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Professional Photographer, Model Maker, Writer & Pretend Musician

10 May 2025

A Dual Duel!

 “Oh I say, a duel, how very sporting!” mutters Arthritic Arthur as he staggers off the engine furthest away, “2 engines verses a single steamroller, I think we might have an unfair advantage, hey ho!”

Meanwhile Bob Geeza Cat and Rufus Hound are having their very own duel which involves simply staring at each other, the first to blink will lose the chance to win a churn of rich Devon cream. 

Pic. Pentax Spotmatic, 28mm lens. Ilford FP4. 1/4 sec f22.

08 May 2025

Part Time Conspiracy Theorists

 

Wednesday morning and ‘Jinty’ 47276 slowly propels a rake of 16 ton mineral wagons under the aggregate loading screen. It’s a slow old process, but needs must and all that. 

Grey suited, hard hatted aggregate inspectors and part-time conspiracy theorists, Billy Nut and Tony Job, are discussing the need for all the aggregate and where does it all go. 

Billy is convinced that the crushed yellow stone is ground up in to a powder and put in to cheddar cheese as colouring and to add that crunch to vintage cheddar. 

Toby Job’s theory is that the finely ground stone is dumped in to the upper atmosphere for the rain to bring down “it’s a ploy you know, set up by car wash industry to boost trade, especially with those who own a black car”. 

And so he continues “Colour film manufacturers are also behind it, because all that yellow dust makes for more spectacular sunsets, and is good for colour film sales. If ever you go to a camera club, 94% of all photographs in the weekly competition are sunsets, with only the remaining 6% being taken up with flower closeups”.

06 May 2025

Mellow Yellow


 British Rail for years have been trying to dispose of their scruffy yellow Ruston PWM, but it’s a bit like a cockroach and won’t go away despite intentional complete lack of maintenance in the hope that it will expire gracefully. However it will likely even outlive the omnipresent Bob Geeza Cat who must appear in most shots posted here, even though security have been trying to catch him for years. 

So here we are in The Forest Of Dean and it would appear that the Ruston has joined the fleet of decrepit engines that serve Fountain Colliery. Despite a huge discount to attract a buyer, in the end British Rail had to pay for the colliery to take charge of it. 

BR even threw in an old ballast brakevan used on the dreaded weekend engineering trains as a thank you. Whilst the colliery railway will have little use for the brake van, I’m sure the local hooch producers will find it a useful place to install a moonshine still. 

What happens in The Forest, stays in The Forest. Hush hush.


03 May 2025

Bus Replacement Narrowboat Service

 


Here we are on a lovely Saturday morning, and it’s time for weekend engineering works, something which most know has been enshrined law since 1883. 

The regular rail replacement bus is in the workshop, so a narrowboat has been called in to action to cover for the bus, which is lucky, for the old coal canal runs parallel to much of the railway. Though there might not be a great deal of space with all the casks and barrels. 

However, the nautical rail/bus replacement service should prove popular, for the local moonshiners are also onboard producing their latest boozy tincture. Samples and sales will almost certainly be available for those travelling by boat today, something which is guaranteed to eliminate any minor discomfort caused by the cramped conditions. 

And finally, you can be assured that Double Denim Dancing Dando will put on some high energy entertainment with some magnificent tap dancing - all to the time the narrowboat engine…. Kerdunk kerdunk kerdunk kerdunk….

~~~👀~~~

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02 May 2025

Cold War Disinformation


At an unknown location, quite possibly somewhere along the Thames Valley, a short passenger train catches the evening light sometime in the early 1960s. 

Note the long welded rails. Such permanent way inspired PECO to produce their revolutionary flexitrack, so popular with model railway builders, track mat and locomotive fiddlers worldwide to this day, and probably well in to the future, and maybe even beyond. 

The more nasally afflicted will notice and want to squeal out that the signal box is displaying that of ‘Highley Signal Box’, which of course is nowhere to be found in the Thames Valley. 

In Cold War years, much like in WW2, such antics were often carried out to confuse attempts at espionage. It would also flummox railway workers who thought they’d turned up for their shift in the wrong place. Okay, that bit might not be true.

27 April 2025

LCGB - Locomotive Club for Girls and Boys


I’m a bit short of new colour photos, so you’ll have to suffer black and white today. But this is real black and white, it being taken on proper black and white film. 35mm Fomapan 100 black and white film from the Czech Republic to be precise, they being famous for their older style black and white range of films. I wonder how many times I can get ‘black and white’ in to this post? Let’s just leave black and white here, and move on before this post gets rather dull and grey…..

Now to what going on in the photo, here we are at Catcott again, and it’s another Saturday rail tour, but rather than it being an SLS (Slow Locomotive Society) trip, this is one by arch nemeses, LCGB - Locomotive Club for Girls and Boys. Very few girls are in the club, apart from over protective bigger sisters and mothers who join up so they can keep an eye on their loveable younger siblings and offspring. 

You’ll notice that few of the passengers have alighted to take a look at their train during the scheduled 15 minute stopover, something which might even include a run-past, schedule allowing of course. 

Looking more closely at this photo, many of the passengers appear too old to pass as children, but back in olden times we tended to look older. This wasn’t helped by the geriatric tweed and hessian attire which was passed down through the generations. And of course we must remember that children worked in mills and down mines whilst smoking Captan Full Strength, or Craven A if they were an aspiring type hoping to work in an office one day. 

~~~🤔~~~

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25 April 2025

Friday, but not Front End Friday


 Friday, but not Front End Friday

Douglas (formerly known as ‘Doug’ until he lost his spade) and Deliberation Dave, watch Harry and his Hunslet push a rake of empties up the steep gradient in to the colliery. 

In winter times this can be a hard work, with wet rails making the slippery process challenging. On such days, the incoming rake of wagons is either split up, or an extra engine helps to pull from the other end. 

But today it’s dry and mild, so after a good run up, there is little problem as the 0-6-0 engine propels its motley load of wagons up the 1 in 20 with great gusto. On such days there are sometimes spectacular smoke effects, especially if keen photographers pop a little money behind the bar of the nearby Pedant & Armchair pub for the loco crew at the end of their shift. Though it would appear today that the monies have not been forthcoming. 

And finally, Bob Geeza Cat, who rumour has it is half fox, complements the cameo, probably due to the promise of some warm kippers.

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21 April 2025

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Freddy Flag and Harry Hunslet have just noticed Bob Geeza Cat on the hot tin roof of the pithead building (though actually it’s probably asbestos), so they briefly pause to check he’s okay - which of course he is, being a geeza of a cat. 

Unlike most cats, Bob doesn’t generally go for height, preferring a lap or a warm footplate to curl up on for his obligatory 23 hours snoozing every day, including bank holidays. But of course the warm roof doubles up as a good place to observe comings and goings, something Bob has always been good at. 

Wagonholics will have noticed the old Northern United wagon, a well known Forest of Dean colliery, but the wagon is now in BR ownership with BR number painted over bottom left. The decades old paintwork is just about holding up along with various repairs over the years, but the wagon will no doubt soon provide wood for the annual colliery Guy Fawkes night later in the year. This event is always very spectacular, with the huge fire being fuelled by moonshine heads (aka foreshot) collected over the year, they can’t be drunk, but they sure burn well. 

The pithead used to have two identical sheaves (winding wheels), but one of them got damaged by a rogue meteorite, so has been replaced with a much smaller one (in the reality our cat ate one of the 3D prints!), bodged up from two wagon wheels placed face to face.

And finally, how it was taken using a 1966 vintage Mamiya C33. Kentmere 400. 1/2 sec, f32

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20 April 2025

A Man Who Can

Serene Sunday

Due to the very short platform at Catcott Halt, Evercreech bound trains block the level crossing for a few minutes. But there is no rush, for there is little if any road traffic apart from the occasional tractor, hedgehogs, ducks wanting to cross the line and drunks crawling several miles home after a night on the tiles in nearby Glastonbury. 

Loco crew Pete & Dud, are on the footplate chatting to former go go dancer, now crossing keeper Cynthia Dando about the weather, that ‘new skiffle music’ and last night’s toad in the hole pub game session down The Crown, which was quite a rowdy one by all accounts. 

Then conversation moves on to the missing ridge tile which blew off after a recent moonshine still explosion, “I really need ‘a man who can’, for hubby Arthur will really struggle to get up on to the roof with his arthritis. If one of you two strapping lads could help me, I’ll make it worth your while”. 

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18 April 2025

Swirlywirly Thingamajig Thing

Radstock shed’s ‘Jinty’ (though they were called ‘Bagnalls’ on the S&DJR) 47276 simmers next to the rotary aggregate swirlywirly loading thingamajig thing at Cement Quay. 

Everything is a little mucky, but nothing compared to what goes on in the minds of the inch high who are strangely lacking here today. Probably those darn aliens again I imagine. 

However the loco lamps are spotless, positively gleaming in fact. But as we know an old rag soaked in hooch can work wonders even with the filthiest of things but maybe not the minds of the inch high. 

I no longer have this layout, it now lives beyond the grim north in the land of haggis, bagpipes, blokes called Jimmy and deep fried Mars bars. It’s been known to get out on the road from time to time too with the Scottish Diesel and Electric Group

And finally, some might spot the tangled up locomotive 3 link coupling. This is the railway equivalent of ‘knickers in a twist’.

17 April 2025

Rails to Wedmore

Here we are a Wedmore, the terminus of little recorded light railway which runs up from Shapwick Junction on the Evercreech to Highbridge line. It was to be a midway station with the line continuing to Cheddar to connect up with the GWR. But as was so often the case with over ambitious Victorian ‘railway mania’ plans, the money ran out at Wedmore.

This was partially due to apathy, drunkenness and the cost of building a railway which runs across the boggy Somerset Levels, and then up Mudgley Hill to Wedmore, this section requiring significant winding earthworks to ease the climb.

Though why the railway builders didn’t simply go around the hill we’ll never know, for on the former S&DJR network it is the norm for stations to be at least 3 miles from the places they serve.

The little locomotive has just run around its train and stopped next to the old wooden signal box for a three-way chat (more of a shout) between Deliberation Dave, Driver Douglas (originally from the Isle of Man) and nervous Signalman ‘Six Bells’ Syd.

And as usual, the conversational is about the 1 in 32 grade up to Wedmore, slippery rails, drunken pheasants that run across the line, old Mr Wilkins’ scrumpy cider, wobbly point levers, Mrs Miggins’ spiced apple crumble, land locked pirates, Morris dancing sheep, low flying cows, and of course run-away trains. The latter being a regular thing with the daily goods when they forget to pin down the brakes on the decent back to Shapwick Junction.

And finally, the more eagle eyed will notice that the engine has condensing pipes, this is due to it having a built in moonshine still, a covert conversion done at Highbridge Works during the war when there were plenty of other distractions. However, the downside is that the engine has very little power for even the shortest of train.

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16 April 2025

Rubber Ruler


High up in the Mendip Hills, there’s a little known 2 foot gauge (or thereabouts) light railway that runs from nowhere in particular to nowhere in particular. The ‘thereabouts’ being a bit of an issue, for a rubber ruler was used to set the track gauge. 

The rubber ruler was designed so it can be rolled up and put in a pocket. But it does have its flaws, as Neil tries to work out why the train keeps derailing. But he thinks to himself ‘At least they haven’t used rubber rails and sleepers as well’. 

And finally, the train here as you’ll no doubt will have spotted, has a moonshine still and accommodation for passengers who wish to imbibe.

15 April 2025

Grain


Tuesday afternoon, and Bill & Ted in their wheezing old Midland 3F 43216 propel a hopper wagon full of grain into the yard at Catcott, having recently arrived with the daily pick up goods from Burnham on Sea to Evercreech Junction. 

This is quite an unusual load, for usually it’s just a box van full of Airfix kits, beautiful Welsh coal or picking up bagged peat harvested from the many bogs in the area. The peat arrives by a small narrow gauge railway, you can see the shed over there to the left which often services narrow gauge railway stuff, bagged peat and the occasional moonshine still. 

The old canal in the foreground hasn’t been used for well over a hundred years for commercial traffic to and from Glastonbury, but it is a popular spot for twitchers, fishing types and occasionally Nasal Nigel who likes to hide in the tall grasses where ‘mother’ can’t see what he’s up to. 

Ah, the good old days…

12 April 2025

Aristocat Travel

For years and years, we’ve been led to believe that these wagon are used for conveying radioactive matter. But in fact they’re for transporting wealthy important cats. Even security guards, former ice lolly makers Ben & Gerry didn’t know this until just a moment or two ago. 

Inside each ‘pod’ there is a super posh cat litter tray filled with semi precious stones and ‘beautiful’ coal to absorb moisture and odours. 

There is also a large 8k television screen showing films like, The Aristocats, Puss in Boots, various Garfield movies, Tom & Jerry cartoons, A Street Cat Named Bob, Top Cat, Catwoman and of course Cats & Dogs to name just a few. 

Sustenance is taken care of with freshly killed vermin, small birds and fish, and for a surcharge live snacks can be included. And of course there is always lashings of rich organic West Country milk and cream to wash things down. 

And finally, each cat has a deluxe bed of freshly plucked duck-down feathers to snooze on warmed by a nuclear powered radiator. Vegan cats aren’t catered for should anyone ask, but it’s something that might be looked in to subject to future demand.

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10 April 2025

The Big Bang


 A regular Thursday in the land of the inch high. 

A former Great Eastern Railway J15 from Ipswich has been borrowed to trial on the Highbridge branch. Its light axle loading making it an ideal replacement for the elderly Midland 0-4-4 tank engines. 

Waving Waymond and Basil the Brush acknowledge the engine and its train, whilst admiring the modern parcels van and new fangled Mk1 carriage in that snazzy new maroon livery. All so very modern. 

Over to the right, the local council pot hole repair team have spent all morning polishing their not so trusty steam roller, anything to avoid filling the holes. 

Up on the Mendip Hills, the moonshiners are busy going about their illicit work, and judging by the huge cloud, another still has exploded, or Bristol has just been nuked by those pesky Russkies keen to remain the world’s number one vodka producer. 


And finally, the omnipresent Bob Geeza Cat is surveying the scene as always 🐾

09 April 2025

WTF Wednesday


 WTF Wednesday 

In the land of the inch high most things work very well. But they’ve not been able to produce a tiny camera that works in 1/76th scale. So today they’re trialling a camera from the 12 inches to the foot scale world. 

Not only is the camera rather big (to them), processing the film could be problematic, for they’ll need to use swimming pools after dark filled with chemicals to perform the task. Printing the processed negatives will be even more of a challenge. 

To the reality…

For the camera fans, this is a 1951 vintage 518/16 Zeiss Nettar folding camera which takes 120 roll film which produces twelve 6x6cm negatives or slides per roll. The camera is fully working having been recently serviced by me. Fresh film is still readily available.

06 April 2025

Airfix Engine Shed


 Sunday morning down at the engine shed. 

Mumbling Malcolm, Peter Peckett and Deliberation Dave are trying to justify their weekend overtime they’ve wangled, by mooching about checking and double checking what they checked earlier on. There can never be enough checks when handing such potentially dangerous machinery. 

Terry Tuttle-Thomas-Smythe and Bob Geeza Cat are also mooching about, scouting for new spots to use for their illicit hooch production, but can’t work out why there is such a gap under the locomotive shed doors. Could it be a measuring error, or has the wood shrunk? Or maybe the building has grown, but not the doors? Or did they simply not have enough wood to do a proper job? We will probably never know, but apparently Airfix based their much loved plastic kit on the building here. 

And finally, yes the smoke extractor really is a boat propeller, it reputedly coming off a WW1 Royal Navy launch which went astray and ran aground just up from Brentford Dock on the Grand Union Canal next to the old Firestone rubber factory. Why this happened, much like the loco shed doors, we’ll probably never know, but being in the land of the inch high, booze will almost certainly have been involved. That and excessive snacking on pickled winkles. 

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05 April 2025

The Skidmark Monkeys


 Saturday morning down by the ‘water tower’. 

New to the area locomotive fireman Lonnie Doonican, who at weekends plays banjo and sings rather badly in his skiffle group The Skidmark Monkeys, calls over to Waving Wally (though it might be Waving Willy) for assistance with the water hose. 

Wally replies back saying that he must be new to the job, because whilst it looks like a water tower, it is in fact a dispensary and storage for locally produced hooch. 

“But if you want to fill up, beware your engine might take on a whole new character and will run at twice (‘two times’ for children and Americans) its normal speed. But seeing you’re in a skiffle band and play banjo, you’ll be used to such double speed jollity.”

And finally, what’s with the raised bricks on the wall to the right? That’s a secret braille type code for the partially sighted or blind and says ‘hooch’. Though only the very tallest can use it. 

~~~👀~~~

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03 April 2025

Candy Crushers & Pot Noodlers


Thursday at Windmill Sidings - in a part of forgotten Norfolk which cannot be found on any maps. It’s first thing, and not a soul is yet to be seen next to the ancient disused windmill, which last saw traditional use 100 years before the railway came. 

However, the locals maintain it for pagan correction rituals; those with eyes too close together, witches, aggressive vegans, tee-totallers, Prius owners, those who wear spandex sports attire, Lambrini drinkers, shandy drinkers, young men who wear their jeans too low, latte drinkers, those who leave half a pint of beer undrunk, owners of metallic poo brown cars, couscous eaters, trainer wearers, politicians, despots, local government officers, those who order posh coffee in busy pubs, pot noodlers, double glazing salesman, virtue signallers, those who demand sprinkles on their ice cream, shouty people on mobile phones, Candy Crushers, banjolele players, and anyone from out of town. 

These often lost souls are attached to the windmill arms and spun around until they repent. Other than that, it’s a lovely spot to spend a sunny Thursday morning.

29 March 2025

Clock Change


 Yep, it’s that time again! 

Deep in The Forest, twice a year, the ancient ironstone circle has to be moved to reflect the clock change here in Little England. Luckily these days it’s a little easier with cranes and other such fangled machines of the modern age. However, a little manual manoeuvring is still required to adjust for the minutes, the big machines taking care of the hour change. 

I rather wish that ‘Pickaxe’ Eddie wouldn’t use his pickaxe on the ancient stones, for I’m sure since he’s been involved twice a year, there are more stones than there used to be. I’m also sure some of the stones have changed shape too. 

Each time a stone is relocated, Double Denim Dando does a little shimmy, you can see him doing one right now. And of course Waving Wally is here to coordinate things, though to be honest he’s been waving ever since he arrived on site, so he’s mostly ignored by everyone apart from nearby dog walkers who think he’s being friendly waving at them.


So remember to change your clocks tonight. Also for those living under rock, we have a partial solar eclipse today between 10 and 12.

26 March 2025

Annual Eye Test


 Annual Eye Test aka WTF Wednesday

Back in olden times, eye tests were performed randomly in often quite inappropriate locations, like here on the through running line next to the colliery. 

Under the watchful eye of Barry Bullhead, time and motion man from The Ministry of Mayhem (who is actually doing his proper job rather than one of his dodgy side hustles), partially sighted optician ‘Pointy’ Pellegrino is performing a random eye test on Freddy the Flag. But fear not any precious neurotics, for Freddy is keeping look out for approaching trains whilst having the test, so all is good. 

Pointy Pellegrino always ensures that everyone passes with flying colours by only choosing large letters for testing purposes, “Okay Freddy, can you see the ‘D’ in Denaby?”, to which Freddy replies “yes”. He then asks Freddy to pick out all the other letters in order on this former private owner wagon, which of course he does successfully, even though he needs glasses. 

And finally, Pointy then shouts out, “Well done, you’ve passed! Shall we use the same wagon next year if it’s still here?”

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25 March 2025

Dirty Old Town


Spied through the heavy open gasworks gates, Freddy the Flag waves Peter Peckett past to collect an empty coal wagon or three. Peter doesn’t really need Freddy the Flag, but he’s been waving his flag since he was knee high to a grasshopper, Freddy being a twin half cousin to Waving Willy, Wally and Waymond. 

It’s a smelly choking place which has inspired many a miserable folk song as well as paintings depicting a smoky industrial Little England where children were given an old iron railing to chew on for a special weekend treat. Not that weekends were a thing, for in those days you were expected to work every day for 21 hours, but you were given the night off on Sundays. 

The gates were originally intended for a dry dock, but were found not to be deep enough, so ended up here at the entrance to the gasworks instead. They’re usually kept open, because being so heavy they require at least three burley blokes to operate them. Though if they oiled the hinges just one would be required, but that would require a union meeting. 

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24 March 2025

Fixing the Potholes!


 Monday morning and the local council have turned up to fix a reported teeny weeny pothole (of course this never happens in real life) right outside the entrance of The Miners Arms. It was reported by Nasal Nigel after he was thrown out the other night for dipping his TT gauge Flying Scotsman in to his shandy and upsetting the more sensitive regulars. 

But George the landlord of the pub knows that once set up, they could be here for weeks performing surveys, risk assessments and a plethora of other jobs to make the simple task as lengthy and expensive as possible. And then they’ll only do a half job and be required to come back again in 6 months. This will of course have an impact on his pub business, and as we know pubs are struggling enough as it is. 

So to make things as tricky as possible, Rufus Hound, Bob Geeza Cat and Beryl’s new pussy, Mystic Mog, are getting in the way and making all sorts of distractions and obstacles for Jimmy Jobsworth the steam roller driver. Any resemblance between Jimmy Jobsworth are Waving Willy is purely coincidental, but in the land of the inch high, the gene pool is quite small, so they’re probably related. 

Once they’ve given up gone for health and safety reasons, the pub cook, Mrs Muggins will fill the offending hole with her porridge which is famously thick and inedible, it being mostly lard and grains of unknown origin. 

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22 March 2025

Slow Locomotive Society

Click to zoom in and enlarge 

 Another Saturday, another rail tour operated by the Slow Locomotive Society aka SLS. 

Originally it was called the FLS, aka Fast Locomotive Society, but they’ve been struggling to hire fast express engines due to high rail tour demand and the inevitable rising hire fees. But old plodding goods engines like the S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 are easy to find, especially with the reduction of freight being carried by rail.  

Here we are at Catcott at the end of June, and because the Wimbledon Tennis event is also running, there is plenty of rain between the spells of sunshine. Wimbledon Tennis always attracts wet weather, nobody knows why, but I’ve often thought that the event could be moved to a part of the world that needs rain more than we do. 

I digress, for the day started with mist followed by clear blue skies, with the warm damp air off the Somerset Levels rising up over the nearby Mendips to produce the stormy sky and resulting blustery downpour captured in this shot. 

With the scheduled 20 minute stop at Catcott, several of the passengers, many who’ll be familiar to regular readers, have alighted to have a stretch and maybe capture a photo or two. But being in the middle of nowhere there is nothing to see apart from the simmering locomotive and its train, not even a pub to elope to for a swift one. 

Meanwhile the clever thinking local moonshiners have appeared with their new mobile moonshine production vehicle, so passengers can enjoy a few drams of super fresh hooch before being ushered back on to the train. And of course after a few shots, the rain really won’t matter at all, and possibly not the train either. 

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