RichardB

They’re favourites of mine. And they were exceedingly good engines too. A design that stays in front-line express service for forty years is not to be sneezed at.

I own the current iteration of the Hornby Castle. A lovely model to look at, but my example is an erratic runner, so it sits on my desk as an ornament.

I told you I was a nerd…

When they put the Great Western locomotive Caerphilly Castle in the Science Museum my father said, ‘The father of one of classmates at school used to drive that engine.’

In a word, Athers, no. Just a life-long interest in railways, which is a spin-off from a passion for steam engines that started before I can even remember. I’m a nerd, basically. Though not an anorak: I was never a trainspotter, and collecting numbers seems a pointless exercise to me. Though if you were to ask me about the technical workings of a…[Read more]

No, I hadn’t heard of this one, but with two (as it turns out) of the four fatalities being railwaymen it probably wouldn’t have made a big splash except in the local press. Your father’s reaction, though: kids, eh?

Yes, I’m sure that the signalmen must have thought their systems were foolproof. As for their motivation, it seems to have been professional pride more than anything else. It was a matter of pride not to fall down on the job, to keep the traffic moving if at all possible. And though no one would have blamed them if that arriving train had been…[Read more]

Er, scuse my ignorance. I know LGBT, but what’s QAIP?

Fascinating but daunting. So glad for you that it turned out so well, but anyone reading this who believes they’ll have it made once they’ve got an agent is really going to have their eyes opened. But we need to know what we’re up against, so thanks for posting this. And, again, congratulations.

Well done, Philippa. I don’t remember reading much, if any, of your writing, but I do remember how perceptive and constructive your comments have been on mine, so I’m hardly surprised.

Well, to be honest I was already pretty leery of small indies after various horror stories I’ve heard. Also the amount of work involved puts me off. If I’m going to try at all it’ll be by the agent route.

Nonfic could work for me, as I am coming to the sad conclusion that I am better at telling an existing story than at making one up. As for your…[Read more]

I think you’ve put me off trying to get published for life…