Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 01:19:19 PMAs I said 'ignorance is bliss'
I admire and respect your knowledge but am just happy to have one to run with my blue/grey rake

That knowledge is limited to what I'm interested in!

I used to work to the consultant's rule book. Expert on Day 2. So long as you are a couple of pages ahead of your client, all is well 

Bob

He was a reggae stalwart, and I liked his early stuff that appeared on Island samplers but am not a huge fan of the genre. A sad loss to those who do like it

Interesting news, wonder if they welcome retired staff?

There used to be a model rail club for LU staff in the past, I know it had a permanent layout at Sloane Square station at one time and possibly Holborn in a disused part of the station.

Dave

As I said 'ignorance is bliss'
I admire and respect your knowledge but am just happy to have one to run with my blue/grey rake

That's a great initiative by TfL and it's important in several ways -
1. It combats loneliness
2. It encourages people to develop a hobby
3. It shows employees that the management have an interest in their wellbeing
4. It takes away some of the workplace stigma of liking trains (being ex-BR the culture of 'no spotters' was always prevalent - even though it was sometimes driven by people who had been enthusiasts themselves)

This forum is great for encouraging communication and camaraderie, to see employers embracing the hobby in order to improve the wellbeing of their staff, which in turn helps productivity, is a very positive step.

Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 12:40:28 PMExactly, Roy. If it offends so much just don't buy it

Sorry if my sarcasm offends.
I've been spending too long on RM Web.

Bob G (who made a more detailed roof on his own rebuilt Gresley buffet in 2011, when he was a proper modeller!)

Exactly, Roy. If it offends so much just don't buy it

Quote from: Newportnobby on November 24, 2025, 11:14:02 AMJeez, All I can say is 'ignorance is bliss'
Face? Bovvered? 

The roof looks very different on the refurbished buffets, and obviously in an ideal world it would be nice for a correct one to be tooled. However this very welcome project was always going to be a relatively marginal one from a viability perspective so I totally get why they haven't felt able to do so. For those who are unhappy it is a chance to break out the plastikard, scalpel and files and do some modelling, personally I am unlikely to bother!

Roy

One of the questions Phil Parker asked us as part of the National Festival of Railway Modelling YouTube panel - was: has YouTube become a new community for people (much like a model railway club).

 

He quoted some pretty startling figures from, I believe, the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness (2017) with updated stats from the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (2023/24):

 

* 8 million men say they feel lonely at least once a week.

*1 in 4 have contact with friends and family less than once a month

*1 in 10 can't remember the last time they contacted a friend.

 

That said - it's great to see so many organisations recognising the importance of social connection and the part that a model railway group can play in reducing loneliness and isolation.

 

Last year Grumpy Cameraman, who works with me on my You Tube channel started a model trains and buses group for employees of Transport for London where he works.

The group now has nearly 90 members and group members from that group have started its own monthly model railway meet up with OO and N gauge test tracks - everyone bringing their own locos - it's quickly become a fantastic, employee-led model railway club.

 

In my opinion, TfL is one of the chief organisations leading the way in recognising how valuable groups like this are for social interaction. It kindly provides a room for the meet up each month. Anyone from TfL can attend - not just group members - men and women - and it's helped people meet and make great friends in an organisation that's large enough that they might never have met otherwise.

 

The venues offered so far have been incredibly welcoming, including the London Transport Museum Depot in Acton.

 

With employers increasingly focused on supporting mental health, TfL has really shown what that looks like in practice by backing staff-run interest groups. Hopefully this inspires other employers - large and small - to start special-interest groups of their own. It doesn't have to be model railways; it could be football, netball, a walking group... anything, really. It costs employers nothing, and the benefits are clear.

 

The monthly TfL meets are always well signposted and attended. I caught up with Tim Dunn over the weekend (from the TV series Secrets of the Underground), and he mentioned that he'd seen posters on staff notice boards at head office inviting people to come along.

We also found several exhibitors for our model railway shows through this group.

rivet rivet