esngblog

Another selection of odds and ends, but hopefully no more bad news bombshells!

For the modeller….  I’m really sure how the Erie got this to stand up, but with slight upgrades and repairs, it was in operation till relatively recently.

Although you see pictures of London streets crammed with horses and early buses and cars, maybe this was a more typical sight?  Easier to model, anyway.

Haywards Heath tunnel, also known as Folly Hill tunnel is just 249 yards long, but looks shorter here!

A very compact GWR branch junction, just about fulfilling Board of Trade requirements…..

Farnham in, I think, Southern Railway days.  The loco looks to be an 0-4-2 Jubilee class.  I like the advertisement board more or less fixed to the signal box.

Continuing the historic theme, some LBSCR wagons….

Bet they got to the right house, and quicker than ***** (fill in your favourite courier.)

Rivet counters (and the gullible) get everywhere…..

Finally, a slightly prophetic advert.  Finally closed in 1979, and I bet they’re regretting it.

Well, following on from the demise of Hattons on Monday, come Thursday, another bombshell….

Warley has been perhaps the largest model railway show in the UK for 30 years.  It’s always debatable whether it’s been the best – that is down to personal taste – but it has always had a wonderful cross-section of our hobby with some fine layouts in all gauges and scales, and a broad selection of the modelling trade.

I commented on RMweb:

Perhaps it’s in order to again thank both Hattons and Warley for their integrity and transparency in handling these major decisions. We can only wish them well, as both have made a significant contribution to our hobby.

This is probably not the place for too much analysis of these events.  They are very different.  One will have people looking for work in an area with significant unemployment.  The other will have Warley club members wondering what to do with all their spare time!  I have been sad to see comment on the lines of, “It wasn’t as good as it used to be.”  Nothing stays the same and I’m sure that both Hattons and Warley improved in some ways over the years, but probably also slipped a little in others.  That’s life.

Perhaps what can be said about Warley is how model railway exhibitions seem to be changing.  I tihnk that there are a number of factors involved.

1. The aging profile of the hobby.  This is partly physical capability, but not everything – most of my exhibition organisation is done over a red-hot keyboard.  Perhaps more significant is the way that the current generation are less inclined to get involved in clubs, and take responsibility.  This is not a criticism of individuals – it’s just the way society seems to have gone.  We have replaced the corporate with individualism.  And it’s not just model railways.  All clubs and societies are finding it more difficult to recruit volunteers.  I find the same at our church.
2. Covid has had an effect on shows.  Perhaps we all got out of the habit of attending?  I certainly go to less than I used to.  And the availability of venues has decreased, and their costs often increased.  With certain exceptions, the trend seems to be towards large commercial shows, and smaller club or specialist shows.  Nothing wrong with that, as there were probably far too many model railway exhibitions in the calendar – you’d see the same layouts week after week.  Some I’d be delighted to have another look at, others I’d just walk on by.
3. Finally maybe the cost of living.  Prices have shot up, for living essentials as well as model trains.  However, I did see an analysis that suggested that the cost of the hobby was relatively similar in the 1970’s.  Perhaps the difference was that in those days we were happy with a small branch line, rather than a train of 20 ballast hoppers.  And we tended to make things out of brass and cardboard.   

 That’s enough random thoughts.  I did however like one comment on a forum:

The biggest loss of course will be felt by non visiting foamers regarding back packs, soap marketing gurus and the well regarded car park team.

Bad news for Monday was that Hattons is closing down.  One of the largest and most reliable model stores in the UK, with a long history.  It’s not a time to wonder why, just to hope that all the staff find another job and quickly.  Perhaps most telling were the number of comments on forums from other, rival, model shops, and manufacturers, all expressing regrets and their appreciation of the way that Hattons has been run.  We’ve lost a good one.

I have had a good number of orders from them over the years.  Lightening, or perhaps just lowering the tone, I’ve spread my buying around the stores, so this is not quite true….

The Bartlett workbench has been pretty quiet over Christmas.  And with the cold weather over the last couple of days, I have felt more like hibernating than modelling.  I’ve spend some time wondering how to make micro-layouts on IKEA Lack shelves.  Nothing certain yet!  And then wondering about a set of N-club end loops that we need for the club.  I came up with this:

Two modules, one 800 x 400mm, the other 1000 x 800mm.  The left module is scenic, and is based on Smallbrook Junction on the Isle of Wight.  The junction is standard PECO, but it makes an interesting track layout.  I looked at fitting in a fourth storage track, but this needs a bigger board, or a tighter loop radius (minimum radius is currently SetTrack #3, that is OK for almost all stock.)  I also drew up double junctions, and a single track branching from the double track main line.  I think that I like this one best.  All loops will take two three or four coach trains, and all tracks can be accessed from each loop.  I’ll look at the single track branch layout – this works well, and then think about building something.

Allan sent me the sign below, so I’ve added a second one for today’s sermon….

Allan also reported that Boeing are now restoring railway coaches….

And finally, I hope you got everything rail you wanted for Christmas….

Lots of lovely EMUs today.  Not boring at all, but a fascinating range of builds, rebuilds and make-do-and-mends, in typical Southern Railway style.

2-BILs at East Croydon (John Atkinson) and Mortlake.

A 2-HAL at Camberley, and an ancient 2-NOL at Brighton in 1948.

A 4-COR in 1965 (John Hayward) and a 6-PUL.

4-LAVs in the country, and at Brighton, East Croydon in 1968, and Haywards Heath.

4-SUBs (note how they all look rather different!) at Blackfriars, Clapham, Surbiton and ex-works.

Coming more up to date (but still up to 40 years ago!) we have a 4-CEP at East Croydon and a 4-CEP cab as built.

And finally, two pictures at Redhill, again by John Atkinson.  A 4-CEP (plus interesting diesels), and a 4-CAP on mail train duties.