A couple of modelling challenges today….

You think our your post office or delivery drivers are bad.  Try this!

Of course, Newcastle Central is always good for a track building challenge.  Has anyone actually modelled this (and remained sane.)

British railways (small ‘r’) history is full of fascinating byways and oddities.  And the same can probably be said of the rest of the world.  I recently came across one of these, and couldn’t resist buying the Oakwood Press volume on it.

Harton Electric Railway was built by the Harton Coal Company to transport coal from their collieries in South Tyneside. The electrified system opened in 1908, and originally employed a fleet of electric locomotives built by Siemens (probably related to there being German shareholders in Harton Coal Company at that time).

The network included a line which ran from Westoe Colliery via St Hilda’s Colliery, to the company’s Low Staiths on the River Tyne (near the site of todays ferry landing) in South Shields. There was also a line from Harton Colliery up to Westoe Colliery, and also a line from Boldon Colliery to the High Staiths, by the River Tyne in South Shields. The Harton Electric Railway closed in 1989.

I don’t intend modelling it, but it would make a fantastic model, and the Oakwood Book is a wonderful read.  I got my copy at a very reasonable price and condition through Abebooks – and wisely ignored the £150 Amazon copy!