A daily updated blog typed by someone with painty hands, oil under his fingernails and the smell of solder in his nostrils who likes making all sort of models and miniatures. And fixing things.
I said we were lucky with the weather, and this is true. Except for the day we ascended Snaefell.
Knowing how fickle things can be 2037 feet up, we tried to pick a day when my sister might see the view. The trouble is, you don't really know. Although the webcam looked OK, by the time we made it up there, things were more reminiscent of my Dad and my first few visits, 33 years ago.
Manannán's Cloak had descended, and there was no view. You can recreate this at home by glueing cotton wool on your glasses, and standing in front of the open 'fridge.
Modellers could use this to their advantage by just sticking a big ball of cotton wool in a board, and playing some tram sounds.
On the plus side, the cagoule I bought in 1993 is still working just as well as it ever did, even if it's not a bit snugger than it was back then.
Regular readers will know that some time ago, I bought a side tank, and cab back from Sea Lion. It's my favourite loco in the world, the price was right, and so I couldn't resist. For a few years, thanks to Mike Buttell, they lived in Port Erin Railway Museum, but when the curators decided they weren't wanted in there any more, I was faced with the problem of where they should live next.
A set of roof bars was purchased, the idea being that I could strap it up there for the journey home. However, measuring Sea Lion, I worked out that we could actually get the thing in the back. OK, a bit of a squeeze, but the Berlingo is spacious if you shuffle the seats around.
So, I arranged to collect the cab on the Tuesday morning.
At this point, we hit a snag. In my mind, I'd bought the cab back. A flat sheet of steel. What I'd forgotten is that this came with the sides and bunker.
The guys helping me gamely tried to squeeze the thing in the back of the car, but it wasn't going to work.It might have gone in at an angle, but not quite. We'd probably have had to leave my sister there, although she would have been happy to stop with the donkeys at the Rest Home for Old Horses!
As for the roof bars, well they are rated at 75kg, and this cab back is f*cking heavy. Even if we could have got it on top, there's no way I fancied a trip down the M6 with the thing up there!
So, back it went into the shed, and I need to formulate a new plan. A hired van would work; I just need to take a deep breath when booking on the Steam Packet website, where they seem to expect you to buy them a new ferry for transporting you over the water!
A couple of weeks ago, my Mum, sister and myself, spent a week on the Isle of Man.
We wanted to show my sister some of the places that meant a lot to my Dad, and obviously, one of those was Groudle Glen.
We struck luck with the weather the whole week, especially for the glen, as the overnight rain saw everything looking very green in the daytime sunshine.
Reaching Sea Lion rocks, I took the opportunity to stand on the same bank Dad and I stood on back in 1993. Then, there wasn't much to see, other than the track. When the train departed, we wondered quite why it seemed like a good idea to hang around in the drizzle, in the middle of nowhere. It did though, and we revisited the spot many times afterwards!
Fortunately, there is now an excellent cafe. Sister was delighted to find gluten-free cherry cake on sale, which both she and my Mum scoffed. In memory of Dad of course...
I opted for a vanilla slice, but Dad hated custard, so Little Brian wouldn't look at it!
I've never been fussed by model coaching stock. Wagons are much more interesting, and far more interesting to build too. The paintwork is easier for a start.
Recently, I found my first coach model. It's a Lima MK1 in my favourite blood'n'custard livery.
The thing has been through the wars. Almost certainly operated on our very first layouts, even before The Cawood Wistow and Selby line.
At some point, the couplings have been removed, but not replaced by Sprat & Winkles. I seem to remember this is the point where I discovered that you had to fit S&W's to the body, but this limited the curve radius the model would than traverse
Window glazing is from Wills vac-formed units, and looks pretty good to my eye, even today,
I'm not sure what to do with the model next. I'm not going to throw it away, too much history there! Maybe a quick tidy up, but then I find myself wondering about those roof vents. Replacing them would make a difference, and the roof is cracked anyway.
What about the handrails? Fiddly to do, and the paint will need touching up. Can I match the shade?
I've never been a fan of fixing road vehicles to model railways. For a start, it allows me to use the models on more than one layout.
Then, it means that the models will "move around" between shows, so the display looks slightly different each time. I've usually got too many models anyway, so the changes can be rung. We don't want visitors to see the same thing each time.
Finally, I quite like the process of placing each model. It's a sort of ritual, an indication that the set-up is nearly done. Quite therapeutic. At least if we aren't in a rush because of traffic delays...
But the models need a home off the layout, and for the Melbridge Dock set, this is a figure carrying case from Games Workshop. Sadly, this is so old, I can't find it for sale, but there are lots of options on eBay, for a lot less money than buying through the shops.
The foam holds each model securely, but without damage, even after a lot of miles. OK, the catch that holds it shut has broken, but a luggage strap (useful things these) does that job perfectly well.
My Dad used to have the job of putting vehicles back in the box at the end of a show. He always managed to pack them in really neatly, a trait I didn't appear to inherit!
Newish on my workbench, are some AK paint pens. I'm a big fan of the MiG oilbrusher, it's a really handy device to have around for quick touch-ups, and these pens might be even better.
First impressions are good. The paint flows well, and seems pretty opaque. Basically, painting with no cleanup at the end. The pointy tip isn't going to work for really fine work, but for a lot of jobs, it's OK.
One job I have found them perfect for, is painting moulded on handrails.
My only moan is that the colours are quite light. RCM007, brown, looks
to be quite a dark shade, close to my favoured track colour, and the
shade most useful for the oilbrusher. The results are a poor match for
the pen casing, quite a bit lighter as the work on the Ratio pallets
shows.
I like the pen format, but I think I need more experimentation to find the colours I need. They will be out there, I just need to locate them.
A rather more useful selection of goodies from Covrail than normal. No weird kits, although I looked hard at a Roundhouse HO scale loco that would have been interesting to put together, but decided I really don't need any more loco kits...
I started with a servo from Amazing Little Trains. Andy assures me that this will be much better than the frazzled one operating (sometimes) the regulator in Ragleth. I'm fed up with taking the body off this loco, so let's hope he is right.
Then, a pile of products from Model Railway Bits. New to me, I liked the look of the curved and pointy sanding sticks, and very soft round brush. The latter is sold for dry-brushing, but looks more suited to weathering powder application.
A quid's worth of 6-12V LEDS, some 9v battery snaps and those useful push-chocolate block connectors.
Then some Army Painter washes. I've noticed a lot more MiG and Ammo paint appearing at shows, especially the rather nice paint pens. Perhaps the trade is spreading its net wider, and railway modellers are more open to buying non-model railway products. Whatever the reason, a greater range of materials is always good.
The inlaid track came from a second-hand stall (thanks Earl) and finally, I stocked up on model filler, something I'm inexplicably out of.
Advertised as an air-conditioned venue, sadly the show was bumped out of the hall with aircon, into a tin shed without it, so this was a hot and sticky event.
I certainly needed to keep my hydration up, as there was a lot of useful chatting to be done. This might have been a local show, not a big event, but it happened to have dragged in quite a few people I knew, who I needed to talk too. A very efficient day!
Layout-wise, the picture was a bit mixed. Some nice stuff, and a smattering of space-fillers. A few of those were new exhibitors, including a club junior section, so I don't begrudge them the space as everyone has to learn what it's like inside the barrier, and despite this, there was still much to see and enjoy.
My favourite was probably the Cuban model, Central Alonzo Mill.
Well modelled, and importantly, well lit, it exuded the Cuban vibes, or at least as much as I can tell, only knowing the place from a couple of Bond films.
I also liked Pine Ridge.
Unlit, this didn't matter as it helped showcase the shop interiors (impossible to shoot on a mobile I'm afraid) and some really detailed buildings.
I'm very much not a fan of military stuff, but have to say the railways in shell casings, and in a hat, were effective.
And of course, I can't resist the G-scale model of the Wuppertal.
The trade didn't include any of the really big names, but wasn't bad either. Plenty of RTR, some good scenic stuff and electronics. OK, no hard-core specialists, but for the market the event aims at, not too shabby.
Overall, a nice day out, if a bit hot. Being 10 miles down the road, and only eight quid to go in didn't hurt either, although I suggested they should go for 10 to save messing around with change.
Operating from various premises around Euston station from 1963 to 1998, Collectors Corner, was a simply wonderful emporium for those who love train stuff.
Set up to dispose of all sorts of railway ephemera from the entire network, I remember several visits to the slightly run down and disorganised premises, and loved every one.
The catalogue, a budget-busting and tenuous addition to the Beatties collection, shows just what was available, and at prices that make me want to build a time machine.
Wall clocks starting at £50 for a wooden cased spring-driven clock, to £300 for a large platform clock. Class 08 nameplates, £12, Class 47 £18. Timetable posters for 75p. Signal arms £10. BR knives, forks and spoons 75p each.
Visitors would pore over piles of leaflets and advertising materials - I came away with a lot of APT material, including a tie, for pocket money prices in the late 1980s. On my paltry wages, while the much-desired clocks were outside my budget, but there was plenty of small railwayana available.
I also bought a couple of the 1970s white plastic station signs, which had to travel back on the tube with me. At 7ft long, that wasn't easy, but well worth it. In 1983, these were only a fiver,
Sadly, privatisation saw the business transfer to Hudson St in York, where it was far more civilised, and lasted a year or so. There will never be anything like this again.
Please tell me I'm not the only person who remembers this place!
There's more practical Phil in August's issue of BRM than we've seen in the last few months. I start by showing how to add coal to a coaling stage. It's the same process as adding coal to a locomotive tender, something anyone can do to produce an immediate upgrade to their models.
Diesel fans aren't forgotten, with a quick detailing article based on the Hornby Railroad Deltic.
I'm not going to claim this is anything other than a beginner-friendly quick fix. Whatever you do, this model, dating from 1977, is too small in many dimensions. However, it's ideal for anyone who just fancies a good-looking loco to head up an express train. Fitted with sound, the price of around £130 is very appealing, so much so that I can't find one for sale right now!
Finally, I've been looking at fireless locos.
If you run one of these appealing beasts, your layout should include a charging point to fill it full of steam (and superheated water), so I did a lot of digging and tried to create something easy to build and authentic.
The camera has been out again, this time for the 009 layout Bryn Coeden.
Malcolm Holland’s Tidewater &
Teslin railroad might live in Great Western territory, but this model
is about as far removed as you can get from anything Brunel built.
On the workbench: log carriers, a
run-down slate wagon, an estate railway loco, and possibly the
fastest wagon kit you can buy, plus a stunning Gauge 3 Southern N
Class.
Also inside: John Turner models,
twin 16mm Baguley Drewrys, and postcards from the ultra-realistic
Shade Gap line.
All that, and the latest Product
News for larger scale modellers.
There was a casualty of Gardeners' World - My Merlin Mayflower.
Normally, a very reliable locomotive, I fired it up to put on a show while the judges did their thing. It had run well earlier in the day, but now it was backfiring, there was burning happening in the cab, around the area of the burner. I turned the gas out, and tried again. After a couple of goes, all seemed well, and steam was quickly raised.
Off we went, and about 10 feet from the corner the judges were occupying, the loco stopped. I sprinted around to it, and the cab was full of fire again.
Trying not to make a fuss, I turned the gas off, a bit of a toasty job, and whipped the loco back to the yard, where I left it to cool.
Back at home, I can see that the electronics are not in the best shape. The cover has melted off the receiver, and all the servo wires are crispier than is ideal. It looks like some time will need to be spent replacing a lot of this, although there is some life in them, maybe I can save the receiver.
Of course, I'll need to investigate the cause of the backfire too. A chat with my steam loco guru beckons when I'm back home.
While I'm at it, the O-rings in the cylinders have been asking for attention on cold days for a long while. Perhaps a more comprehensive service is called for.
All this will need to be marked down to being part of the "fun" of operating a miniature live steam loco.
The area of the Gardeners' World railway that fascinated me more than anything is the planting seen in the photo above.
It's all created using a product I'd never heard of - wild flower turf.
Just like normal turf, it arrives rolled, and you simply spread it out on your soil, or even lawn, apparently, but unlike turf, there isn't any grass. Instead, it's a mass of native wildflowers.
Our turf instantly provided a nice rural look to one end of the railway. I'm told that we were possibly a couple of weeks early, as later in the season, more of the flowers would be on display, but I like the texture it gave to this end of the line.
While not cheap, the results are pretty much instant, ideal for show gardens, and probably why Alan Titchmarsh uses it on the telly, I'm told.
At the end of the weekend, the turf was due to be re-homed with a school, but I begged a couple of small pieces, which have found a home in our garden.
No idea what will happen, but I'm looking forward to the results.
Well, this is a bit different. When Andy Christie first mentioned that he was putting on a display featuring garden railways at the massive Gardeners' World show, I knew I wanted to be involved.
The setup process is a bit more protracted than that for most shows. When I built "Layout in a Day" for the NGRS, I get half a day to do the job. Andy and team had a week, pretty much standard for displays at this show it seems. That included moving a lot of railway sleepers to build a fence!
Thanks to various deadlines, my time was limited, but I did manage to get a day in on the Monday. First job, dig out a pair of milk churns that had been inadvertently buried when soil was delivered by the organisers. After that, there was a lot of painting, and more shovelling as we filled up the alpine end of the model, ready for planting.
An essential meeting in the office meant my next trip was on Wednesday - Press day and also judging. We still had quite a few bits to finish off, but by the time the judges arrived at 4:30, all was ready.
There had been a bit of train testing during the day, and so just before the judges were due, we fired up a couple of steam engines so they could enjoy the full effect. Andy and Louise talked them through the display, which covers Andy's life on the railway.
Of course, the trains decided to misbehave. Badly. My Merlin developed a backfire, basically flame in the cab. After a couple of re-lightings, it seemed to be happy, and after raising steam set off around the layout. All went well for a few minutes, until it stopped. A quick look revealed a cab full of flame, so without making a fuss, I turned off the gas, only burning myself a little in the process.
I then popped the electric railmotor on, which promptly derailed on a straight bit of track. A later examination showed that one of the nuts holding the connecting rod on had come off.
Finally, The Roundhouse Russel picked the spot right in front of the judges to run over a plant and derail!
Despite all this, later in the day, the railway was rightly awarded a Gold award.
Another day away, this time at Garden Railway Specialists' open day, and I was back for the weekend.
I decided against bringing steam, instead providing my IP Engineering railcar to fill the gaps when chuffy locos weren't available.
There followed two days of operation, on one of the hottest weekends of the year. We kept things running pretty continuously - not easy when you are running steam and have to keep gassing and watering locos. Fortunately, we were joined by someone with a cracking battery-powered LGB Stainz on the Saturday, and Sunday saw Richard with another very reliable Cheddar steamer.
Trains had to be driven too. Behind the "fiddle yard" was quite a gradient. So steep that by mid-Saturday, the steam engines were struggling despite our best efforts to wipe oil away. Eventually, Andy lightly sanded the rail tops, which solved the problem...
The public really enjoyed the display. We had to keep explaining that yes, the locos were powered by real steam. So many people had never seen a garden railway, but we worked hard to plant the seed that this would be something to enhance their garden.
And like that, it was all over. Sunday, we lifted all the plants, most of which were sold off (I have a nice bonsai tree) and removed the track. By the end, Andy and the team were left with the earth, and all those sleepers to deal with over the next couple of days.
What an amazing time. I'm happy to admit that even if I'd had the gumption to book a place in the show, my design would have been less ambitious and probably not won an award. Sometimes, the envelope has to be pushed to get the results.
A fuller write-up will appear in a future issue of Garden Rail, along with some details of the planting from Louise. There is a lot to be learned from all this, to apply on our own lines.
In their day, Beatties didn't just sell British model trains, they were a supplier of the foreign stuff too. In those days, modelling anything beyond these shores was seen as weird; it still is in a small way today.
Still, you could go to your local branch and pick up catalogues to get your fill of German goodness, which is why I've acquired a few for the collection - 1976 to 79.
Looking through, there is very little familiar to my eyes, but then I'm no expert on continental trains. Some of the models look surprisingly crude. I'd always grown up believing that Euro trains were expensive, but of superb quality. Maybe, compared to the UK version they were.
One surprise was finding out Fleischmann made their own slot car system, with some rather tasty-looking German racing cars available in miniature. Well, tasty, if you like racing Porches anyway.
Another find was my little red shunter, which appears in all of these catalogues, showing just how old the model could be!
Back in the 1980s, the L&WMRS built a Thomas the Tank engine layout. It was a simple track plan, a couple of ovals with loops in the station, and fiddle yard. Some sidings existed, but were never used.
Control was by a couple of old (even then) H&M controllers at the front, feeding through some panel mount ones at the back. Thus, we could let kids drive the trains, but limit their top speed.
We had all the trains. In an era when Hornby made Thomas and Gordon, keen, and often finescale, modellers in the club, produced the rest. Even the relatively obscure ones like the Twins and BoCo.
The 8 by 4, later 10 by 4, layout went out to the lot of shows. At one, we met Chris Awdry, the boy for whom the books were written, and had him sign the fascia board. After this, he actually came out with the layout a few times.
My Dad and I were heavily involved in all this, and Dad loved it. He was an entertainer, and we certainly brought the fun to a few model railway shows.
Eventually, taking the layout out became a bit of a chore, and we sold it to Banbury MRC. But, we kept the fascia.
Obviously, a 10-foot-long board is a bit of a nuisance kicking around. Not a problem for many years as it could live in the club loft, but when we turned that loft into workspace, something had to be done.
In time for the open weekend, Mike Collins turned the long board into something more manageable. He rescued the number plates used for the layout name, and Chris's signature. We now have a panel that can be displayed, so one of our most successful layouts can be remembered, even if it is only by a few of us now. My Dad would be very pleased.
