife bought them and gave them to me on my return. I still have the Gauge O loco on my bookshelf with 3 remaining coal wagons and a guard's van (Caboose)! And I am still working on it 30 years on!!
Cheers David

[Roger B]

Welcome to the Forum   

I was born and bought up in Southampton but haven't lived there for many years.