A great picture from Sean of the layout he built for his son:
“Here’s a picture you can use of Lucas getting his first layout for his 7th birthday. Keeping it going with the youngsters”
It seems to have gone down rather well…..
At least he didn’t want one of these to run on the layout. It might just overtake Paul and Graham’s trains!
A slightly different modelling challenge?
And some of Allan’s pictures from last year. Once again, setting up and socialising seem to appear in a lot of shots. And some ESNG members are evident, as always.
This should be the last reminiscences! Back to 2020, now….
More 2015 reminiscences from Mr Dawes……
First full day at the model railway show in Stuttgart. Party at the end made it worthwhile. Why can’t British shows be like this?
This train ferry made a perfect way of separating the DC and DCC sections of the layout.
Positive sighting of Mr Atfield! I was there somewhere.
The West Sussex group posted some memories on Facebook, too, of 2017.
Not sure why there are always more pictures of booze than trains?????
Back to Allan in 2015….
Day 4 in Stuttgart. Day 2 of the show. Again a full day. This evening was invited to a local model railway club in Stuttgart.
There club room is in a S-BAHN station above the tracks. What a wonderful set up they have.
Maybe more later…..
Paul’s comment on that year’s trip…..
Back at Selsdon after an interesting trip back. The flight was delayed because a light aircraft had to make an emergency landing, then debris was spotted on the runway! Take off was 30 minutes late, but 90 minutes later, I was at Gatwick. As you can see, the weather in Stuttgart was grim.
Various members of ESNG would have descended on Stuttgart for the NCI meet this weekend. We’re all missing a fun weekend, but there have been a number of posts remembering the past years.
Allan starts us off from 2018….
Spending the day getting things sorted for my trip to Stuttgart.
A pleasant message from Stefan….
Dear frieNds,
Thank you for the pile of great e-mails from all of you to remember that day ! TODAY we would have started playing with our trains – the trains of our frieNds. Would have had talks and fun – had our soup of the day and in regular times would have been eagerly looking forward to THE evening!
Jaime did express this with this nice picture I want to share with you ! Also I think it’s a great idea – as Allen suggested : have a special dinner tonight ( and may I add: a good drink) and look over the pictures of the last 14 years…
(I added 4 of 2001 and 1 of 2006)
All my NCI-colleagues are fine. We had an online meeting this Monday. We could see on the screens what promising new modules are in work!!! And we will continue to do this. It gives you a feeling of being together.
This reminds me wishing Francesco Carlucci all the best in fighting his COVID-virus !!!!!!
Anyway let’s look forward ! The next ENSC will be at 18.-21. Nov. 2021. Hopefully we will all look back to this all as a bad nightmare.
Stay safe – keep your good humour and feelings! Be creative!!
Stefan
Back to Allan, and 2015.
Spent to day setting up our part of the n-club international layout. Before and after photos below.
More reminiscences tomorrow…..
And we’re all looking forward (we hope) to next year…..
Zoom again tonight. As ever, good to catch up with some of the ESNG members. There were just the eight of us on the call, plus Maxine for a while, and briefly, two cats.
Starting out, we seemed to be missing a few people. We got a blank look from Graham….
But all appeared in due time…
Phil (shown here) and Paul managed to show off a few trains….
Another very pleasant evening! The standard of conversation was as bad as usual, with a wide range of irrelevant and relevant topics, including leaking underground tunnels, the diet secrets of Mr Dawes’ cats, and how long it takes to get to Cornwall.
I’m already looking forward to the December meeting!
Just to finish off….
The day a rebuilt Merchant Navy class ended up in Redhill shed. Probably the only one to get there – it was pulling a football special, and had a mechanical problem.
The Brighton Belle clears East Croydon…..
And Norwood Junction shed in 1960. One of the best laid out medium-sized sheds, that could be modelled. The four-track main line lies to the left. The shed is connected to the single-track line to the right, was (and still is) the down line from a flying junction.
This came up on an RMWeb thread. I recall seeing Teddy Boston’s layout in the Model Railway News back in the 1960’s. It’s a very respectable bit of modelling for that era, and he also build a delightful model of the 3′ gauge Southwold Railway, using the then new TT gauge products.
And of course, he was a great friend of the Rev. Awdry of Thomas fame. I have probably mentioned before on this blog that his brother, Billy Boston, married my parents in East Dereham, just post-war.
He was a bit of an enthusiast. Real steam as well!
And then of course, there’s the miniature railway in the vicarage garden…..
And here’s the final steam open day after his death….
What a great guy! They don’t make clergy like that anymore!!!! Or vicarages – the CofE has very sensibly sold off all the rambling property for more practical, and economic, houses.
And now for something completely different – 15 minutes of wonderful guitar work.
A sign for the times? I’ve been throwing things out, and I expect that I’ll need them next week…..
London Bridge lines in the 1930’s. An inspirational shot…..
An interesting branch terminus on the Reading, NE USA. The baseboard shape would be impossible, but the layout is probably unique….
More book buying than modelling going on at the moment. But both these are excellent – if you like Southern Electric EMUs! The front cover of the Scrapbook would make an excellent N-mod module.
Brian has been out train hunting again:
Thought I’d try capturing an RHTT locally, on it’s extended tour of the south east today. First time I’d been out with my camera for a while, and went to Horley station.
Thankfully it was on time and the two very grey looking 66’s thrashed through on the up slow line on 3W90 0713.
And his video of deepest Salfords in a sunny August.
Meanwhile, just up the line at Earlswood, a couple of days ago, I was pleased to catch a freight passing. Nothing but stone, full or empty, these days….
And closer to London, a long time ago, three Brighton overhead electric shots. I especially liked the ‘health and safety’ special….
Not much modelling progress, but pre-lockdown I did raid Champions in Dorking and came back with a stock of 6mm plywood. The wood is all flat – the photo makes it look twisted.
I’ve been looking at the mysterious boxes found on top of my daughter’s wardrobe. Some interesting models came to light!
First, a LTSR full brake, scratch built in plastikard in EM gauge. I think that I’ll keep this one, as it’s probably the best model that I put together in my early modelling years.
Next, unfinished but looking good, a GER 2-2-2 express locomotive. Probably dating from just after university, and scratch built in ‘OO’ in brass. Interestingly, the single driver is an old Hambling’s wheel, plastic centred with a brass tyre.
It was to be powered by a home-built tender drive, using a K’s Mk 2 motor. These motors had a certain reputation – you might get a good one, or you might get one with the pulling power of a rice pudding.
Rather later, a set of four LBSCR Stroudley 4-wheel coaches, in plastikard. I think I built these on my hotel desk in Hong Kong in 1991 over a period of months.
Detail was even down to proper seats in 1st class, with arm rests.
The end still needs some beading.
This document dates from 1961 or so, when my Dad and I were starting out with serious railways. Note the early days of Graham Farish, then based not far from home in Bromley.
This ‘O’ gauge Slater’s wagon kit will date from the 1990’s, just pre-ESNG. I’m going to keep it and build it!
But up for sale is this whitemetal kit for an O4 shunter, with tramway skirts. 4mm scale, dating from the 1980’s, and untouched.
And finally, a ‘T’ class London Transport coach. All in whitemetal. I might hang on to this, as well.
Two more excellent Petts Wood photos. Both are by Bryan Hardwick, who gave permission to post them. They are on one of the link tracks around Petts Wood junction. My grandparents lived 1/4 mile away, but the bottom of their garden backed onto the main four track main line, on a high embankment – so train spotting wasn’t so easy. There are modelling possibilities here for a simple layout. Here we have a single track line with the ‘Golden Arrow’ passing. Of course, a model would only have trains running in one direction, but it could be interesting….
Meanwhile, in up-to-date Redhill, a friend complained a couple of weeks ago about the noise from the railway overnight. Walking across the bridge over the main Brighton line, next to Earlswood Station, I saw these two new signals, that were probably the cause of the noise. Just goes to show that shiny new signals do appear sometimes….
And my daily constitutional one day this week was timed to see both a train approaching Redhill from Tonbridge….
And one on the Brighton main line. The driver even waved at me. Couldn’t have been Sean, as I’d have got a different hand signal!
Finally, a lovely picture of Reigate Station in the 1960’s, and the Redhill shuttle, headcode 2. Apologies if I’ve not got copyright for this one – but it’s such a lovely shot.
