Category Archives: Out and about

April fool!

A day late, but here are a few railway orientated jokes, past and present. Residents of Copenhagen who visited the square in front of the town hall were greeted by a strange sight. One of the subway cars from the … Continue reading

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Wombling on…..

Allan sent me this gem of a photograph….. For those with a sheltered childhood, or from remote parts of the world that escaped the Womble plague, read more here.  My children were lucky enough to miss them first time around, … Continue reading

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Odd modelling ideas #666 – A challenging prototype?

The Daily Telegraph came up with a fascinating set of photos of life in North Korea, that included a few of the railways.  It’s an interesting modelling challenge, with little prototype information to go on – I suspect Chinese prototypes … Continue reading

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London Festival of Railway Modelling – 2016 – #3

My final post on ‘Ally Pally’ is to look at O gauge, the ‘senior scale.’  There seems to be a vogue for O gauge shunting layouts at present.  The Model Railway Club’s Happisburgh Goods (pronounced ‘Haze-burr’) models a Great Eastern … Continue reading

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London Festival of Railway Modelling – 2016 – #2

As I finish writing this, my thoughts are again with Brussels.  What importance is our hobby compared with all that is going on in Belgium, and almost day-by-day around the world?  But perhaps this is just the time when we … Continue reading

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London Festival of Railway Modelling – 2016 – #1

Today I enjoyed a pleasant day out at the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace in the company of Peter and Malcolm, ex-work colleagues.  It’s a simple journey from Redhill to north London – train to Victoria, Victoria line … Continue reading

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Good(s) links

Here are two useful sites for the goods wagon enthusiast. Firstly, “Goods & Not So Goods – An overview of railway freight operations for modellers.”  This labour of love is packed full of interesting material.  The site is often an … Continue reading

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Pacers: The train that the UK has struggled to get rid of

An observation about railway modellers is that we are not very good at modelling the ordinary.  It takes a lot of discipline to keep your model making or buying to a specific era or discipline, rather than apply “Rule 1” (it’s … Continue reading

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Flying Scotsman is back – and running

From the Daily Mail via NGForum, this lovely cutaway drawing of the Flying Scotsman.  Reminds one how simple in some ways, and complex in others was the ‘modern’ steam locomotive.  But a lot simpler and more reliable than today’s diesels … Continue reading

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ESNG Exhibition 2016 – a month to go!

It’s a month to go to the 2016 ESNG show.  And it’s the usual time when I wonder what I’ve forgotten to organise!  I think it’s all there.  We have the layouts, the traders, the hall and the insurance.  Publicity … Continue reading

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