Summer has arrived on the May Day bank holiday weekend – unheard of!  On Sunday, we paid a visit to the Bredgar & Wormshill Railway (B&WR), and their model railway exhibition.

It proved to be an excellent day out.  Kerry and Vernon had put together an interesting model railway show in the engine sheds (see today’s post), there was an intense shuttle service on the 2′ gauge railway (next post), and there were some other interesting exhibits on show (last post later this week.)

The B&WR is a bit of a hidden gem, off the beaten track but easy to get to.  Cha(I)man Allan picked up Mr Atfield and myself from Earlswood at 7:30am on Sunday, and after fortifying ourselves with a solid breakfast in Hawkhurst, we collected Miles from the wilds of Kent, then headed back north to the railway.  With perfect May weather, the car park was already filling up as we arrived, and they must have had a most successful day.

So, let’s start with some layouts.  I’d seen Peters Street before, and like the grimy night-time atmosphere (except for the Baby Deltic  and P class tank engine.)  A compact layout, giving a chance to show off ones locomotives.

This first photograph of Compass Point was a bit blurred, but I’ve included it as it’s such a charming little OO9 layout.

I especially liked the river mouth at low tide, with a Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, and Oystercatchers seen in the estuary.  The owner was impressed by my birdwatching skills!  Seriously, this little scene captures the atmosphere of tidal mud flats better than almost anything that I’ve seen.

Ville A La Campane is a very compact On30 layout.

The Volks Electric Railway in OO9 models Brighton’s historic and iconic attraction.  However, they haven’t modelled the section past the naturist beach…..

Good to see the Model Railway Club’s Lacey Dale again.  Still under construction, this interesting layout will only get better.

Three Gates came to our ESNG show in 2017.  A fold-up railway in a total length of 4′, that offers loads of operation and shunting.

Sand Point offers much the same in OO9, but with more 3D scenery….

OO diesels on Dudley RD….

American switching in HO….

This is the entire Beta Cables layout, 14mm gauge.

Shipmeadow is a classic OO9 continuous run, but has a lot of character….

South Down Tar in O-16.5 is full of quality industrial modelling.  Everything looks suitable grimy, without overdoing it.

Next post, we’ll get outside onto the main line.