A busy Sunday running afternoon. Eight members, one junior, and four visitors – three from the West Sussex group and a newcomer, Ben. It was busy enough for me to spend the afternoon chatting and dozing in a chair!
Just a photo dump today – a variety of trains from the attendee, including Ben’s 12 car South Western trains EMU and Neil’s car transporters (not all from Revolution.)
And thanks to Brian for the moving pictures…
And now for something completely different….. Our Wednesday evening meetings have often been poorly attended, but working afternoons well supported (even if we don’t do much work.) So we decided to try meeting from 3-8pm on Wednesdays, running trains around a fish and chips interlude.
And this seems to have been a success, at least for the first meeting. We had nine members attend, and it was a pleasant social afternoon running trains and eating together.
A little London Transport.
Southern elegance….
A Terrier….
A Peak (Farish and still looking good.)
An EMU….
Lots of Canadian and American….
Finally, Terry went rather out of scale with these o-9 narrow gauge models. A rather fun scale, and another option when my eyes give up!
Too cold to blog, so just a few odds and ends. Great minds think alike?
Had you ever realised….
A perfect scene to model (somewhere in Germany.)
The road to the Woolwich Free Ferry and Silvertown.
Farringdon in its pomp, just before nationalisation. Looks different now!
And some Belgian trams. Love the sound effects including birdsong.
A quick Jago Hazzard.
Trams in Amsterdam – in miniature….
Industrial road running in Berlin – the Bullenbahn (a chance to practice your German, too)
A rather large and rather excellent layout.
Brian sent me this link to a rather fine ex-GER layout.
And Gordon sent me these photos.
Christmas greetings from Epsom! Not quite N gauge – my father’s 1930s Pulman carriages rolling again for the first time in a good few years, courtesy of a “Toy State” “CAT” battery powered engine, from Ebay, inspired in part by seeing a train being set up under a Christmas tree in our local garden centre. Well, we got the important bit!
Once again, this show in Maidstone was an ideal outing for that period between Christmas and the New Year. So Derek, Chris, Simon and I piled into Allan’s van for a visit. We had a pleasant morning out, and there was a great variety in the layouts and models on show – N gauge to garden railways G scale. I’ve included just a few of them below.
Addleford Green (OO) is a tiny layout, but so full of detail. It shows that you don’t need a large layout to hold the attention.
Two large O gauge layouts. Smithfield (from the Merstham based club) is a sort of super-Minories. Also a chance to say hello to my old friend ‘Bill’ Bishop.
And Newchapel Junction – a familiar layout, but lovely locomotives and rolling stock.
Bigger still was this display of Gauge 1 stock – including Stepney in SR days.
And even bigger, indoor garden railways!
At the other end of the scale, our West Sussex friends were in evidence (at opposite ends of the hall) with Small ‘n’ Working and Staffordshire Potteries.
Some spectacular vertical scenery on Hells Glen (N).
And a few of the rest…..
This meeting was always optimistic, between Christmas and New Year, but it offered an opportunity to escape from the family for the afternoon. In fact, five members turned up, and we were able to have a pleasant afternoon running trains.
I went pre-grouping with an SECR mixed goods, that was good to watch crawling around the layout.
To be joined by Allan’s more modern coal train, including his personalised Christmas wagon.
Trains passing…..
Local goods with a Terrier….
Brian’s Gatwick Express.
And Frank ran a selection of trains…
And I nearly forgot to add Brian’s video…
Next meeting, 2026. Happy New Year!
A little post=Christmas selection. I hope Santa brought you lots of gifts of the correct scale and gauge! Just right for your new layout…..
A railway version of a famous sketch….
Another, rather more political version….
This beats Mr Rowlatt’a Japanese goods train….
Whoops! I didn’t think that you could skid a tram….
A perfect picture (by Shawn Buck.) Rebuilt Bulleid WC Pacific 34028 “Eddystone” heading westbound across the River Adur at Shoreham-by-Sea.
Who’d have a garden railway when leaves on the line are a REAL problem…
Christmas modelling challenge….
And another rather topical one….
And finally (just because it amused me)….
Seasonal greetings to all my readers, and every blessing for the coming year.
I wish….
Christmas past – a modelling idea for the festive season…..
Interesting backstory, too (Dr. David Turner, from Facebook)…..
Christmas trees being unloaded at the London & South Western Railway’s Nine Elms Goods Station in December 1906. They would soon be auctioned off to merchants from Covent Garden and other markets.
Whilst the trees shown came in from the Woking area, before 1914 the Christmas trees found in British homes also originated in Scotland and Yorkshire, with about a quarter being imported from Germany, Norway and Belgium.
Traders always hoped for a dry period before Christmas. As one reported in 1895, the railways’ charge for carriage was determined by weight, so if the weather was wet trees would be heavier and thus transit costs would be higher. Rates also influenced the nature of the product. In the 1890s most domestically grown Christmas trees were supplied with their roots. However, this added to the bulk and so, to reduce transit costs, these were increasingly cut off by the growers.
And the last selection from Manchester…..
Dewsbury Midland (OO)features accurate scratch built models of many buildings from the West Riding of Yorkshire near to Dewsbury, and is a fine example of a landscape with a railway in it.
A final exhibition appearance for “Grantham – the Streamliner Years” (OO) depicting this well-known location on the East Coast mainline in the period 1935-1939, allowing the iconic streamliner trains to be run.
Laramie Engine Terminal (O) depicts a part of the Union Pacific Engine Terminal at Laramie, Wyoming, as it was in the late 1950s. Large models of large locos!
Remaining in the USA , New Sharon (On2) models the Maine 2ft narrow gauge. A simple track layout, small locos, and some beautiful scenic work.
A single view of Culthwaite (N), set on the Settle-Carlisle line north of Appleby.
And finally, Three Cocks Junction (EM). A close to scale model of a station on the Cambrian Railway’s mid Wales section at the junction with the Midland Railway line from Hereford to Brecon and Swansea. The period is set at around 1907.
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