Time for a new loco cradle

 

I think it's really time to deposit this Peco loco cradle in the bin. It's performed admirably for many years, but the foam has really lost its spring. 

To be fair, I bought a replacement some time ago, and this has just been kicking around on a shelf and gradually degrading. The foam has gone brittle, and bits keep falling off. As you can see, it's more pancake than U-shape. It just goes to show that some things simply fall apart over time. 

And before someone shouts "inbuilt obselecance" - I think that well over a decade (possibly two) of use isn't bad for a foam cradle. I know, in the old days, we had cradles made from granite...