N Gauge SouthEast getting close….

Posted on March 2, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Too much of the past couple of weeks have been spent planning for the rapidly approaching show (as well as enjoying the unseasonally warm weather.)  There are still a few loose ends to tidy up, but it’s coming together well.  A couple of exhibitors have had to drop out, but to be honest, this has made planning the halls easier.  So the show looks something like this – all lovely ‘N’ gauge.

And the first draft of the show guide is finished….

And here’s a list of exhibitors…..

There must be something quite a lot that we’ve forgotten, but so far, so good!

 

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Loop the loop?

Posted on February 24, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

From the prototype for everything department.  How about a yard inside a reversing loop, including an engine shed and turntable.  Try Danbury, Connecticut, where there is a full loop at the end of the commuter services from New York.  Lines also lead into the top left of the photo, and there is a branch off the loop bottom right (just the right place for the staging?)

 

The Danbury station is now a commuter rail stop on the Danbury Branch of the Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line. The station is the northern terminus of Danbury Branch. In 1968, you might have had views like this.

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How to build the perfect model railway

Posted on February 22, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

It’s good to see the media get our hobby exactly right.  Have a read of this article:

“How to build the perfect model railway”

It describes the 34ft-long 1:76 finescale model of Alloa station built by members of the Glasgow-based Scottish Region Study Group (SRSG).  And also a shout out for the Model Rail Scotland show.

I liked the model-real comparison.  It shows just how good the model is. And no comments about strange old men in anoraks (however accurate that might be…..)

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ESNG meeting – 20 February 2019

Posted on February 21, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

The three members who had arrived by 7:30pm were almost ready to pack up and go home, when there was a sudden flurry, and we soon had ten members putting a small layout up for running.  We were missing Allan again (early milk round) and one Derek (lost without trace in Croydon.)

On the rails, there was plenty on the move.  Paul was on holiday, so Neil and Martin took over the outside tracks, and instead of Japanese we had modern UK stock on show.

   

I gave my second hand 70-tonner a run, and it was very smooth out the box.

The Bubblecar got towed home in disgrace – but after all, it is a dummy….

And a shot from the office window on Monday.  Usually I miss passing trains of interest, as I don’t have my phone at the critical moment, but this one was moving so slowly, and waited at the junction from the Tonbridge line for so lone, that I had time to get it.

 

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Links….

Posted on February 18, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

On board Zimbabwe’s only commuter train – a photo essay

Some lovely photography, and an interesting railway themed article.

A PS to my recent blog on India’s high speed train – or more correctly ‘semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express’.

India high speed train breaks down on first trip

India’s fastest train has broken down on its first trip, a day after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi.  The Indian-built semi high-speed Vande Bharat Express was returning to the capital Delhi from the city of Varanasi after its first outing when brakes in a carriage reportedly jammed.

Indian media quoted a railways spokesperson as saying the train may have struck cattle on the line.  The train reached a speed of 180km/hr (110mph) during trials.

High speed train…. Struck cattle….  I’m still not convinced!

Finally, a wonderful picture culled from RMWeb.  In the ‘prototype for everything’ department.  Or perhaps this is a prototypical ‘Rule 1’?

GWR steam loco in bogus LT livery, electric loco, 1960s SR unpowered EMU in fake teak livery, 1892 vintage four-wheel coach, and diesel loco.

Great fun though!

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On my workbench – mostly for the gloat box!

Posted on February 16, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

I’ve not made a lot of progress with railways recently, perhaps completing more shopping than actual modelling.  But here are a few odds and ends from the gloat box.

Repainting Microtrains and Atlas coaches into Lehigh Valley colours continues.  Having found a red that satisfies me, it’ll do for my home painted stock.  I bought a few pots of red and decided which one worked for me.  Interestingly, the ‘approved’ shade is BR Coach Crimson….

These coaches are not exactly right for LV heavyweights, but they’ll do the job.  Strangely, the red looks different in these pictures than it does to the naked eye, and the acrylic brush pot of paint is a slightly different shade to the enamel spray from the same company (with the same Halfords red spray primer.)  I give up!!

 

This unlettered black Bachmann 70 tonner was an Ebay bargain (a good price), and was too good to ignore.

A cheap Dapol ‘dummy’ Bubblecar.  I have no use for one of these units, beside the fact that I like them.  Perhaps I can couple it to the 70 tonner?

Another Ebay purchase – an NGS Seacow kit.  These are meant to be a pig to construct, but it’ll go well with my Farish one.

A little experimentation with European NEM couplers…..

Some Microtrains couplings to fit to my LV FA locos to pull the coaches….

And some Farish bits to finish off my NGS kits of Warflats and Warwells.  I have the loads in another box somewhere….

Other activities has included the continuing planning for N Gauge Southeast, and of course jobs around the home.

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Another prospective club member?

Posted on February 14, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

He’s obviously been playing trains with the ESNG members……

Indian minister posts speeded-up footage of new fast train

Video of Vande Bharat Express posted by Piyush Goyal was doctored to twice real speed.

India’s railways minister has been mocked for sharing a video of the country’s first locally built fast train – using footage that had been sped up to twice its normal speed.  Piyush Goyal posted the video of the Vande Bharat Express on his official Twitter and Facebook accounts on Sunday.

View the evidence here.  Judging by the accident record of the Indian railways, I’m not sure I’d want to be on this train at real speed, let alone Minister Speed.  Anyway, how do you hang on the outside when it’s going this fast?

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Bournemouth exhibition 2019 #1

Posted on February 12, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

The Cha(I)rman spent the weekend in Bournemouth helping Richard ‘Ollie’ Oliver with his Bournemouth Corporation bus display.  Allan writes:

Just got back from a weekend at the Bournemouth Model Railway Exhibition. I was there helping (or I think I was) Richard with his display of Bournemouth Corporation Transport. As its 50 years since there last trolleybuses ran.

Weather was not kind on the way down on Friday lunchtime. Heavy rain and a lot of spray on the motorways. The New Forest was showering water everywhere. The weekend away from work past too quickly. The event was held at the Hanworth Club in Magna Road. BH21 3AL. Near Bear Cross. The club has a large bar area and a frantic kitchen that provides great food and a Carvery on a Sunday. Which is well supported by members on a Sunday. The exhibition takes place in a hall, a large and a small room and the two badminton courts. We were in one of them.

This show is a very enjoyable show with some different layouts and traders from the more local ones we normally see in the South East. Please note the dates of the next show which is 8th & 9th of February 2020. Well worth a visit if you can make it.

And here are a selection of his photos, starting with Ollie’s buses.

 

And some of the layouts.  Firstly ‘Platform 7’.  Is DRS the new GWR?  Everyone seems to be modelling it!

See also Greasy End Depot….

West to Cornwall for China Clay at Melan Goose….

And Bodmin….

 

Southern Railway at Exton Quay….

A Gallic contribution from the snappily named Villefranche-la-Chapelle.  Don’t mention the rugby….

Gottingen Sud (don’t mention B**x**).

 

Folly Lane, one of a couple of ‘OO’ tail chasers….

I liked Alan’s Way (no relation).  Not only is it showing how model railways can be wheelchair accessible, but I like the concept of the layout split in the middle -British Rail and a preserved line (or a similar combination), I assume.

 

And finally, model trains as they used to be – Templeford, the rather excellent vintage ‘O’ gauge display.

   

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Just what you need for your layout

Posted on February 10, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

From a forum a long, long, way away…..

Might slow down those who don’t understand ‘fingerpoken’ or ‘12,000,000 microvolts’?

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Down memory lane

Posted on February 4, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Recently I came across the site for Blacksmith Books, who publish a lot of Hong Kong and SE Asian books.  I couldn’t resist this one:

And the ‘blurb’:

For more than a century, trams have plied their trade along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island. During that time, they have witnessed the transformation of the local economy from a colonial backwater to the massive financial centre that is the modern city. The post-war years, from the 1960s onward, have seen the radical redevelopment of much of the area along streets such as Hennessy Road and Des Voeux Road, while the reclamation of land along the seafront has seen the tramway, which once skirted the shore, pushed further and further inland.

Today, Hong Kong trams still provide a vital public service, carrying vast numbers of passengers daily to and from their work or shops, and Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world where it is still possible to ride on the top deck of a double-deck tram. This album explores the history of the tramways of Hong Kong Island through the 20th century. Drawing upon a fascinating selection of photographs, most of which have never been published before, it traces the evolution of the streetscape over that period – giving readers a vivid reminder of a city that has been radically altered over the past half-century.

Thumbing through the book, I was delighted to see that a significant number of photographs dated from October 1981, when I was visiting HK for work for the first time – and Maxine was about to join me for a holiday.  This really brought back memories – most of them good ones!

Here’s a typical page from the book:

And these photographs, from elsewhere on the internet, were also taken in autumn 1981.

     

The other book I bought was the “Confessions of a Hong Kong Naturalist”.  (Note: naturalist not naturist.)  This brings back memories of the HK countryside and flora and fauna….

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