Wot I did on my holidays

Posted on August 10, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Our week away was our usual pilgrimage to the ‘New Wine’ church conference, with 12,000 people camping on the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset in the south-west of the UK.  The Showground is about 5 miles from Pilton, site of the Glastonbury Festival.  It has similar views of Glastonbury Tor, but from a different direction.  Of course the weather is the typical Somerset micro-climate, often including lots of rain.  Fortunately, there is less mud at New Wine, as the Showground has better infrastructure.   Still the sun shined nearly all week this year, until the moment we took the tent down and the heavens opened.

However, the point of this post is to describe the miniature railway that is on the Showground, run by the East Somerset Society of Model & Experimental Engineers.  They describe themselves like this on their web site:

Founded in 2001, the Society is a relative newcomer in the well-established field of Model Engineering societies. It is based at the Bath & West Showground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset in the south-west of the UK, and draws members from as far afield as Bristol and Yeovil. Members come from many different walks of life and are of varying levels of skill and experience – and all are still learning!

Their interests include locos and stock in 3½”, 5″ and 7¼” gauges (just a little larger than ‘N’ gauge), and they have an extensive line, a lot of which is dual gauge for the larger two scales.  Each year at New Wine, ESSMEE open up the railway for the day and offer rides for all and sundry.  I’m not really into large scale models like this, but the sound and smell of these little steam locomotives is very evocative of their larger cousins.  And it’s rather fun having to wait for the level crossing before crossing the line.  I’ve posted a couple of photographs from their web-site below, to give a flavour of the operation.  I love the dual gauge trackwork, especially the points.  Read more about this little railway at http://www.essmee.org.uk/ .

 dscf0156 dscf0151

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ESNG meeting – 7 August 2014

Posted on August 8, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

It’s definitely holiday time, as we were down to eight members this Thursday.  But it was good to have a visit from a prospective new member in Roger, who brought an engine along for the attention of Dr Loco.  Evidence of holiday time was also seen as there was just room to set up a circuit in the middle of tables for the church Holiday Club.

The eight members sort of split into two groups.  One group was intent on planning for the next Stuttgart trip in November.  We have the space for our layout allocated, that brilliantly includes a nearby junction.  Last year it was good value (if rather scary) operating the two double junctions onto our branch.

The other group ran trains.  Paul’s mega Japanese goods train was reluctant to stay coupled.  In protest he loaded Thomas, Annie and Clarabelle onto low loads and sent them on a train to the scrap yard.  Dave was running some very nice ‘Sharknoses’ with a train of B&O coaches.  Phil had some UK Pullmans on the go.  And Derek had a long train of Bullied coaches behind a ‘West Country’ Pacific.

And Allan brought a box of chocolate biscuits.

All in all, a quiet evening, but plenty happening!

 

 

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Turkey: High-speed train breaks down on first day

Posted on August 5, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Another BBC contribution:

Turkey’s first high-speed train has broken down just a few hours after the prime minister inaugurated it in a glowing speech about the country’s technical prowess, it’s been reported.

The glitch happened when a dislocated contact wire cracked the windshield of the sleek new train, and the electricity had to be cut for 30 minutes to fix the problem, Hurriyet newspaper reports.

Earlier in the day Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, travelling from the capital Ankara to the financial hub of Isanbul with his wife Emine, praised a number of infrastructure projects launched by his ruling Justice and Development Party. “We are now a nation who is admired,” he said in a speech in the town of Eskisehir. “Not a nation that looks at European cities and admires those places, seeing high-speed trains there.”

“You should have no doubt,” Erdogan added. “Aren’t we now producing our own helicopters? We are. Are we starting to produce our own local tanks? We will move further.” He went on to describe Turkey as a country that turns its dreams into reality.

The train’s maiden journey comes less than three weeks before Turkey’s first-ever direct presidential elections. The $4bn (£2.3bn) project was completed in phases between 2009 and 2014, with $183m from the European Union. Erdogan said he hopes Turkey will become one of the world’s 10 largest economies by 2023.

“A dislocated contact wire” – looks like they’re no better at wiring their railway than I am!

High-speed train arrives in Istanbul

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OCE – Three Steps Closer to Perfection

Posted on August 2, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

The budgie has landed….. Back from holiday after a good break. Here’s an interesting article by Simon Dunkley to be going on with, that explores the way to a realistic railside scene – and the philosophy behind it. Yes, even railway modellers can be philosophical (well, probably after a pint or two).

Simon's avatarThe Erratic and Wandering Journey

Have a look at this simple, beautiful picture:

wpid-x80w-lynnvalley-4sd.jpg
Picture reproduced by kind permission of Trevor Marshall
Just a train running through some woodland, next to a river, right? Yes. And also, no.

Yes: it is a train; there is woodland; and there is a river.

No: it is not just that; it is not even a simple case of the whole being more than the sum of the parts. There is more to it than that. But not too much more, and best of all, these are basic principles, attitudes and activities which can be applied to any creative activity, but which lie at the core of “finescale with feeling”.

  1. Observation – This could also be called “attention to detail”, in that it is about identifying the detail points in the prototype: the slope of the embankment (“fill”, if you are North American); the texture of the grass and leaves…

View original post 320 more words

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We are all superstars now!

Posted on July 30, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

A quote from the Daily Telegraph on the interests of rock stars…

Building model railways is very popular among rockers of a certain vintage. Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Phil Collins and Roger Daltrey all have elaborate train sets, with Stewart stating in his autobiography that making the December 2010 cover of Model Railroader was “a major career milestone … getting on the front of Rolling Stone had nothing on this.”

I have to admit that Rod Stuart’s layout is something special.  He takes over a complete extra hotel room on tour, for his modelling workshop.  He seems to mainly build scenery and some most impressive buildings.

Neil Young was part owner of Lionel at one stage, and has a low level layout built for his disabled family.

None the less, sex, drugs and model railways?  Not sure we can live up to that at ESNG.

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Who is the ESNG mole?

Posted on July 27, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Who is the ESNG club ‘mole’?

I read this article in our local free paper and its web site last week:

Redhill model railway enthusiasts announce date of next annual show

The group, whose members, working to N-gauge standards, take their models to meetings to run on a modular circuit, will hold its Expo 2015 on April 11.

The Expo will include the club modular and Dawes Creek circuits, as well as stands from traders, the N Gauge Society and the ever-popular second-hand shop.

All exactly right and welcome publicity.  But I didn’t submit it to the paper.  So thank you, whoever wrote the article.  And keep them coming.  But I’m still curious to find the culprit!

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The budgie has flown – for now

Posted on July 25, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Off on a well-earned holiday for a week.budgie

So no computer, no Wi-Fi, no posts and probably withdrawal symptoms.

But I’ve left a couple of articles that (I hope) will publish themselves.  And I will return…….

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Buddleia: The plant that dominates Britain’s railways

Posted on July 23, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

Gardening tips from the BBC website (edited)……

It’s hard to walk by a railway line in Britain and not see Buddleia.

Along fences by the tracks and almost any patch of waste ground, you will notice the long, slender clumps of flowers, usually lilac but also blue, deeper purple or white, at the end of long, arching branches.

BBC weather forecaster Peter Gibbs says the mild, wet winter will have improved germination and growth this year, especially in areas where water normally drains away quickly, such as derelict urban sites. “Buddleia is an opportunist that’s always ready to capitalise on any slight advantage.”

Sprouting from seemingly every derelict building, it stakes an increasingly plausible claim for the title of Britain’s national flower.

Buddleia at Willsden Junction

Buddleia at Willesden Junction

 The plant can cause damage to buildings, such as crumbling brickwork – its tiny wind-blown seeds can germinate in decaying mortar.

And the problems caused by Buddleia to the management of the rail network are described by the Non-Native Species Secretariat as “significant”.

Buddleia on the tracks

Buddleia on the tracks – and a lot of detail modelling challenges?

Network Rail says Buddleia has a habit of growing in walls where it can interfere with overhead power lines and obscure signals. While it does not cause “serious” problems such as blocking train lines, it does have a habit of popping up in “annoying places” where removing it takes up valuable time and resource.

The company cuts down large Buddleia before removing or killing the stumps, sprays small Buddleia with herbicide, and uses weed-killing trains to keep the network clear, while staff use portable sprayers at stations.

Buddleja davidii

Buddleja davidii

Another modelling challenge for ‘N’ gauge and modern image modelling?  Looking at the photograph in the article, there’s a lot of detail for the modeller there apart from the Buddleia – track and ballast colours, trackside ‘litter’ and some graffiti.

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The Alton Ltd exhibition 19 July 2014

Posted on July 21, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

An annual pilgrimage for me is the 30 miles or so to Four Marks for the Alton Ltd show, as it’s all American.  It’s also a pleasant drive through the countryside along the A31 Hogs Back and the Winchester road.  A bit busy today, though, as it is the first day of the school holidays for many here.  I like this show, too, as it’s a ‘real’ model railway show – a very friendly small show in a classic English village hall.  But plenty of interest none the less…..

A few layouts, but all were interesting.  This included…

  • Lovely ‘N’ gauge American Civil War era layout.  The owners are also expert in the history of that era, and talking to them was as interesting as the layout itself.
  • A small ‘O’ gauge Rock Island switching layout.
  • A good size HOn3 layout.  HOn3 is rare in the UK and this was good to see.
  • A narrow gauge line set on an imaginary Caribbean island.  The map of the island looked suspiciously like the Isle of Wight, and the Spanish place names could be translated back to well known UK holiday spots!

Good trade stands…..

  • Most interesting was a stand full of brass models.  The classic Korean or Japanese made brass loco takes a lot of beating.  Perhaps the latest commercial models have better detail, but the brass importers did (and do) make models of less well known and prototype specific locos – and bare brass does look good.  Fortunately, there were very few ‘N’ gauge items to tempt me.
  • Plenty of second hand items, including ‘N’ gauge.
  • Lots of very interesting second hand books, including items from the smaller publishers not seen so often in the UK.

And even better, after my expensive week buying Swiss trams I didn’t buy anything.  Well, that’s not strictly true, as Alton Ltd provides some of the best bacon baps on the exhibition circuit.  A bacon and egg bap and a cup of coffee were my sole purchases.

Next year (I say this every year), I must go on to the Watercress preserved line at Alton.  Today, as always, household jobs were waiting for the afternoon.

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Another modelling challenge?

Posted on July 19, 2014 by snitchthebudgie

As a PS to last time, and Swiss trams, this Basle “piggy tram” defies description!  I came across it whilst browsing the internet, and had to look at Google Images to check it wasn’t a Photoshop special.

Perhaps it’s an ideal way for the railway modeller to combine his two main interests, trains and bacon?  All it needs is to be coupled to another tram advertising beer…..

Pig-Tram

There is some concern around as to whether this tram can be considered anti-Islamic.  Personally, I’m more concerned for the sanity of the designer, and am naïve enough to wonder what on earth has been drawn on the side of the tram.  Looks like gigantic n*ppl*s to me????

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