Vobster - High Dyke/Ironstone Quarry

Narrow to standard gauge transhipment. Click to enlarge

A few weeks ago I posted Vobster, a little mini-layout to make use of Polbrock's old diorama case, baseboard and backscene. I possible idea was a quarry off the Highbury Railway near Frome, but after a visit to the High Dyke area of South Lincolnshire known for its now defunct rail served ironstone quarries, I have settled on a little known part of the Buckminster system off High Dyke. 

A couple of weeks ago having a good poke about in the area and  I even found some iron stone in what was Colsterworth Quarry - much of which has been smashed up and sprinkled everywhere on this little scene here. The hilly landscape south of Grantham is not too dissimilar to the backscene inherited from Polbrock (the little GWR halt that used to be here having moved into Polbrook Gurney - "confused? You will be"), though I will need to add some shrubbery to hide Cornish Engine on it!

The loading/hopper is a Wills Coal Loader that's been kicking about on my bookshelf and was in need of a home.

Usually the narrow gauge tipplers would have been tipped straight into the standard gauge wagons, but my excuse is that the occasional use of taller ex-LNER 20T hoppers required this installation. The plan at shows will be to actually load wagons with loose mineral - probably simply spoon fed from above the hopper/loader.

External link: One of the various ironstone quarries off the High Dyke systemhttp://www.nvr.org.uk/sites/default/files/d10201-001.jpg

Vobster

Messing about with ideas, taken on a cell/mobile dog and bone.

Messing about with Polbrock's old diorama case, backscene and baseboard. Possibilities could be an a couple of dead end sidings with working narrow gauge serving standard gauge.  

I want to have actual wagon loading as its feature filling up wagons with loose aggregate or minerals as its 'feature'.

Should be a very quick project. Just need to build the track and scenics. I've enough stock and buildings kicking about and of course the carpentry is done.

Might call it 'Vobster' which was a well known and fascinating area for quarries and mining located a few miles west of Frome. http://www.bgs.ac.uk/Mendips/assets/pix/Vobster_minemap_large.jpg

Polbrook Gurney Colliery Update: Facebook etc...

nevard_130317_PGCH_DSC_4882, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

As part of converting Polbrock into Polbrook Gurney Colliery, sadly the level crossing had to go, the higher level of the new adjacent headshunt and sidings rather negating its usefulness.

Luckily removing the checkrails and picking out the Das modelling clay the road surface was metalled with was an easy task, with ballast taking its place in due course and maybe a small foot crossing from old sleepers to allow access to the halt.

The pub will remain 'as is', despite suggestions that it should be renamed from the 'Pedant & Armchair' to 'The Miners Arms'. The 'Pee and Aee', as it's called by its regulars provides a useful place for those irritating people we all come across at shows and internet forums, giving them somewhere to go during the week when not in care and when the forums fall over from time to time.

Also today, a couple of hours was spent applying cosmetic chairs to the new bullhead rail/copper clad built point that links BR with the colliery - a fiddly job, but one that is important seeing so much effort was put into the original Polbrock track work which uses C & L components.

With time being so short before RAILEX at the end of May, I was tempted not to do this to save time, but the couple of hours required to file the chairs down so they could be superglued onto the copper clad sleepers was well spent I think.

Regulars to this blog, will notice that yet again I have not been posting here quite as much, this is not due to lack of activity, but simply down to the fact that these days I don't sit in front of the computer quite as much twiddling my thumbs. However my Facebook 'Like' page at www.facebook.com/chrisnevard gets daily updates that don't take as long as writing a blog post, because such can often be performed from my mobile/cell phone when on the fly, many of which are small progress reports on various project that maybe don't warrant a whole blog update.

You: Blogger, the machine that drives this blog has made it tricky for blog interaction from you the reader, with silly anti-spam measures which require clever and highly convoluted skills to work out a puzzle of random letters and numbers before any comments can be posted. Facebook however, is a lot simpler, if for some reason you want to comment on some of the drivel I post, get down with da kidz if you're not already. and 'like' www.facebook.com/chrisnevard

Tracklaying

nevard_130201_PGCH_IMG_2865, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Here's a proper shot taken of today's track laying which has finally commenced. It's code 55 flatbottomed on the colliery lines for that industrial feel. You can see how Polbrock fits into the scene over there on the left.

Up near the distant loco in the middle, the switch rails and frog still need to be fabricated. The crossing in the foreground may be lifted or simply turned into a non-road access. Note the 1 in 20 gradient going up into the colliery, not an uncommon thing with the real thing which could often be very steep and frequently steeper than this. Only a few wagons at a time will go up here so not an issue.

Polbrook Gurney Colliery - 16 weeks to go!

Polbrook Gurney Colliery is the latest layout, the plan being to merge the Polbrock and Mendip Colliery projects into one decent sized layout, the deadline being Railex in around 16 weeks. The photo to the right being a careful alignment of structures to hide bare baseboard, then a little sky Photoshopped in to see how it could look.
 

Above a sightly more revealing shot shows the actual state of progress, the elevated view showing all the bits hidden in previous shots.

The backscene will be a gnats under 2 ft high (mostly a clouds on a 21 x 90 inch print wrapped around back and the ends). I was going to have pale blue as with Polbrock but quite like the summery clouds as here.

Behind the pub (Pedant & Armchair) and to the right of the track will possibly be a drainage pond, a stinking polluted place with orange mud.

The colliery buildings, since these two photos are now around an inch higher than here, the only structure still needed will be a small Writhlington-esque screen. That will be an afternoon job with a bit of corrugated sheeting.

• Polbrook Gurney Colliery as with Polbrock and Brewhouse Quay and will form part of a forthcoming serial in Model Rail, in there I'll go into far more detail than here.

Polbrook Gurney Colliery Halt

nevard_130121_PGCH_IMG_2747, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Polbrook Gurney Colliery Halt is Polbrock as serialised in Model Rail last year, but now in the process of being extended width and lengthwise to incorporate a Bristol coalfield inspired colliery from my moribund Mendip Colliery project.

The layout here looks more complete than it really is, the photo here being the result of carefully lining up  colliery buildings behind Polbrock, which earlier today was extracted from its diorama case.

The sky I admit has been Photoshopped in, but is very similar to what I have planned to go behind this somewhat bigger metamorphosis of Polbrock. The new backscene will be around 18 inches high to allow photos like this without having to resort to filling in the sky to cover up the ceiling or exhibition hall with a photo-editing programme.

Anyway, enough rambling, I need to pull my thumb out to get it finished in time - First outing is RAILEX end of May!

Happy New Year

nevard_121229_catcott_IMG_2368_OLD, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Above is an old Agfa CT18 slide of dropping off water churns at Catcott Crossing taken around 1962. It's going to be quite a job to restore this one to clear away the mould and scratches. The lens on the original camera was not that great either, with quite a bit of astigmatism at the edges of the field. Luckily though the photographer had his twin lens Rollei and grabbed a decent B&W shot here.

Well that was 2012, and quite a busy year it's been with another layout making its debut in the form of Polbrock, and then there's been all the magazine photography which has taken me up, down and across the country to play with and photograph other people's cracking and lovely layouts for Model Rail magazine.

2013 promises to be equally busy with the diary already full almost through to the summer on the layout photography front. I also have to extend Polbrock by 100% to incorporate a colliery - the deadline with that being Railex at the end of May so I need to think about cracking ahead! I also have some features to write too covering various railway modelling subjects. Luckily I have wound down my television work to a minimum to incorporate all this extra toy train stuff.

In the mean time, let me wish you a fabulous, exciting and prosperous new year!

Canon G12

nevard_120918_polbrock_IMG_0018, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Photographing model railways is a bit of a niche subject and requires odd techniques to get the best results. For proper commissioned shoots I use professional Nikon DSLR gear and studio lighting, but sometimes a tiny camera is needed for those hard to get and low angles when the more usual DSLR is simply too bulky.

For some time for this purpose I've used a little Canon G9, which has lots of manual control, the all important RAW capture delivering results good enough for a published double page spread. But after 20.000 frame the little G9 has finally expired so a replacement was needed quickly in the form of the highly regarded Canon G12.

The little camera arrived about an hour ago so I thought I'd better quickly put it through its paces, and here are my initial thoughts.

The controls are the same as with the G9 so I was able to set up my custom own custom settings of self timer and other bits that waste time setting up from scratch; Macro, IS off, 80iso, RAW.

Observations are as follows.

The wide angle is good, it equates to a 28mm which gives a good depth of field without focus stacking at f8 and offers a wider angle of view if needed. It delivers a far greater depth of field than the old G9 at the same f-stop at the widest zoom setting (G9 equates to 35mm). This will save time in post prod much of the time and of course disk space storing all those RAW files used for making up just images if focus stacking.

Shooting RAW for maximum quality and processing in Adobe Photoshop CS5, image quality wise has maybe tad lower noise than the G9 at base iso (80), but the lens has greater diffraction at f8 than the G9, so a little more sharpening is needed which in turn ups the noise, thus negating any real difference. But it is very acceptable and should be OK for DPS with good technique.

High contrast objects towards the edge of the frame suffer quite severe chromatic aberration (colour fringing), but this can be totally eliminated at the RAW processing stage buy ticking the C/A tick box in the RAW convertor, one of the reasons for shooting RAW and converting to JPEG later. You'll need full Photoshop, not PS Elements to be able to do this.

Another tickbox in the Adobe RAW convertor gets rid of the barrel distortion seen on straight lines towards the edge of the frame, this is only really an issue with architecture and a feature of all small camera zooms.

Conclusion for those thinking of upgrading:

For G9 owners;The extra wide angle is very good, but that's the only real difference. Image quality wise the difference is not really apparent enough to justify an upgrade (unless the camera is broken!)

G10/11 owners:Save the pennies and wait for the next model, or go for a G1x (but useless macro for model makers), or change to a DSLR.

General conclusionsThe multi-angle screen is a winner and will save bending necks too much.

Better video in the form of proper 16x9 which is compatible with TV set aspect ratios. 720p is not full HD, but will offer better res than SD and more than adequate for good online streaming. If you're buying just for the video, you'll be better with a bespoke video camera or DSLR which will offer far more control when recording.

Model Rail Live

nevard_120922_modelrailLive_DSC_9239, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Sorry it's taken a little while to post a review of Model Rail Live, but the last day or 2 have very much been catch up time.

The weekend of the 22 and 23 September heralded the 3rd Model Rail Live at the famous and highly regarded Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Chesterfield. Barrow Hill is of course known to lovers of full sized railways, but for the third year running it was also to host model railways too, something which very much makes it a show with a difference that hopefully can appeal to all the family and not just old men with smelly breath.

This year I took the Polbrock along, my little Model Rail project layout that is currently being serialised in the magazine. My quest being to extract those with a fondness of armchairs out of them, alternatively hopefully it will show those who think that a model railway needs a huge space, that in fact something can be built in a small area not dissimilar to a tropical fish tank. I also wanted to showcase modelling techniques that maybe look tricky but are in fact very simple. Despite the layout's tiny size, I will thrilled with the interest it generated from a wide range of different people, and also enjoyed chatting to readers who may have been following my printed jottings.

Arne Wharf my OO9 gauge layout was also taken along, but sadly unlike Polbrock which performed really well, Arne Wharf didn't like the slightly dusty atmosphere, the tiny loco wheels clogging with gunge every 10 minutes or so. So, after an hour of so of much cussing I decided to leave the layout as a static exhibit which surprisingly had little impact on the number of people looking at the layout.

Luckily the event remained pretty well rain free apart from the last hour or so, just as well really considering much of the event is outside; the end of the show marking the beginning huge amount of rain that has caused all sorts of flooding in northern areas since.

All that's needed now is to thank all the readers of this blog who popped by to say hello and had nice things to say about the layouts - thank you!I must also thank Peter Harvey of PH Designs who gave up his Sunday to help me play trains.

Technique: Tree!

nevard_120917_polbrock_DSC_9151, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A few more finishing touches in the form of an old Oak next to the crossing at Polbrock.

We were gardening today and hacked down a load of dead Ivy - great bases for gnarled tree, with this one rounding off the crossing scene quite nicely after the addition of a little pastiche and flock.

See Polbrock this weekend at Model Rail Live - link top right!

Just a week to go....

nevard_120914_polbrock_DSC_9143, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

With just a week to go to Model Rail Live, I'm  still performing the final touches to the scenic section of Polbrock with fiddle yards attached. The drape will be hung a tad lower to avoid the crease around the point control. The protective lacquer over the name plaque is still drying, it has now dried clear and the milky streakiness gone. In the background are various other projects in my den!

The big knob on the front is part of the point operation, it allowing its control from front of rear. I'm pretty well there, just need to build a few more cassettes. You'll be able to find out more about this project at Model Rail Live 22/23 Sept at Barrow Hill (see link top right) and read the final installment of Polbrock in the next issue of Model Rail.

Monday's photo

nevard_120909_polbrock_DSC_8930, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The fiction is that the above photo was taken half a century or so years ago as Midland 3F 0-6-0 No 32316 let off a good display for the photographer as it ran forward over the crossing before reversing its load into the siding at Polbrook Gurney Colliery Halt. This ex-GWR line was connected to the SDJR at Midford during WW2, so from time to time engines from the Bath to Bournemouth line could be seen in action. This photo has that late summer / earlier autumnal look,  the soft hazy sunlight breaks through as the mist rises to reveal a warm coloured and mature landscape of soft greens, yellows and browns.

September is very much my favourite time of year if the weather is good, I enjoy the colours and light, and the days can still rival August for heat even though the evenings start to draw in a little earlier. If you get up early and go for a walk, dew makes ones boots temporarily shine and the air has that wonderful fresh scent. The cool morning soon warms up, but not too much to make that walk in the country hard work. The hoards of holiday makers have gone home, so the countryside is a little calmer, less hectic thus can be enjoyed more comfortably.

I like to depict this month in my modelling, preferring the softer colours to the brighter greens of the middle of the summer. On a connected note, it's interesting how we nearly always tend to model miniature landscapes with trees in full leaf, and only the other day came to the conclusion that summer far easier than building a winter landscape. For starters a winter leafless tree would be very time consuming with all the delicate twigs and branches that are normally covered with leaves. To model that you'd need to use super fine multicore cable split and formed, with hundreds of carefully manipulated strands just for one small tree. I digress, but such would certainly make an interesting project - another one to do before I die I guess, or at least add to the never ending list of future projects!

• Modelling Trees by Gordon Gravett could provide the answer.

Polbrook Gurney Colliery Sidings 'box

nevard_120901_pbcs_box_DSC_8676, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Out of the box Bachmann Scenecraft Highley 'box

In preparation for the Polbrock extension and move to North Somerset after Model Rail Live (22/23 Sept) I've started to look at some of the buildings.

Here we have 'Polbrook Gurney Colliery Sidings', based on a Bachmann Scenecraft 'Highley Signal Box', repainted into BR WR colours and weathered to suggest a box towards the end of its life on a rural backwater. The colliery will finally make use of the buildings from my Mendip Colliery project.

The fiction being that the box is only used as a ground frame when colliery trains are due, hence the little loved appearance of the box. I'm tempted to paint out a couple of the window panes to suggest plywood or hardboard replacement as a result of the local Teds using it as target practice with airborne railway ballast or air rifle. The box will probably be planted where the pilbox is to the left of the colliery.

Polbrook Gurney Colliery Sidings is my working title, I may well change the name but for now this gives a nod to Polbrock, with the Gurney being a popular North Somerset name.

But as always nothing is cast in stone and things will most likely get tweaked once the building starts. But whatever happens I need to be ready for Railex in May '13!

• Find out more about Polbrock's move and extension here!

Trusty Collett

nevard_120828_polbrock_IMG_4048, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Ex-GWR Collett No 3206 shunts the siding at Polbrock. Click on the photo for a bigger view.

The loco is a tweaked Bachmann jobby I performed around 10 years ago shortly after I returned to the hobby. Initial work involved removing the hook and bar couplings and replacing with the Smiths etched screw couplings. The gap between the loco and the tender was closed up by shortening the existing bar and inserting a small screw into the end for the tender to hang off, the screw replacing the spigot which was chopped away with the shortening.

This loco is an older ready to run release from around 1996 and has no fall plate (it's the floating floor than stops the crew falling between the loco and the tender) as you'd expect with more recent releases, so one was fabricated from a small oblong of black painted business card as recommended by George Dent who is far more of an expert in loco matters than I'll ever be. Thanks George!  Why a business card? Well it flexes just enough to allow attachment of the tender into the drawbar, other materials would require some kind of hinging like the real thing, something that would be far too complicated for a bodger like me.

The engine was weathered up and renumbered as Templecombe's 3206 using bespoke plates from Narrow Planet, these were only applied at the weekend and could still do with a little more toning down. Coal is the real thing, crushed up and glued into place with some PVA.

A crew provides the finishing touch, and were from that chap whose name I cannot recall who frequently appears at shows in the south with ready painted pewter loco crews in different poses, many of which are produced to match popular ready to run locos.

This is a great loco for shows, it runs very well indeed through the entire speed range when using a feedback controller, something I always favour for any slow kind of operation. There is no need for DCC, that would in fact mean more button pressing. Another good thing about this loco is that the wheels hardly ever appear to pick up any dirt, that probably being the result of good wheel and rail contact and well laid track. I have a relaxed view of many things, but track must always be well laid, and I think that homebuilt track will always win over ready to plonk pointwork because it can be tweaked to match ones stock perfectly thus reducing slop, wobble of roll of a tracksystem designed to work with a wide range of wheels from different eras. Along with well aligned track, wheel back to backs must be consistant, with a strict 14.5mm adhered too, most tready to run locos, especially Hornby needing attention in this area.

The layout is Polbrock which has been serialised in recent issues of Mode Rail as below....

• Polbrock Part 1 - Model Rail 169 / May 2012
• Polbrock Part 2 - Model Rail 171 / July 2012
• Polbrock Part 3 - Model Rail 172 / August 2012
• Polbrock Part 4 - Model Rail 175 / November 2012 (on sale 4 October '12)

See Polbrock at Model Rail Live (see advert top right of this page)  on 22/23 September 2012

Tuesday's Photo

nevard_120827_polbrock_DSC_8638, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Polbrock yard, and the weekly delivery of ale from the Marriott Foster & Dent Brewery has just arrived from Bath in an old unfitted ex-GWR van, the brewery being too tight to pay for a fully fitted train.

The beers are mostly for the Armchair & Pedant pub next to the crossing, the pub which as you know is popular with socially challenged squeaky voiced middle aged men who still live at home with 'mother' (dead and kept in the wardrobe). This pub reputedly was the inspiration for the BBC's dark comedy Psychoville, the Librarian being a regular to the 'A&P' along with David Sowerbutts who was his shandy drinking train-spotting buddy.

Just above the van in front of the halt can be seen 'Harriet', who today is dressed as a lady customs official. Don't be seduced by her flowery feminity, for when not in character is in fact a 'he', the hairy top lip and Adam's apple being the giveaway, though from this distance you'll be forgiven for not spotting that. 'Harriet', also known as 'Harry' in railway circless, is a keen diesel fan and can tell you everything about the inner workings of a Brush Type 4 in great detail. Harry dresses up up as all sorts of characters, 'Harriet' being only part of his huge portfolio, another favourite being the Beast of Bodmin Moor, though his slight frame is non-too convincing with the squeaky roar being more of a meow as he runs through people's back gardens in full costume. Other days he dresses up as a cave man (like Mister Muscle) and tries to bunk engine sheds, the notorious Guildford shed not known as the friendliest being always a challenge, his nimble sparsely leopard skin clad frame being ideal for nipping past the grumpy shed forman.

Harry is now getting on a bit, and until very recently it was thought that he'd passed on to the great humpyard in the sky, but recent sightings in Essex would suggest that he's still up to his old tricks, and I'm sure I saw him as 'Harriet' at a recent model railway show.

People often comment on the wooden ales casks, saying that they look nothing like wood; here's the secret, they're not wood at all but fibre glass finished to look like wood. In principle they work just fine as long as a full one is not dropped, and they do make the beer taste a little plasticky. Occasionally they've been known to explode too, fibre glass not being ideal for the secondary fermentation which takes place in the cask.

So there you go, that was Tuesday's load of old guff, and please let it be known that some of my best friends have squeaky voices, live with mother (often dead) dress as lady customs officers, lions and that I have several Brush Type 4 diesels.

Blue Bubble

nevard_120718_polbrock_DSC_7278, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

W55033 slows for Polbrock. In the mid-1970's this unit was a regular performer on the Bridport branchline in Dorset. Click to enlarge.

The model here is a 'Bubble car' conversion from a 2 car Lima unit. This conversion was done around 1984 when the real thing was still in BR Blue and running on BR. In more recent times the Lima 'pancake motor' has been replaced with a Black Beetle power bogie. The glazing has also been replaced with 'Gem Flushglaze' and those with eagle eyes will spot the window that's fallen out! After almost 30 years, it could still do with passengers, crew and some destination blinds.

The real W55033 is still around and is based at the Colne Valley Railway in Essex painted in green with the distinctive small yellow warning panels of the era.

In due course I'm hoping one of the mainstream manufacturers with release an updated model of this useful prototype with proper flush glazing and flywheel for good slow running. Whilst this tweeked 30 year old model looks OK on its own, it doesn't hold muster against modern ready to run releases too well when in such company.

Chris' Room of Railway Modelling Chaos

120418_railway-chaos_DSC_0164, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

People often ask me where much of the railway modeling happens and to whether the layouts are set up all the time. Here's the layout room as it was a couple of months ago - the captions will say the rest, just click on the photo for a bigger view above if you can't read them. The room changes weekly, with Arne Wharf being curently set up.

Beyond Polbrock

Back of an envelope sketch of the Mendip Colliery extension to Polbrock

Last weekend I popped down to Camrail in Bradford on Avon with Polbrock under my arm to show it off for real as an almost finished work in progress where I was gobsmacked to discover that this little scenic plank has quite a following with its web and 'Workbench serialization' in Model Rail Magazine (the original and still the best home of how to make things - ok, plug over!)

Engaging with the the little audience, discussion went along the lines of extending Polbrock by another 3 feet and incorporating the Mendip Colliery project to the right of the pub. Mendip Colliery having been on and off for a couple of years now, both in print and right here in this BLOG, with readers and surfers weekly emailing me asking what's happened to it and when it's going to reappear.

So, to get the ball rolling, earlier today I had all the colliery buildings laid out on the carpet with Polbrock and came up with the attached sketch. The through line running along the front, the colliery behind it, also with its own fiddle yard exit to suggest something more. Looking at the sketch above, that's Polbrock on the left where you can see the pontificator's favourite tipple house.

Mendip Colliery buildings already made. All I need to build is the loading screen and maybe a replacement engine winding house.

Polbrock simply unscrews and drops out of the display case it's currently in, so extending the total length ex fiddle yard extending to around 6 feet would be simple. I'd have to build (or extend) a bigger display case and the backscene could easily be extended and reprinted, perhaps with more of a North Somerset feel (which is in fact where the original photos for Polbrock were taken).

The name Polbrock would go, and a new North Somerset inspired name would replace it. Something or other 'Gurney' could work. Compton Dando, Compton Gurney, Charlton Gurney & Asham Gurney having been suggested by a couple of fellow mudellers.

Polbrock station, siding, crossing and pub would stay as is, but the SR colours would become WR brown and cream. The pub and crossing seen below would be in the middle of the layout and make a nice scenic punctuation. Trains would have a good run too.

The Pedant & Armchair, with the Mendip Colliery extension the pub here will be towards the middle of the layout, the coliery board being to the right. The WW2 pillbox will be replaced with a small signal box and the crossing will most likely get some small gates

My carpet mockup felt just about right, the tall chimney just to the right of the Cornish engine would contrast really well with the halt. The halt could be named after the colliery possibly, it mostly serving the miners. Whilst the track layout will be pretty basic, luckily most of the North Somerset coal field mines were very compact indeed, the 3ft x 1ft extension being quite a limit - but it does fit just without looking too silly.

The plan is be to have it ready for Railex end of May '13. It's already invited, I just needed to blag a few more feet which I've seceded in doing successfully.

Polbrock is booked into Model Rail live (see ad top right), so work on opening up the right hand side of the layout will start in the autumn and be mini-serialised in Model Rail magazine, where I'll discuss problems of extending the layout, hopefully a few new scenic features and finally drawing a line, hopefully a happy one under Mendip Colliery.

Camrail 2012 - such fun!

120720_camrail12_DSC_7341, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

High jinx! I turn my head on Polbrock for just a second and look what happens, an O gauge pannier tank appears!

One of the west of England model railway show highlights has to be Camrail in the beautiful Bradford on Avon. The show is the brainchild of the delightfully ebullient Simon Castens, who to many is better-known as the proprietor of The Titfield Thunderbolt bookshop in nearby Bath, a bookshop dedicated almost exclusively to railway publishing.

The show, whilst certainly not one of the bigger ones in the exhibition calendar certainly has to be one of the friendliest and jolliest as I found much to my delight on what to me was my very first visit. Some shows I get the feeling that the layout operators really don't enjoy themselves too much, but at Camrail the impression of the complete opposite.

Arpund breakfast time yesterday morning being a slightly cheeky mood, I popped my semi-complete Polbrock into the car and after a quick approving text from the 'Southern Railway cream' clad chap in the photo above, ('Head of catering' at Camrail) it was agreed after approval with Mr Castens that I could 'gate crash' the show. To protect the almost innocent we'll call 'The Head of catering' Captain Kernow for this post.

Anyway, enough about my dodgy techniques of getting into shows, Camrail is a 2 day event with the doors opening again today, so if you're in the area or fancy a break from Britain's number one day out of going to B&Q, it's well worth the £4 entry fee. And if peckish, I can highly recommend the fresh cut sarnies and tea served by the above yellow clad gent, though I gather he's dressed in green today, Southern Railway green I hope.

• To see the other snaps I took of some of the layouts that appealed to be, follow this link.
• To find out more about Camrail, click here, or on the poster above.

Through the Arch and Onwards

nevard_120715_polbrock_DSC_7105_BW, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Ivan Locksmith's (A good friend of Lord Kernow of Brent, aka Cap't Kernow) Zeiss Super Ikonta peers through Sweet's bridge at 82005 which was recently recently transfered from the deepest Wales to Wadebridge. Its train slowly gliding over Polbrock's open crossing with a Wadebridge bound service on a sultry summer's day in 1961.

Having just penned the final part of Polbrock for Model Rail, I've very much enjoyed taking some snaps of the 'finished' layout. Of course a layout is never finished, but for this little project I've had to draw the line from a writing point of view. This is one of several views taken, this one in warm black and white having quite a nice feel. Most will know that I often add a wisp of smoke, not enough to fool people, but just a hint, a suggestion, the sort of thing that maybe the brain imagines when watching a model railway loco in full flight. This time I used some real smoke pinched from Clan Line last week speeding past in the pouring rain commemorating 45 years of the end of Southern Region steam. The shot was a disaster, I was concentrating on the loco so much I totally mis-cropped it and lost the back of the train  - oh well!

Looking forward to the next layout project I'm thinking of something very different, and working on some ideas for a present day scenario based on a real location with DCC on a whopping 12 feet of baseboard. It's always good to try something new, and whilst modern day isn't (Cement Quay) new to me, DCC is, so there'll be lots of new things to learn. The 12 feet of layout will be on 3 baseboards, but I don't want the backscene to have joins, so that's another aspect I'll be working on along with ways to make it easy to transport around and take up minimal space when not being used. All this but without compromising the presentation, for most people know that my one of bet hates are layouts with 3 inch high damaged backscenes and a tatty old drape on the front hanging off drawing pins. I also want to develop some other aspects like loading loose minerals along with some DCC sound and a mostly hands free operation. Watch this space!