Sorry for the lack of posts recently.  My modelling mojo (and writing mojo) had run a bit low.  I have managed to buy myself two more NGS Ferry Vans, making four in total.  Lovely models….

The models are not as free-running as one might wish, mainly due to the wheel flanges catching the detailed brake gear.  A few minutes work with a scalpel pared a little plastic away from the brakes, and they seem to run better now.

Enthused by this, I returned to the loft on Saturday for another modelling session – and promptly sliced my thumb with a scalpel.  So I’m now taking a few days off for a little healing to occur!

However, I have managed to pick up a few new books to read (or at least look at the pictures.)

I have an excellent book on the railways of Jamaica, so I couldn’t resist this one about Trinidad.  It’s fascinating, with a standard gauge main line, plus narrow gauge sugar cane and refinery railways.  Plus a lot of social history.  

I will never get around to building one, but a tropical model railway has many attractions – not least the mixture of UK and US stock found on the Caribbean railways.

Next up, two Isle of Wight albums.  Both full of fine colour photos of the island lines in their later days – but early enough to include the Newport and Cowes lines. 

Lastly, Bob Essey’s book on the M&GNR.  I have a soft spot for this line, the ‘other’ Norfolk railway apart from the Great Eastern.  It might be the locomotive livery – a golden brown that looked lovely passing through the yellow gorse of north Norfolk’s heathland.  And they had some lovely ‘oddities’, especially their 4-4-0T tank engines.

There will be some blogs over the next few days – we have a couple of ESNG meetings coming up.