Gaugemaster 50th exhibition

Today I popped into Gaugemaster who were celebrating their 50th anniversary with a mini-exhibition at their shop in Ford. 

This O and O16.5 (NG7?) layout looks delightfully modelled, other than the gap in the middle - not sure if it's not finished yet. The Manning Wardle managed to get around the tight corners, though didn't look very comfortable, and there was no other stock present. 

This nice little "pizza" was displayed by the same builder (Brian Taylor according to the website), but with no trains at all!

I didn't get the name of this Southern layout set in WWII, it looked nicely modelled and featured lots of military models including tanks on road and on train, and a "Bailey bridge". 

There were a couple of aircraft being prepared too - I think this is a Tempest, or possibly a Typhoon...?

Crookham Vale is a 009 layout built by Bognor Regis model railway club. There was also a modular N-gauge layout, a Thomas layout, and some Kato "mini bases". Of course, the shop was open and had some 50th anniversary merchandise, from beer mats to special liveried open wagons. I can't say I was tempted! So not a big event, but it was free (and there was free coffee), and a good way to spend an hour on a rainy saturday. 

Railways around Bath

I've just got back from a week away with the family, near Bath. I came across the Avon Valley Railway on the outskirts of Bristol, so of course a visit and a ride was in order. Based out of Bitton station, the line was part of the Midland Railway route from Bristol to Bath, where it linked to the Somerset and Dorset. 

Our train was steamed hauled by this superbly turned out 060 tank. Apparently this Polish-built loco worked in a steelworks before being bought for preservation and brought to the UK. 

It's quite a chunky machine and, it has to be said, looks a little "overscale" - apparently it is larger than UK loading gauge. Since the preserved line is single on a double-track formation (the remaining space being a footpath and cycle path), I presume the rails can be slewed slightly to enable sufficient clearance for the cab. 

Like all preserved standard gauge railways, the goods yard is full to overflowing with interesting locos, wagons, coaches, and even a crane. Sadly (and not unexpectedly) there was no viewing area so I'll have to make do with what I could see from the train. 

While in Bath I found the former S&D Green Park station. It's nice to see the station roof and building in good condition, and being used as a market and entertainment space, even if the far end is a supermarket car park.

Having passed through the village of Box a couple of times, I stopped to photograph the famous Box tunnel portal, part of Brunel's original London-Bristol line. In digging the tunnel a valuable source of Bath stone was discovered, and so alongside the other portal a third line entered underground quarries to facilitate the extraction of stone. The extensive underground quarries were taken over in WWII to create armaments storage and part of the Bristol aircraft factory. Later, a Cold War bunker was developed, able to accomodate 4000 people including UK government headquarters. This was all hidden save the extra tunnel portal, and a few concrete structures dotted around covering entrance and ventilation shafts.

Back to normal life, and hopefully some modelling...

Wiltshire Group Skills Day

I happened to be passing through Wiltshire today within a few miles of Pewsey, so it seemed like a good idea to allow time to pop into the 4th Wiltshire Group Skills Day there. 

This is an unusual sort of model railway event, it's not an exhibition although there are a few models and under-construction boards on display. Nor are there traders, other than a specialist supplier, a Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway stand, and the 009 sales stand. The focus of the event is a variety of demonstrations providing opportunity to discuss techniques and learn new skills, hence the name of the event. It's run by a narrow gauge modelling group so the demonstrations were related to narrow gauge models, although the skills could of course be applied to any scale. Models were being constructed in 4mm, 7mm, and 16mm scales, and skills included soldering, loco/chassis construction, buildings, and scenery. I learned how to make castings using filler and had a useful discussion, demonstration, and practice at applying lining transfers. Best of all, I had enjoyable conversations. All good fun and well worth a diversion for a few hours.