My local bus stop

[Platy767]

Nice picture showing the weathering of track and ballast across the 3 lines.
If I ever get around to ballasting it will be a useful reference. The fast line seems to still have grey ballast between the tracks, but the overall colour outside the rails seems to be brownish (and I think most modern ballasting is brownish). Why is that?

Mark

[Newportnobby]

We get a fair amount of rain which, I guess, washes filth off wagons, coach bogies etc onto the track. Certainly many modellers apply 'frame dirt' to trucks and the undersides of coaches to give that look, and aerial shots of lines tend to show an all over brown look unless the ballast is new(ish) and has not got filthed up yet

[Bealman]

Here's a shot in the other direction @Platy767

[crewearpley40]

Cool. The cathedral is always a good place to visit

[Bealman]

Bealman is back at the bus stop.

Well, not yet, just got back last night. A couple of more cathedrals (this one is Wells), a great stay in Cambridge with me old schoolmate....



... then onto the bird out of Manchester. This is a great airline, but cattle class is still cattle class, and after 25 hours of it, I'm going back to bed, thank you.

[crewearpley40]

Welcome home george. It was a pleasure meeting you and Anne.

[Platy767]

Good to have you both back safe and sound.

[Newportnobby]

Life won't be the same with you two not being in Blighty. My WhatsApp will never be the same, that's for sure.
I note you escaped before the Ashes started. Scared or what?

[Bealman]

 

You've got to be kidding 

[Papyrus]

Good to hear you are back home safe and sound, but I'm a bit narked that you took your nice Australian weather back with you...

Cheers,

Chris

[Graham]

as good as it is to travel and get the experiences it is always nice to be back on home soil. Welcome back George, you certainly got around a bit in such a short time.

[Bealman]

In what is almost certainly to be the last picture of England I shall ever take, here's a view of the landscape from the downward facing camera on the plane as it climbed away from Manchester. 

[Malc]

Sorry to have missed you George. Glad you had a good time.

[Bealman]

Let me apologise publicly now for not getting to that meet, as I was really looking forward to it. When I was with Mick in Carnforth, he suggested we meet somewhere mutually convenient, and I was tantalisingly close in Stratford. Unfortunately we were running out of time, and we wanted to squeeze in a quick visit to the west country.

My daughter was in Manchester at the same time, and we didn't get to meet up with her either, which didn't exactly make me flavour of the month!

Likewise, apologies to @Trainfish and @port perran  - we got close but were beaten by the clock. We got as far as Wookey Hole in Somerset.

Sorry, everyone!

[crewearpley40]

It's OK George we understand, least we have a wonderful forum and sad you didn't meet Bealette.