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About Me

- Chris Nevard Model Railways
- Professional Photographer, Model Maker, Writer & Pretend Musician
Saturday, 25 June 2022
Saturday Morning at the Terminus
Friday, 24 June 2022
Less CO2
Help support me with this regular nonsense, these little scenes take quite a bit of time to create and photograph - cheers 🍻 www.buymeacoffee.com/Nevardmedi3
Thursday, 23 June 2022
Up The Grade
Sunday, 19 June 2022
Saturday, 18 June 2022
Famagusta
Saturday morning in the Somerset coalfields. Many of you will be familiar with my photography in the proximity of The Pedant & Armchair seen in the middle distance of the photo here. Here is a rare view showing the wider scene, and as always some of the regular tiny people of been allowed to roam and pose for the camera. Not that I have any control over them, for they tend to move when I look away or blink. I’m sure there’s a sci-fi drama in the making there.
I’ll get around to finishing the loco one day, it’s been awaiting handrails since 2004, so at the current rate that unlikely to happen in my lifetime. It’s from the delightful Roxey Mouldings kit based on Cyprus Govt Rly 2-6-2T ‘Famagusta’, it’s a lovely runner with its heavy white metal body perched on a Bachmann/Farish 2-6-2 chassis. Narrow gauge locos outside little Britain tend to be larger, this engine being completely to scale.
The rustic wagons behind are some resin castings from a few years ago, a short run by OO9 guru John Thorne based on ball clay wagons that used to run on the Isle of Purbeck. The portaloo/brakevan I built from scratch around 1980, it sits on an N gauge wagon chassis.
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Friday, 17 June 2022
Harry the Hammer
Saturday, 11 June 2022
Martin, Taylor & Gibson Moonshiners
Sorry, I’m droning on, but looking over to the tiny halt we see an ex GWR pannier tank arriving with an old auto coach. Our engine isn’t auto-train fitted, so it will have to run around its train at the destination at Frome. But the bonus for the passenger is the fabulous view afforded by the large windows not only on either side, but also out of the rear.
There’s music at the pub this lunchtime, and country & western trio ‘The Martin Taylor & Gibson Moonshiners’ are setting up for a bit of yeee harrr plinky croony strummy winky. That’s their blue Morris Eight Series E in the foreground.
Quite how they managed to get themselves and all their kit in it I’m not sure. But in these olden times we’re a little more resilient generally. Most likely, Gibson being the shorter of the three by around an inch or so travelled on the rear parcel shelf.
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Friday, 10 June 2022
Front End Friday
It’s front end Friday #frontendfriday folks. In the latter years of the Evercreech to Highbridge line, engines were usually limited to ex Midland and SDJR 0-4-4 tanks, Midland 3F 0-6-0 tender locos, BR Std Class 2 & 3 tank engines, and later ex GWR Collett 0-6-0 locos. But very occasionally other locos would appear, this being one of them. In the early 1950s for a couple of years, Bath Shed homed a small number Ivatt 2-6-0 engines, and here we have 43017 blasting through Catcott. I’m not sure what the service was, for it certainly wasn’t going to stop at Catcott if the exhaust is anything to go by.
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Thursday, 9 June 2022
A Man Who Can
Thursday morning at Catcott, and celebrated ace railway snapper Ivan Locksmith enjoys any opportunity to feature his well-known Bentley in his railway photographs. It’s almost the same as the famous Bentley owned by the even more celebrated photographer Ivo Peters, but Ivan’s is a slightly lighter shade of blue and not nearly as shiny. This is Ivan’s photograph taken on that new fangled Kodachrome 2 on his even more fangled Nikon F.
Today the 11.05 from Highbridge to Templecombe is only a single carriage, and hauled by an ex GWR Pannier tank. The Western Region of British Railways are certainly making their stamp in this former Midland/Southern joint line by slowly downgrading things. Sadly it looks like the railway will close forever, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Looking over at the crossing keeper’s cottage, Herbert Half Job Fugg, popular local rogue roofer and half-jobber, is chatting to crossing keeper Deidre Dando about her missing ridge tile. It blew off in to the rhyne in the foreground last October during one of those strong northwesterlies. Herbert will sort it for sure, but the repair will be in a different colour and he’ll only charge 30% more than Proper Job Pete from nearby Wedmore. Hopefully British Railways will do the repair, but 8 months on nothing has happened. But Deidre enjoys the chat with ‘a man who can’, even though he won’t be the man. Being a crossing keeper on The Levels can be a lonely job
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Tuesday, 7 June 2022
Pedant’s Passage to Glory XXX
Sunday, 5 June 2022
One In Twenty
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Saturday, 4 June 2022
Race!
Today’s chase is against the 8.30am Highbridge to Evercreech Junction goods. They’ve placed a bet with the crew, Ivan and Terry thinking that their speedy arrival in Evercreech Junction goods yard will be assured. This would normally be the case, but today, our loco and train crewed by shrewd Derek & Clive and guard Clive will be going nonstop, missing their usual Glastonbury stop to collect an assignment of ‘comfortable shoes’ from the Clarks shoe factory. Also little do our racing motorists Ivan and Terry know, but Glastonbury is rather congested with one of its regular historic pagan King Arthur inspired hippy-dippy events blocking the main thoroughfare through the town.
Deliberation Dave and ‘I don’t believe it’ Oliver Awkward observe from the platform, they’ve just walked the long drove up from Catcott village which is nowhere near our little halt it shares its namesake. They’ve been to collect a heavy crate of moonshine spiked rough cider from Daphne Dando’s dairy, orchard and boudoir. Their train isn’t for another 45 minutes, but they want to see the start of the race, their bets being with Derek & Clive. It’s good to be in the know.
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Thursday, 2 June 2022
Purple Thursday
“Look, One knows you chaps mean well, and one knows that times are tough for you peasants, but there’s no way that one will be travelling in that! But one does approve of the colour”.
Wednesday, 1 June 2022
Weird Wednesday
Behind them, the sky is looking rather dramatic over the Bristol Channel, quite sinister in fact. They’ll soon find out that Derek & Clive’s moonshine plant on the tiny island of Steep Holm has exploded, creating this most beautiful but highly alcoholic cloud. Shortly it will rain hooch, so any teetotallers will be advised to stay indoors whilst everybody else has a party.
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Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Booze Train
The narrow gauge tramway along the wharf hasn’t been used for many a year. But after decades of disuse, our little people are getting it running again using an old rail bus built mostly from timber, corrugated iron and the remains of an old greenhouse. It uses an engine and transmission adapted from an old petrol charabanc.
Gaylord Grip, former pro boxer and wrestler is in charge of the project and is aware that the little tramway must be profitable, so in association with the Star Inn have set up booze trips up and down the wharf. Here we have the inaugural train being loaded up with casks of illicit hooch which will ensure all participants will have a great time, and one they probably won’t remember the following day.
But it looks like Barry Bullhead from the Ministry of Misery and PC Philip Fuzz have had a tip off, but in our miniature rose-tinted land of nonsense they’ll soon turn a blind eye after a couple of test runs with free hospitality on the little train.
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Saturday, 28 May 2022
Bogroll Fight!
Many of our favourite little people are here including Liz and Margo who never miss out on a good flutter. Nasal Nigel is enjoying an elevated position from the top of a beer cask, and already has ideas for a similar competition involving cling film. Maybe we won’t go there.
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Friday, 27 May 2022
Missed a Trick
It’s that #FEF or #frontendfriday many in social media land get excited about. It’s particularly popular with diesel fanatics and soft porn fanciers for some reason - though ‘mother’ won’t be impressed with the latter. I’m sorry it’s not a Class 37 or a Deltic, but I don’t have too many diesels, so this is about as diesel loco-horny as it gets. But there are many more sites out there, especially featuring loco hungry traction maintenance depots for the disappointed who need that multi loco English Electric fix, ideally in BR banger blue of course.
Anyway, and finally: here’s the morning goods from Evercreech Junction arriving at Combwich, which today is most unusually hauled by old ‘sad eyes’, aka a Class 22. It’s loco 13 and a Friday - specially for those glass half empty types, of which there are many, especially when the major toy train manufacturers announce their forthcoming releases for the year.
I missed a trick here, for I should have posted this load of nonsense on Friday 13th a couple of weeks ago. Sorry. Help me to sharpen my act and keep these almost daily posts happening https://ko-fi.com/nevardmedia
Thursday, 26 May 2022
Blocked Loo
The brave old lady is using the loo just to the left of the car, her own one being temporary unusable due to a human head being found in it. This is of course from the days before bathroom en-suites, with just one shared loo for both residents and owners.
Her 58 year old live-at-home son Timothy Miggins works on the railway, his job is to count fishplate holes between Highbridge, Combwich and Bridgwater once a week. He’s allowed ‘mother’ on site to use the stinking loo whilst the local constabulary investigate the rancid head which is blocking the one at the guesthouse.
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Wednesday, 25 May 2022
A Bit of Slap & Tickle
First time booze runners and part time pub circuit folk music duo Cyril Slap & Toby Tickle have just taken delivery of 3 casks of illicit grog produced on Steep Holm, a little known island in the middle of the Bristol Channel. They’re using Beryl’s old Austin 7 to transport the casks to a secret den somewhere on the nearby boggy levels owned by our favourite local cad and bounder Terry Tuttle-Thomas-Smythe.
Their chariot to be honest isn’t really up to the task, for these cars are tiny, and the rear leaf springs should have been replaced years ago, and there’s certainly not any room for even one cask. Maybe the old narrow gauge wagon can be used, but it’s only a 300 foot line built to transport freshly caught breaded fish fingers and potted winkles to the kitchen of the quayside pub just out of shot to the right.
Sadly for Slap & Tickle, it looks like they’ve failed in their first task for TTTS, so they’d best go back to entertaining the local ciderheads with their fiddle, flute and banjo.
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Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Funny Handshake
It’s Tuesday at the colliery deep in the Nettlebridge valley, and Comical Ned (with the funny shaped head), Barry Bullhead from the Ministry of Misery and Arthritic Arthur are waiting for the Bath service as a coal train rumbles though. Bath being the the beautiful Somerset city, not a bath tub - though many of you here being model railway nuts might not be familiar with such inventions of course.
Our trio, it’s thought are going on a pub crawl, Bath of course having many delightful hostelries - though to be honest their friendship appears most unlikely - but they do have a funny handshake it’s been noticed. Barry knows of a few pubs that stay ‘open’ all afternoon, a clever handshake and palm tickle being the key to such success.
In the distance, former boxer and wrestling champion Gaylord Grip can be seen posing next to his new Landrover, I’ve no idea what that’s all about, but that crate of moonshine spiked cider in front of Doug might have something to do with it.
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Saturday, 21 May 2022
Motor Rail Service
From left to right if you zoom in, it would appear that Comical Ned (with the funny shaped head) is in charge of the crane. Waving Wayne is waving for no apparent reason, but he’s a friendly kind of chap, and always a joy to have around, for he hasn’t stopped waving since 1953 when he discovered this skill. On the engine, Deliberation Dave is wondering about the gaudy shade of blue on the Ford Popular, thinking that the colour won’t be great for resale. But thankfully it’s not metallic brown, that would be really bad news.
Barry Bullhead from The Ministry of Misery has been hired in the make the whole experience less than impressive for the customer. In little Britain customer service should never be pleasant, for us Brits like to moan, in fact it’s good for business, especially with dowdy timeshare in Torremolinos plague mask wearing beige bungalow dwelling hybrid car drivers (in metallic brown of course).
Beryl is standing to attention next to her bubble car in finest military style, it being reminiscent of her of her days in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the war. Honorary guests Posh Liz and not quite so Posh Margo are here witness the event. And of course we have the appearance of local bounder and cad Terry Tuttle-Thomas-Smythe, no doubt involved in some semi-legal weeze.
As always, click, swipe, tap, lick, wiggle or whatever you do to enlarge.
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Friday, 20 May 2022
Abducted by Aliens
It’s that #frontendfriday thing again. Unusually a ‘USA’ tank engine is shunting the sidings at the colliery. But nobody can be seen, the reason for this being that all our favourite miniature weirdos and fruitcakes have been abducted by aliens. But to be honest it’s quite nice to experience a bit of peace, quiet and ‘me time’ without them cluttering up and getting in the way of the camera. I’ve a feeling that Nasal Nigel will be the first to return, for it’s unlikely that even the little green men from planet Zob 13a will be able to cope with him for more than a few hours.
Tuesday, 17 May 2022
Vintage Digital
It’s Tuesday morning at Combwich as the 8.35am from Evercreech Junction via Highbridge arrives. 3206 can be seen to the right shunting the yard.
This early digital photograph dates from around 2003 and was taken on an HP Photosmart 945, which at the smallest aperture gave the most incredible depth of field. When the camera was released 19 years ago, it was cutting edge, with what was then a whopping 5.3 million pixels. It lasted to around 2007 before making a strange pop and expiring. It most likely now graces exported landfill somewhere in Asia after futile attempts to fix it.
Monday, 16 May 2022
Before Colour Was Invented
It’s monochrome Monday at Hemyock, the day of the week when all colour is removed. It can be a hazardous day, because green and red lights look the same and can cause dangerous confusion on the roads and railways. This is why semaphore signals were used on the railways in the olden days, we simply had to look at the angle of such rather than colour. Busy road junctions were often policed by a chap (or a chapess) wearing big white gloves to direct traffic. But we didn’t know any different back then, unless one was really rich and could see in colour or lived in the USA where everything has always been in colour.
Hemyock was unusual, in that it had no signalling due to the ‘one engine in steam’ (or diesel if you can afford it) status of the line. This by the way, is the main reason for the location being a popular choice with railway modellers, for they don’t need to mess about with pesky signals that are a pain in the whotsit to get to work - okay, I made that bit up.
Anyway here we are at the terminus, as old ‘sad eyes’ runs around its recent arrival of milk tanks destined for the creamery in the distance. Norman and Barry look on, and are keen for Tuesday when colour is to be invented.
As always, click, swipe, tap, lick, wiggle or whatever you do to enlarge.
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