Pug Power

L&Y 'Pug Power', as the little beastie stands by the entrance to the colliery sidings whist performing a shunting move. Hold on, is that the Evercreech goods in the background? I hope it all doesn't end in tears!

The Hornby (ex Dapol) model still looks good with a little work despite its age. They run OK too, as long as the wheels and track are kept clean. For OO users widening out the wheel back to backs help a little too, setting this one up for 14.8mm to suit my track keeps the waddle to the minimum.

This is the view from the fiddle yard on Polbrook Gurney Colliery, and if you want to see this layout for real, it will be at the excellent Wycrail in High Wycombe on Saturday 2 November http://www.hwdmrs.org.uk/wycrail/

The View from Mother's Bedroom

That's Ivo Peters' Bentley in the foreground, taken from the upstairs window of the Pendant & Armchair pub. 'Mother' lives in his room, she rocks to and fro in her armchair for up to 18 hours a day. Rumour has it she has not left the room since 1952.

From that position she can 'keep and eye on her boys' coming and going with their jam sarnies and lemonade, whilst making sure they bring no 'gurls' back... "ohhh no no no no, nothing will come between me and my boys"...

See Polbrook Gurney Colliery at Wycrail on Saturday 2 November - but without 'mother' though....
More info here: http://www.hwdmrs.org.uk/wycrail/

EDIT!
Thanks to James Finister for sending in this link; should you not have seen his post below:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/5580597/Flossie-Lane.html

View from the fiddle yard

nevard_121108_BQ_IMG_1385, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

I'm always keen to try out new angles on my layouts, and it's after exhibiting Brewhouse Quay at Wycrail last weekend became aware of this never before tried view from one of the other fiddle yard exit points on BQ when messing about at the show with a camera. In fact unless one has a really small head it's not possible to see this, but today's little high quality cameras can get into all sorts of places- ohhh errrr.....

Note how the canopy has been cut back over the years, the most recent modifications since the local take over of local line by the BR Western Region with their even bigger locos. Well, that's my story, but in reality I should have mounted the building a tad higher! Still, this osrt of thing happened in eal life!

30587 after residing at Eastleigh for a few months in 62/63 after finishing on the Wenfordbridge line, ended shunting Brewhouse Quay sidings until the late 1960's - its short wheelbase and nimble frame being ideal for this little known brewery railway network. Shortly after this photo was taken, the engine was painted green, lined out and named 'Mashtun'.

Wycrail - Jolly Good!

IMG_1212, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Well, that was Wycrail that was! As what a fun day it was too at the brand new and even dare I say slightly stylish location of the Cressex Community School on Aylesbury. The location, well the bits put aside for the show anyway had more in common with that of a modern trade show facility than a a school, which meant lots of light, high ceilings and plenty of space, a contrast to the location of previous years which has simply been outgrown due to the success of the show.

Ian Mellors, that's him by the way in the shot above, very kindly gave up his Saturday and travelled all the way down from Mansfield to help play trains. This is the third year in a row that I've been in dept to Ian for his assistance, so as soon as he gets his new O gauge layout onto the road I hope to return the favour many times over.

Brewhouse Quay, or 'BQ' as I call it behaved as it should, even the wagon turntable shunt worked most of the time, but I really must address the doors that the wagon exit through backscene (seen just to the left of Ian's hand), it's a little too tight for comfort.

Enough for now. I'm in a but of a rush, but here's to Wycrail '13, and if you want to see the wagon tuntable in action, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP1UA4ZxN6A&list=UUPN8LPbSP1wCVX3zr2jSf2Q&index=2&feature=plcp

Wycrail 3 Nov '12

nevard_120708_BQ_DSC_6785, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

It's exhibition time again as Brewhouse Quay hits the road for the first time since last May at Railex.

Since the last outing I have added some working DCC Concept lanterns. Whilst you wouldn't normally see them burning in the daylight hours, on model railways we always do have them lit for some reason, but of course if the new hall is dark then all the better because I'll turn the layout lights off to help the effect.

On the subject of a new hall; this year Wycrail is being held at the location below which should hopefully help with any over crowding.

Cressex Community School

Cressex Road
High Wycombe
Bucks HP12 4UD

For more information follow this link.

Beer, Cake & Toy Trains

Operator's cake, this hospitality rapidly becoming the
trademark of Wycrail, with the cakes becoming more
 luxurious year on year!

Wycrail is always a shining jewel in the toy chuff chuff calendar, it being a wray of virtual sunshine the weekend after the clocks change plunging us into dismal, miserable darkness for 5 months. I gather it's to do with farmers in the very north of the British Isles, though why they cannot just set their clocks an hour later than everybody else for the winter months I have no idea, especially seeing most of them are being subsidised by the UK tax payer.  In the UK we've always been rather too obsessed with the minority and underdog at the expense of everybody else, well almost, the almost pointless Channel 5 stills needs to be replaced with 'Channel Rail' for us nutters with minority hobbies. Best stop, I'll get in to trouble and have my trainset trampled all over by a flock of irate sheep, men in kilts and Channel 5 employees!


Ian Mellors' 91000 'R. A. Riddles' powers through
Catcott Burtle with a secret test train on a sunny late-summer morning.

With my morning grump over; Wycrail was great fun with a good crowd around Catcott Burtle for most of the day, even during those silly moments put on especially to wind up enthusiasts from Tonbridge Wells featuring Ian Mellors' facinating 'could have been' creation of a Riddles 91XXX 2-8-2 (that's it above by the way). His stunning loco had on-board sound which even works with DC. Clever chap that Ian, and you can find out more about all of his smart stuff here. Rumour had it 'R.A. Riddles' will be appearing in the popular press soon as well - top man! I'm waiting now for some person who lives in a bungalow or who shares a bed with mother to tell me that such big locos would never have run along the former SDJR - I wonder if they've ever heard the sound of a raspberry?

Cheers 'anonymous benefactor'!

Beer? Yup, correct! Halfway through the morning a top chap (who wishes to remain anonymous) took me to one side and handed by a couple of bottles of ale from the Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon. They're a thank you for all my silly BLOG postings apparently, silly fool, there's far better stuff to read on the interweb I'm sure. Still, thank you kind sir - I will enjoy these very much!!! It's also great to know that the smell of boiling hops and malt now floats over Abingdon again now that Old Speckled Hen has become an ex-pat living in Suffolk after running off with somebody called Greene King.

A visitor in the form of Ian McKechnie's ex-GWR Collett 0-6-0 No 3218
 is captured plodding through Catcott Burtle with an afternoon
empty return milk trains destined for the dairy at Bason Bridge.

Finally I must thank Ian Mellors and Ian McKechnie who kindly gave up their Saturdays to play trains on my trainset. And before I go, I must point you in the direction of Ian McKechnie's website featuring his photography of the real SDJR in the mid-1960's, without it, Catcott Burtle would not be the layout it is - www.3218.co.uk/

Expo!

nevard_110101_catcott_IMG_1723_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Wycrail!

John Hampden Grammar School

Marlow Hill

High Wycombe

Bucks HP11 1SZ

Open 10am till 5pm. Saturday 5 November.

More info here!

The Return of the Titfield Thunderbolt

nevard_111011_CatcottB_IMG_1462_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

It's not generally known, but following on the success of the Ealing Comedy, 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', the iconic Ealing Studios shot a sequel called 'The Return of the Titfield Thunderbolt' in the summer of 1956. The film was released the following summer, but was a complete flop due to the total Americanization of the cast, so sadly the movie has been lost in the mists of time but does occasionally make a secret appearance as a projected 16mm colour print at Lodge meetings in the area.


The film which was shot on the Highbridge Branch of the former S&DJR and used a Sentinel vertical boilered engine borrowed from the Marriott, Foster & Dent Brewery in Bath. The ex GWR 4 wheeled passenger carriage was loaned from British Railways Pontypridd Permanent Way Department and was hastily repainted in BR Carmine for the film. Sadly the carriage caught fire during a take when the on-board still producing 'Mallingford Magical Moonshine' blew up near West Pennard a couple of weeks after this shot was taken.


Ivan Locksmith, as always was around to capture unusual workings on the former S&DJR, and as usual he has posed his latest car in shot, much like his good friend Ivo peters.


If you believe any of the above, you'll believe anything! Catcott Burtle will be at Wycrail on Saturday the 5th of November, so though it best to dig the old girl out for an up and under. And for people that think photography is all Photoshop these days, only the puff of exhaust blowing in the strong south-westerly is.


Here is a bigger version of the above photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6235222235/sizes/o/in/set-72157612020895249/

Wycrail 2010

Combwich's first outing in 6 years finally took place at Wycrail in High Wycombe on Saturday 6th November at what is rapidly becoming 'the' quality one day show in the SE.

On Friday night Combwich was crammed into a hired Ford Transit for it's 35 mile journey first thing the following day. After an easy 45 minute ride pretending to be a yob in a van from Guildford to High Wycombe, I managed with a little help from Ian Redgate who'd come all the way down from Mansfield the evening before, to get the layout set up in about 40 mins. This is surprising, because Combwich was never designed to go on the road, with baseboards varying from 5ft 3 to just 18 inches long as the layout has evolved in length and width over its 30 or so years existance.

With everything looking good, the power lever was cranked on like firing up the Frankenstein Monster for the first time. Everything appeared to work as it should until I set the road running parallel to the platform, then everything went dead, deader than Nunhead Cemetery on Boxing Day, and not what one wants with just 45 minutes before the doors open! Fault finding wasn't helped by the fact that I had temporarily lost my reading glasses! After 25 mins of much cussing under the layout I tracked down (more a lucky break as the result of random prodding and shaking) a couple of wires that had crossed and the problem was resolved much to my relief. I then found my glasses hanging safely off the backscene - duh!

At 10am sharp, the eager punters started to wander forth in all shapes and sizes. As you no doubt know, model railway buffs are a mixed bunch from the darn right weird to elequent and intelligent upstanding members of society who are real pleasure to chat too, and as usual I got to meet all of them. There were by all accounts a few smelly ones too, but luckely I didn't have a pleasure of meeting any of these, but Combwich is quite wide with a high backscene, so distance may have masked me from the smellier of the smelly brigade who've converted their bathrooms into somewhere to play Thomas and keep their dead mother's stuffed head.

The highlight of the day and something mooted over a year in advance of the show, was to attempt run trains between Tim Maddocks' superb Bleakhouse Road and Combwich, and this we did via a bespoke cassette that could carry an entire train between fiddle yards and then allow it to continue its journey via the respective layout to its destination and then return. Much fun was had making up the oddest train formations to try to flumox the crew of the opposing layout. I imagine because of this there'll be several letters of complaint in the next issue of the Model Hornblock Journal with the usual miserable set getting hot under the collar about us having the occasional bit of fun.

Operationally the layout considering its hasn't been let out for 6 years worked reasonably well, but was occasionally spoilt by the odd derailment due to a sloppy locking mechanism on the station throat point. Looking to the future, and with this in mind, and with some of the other points starting play up as the day went on I've decided to remove all the old Peco units and replace them with something a little more positive in action before the layout's next outing at RAILEX at the end of May 2011. After chatting to several people about this, it would appear that something called COBALT is the way to go.

Oh yes, before I vanish back to the real world, Wycrail is the only show so far where exhibitors were served delicious homemade cake actually served at the layout - now that has to be a first! Roll on next year!

• For a section of happy snaps from the show, CLICK HERE! 
• Blogger Phil Parker also went to Wycrail, read his REPORT!

Pic of the Day

nevard_101105_combwich_58086_IMG_8335_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

After leaving the solitary passenger coach in the platform, 58086 was captured shunting the coal wagons into the coal road of Combwich Goods Yard.

The little loco, a Johnson 1P 0-4-4 is from a Craftsman brass kit is the very first proper loco kit I built was back in 1982. The wagons are a couple of British 'Railwayised' former private owner wagons from Hornby that came free with a British Railway Modelling Magazine subscription. The LSWR roadvan is from a delightful resin and plastic kit by the Isle of Wight based Smallbrook Studios.

• See this loco at WYCRAIL
• Bigger version of 58086

Crossing the Divide

With just a couple of days remaining to WYCRAIL, serious thoughts have been going on behind the scenes of just how Bleakhouse Road (above) will be conncted with Combwich to allow through workings.

I'm pleased to say that Tim Maddocks, owner of Bleakhouse Road has been far more pro-active in actually producing some hardware to make the above achievable. So, rather than copy what Tim has been up to, best thing is to look at his BLOG here....
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/blog/21/entry-5064-the-bleakhouse-road-combwich-transfer-cassette-cardboard-rules-ok/

The Mixed Train

nevard_101102_combwich_58086_IMG_8334_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Mixed trains ceased to be part of the UK railway scene at least half a century ago. I imagine passengers hated them, any journeys being very slow due to wagons being picked up and dropped off at various sleepy stations on what was probably a journey from nowhere to even less-where.

Captured here for your enjoyment on 10 asa Kodachrome 1, is one of these sleepy services arriving at Combwich hauled by an ancient Johnson 1P 0-4-4 sometime in 1952.

The loco here is the first proper kit I built (Craftsman), there's a date on the underside saying 1982 - that's quite scary because it doesn't feel too long ago. MRJ snapper and loco-guru Phil Hall gave it a mechanical up and under a couple of years ago, and I must say that it now runs a dream! The coach is a Ratio Midland brake-end, it's in fact part of my engineering train, but it looks the part even though these low roofed Midland coaches probably didn't make it much past the 1930's in revenue earning service.

W I D E S C R E E N wallpaper HERE!
See Combwich for real at WYCRAIL - 6 Nov '10

Temporary Custodian of a Castle

nevard_101102_CASTLE_DSC_9862_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

It's not generally known, but route availability was briefly thrown out the window in 1962 when No. 7034 'Ince Castle' powered an RCTS railtour down the Combwich branch. Here is the beauty departing the terminus for the return leg to Paddington via Bridgwater.

This is the Hornby Castle which is currently gracing the cover of MODEL RAIL 150.

I've been lucky to be the temporary custodian of this delightful piece of fettling by George Dent for the last couple of months, but now it is time for me to say good by as I prepare to give this delightful locomotive back to its rightful owner. Before it goes, and seeing Combwich is all set up in preparation for WYCRAIL this weekend, it would have been rude not to put the old girl in front of the camera lens again for one final snap.

• W I D E S C R E E N wallpaper HERE!

Thanks Barking Bill!

nevard_101031_combwich_48660_IMG_8289_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

48660 prepares to depart Combwich Station with a mid afternoon service to Templecombe on the 10th of October 1965.

This afternoon I finally finished off the 8F with a good dose of dry-brushing using creams, leather, earth, pale grey and finally black (just to take the edges off) in front of the computer looking at Barking Bill's FLICKR website for inspiration. I will replace the pony wheels next time I get to a good show with such suppliers. I have to say that this loco runs and absolute dream.

Photographically I just used the natural window light with a long exposure, and this is just what the eye sees too including the backscene. The only trickery is the fake clag.

•  W I D E S C R E E N wallpaper version HERE!
• See this layout and the 8F for real at WYCRAIL!

Faded Elegance

nevard_101030_combwich_40564_IMG_8281_BW_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Going through some of the famous Bath based photographer *Ivan Locksmith's old prints, I decided that this one was worth slapping under the scanner for today's load of old baloney and venture into a past parallel universe that never was.....

40564 was one of the very last elegant LMS 2P 4-4-0s left running on the Somerset & Dorset, and is captured here rolling into Combwich with the 10 am Templecombe service on the 21 August 1961. By this stage the Western Region has been in charge of the northern section of the former S&DJR network for sometime and its influence could be seen with the ex GWR Pannier tank No. 4691. Had the photo had been taken in colour you'd be able to spot the WR brown and cream paint on the old oil lamp mounted on an old piece of rail to the right, these colours replacing the previous green and cream.

Back to reality, the loco is Hornby with a repaint and a few extra bits and bobs, it will get a proper Comet chassis in due course once I've saved up some pennies to get it properly done by a pro (I'm a disaster with such wizardry). The signal on the right is a designed to upset the purists in the form of a Ratio LNER plastic kit with a few mods and some MSE finials to make it look sort of 'LSWR'.

• W i d e s c r e e n wallpaper HERE!
• See this layout for real at WYCRAIL on Saturday 6 November '10.  

*Ivan Locksmith of course is fiction like much of this post, he is a character based on the actual celebrated photographers Messrs Ivo Peters and Norman Lockett who between them recorded much of the SDJR.

The 4.30pm service to Templecombe

nevard_101029_combwich_3206_IMG_8262_02_1280web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Ex GWR Collett 0-6-0 No. 3206 prepares to depart Combwich with the 4.30pm service to Templecombe on the 30th of September 1963. The narrow gauge trucks in the foreground are used on part of the narrow gauge quayside tramway.

The natural daylight reflecting off the LMS subs (repainted and detailed Airfix) highlights the minor failings of Flushglaze with the rounded edges. Yes, that is me riding the cushions.

• CLICK HERE for a 1280 x 800 pixel version which is ideal for widescreen wallpaper.
• See this layout for real at WYCRAIL on Saturday 6 November '10.  

Perspective Dilemma

nevard_101027_combwich_4mt_IMG_8245_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Bath shed's Class 4 Ivatt 2-6-0 has just arrived at Combwich with the mid morning working from Templecombe formed of a brace of LMS subs and an LNER Pigeon Brake Van. Note the trucks on the narrow gauge 2ft 3inch gauge wharf tramway. For a bigger version of the above snap CLICK HERE .

It's all the rage these days to photograph model railways from a worm's eye view in an attempt to make them look more 'real', occasionally though, it's nice to get up a little higher to show off more of the layout. But, photographically if too elevated the backscene can start to take on an odd perspective spoiling any realism, so it's probably not the best approach if you're trying to pass off your pride and joy for the real thing. A similar problem occurs with low relief buildings if not perpendicular with the camera, with my pet hate being half low-relief houses which look very odd when the ends are not hidden by a tree or some other tall structure to hide that fact that the rear of the roof is missing.

The low relief end-on warehouses seen top right in the snap above very much highlight this problem, with them looking rather odd from most angles unless viewed head on. In hindsight I'd have been better off with a bank of trees, but it wouldn't have given that mildly industrial look I was after at the time and only having 1/2 an inch depth to play with.

• Find out more about Combwich 
• Visit Chivers Finelines 
• Just over a week to Wycrail

Drunken Railway Cat and other things....

nevard_101026_combwich_jinty_IMG_8230_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

47276 arrives at Combwich with a Sunday engineering train. See a bigger version of this photo HERE!

I must apologise for maybe getting a bit tardy with all these Combwich snaps, it's just that I haven't had the layout set up in the house for years! Here's another grab under the available room lighting, this time of the little 'Bagnall' arriving at Combwich with a Sunday engineering train formed of a rake of repainted Heljan Dogfish and a LNER Dia 120 4W BY Pigeon Brake Van built from a Chivers Finelines kit. Whether they ever acted as a brake on such a train I have no idea, but it was on the layout at the time and I quickly snapped and processed this shot just before going to bed last night.

The cat on the ganger's hut was bought at Pendon many years ago and looks rather more like a fox that had a spell with the local chimney sweep, or at least inbibed in too much local cider judging by the angle. The SR concrete hut could be treated better now, I'm much better and doing concrete (you'll have to wait for my feature on the printed page) these days. This angle shows off the refresh with the Noch Gras Master, a fabulous tool that allows one to place hairy grass on almost any existing surface in a matter of seconds.

• Combwich
• Visit Chivers Finelines
• Just over a week to Wycrail

Photo of the Day

nevard_101024_combwich_jinty_IMG_8191_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Bull: Gently simmering away, Radstock's '*Bagnall' No. 47276 is captured resting between shunting moves at Combwich on 2 October 1965.

Reality: simply taken with daylight coming through the window, the only messing about is the bit of fake clag. Combwich is currently set up in preparation for Wycrail on Sat 6 November. Work on the layout today involved a few tweaks to point blades and a little refresh of the scenery using a Noch Grasmaster.

*A 'Bagnall' (what S&D men called a Jinty) is just a renumbered and weathered Bachmann.

Countdown to Wycrail (aka pulling my thumb out)

nevard_101022_combwich_4f_IMG_8152_web, originally uploaded by nevardmedia.

Baloney caption: Under a stunning clear blue summer sky, a nicely buffed up 44417 poses next to the photographer's Morris Traveller at Combwich Station in July 1962.


I woke up at 04:00 this morning in a restless state realising that Wycrail is only 2 weeks away; "so what", you say "you finished this layout years ago so there's nothing to worry about". All quite true, but the problem is that Combwich hasn't been run since 2004 at the Farnham Model Railway Exhibition. Model railways, like old cars don't like to be forgotten and ignored because they break down or at least refuse to work properly. What's more, Combwich is 30 this year, so whilst not a classic is at least an old heap with all the associated problems apart from rust.

With permission from the domestic authorities I've taken over the extension and set the layout up in there. The cats are rather amused by the goings on especially seeing it's where they normally hang out at bed time.

One of the first jobs was to set up the layout on Cement Quay's trestles, these are a little higher than Combwich's old ones which are now firewood. That bit worked out OK, but does mean I'll need to sort out a longer drape to mask the trestles (I'll pinch Cement Quay's and add another section). Next job was to power it all up, this bit took me by surprise in that everything works - amazing really since it has spent 5 of the last 6 years in a slightly damp garage. The last 9 months however has been in a warm house.

The backscene and fascia was a little scuffed, so a slap of paint has sorted out that, matching the blue sky was a little tricky but feathering the new paint hopefully has worked to blend it in.  Then the lighting rig was erected and the big nameboard displaying 'Combwich' in finest Gill Sans fixed with the aid of a hot glue gun.

That's pretty well it, so the above snap was taken at tea time under a single 60 watt bulb in the ceiling which gives a good representation of midday sun with it being to overhead. In case anyone thinks we have nice blue walls then of course that it not the case, that bit is just a bit of cgi....

• More about WYCRAIL 
• More about Combwich