SWING taking a bow

On Saturday I took a short trip to the SWING industrial and narrow gauge show. This has been a favourite show of mine for many years, with few NG specialist shows in this corner of Britain, but sadly this event looks like being the last. If so, it went out on a high with some excellent layouts and the usual freindly atmostphere. This year I wasn't there with or helping with a layout, so just a visitor, and it was nice to have opportunity to take time to see the layouts and chat.  

Shellsea Harbour (OO) - Giles Barnabe. It was nice to see this attractive little layout featuring a light-railway terminus again, not having been out for several years. 

Much Meddling (009) - Chris O’Donoghue. Whimsical Emett-inspired fun, with amusing cameos and a few well-known fictional characters, not to mention ludicrous trains (like a submarine railcar!). 

Rainbow Rock (Gn15) - Charlie FoxWilson. Chris was out-Emetted by Charlie's huge Emett themed layout, the photo shows only about 1/3 of it. 

Bunkers Lane (O9) - Bill Flude. Bill's new Leighton Buzzard inspired layout, which I saw briefly at Alexandra Palace, feels like a rail gala on a summer's day. 

Launceston Steam Railway (009) - Richard Holder. I love that this layout reminds me of the real Launceston, and so holiday trips on the steam railway, every time I see it. The train is modelled on the real lineside vegitation clearing train the railway uses, including the raised platform wagon. 

Kaninchenbau (009) - Iain Morrison. This Alpine layout is unashamedly a rabbit warren (apparently that's what it's German name translates as), with lines appearing at different levels. When a train enters a tunnel you never know where it's going to come out. With 5 trains running apparently at random but always with something moving it is puzzling how this can happen, but of course...

...it is computer controlled. Now DCC and fancy control systems aren't really my thing, but I did spend much of my professional life controlling hardware with computers. This set-up is impressive, this screen over the layout showing the schematic plan and the trains being controlled. I won't pretend I understand what it means or how it works, but it was fascinating to watch!

 The Worm (009) - Ian Corps, Southampton Model Railway Society.

Manor End (O) - Martin Brimson. This surprisingly compact O-scale layout had an inglenook shunting puzzle plus a diesel depot on its lower level, and a single-line terminus for a DMU on a shuttle on the top level, making for a lot of railway action. What I particularly liked was the use of fridge type magnets holding photos of the wagons which could be stuck on a metal strip on the fascia to set out the train to be made. A neat alternative to the laminated cards I use on Loctern Quay. I do thing it needs more variety of wagons though!

Arun Quay (O) - Gordon and Maggie Gravett. Only the second time I've seen this layout, it was nice to soak in the incredible atmosphere and realism. A simple concept (small shunting yard) it is brilliantly executed, the track plan is just interesting enough, the location is unmistakably Sussex (for those who know the area) even though it is ficticious, and the detail and colour pallette are understated and consistent. This was the layout I most wished I could build!

SWING 2022

Last Saturday was the "SWING" narrow gauge and industrial model railway show, this year conveniently held just down the road. The Sussex Downs 009 group brought three small layouts - my Loctern Quay, my son's Slugworth & Co., and The Old Quarry by Tim Sanderson. 

Here's our three layouts in a quiet moment towards the end of the day. Simon Wilson is operating The Old Quarry, Tim is sat behind it, Joshua is on the right behind his layout. The chair is my operating position for Loctern Quay. 

My favourite layout was Tony's Forest in O14, by Robin Edwards. I've followed this on the NGRM forum and it was at Narrow Gauge South last month, but at that busy show I didn't have time for more than a quick look. It was nice to have a closer look, and talk to Robin. I love the forest setting which is superbly modelled, and reveals hidden details such as this waterfall. 

Getting the camera to focus on the trains is tricky, and this end-shot shows why. The railway sits naturally amongst the trees. I wasn't the only one who liked it though, as it was voted best layout by the other exhibitors - well done Robin!

Robin invited me to bring some of my O14 stock to run. This hasn't been out for some time, but this Hunslet and my O&K ran sweetly with some of the wagons from Landswood Park - my couplings weren't compatible with Robin's. Tony's Forest provides a very long run compared to Landswood Park or Thakeham, my locos were probably breathless by the end!

I also liked Goathorn in 7mm scale by Peter Hollins. The railway was beautifully modelled according to the 3' 9" gauge prototype, but the scenic details like this beach scene brought it to life. 

For something a bit different, Lesobeng in 009 by Paul Spray, was set in Africa. 

Holmeshurst by Ian Burford is an O gauge light railway set in East Sussex. Although small by 7mm standards it is full of character, with a detailed village street at the rear making use of Petite Properties kits cleverly adapted to the local building style. 

As well as a good selection of mainly narrow gauge layouts the 009 Society and 7mm NG Association had stands, the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and it was good to meet a few friends too. The venue works well (the local railway club use it too) but being one long narrow hall it is difficult to tell how busy it was, it didn't get crowded. I've uploaded photos of some of the other layouts here.

SWING Narrow Gauge & Industrial show

Yesterday I took Awngate a short trip down the coast to Littlehampton for the SWING industrial and narrow gauge show. I was ably assisted by my chief train driver.



We did suffer some problems with the fiddle yard, the wiper contacts are not working too well. I may have to re-think that, but I don't yet have a better solution. There were also the few troublesome trucks, but mostly the layout performed well, and received some nice comments.

The show was at a new venue, the Littlehampton Academy, which meant all the exhibits were in the same hall, a big improvement over the last venue I thought. The style remained the same, a varied collection of layouts covering narrow gauge and industrial themes - though there was even an Irish broad gauge layout - and good trade support including NG specialists and both 009 Society and 7mm NG Association society sales. I did get a few photos although unfortunately I didn't get a program or list of layouts, so I don't remember the names or builders of most of them.



Both the trophies - voted for by exhibitors, and by visitors - went to this live steam SM45 layout Hambleden Valley Railway. Most live steam layouts are all about the trains with some token scenery, but this was a detailed scenic model railway that happened to use actual steam power, running was smooth and realistic by radio control too. I guess you could say it is more prototypical than most layouts.



Bridge over the Blythe is a model of the Southwold Railway prototype, and a fine example of railway in the landscape modelling, it's hard to believe this is 2mm scale.



I liked this US industrial layout, Red Hook Bay, full of finely detailed scenes and the waterfront is superb.



Another type of waterway, this canal lock on this 7mm scale layout called (I think) Mulldale.

More photos can be found on Flikr here.

SWING 2016

Last Saturday I headed over to Bognor to the SWING exhibition, which has now established a reputation for having a good selection of industrial and narrow gauge layouts. Though I think it has struggled to keep the same small and friendly feel in the larger venue, it has allowed more layouts - and bigger ones too, such as the live steam 16mm scale.

Strangely I still like the small ones best though, like Compass Point by Chris O'Donoghue in 009. It packs in a lot of detail in a small space, and achieves that atmosphere that is impossible to define.





Chris Ford and Nigel Hill's ultra-simple and quite different Morton Stanley is also full of atmosphere, following the "less is more" route in 7mm scale.



Abbey End is David Malton's O14 model of the terminus of the Abbey Light Railway in Leeds, though sadly now closed. Despite being a simple prototype David has captured the woodland setting, with the varied and colourful stock, and achieved a fascinating model



Portwenn is a delightful 7mm scale layout with an attractive quayside, now in the new ownership of Simon King I hope it gets to more exhibitions.



Simon Wilson brought Wangford, just part of his Southwold Railway layout in 009. As this board is normally at the back of the layout it is nice for it to be more visible, and the simple set-up with a fiddle yard each end allows a procession of trains through the station.



Those are just a few of my highlights - you can see more photos here. Trade support was good too, with some narrow gauge specialists as well as both the 7mm NGA and 009 society sales stands. Not that I got much time to browse with my Son nagging, however he really enjoyed making a tree for his layout as guided by a very patient chap on one of the demo stands - a nice touch - and the ride-on train too.

A bigger SWING

Yesterday three generations of the Campbell clan enjoyed a visit to this year's SWING narrow gauge show in Bognor. The show, which has built a reputation for quality layouts and a friendly atmosphere, has moved to a new and bigger venue this year. That has allowed more traders and layouts, but not all of those were narrow gauge - there were some standard gauge layouts and general traders - making it into a sort of hybrid show, like a typical club show but with a strong NG influence. I guess that widens the appeal to local modellers, though it does dilute the feeling of an NG show a little. It was good to see traders specialising in scenics, not often seen at NG shows, and there was no shortage of NG traders too (including KB Scale and Narrow Planet this year), nor indeed any shortage of NG layouts.

Amongst my better photos is this one of (I think) The Orchard Line in GN15, by Simon Andrews, showing the amount of detail possible in a small space using this scale.

John Thorne's Bottle Kiln Lane (009) is always a popular layout, with excellent scenery and a fascinating range of locos.

Wisteria Collop (009) by David Simpson has an emphasis on scenery, which is superbly done.

Q Dump in 1:35 on 16.5mm gauge, by Nigel and Sue Tansley, portrays the WWI 2' gauge railways serving the Western Front, in this case somewhere in Belgium. There's a high level of observation and detail in both the scenery, and the accurately modelled trains, while the operators were actively engaging in conversation with viewers to explain the history. This was my son's favourite layout, and I can see why.

My favourite was Melinau'r Abaty (O-16.5) by Chris Featherstone. Identifiable immediately as a Welsh slate railway, it is heavily influenced by the Corris railway, but with locos and stock from other Welsh lines looking at home together. The layout featured a working stub point and rope-shunting (I kid you not) and really captured the atmosphere of such lines.

For more photos click here. So despite the changes associated with making the show bigger, it's a show still worth making a trip for.

Thakeham at SWING

The SWING (Small and Wonderful Industrial and Narrow Gauge) show in Bognor, organised by the local 7mm NGA group, has become established both as an exhibition of quality narrow gauge models, and as a friendly show. So it was great to be invited to take Thakeham along. It doesn't take long to set up so there was time for Joshua to have a practice before the show opened.

The layout ran well with no issues, and received positive comments which is nice. Joshua proved quite adept at operating, and indeed it was difficult for anyone else to get a turn! Thanks to Paul Davies for helping out, and to Tim Sanderson and Stephen Fulljames for taking turns too. All that help allowed me plenty of time to look round the show, and chat to many familiar and new faces too. Roving Reporter Mick Thornton had his camera out so I'm sure he'll have a quality set of pictures on his blog in due course, he also had his visiting railcar, and due to a slight gauge and scale discrepancy Thakeham Tiles were pleased to provide a flat wagon!

Peter Kazer's "Owd Ratty" is a model of the original 3' gauge Ravensglass & Eskdale Railway terminus at Boot. It was at EXPO-NG a few years ago but it was hard to see due to the crowds, so it was nice to get a good close up look. The quality of the 1/4" scale models is amazing, and it was no surprise that this was awarded the best layout by the visiting public vote.

Stewart Green's model of Southwold in OOn3 has also been at EXPO and recently in Railway Modeller. My friend Simon Wilson was helping operate, and it was interesting to compare Stewart's faithful model to Simon's 009 interpretation (at the Sompting show last week). Stewart has really shown how the station sprawled across the quiet countryside, the line sliding through the golf course and past the allotments. Again the modelling is excellent, and again won an award - voted by the exhibitors and traders.

Lyndon 1870 by Lyn Owers is a model of London in Victorian days, inspired by the life and work of Charles Dickens, there are references to his books and characters throughout the dozens of buildings and crowded streets. There's also some 009 trains weaving through the scene, but the model would be just as interesting without them!

That's just a few of the layouts, for a full set of photos click here. An excellent show and great fun.

Thakeham gets a spruce-up

I was rather pleased with the tidy plywood fascia of Thakeham, though I confess the neat front corner joint was more good luck than skill. However I'd always intended to smarten up the bare wood, it just wasn't top priority to get the layout finished in time for EXPO, and after that the house move disrupted things.

So as you can see I've taken advantage of the recent fine weather to give the plywood a coat of woodstain. It's come out slightly darker than I intended (you can never judge by the tin) but it looks good. The view below taken of the layout in our lounge shows off the neat finish, though the lighting is rather harsh! Also just visible is that the gap between the top of the sky and the upper edge has been painted in matt black.

Thakeham will be appearing at the SWING show in Bognor on the 17th May - which is the catalyst for this spruce up - so do pop by and say hi!

Shopping at the SWING Show

The "SWING" Show (Small and Wonderful Industrial and Narrow Gauge) held in Bognor by the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association local group has become a show to look forward to, and this year as usual hosted a selection of top Narrow-Gauge and Industrial model railways. Quite a few of the layouts I'd seen before at specialist shows, but several I hadn't, and they were all worth seeing.

It was great to see Giles Favell's "The End of the Line" again, and see the radio control lorries after the recent NG&IRM Review article. My Son loved the tipping NG trucks, the "big" train, and the working lorry, and insisted we vote it as best layout (I can't argue with that).

Another layout it was nice to see again was "Southern Cross" (009) by Des Trollip, this won last year's "Pizza" challenge at EXPO-NG. This time it had a lighting rig fitted, and could be viewed from all angles, allowing some views I hadn't seen last time, and showing the level of detail in this small model.

There was a very nice model of Wantage in 7mm by Dave Cox, and even a ride-on (5" gauge?) steam train in the garden. However the award for the most original and fun layout has to go to the Lumpy Barmcake and Salted Cracker Railway by Matt Wildsmith!

However for me the show proved very useful, allowing me to stock up on a number of essential and otherwise difficult to obtain items - including rail, switches and connectors, embossed sheet, Testors Dullcote, glue, and some figures. All required for Thakeham - I had taken a shopping list!

Anyway if you want more pictures click here.

Narrow Gauge in Bognor

Yesterday was the "SWING" Show organised by the South Downs 7mm Narrow Gauge Association. It's a nice little show with a good selection of narrow gauge and industrial layouts.

"The Loop" by Giles Favell is a 7mm scale layout depicting the interchange of a slate-carrying NG line with the standard gauge. Although the scenic area is just 4' by 2' it packs a surprising amount of operation and detail, and the scenic work is superb.

Khan by Julian Evison, is an 009 layout set in what is now Nambia, south-west Africa. Based on a might-have been development of a real line it depicts a steep climb up a mountain range, which makes for a distinctive and original model, that is fun and serious at the same time.

Halfway by Ken Jackson features both 0-16.5 and 09 (on the higher level) in a small space.

I could go on - there were lots more excellent layouts and live steam in the garden too - but I've posted pictures of more layouts here. I very enjoyable show, with good trade support too.

SWING Show Bognor

Just a few of the better photos from the St Wilfred's Industrial and Narrow Gauge (SWING) show put on by the South Downs group of the 7mm NG society in Bognor today. A change of venue meant the St Wilfred's part is no longer valid, but hey, why change a witty name? Anyway a good friendly show with some interesting narrow gauge layouts.