Hexworthy proves a winner at High Wycombe

Yesterday I took Hexworthy to Wycrail, held (for the first time) in the old 1854 Brunel broad gauge station in High Wycombe. It was an impressive structure, which has been nicely restored (and extended), as seen here shortly before opening.

David Lane had made this nice model showing how the building would have looked in its broad-gauge days. 

The show was opened  by Tim Dunn, who was very nice when he came around shortly before opening.  It was busy right through until around an hour before closing, so hopefully a success for the organisers, although it did mean the aisles were a bit crowded at times. Nice to see lots of families too. There were around 20 layouts covering a variety of scales and themes and a good mix of traders too. 

Hexworthy wasn't the only narrow gauge. Brooks Bridge (O16.5) is a characterful freelance tramway terminus, just electrified and with both electric and steam trams. 

Some of the details were worthy of closer attention. 

Blackmoor (009) is a lovely model of the real station on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway.

Again, some nice detailing can be seen if you look carefully. 

Next to me was Sutton Bank TMD (OO). A popular genre for small layouts, I liked the understated and uncrowded look of this one, and the split levels is a neat idea. 

Slightly less modern image, Leatown (OO) is a small Cameo with a simple, single platform terminus and a couple of sidings, and has a subtle atmospheric finish. I thought it had the feel of a James Hilton layout, and checking the program description I see James has had a hand it it. 

Dounreay (HO, yes, British HO) also packs atmosphere in a small space. 

Shadwell East (OO) - a large, busy terminus layout from the junior section of the High Wycombe club, who seemed to be doing a great job operating it. 

Leadenhall (N) represents a secondary London terminus in Network South East period. It's nicely detailed and the arches plus city background work well, as does the lighting of the station lamps and trains. I know it is meant to represent dusk or moonlight, but the blue layout lighting really doesn't work for me - it just looked odd. 

Providence Colliery (OO)

Kamiack Falls (HO American) - nicely modelled in autumn (I mean, fall...)

Hexworthy ran well apart from a couple of coupling issues, a brief mysteriously dead fiddle yard, and a power outage that affected the whole row. The layouts behind us still had power, so we plugged into one of the underfloor sockets a little further back and we were away. Thanks to Edward for helping me out with operating. 

Biggest surprise of the day, and a real honour, was being awarded the "Best Layout in show" plaque for Hexworthy!

Last month I mentioned that a Rapido Kerr-Stuart Sirdar had arrived. It needed a little personalisation before entering service. It is supplied with a bag of detailing and optional parts. I chose to swap the straight tapered "stovepipe" chimney with this capped design, using the supplied screwdriver and checking it is fitted vertically. I also attached vacuum pipes, although I found they had to be set far enough from the coupler that the loops of adjacent vehicles didn't foul them. 

I found the couplings drooped slightly, enough to uncouple on the join to Hexworthy's fiddle yard. This was easily solved by punching a "washer" from 10-thou plasticard using a leather punch. This was inserted below the coupling on the pivot and held by the screw - which fits the same supplied screwdriver as used for the chimney. This means the coupling is clamped by the screw and doesn't pivot though. 

Light weathering takes a box-fresh model to a more convincing look. As usual, I used water-soluble oil washes; a dark black-brown over the body, wiped off with a damp brush or cotton bud, leaving an oily-rag finish and dirt/shadows in the crevices, plus a mid-brown over the chassis. Finally, the airbrush was used to mist some sooty black over the top and mid-brown up onto the lower frames and buffer beams. The result, I hope, shows a cared for but working loco - and tones down the paintwork slightly.

I added the toolbox from the supplied detail pack but smoothed off the moulding line and painted it matt brown first. I left off the coal loads but put crushed real coal in the bunkers, secured with matt modge-podge. Finally, a driver was recruited from the Dapol (Kitmaster) agency, I only added one figure mainly so that the delightfully detailed back-head is visible from some angles and partly because of a lack of space on the footplate. 

The two Rapido wagons got much the same weathering treatment which improves them greatly. The couplings look rather large, but I may replace them with Microtrains couplings for use on Loctern Quay. 

I also prepared the additional coach by painting details such as the end steps and handrails and weathering in a similar way with the airbrush, focusing on the roof and underframes as the body remains relatively clean other than a little splashed dirt along the bottom.

Sadly, shortly after this the loco developed a fault and stopped moving! I did a brief investigation but could not identify an obvious cause, so I reached out to Rapido. They promptly replied with details on how to return it to them, so it was packaged up and dispatched, exactly a week later it was returned fully working. 

The loco spent the whole Sunday at the Aldershot exhibition running the freshly extended GVT coach train without issue. 

Hexworthy will be out again at the Wycrail exhibition (High Wycombe) on the 7th November. This looks like being an excellent show, held in the Brunel railway shed. Do say hello if you are there, 

Uckfield Model Railway Exhibition 2026

Last Saturday I made my annual pilgrimage to the highlight of the local club exhibition calendar - the Uckfield exhibition. This has a reputation for attracting high-quality layouts, and this year was no exception.

Coalbridge Street (HO) - James Hilton. It was nice to catch up with James as since the demise of Expo-NG he rarely makes it to the South-East. 

I know nothing of Canadian SG, but as usual with James' layout, that didn't matter as the atmosphere is what it's about - and it has more of that than than you'd expect for it's tiny size.

Keindorf (HOe) - Tim Ticknell. Austrian narrow-gauge. 

Nethercombe Quarry (O-16.5) - Adrian Ponting. Just a narrow gauge mineral railway, no frills, but nicely done.

Port de Crozon (1:50, 18.2mm gauge) - Gordon & Maggie Gravett. The masters of scenery have built another stunning layout based on the metre-gauge railways of Brittany. 

It doesn't even need a train in sight to wow you. And one glance tells you it is unmistakably French.

Compass Point (009) - Chris O'Donoghue. This remains a popular, and dare I say it, fun layout, and I'm surprised it's taken this long to appear at Uckfield. I think the estuary is one of my favourite scenes. 

While the slipway, boatyard, and ferry provide the crowded feel of many harbours combined with a very simple track layout that feels right at home. 

Marlborough 1865 (1:76, 28mm gauge or OO-28) - Andy Cundick. Andy has moved from narrow gauge through standard to the opposite extreme - GWR broad gauge. As usual, the modelling is excellent, and the sky threatening. 

Tellindalloch in Autumn (OO) - Terry Tew. Having seen this in Railway Modeller, this Scottish layout is surprisingly compact in the flesh, and the autumn forest and mountain stream are impressive. 

Surrey Arms (EM) - Martin Marrison. A surprisingly compact but busy terminus somewhere in London, evoking the spirit (although not the track plan) of the famous Minories concept, and showing fine modelling and subtle colouring.

Corrieshalloch (2mm finescale) - Anthony Yeates. Astonishing to think that this scene is 2mm scale, and the section photographed is probably less than 2 feet long, this model based on the Highland Railway achieves dramatic Scottish scenery in a relatively small space - and looks superb. 

Littledene (OO) - Andy Jones. A fictional light railway with delightfully quirky stock.

East Lynn (S - 1:64) - Simon Dunkley. Great Eastern in a scale where everything has to be hand-built. Respect!

A Dreary Tuesday - in the Dearne Valley (OO) - Chris Matthews. I guess it lives up to it's name, although I saw it on a Saturday. Just needs a way to model rain and blow a cold wind over the spectators. 

Cranwood (O) - John Smith. A nice model set in Dorset, and featuring a radio-controlled bus. I wondered whether that was for the rail-replacement operation on the Sunday?

Abbeymouth (P4) - Jeff Day. The archetypal GWR branch terminus very well executed. 

So another great show, and with good specialist trade support too - although I spent most of my time engrossed in the layouts. 

Aldershot exhibition 2026

Last weekend I took Hexworthy over to Aldershot for the Farnham & District MRC exhibition. The show took over several halls and classrooms in a school, making for a but of a maze but hosting a good number of interesting layouts. Here's a few of my favourites, some I've seen before but some I hadn't.

Ventnor (O) - Charles Harrison is a condensed model of Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. With its miniature turntable, gang-plank island platform access, and tunnel at the station throat, the prototype looked like a model but you wouldn't make those features up! 

It's a lovely model that captures the prototype atmosphere well. 

Lochty (EM) - Andy Cundick. Delightfully bleak (Andy needs to figure out how to model rain!) and the trains are very finely modelled. 

Montarola (HO) - Paul Hannant. Unusually depicting an Italian prototype, the model beautifully captures the Mediterranean coast and Italian harbour town giving a holiday feel. 

Buxton (2mm Finescale) - Dave Tuck. Just occasionally, a model comes along that is difficult to believe it is such a small scale. If I had said this was 4mm scale you would think it a fine and highly realistic model... but this is half that scale. 

Of course, that station is instantly recognisable as Buxton, but most of the action took place in the yard beyond. 

The narrow gauge layouts were up to standard too. 

Bowaters Paper Mill (O-16.5) - St Neots MRC. I've seen this before but am still impressed by the detail and atmospheric colouring. It's an interesting prototype too.

Swillybegs (O-21) - David Holman is another layout I've seen before that is full of atmosphere. It captures the Irish narrow gauge beautifully. 

Hexworthy seemed to go down well with the many families and couples visiting, the playground proving popular as always and find the animals keeping some entertained. Here's Andrew concentrating at the controls. 

Andrew had brought a train of his own too... can you spot it?