Elsecar 2026

The Yorkshire Garden Railway show returned this year, to its spiritual home - Elsecar Heritage Centre. 

I like the site. While Barrow Hill, the location for a few years while the heritage centre was being refurbished, is great for us train enthusiasts, it's not somewhere to take the family. If you are setting up a layout or longish trade stand, the wobbly floor is a nightmare. A proper exhibition centre is much nicer, and there are craft and antique shops for non-enthusiasts. And for both, there is a fabulous beer shop. 

The show was lovely. Big enough for there to be plenty to see, but not so large you'd struggle to get around. 

I spent a lot of time chatting with trade and exhibitors, picking up both articles for Garden Rail, and product news for the magazine, as well as a couple of review samples - a really worthwhile trip. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

There were some nice ideas to be picked up too. The micro layout above is only 2ft wide, and although it uses the owners bespoke 3D printed track, other options are available. I don't have access to a 32mm gauge track, and I do own the kit for the Groudle Glen loco that was happily running around it. In fact, I own several small 32mm gauge locos and wagons. I really need to add this to the list of projects I don't have time for...

I'll admit, I did sneak out for an hour, for a delicious sausage bap, and some fresh waffle, cream and strawberries. 

There was cake on offer, but it all looked a bit sickly to me, and the waffles were lovely. I dropped in to the antiques centre too, but more of that tomorrow. Another surprise was meeting an old friend who now works there, completely unexpectedly. It's a small world!

All in all, a good day out, and a show I recommend anyone consider for their calendar, especially if they want to take the family out for the day. You can all meet up after a couple of hours, and compare shopping. If the family have spent more, you can nip back into the show, and add to your stash!

More photos over on my Flickr feed.  

Saturday Film Club: Erie Steam Shovel action

A short video this week, but what a machine!

Time for an AGM?

 

Spotted while on a photo shoot a couple of weeks ago - and it made me chuckle. 

I had to ask, and it seems that B.L.O.G. stands for Buckden Lodge Owners Group, for users of  Buckden Marina, nothing to do with those of us posting away on the internet...

Not sure an AGM would be a great idea. The Treasurer's report would be a bit of a disaster, and you lot might vote me out!

Wythall bus museum

Some days, you just need to escape "the office" and go to watch the countryside pass by from the top deck of a vintage bus. A couple of weeks ago, I had such a moment, but it handily coincided with an event at the Transport Museum, Wythall. 

Off I toddled, and spent the day riding around on old Brummie buses, enjoying a workshop tour, and some nice grub. Just what the doctor ordered, or at least I'm sure he would, if I'd asked him.  

There's not much more to say, other than there are more photos over on my Flickr album. 

And yes, there was a minor haul. I recently had to set up a photo and realised I was very short on flatbed lorries. One of the stalls at the museum sorted this out with a couple of diecasts. 

 

Theatre Review: My Neighbour Totoro

You might wonder why I'm posting about a stage show on a blog about toy trains'n'stuff. Well, this visit was inspired by something I spotted on an N gauge layout. 

Chatting to the owner, it turns out that this is a CatBus, from the 1988 film, "My Neighbour Totoro". Obviously this fascinates me, and I spend time I should be working falling down the CatBus rabbit hole on the internet. Fairly quickly, I find that there is a stage show put on by none other than the RSC. At this point, I decide to stop messing around, buy a ticket, and get back to work. 

Last week, I trotted off to London to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is in Parker Street, a good sign.  

Finding my seat, quite high up, but with an excellent view, I awaited the show. There is quite a lot online about it, but I'd tried to avoid reading too much. 

The story is a bit limited, but that's not what we are here for. The staging is amazing. I'd go so far as to say the whole thing is magical. 

Much of the work is done with puppets. Those operating them wear black, and are veiled when not being part of the ensemble cast. This works well, you simply don't see the people, like you don't see baseboard joints on model railways at a show. 

Totoro appears in several sizes, most notably about 25 feet high (or long, we meet him lying down), and while not the nimblest puppet, he can move around thanks to his team of helpers. I understand that the multiple scale is based on the film, where the artists drew him at convenient sizes. 

For me, the star was the CatBus - it is huge, pretty close to the size of a real bus!

Again, the puppet work is amazing. As he does the flying around, miniature buildings and even a train rush by underneath. Again, we get a different scale puppet for one sequence. 

Aside from this, there is a house that spins and splits up so we can see inside and out. Plants that erupt from the stage,  a forest that closes in, moving sweetcorn plants and a whole lot more. 

The show is funny, poignant, and always visually stunning. I really enjoyed myself, and am tempted by a repeat visit. There's so much to see, I know I will have missed some of it. 

Picky point? The family arrive on a piaggio ape, which is an Italian three-wheel transport, surely unlikely to be seen in Japan. Surely a Mazda K360 would be more appropriate?  

Stern work

 

Time to move outside the barge, and work on the stern. A series of wire pieces are cut and superglued in place. Over this, slips a couple of laser-cut card parts. To cover the wire ends, a thinner card piece fits over the top. 

This reads quicker than it turned out to be. I used a piece of MDF as a spacer for the bottom rib, but did the top by eye. It's not perfect, but OK. 

Leftover wire has been used for the tiller, although it deserves a bit more colour than the plain black I've painted it. 

To be honest, this double rib arrangement seems a bit of a fantasy to me - I don't recall seeing anything like it in real life, but I'm going with it. This isn't a kit to rebuild too much. Due to work commitments, it's already taken longer than a "quick build", and I won't argue that it looks nice. 

Acton haul

 

What I didn't buy - a signal head for £400. Too heavy to bring back on the train. Likewise a chunk of masonry from a Leslie Green station. 

LT railwayana isn't cheap. Numerous "Lift" direction signs for £100. Tiny squares of moquette for £20. Even the tube line stickers used in trains were pricey, and they didn't have a Bakerloo line one. 

Obviously, this didn't entirely stop me. A tote bag and guidebook (an excellent 100 page read with lovely photos) for £8 and 10 postcards (am I the only person who buys these?) for a quid. I'm wondering if the prospect of a house in Metroland for £750 is still possible? Is the 1932 advert a touch out of date? 

Weird buys - a pack of whitemetal oil drums and depot details, and 16mm scale Talyllyn Railway plans. No idea what they were doing there, but they are mine now!

Best buy? A great big paper label that says "Defective". I think I might put it on a lanyard and wear it around my neck...

Acton Depot

A chance spot on the Ian Visits newsletter presented me with the chance to tick off somewhere I've always wanted to visit, but never found the time - Acton Depot. Home to the bulk of the London Transport artefacts collection. 

The depot doesn't host that many open days, and by chance this time it was a Friday/Saturday session, so I quickly booked the end of the week off work, and bought myself a ticket. Weirdly, this works better for me than weekends, which are in short supply at this time of year. 

Entry is timed, but they were pretty relaxed about this, letting me in an hour early. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to cross town, less than expected thanks to an efficient underground system!

The depot is big. Eight platforms of underground (not just tube) trains, plus buses and a couple of trams. Plus half a million smaller items apparently. 

It was all a bit "woah!" to start with. I needed three circuits to get my head around it properly. I won't claim to be any sort of LT expert, but I can respect the work that goes into restoring these things. 

My favourite though, has to be a battery loco. 

Mainly because they are ugly workhorses, but also because I built a model of one years ago as a magazine project. This loco is still in "as used" condition, and all the better for it. I've only ever seen these from a distance before, and so loved the chance to get up close. 

A trip up on the mezzanine saw me with another item that I have a tiny connection with.

I often look at maps and find myself fascinated by places, and in the 1990s, one end of the tube map showed a place called "Ongar". I knew nothing about it, and there wasn't an internet to consult quickly, but when I read in Railway Magazine that services were to be abandoned, I took a day off my job at the Ministry of Agriculture, and hopped on a train. 

Ongar is Chipping Ongar, and the ride included an awful lot of countryside. Riding on an underground train through this was fascinating, and a bit weird. I spent a couple of hours wandering around and caught the train back into the smoke. The line closed in September 1994, and is now run by the Epping Ongar Railway. 

As a day out, it was well worth it. Not somewhere I feel the need to go regularly, but I hope to be back one day. If you've not been, add it to the list. 

There are more photos over on my Flickr album.  

Saturday Film Club: Exhibiting at the Bala model railway Exhibition on Llantaliog a 16mm scale layout

Some large-scale steam action at the Bala Lake Railway gala. 

Pay Checks

A final bit of the Stafford haul, which I nearly forgot as they have been rattling around in the bottom of my bag, are these railway paychecks. 

According to Wikipedia, these would be issued on Thursday, and then swopped the next day for money and a payslip. Some numbers would be issued to an employee when they started work, and kept for life. 

These cost me a quid each from the North Staffordshire Railway Co. 

While I know they aren't rare, each one is much older than I am, and a fascinating piece of social history. This little bit of copper (I think) meant everything to the person it belonged to. Who was that person? Whose hands have each one of these passed through? 

I've built a model like that!

 

Going for a stroll last week, I spotted this fence. There are several similar ones on the estate it's on. 

I think the ground has dried up so much, that the posts have all started to lean. Obviously, the bars have held, so it's just leaned over. 

Which looks an awful lot like many a model fence I have seen - so there is a prototype if you can't make your posts stand up straight! 

Garden Rail November - We are off to Switzerland

This issue takes a trip to Switzerland with the stunning 'Helvetia' Gauge 1 layout, proving that world class modelling can fit in surprisingly small spaces. 

Also inside: 

• Build your first Gauge 1 locomotive with the latest beginner-friendly G1MRA kit.
• First test of Garden Railway Specialists' new Hudswell Clarke live steam locomotive.
• Create realistic water features to bring wildlife and extra interest to your railway. 
• Build a Tin Turtle armoured Simplex from recycled parts. 
• Explore the history of Harvey Watkins' Darjeeling B Class locomotives. 
• We visit the Misbourne Valley Railway for an Indian locomotive special, and if this inspires you, we're also building a Darjeeling coach 

Plus, all the latest product news for anyone working in the larger scales. 

Garden Rail November 2026, packed with ideas for builders, tinkerers, live steam enthusiasts and anyone looking for their next project.

Soft furnishings

The "padding" on the beds and sofa in the barge is made from pieces of pre-cut MDF, to be covered by the builder. 

I raided my mum's material scraps for something suitable. These aren't big cushions, but it's a modelling job I've never done before. Each piece was wrapped, and glued along one side with PVA, held with a couple of small bulldog clips. Then I was distracted, and left them for a couple of weeks. 

Coming back to the task, the material had stuck, but I needed to work around curved corners, which with the PVA and clips, seemed a little challenging. So, I changed to superglue, which sets fast enough that the excess material can be tugged to keep the tension. 

It worked!

Within a few minutes, everything was stuck in place, the glue hadn't ruined the front of the material, and I could trim the excess with curved nail scissors.  

Some small cushions seemed to be required. Why is it that the softest and most comfortable seat in the house, needs a ton of small cushions? 

Anyway, these are balsa wood squares, roughly shaped (you can't see much through the windows) and wrapped in tissue, again, held with superglue. The surface is a bit wrinkly, but looks OK. 

Stafford haul

 

As I picked up the 1/24 figure set, the guy behind the Stafford second-hand stall said, "I thought of you when I put that out!"

It seems I have a reputation. 

To be fair, I've enjoyed some cracking deals from this stand. Mostly buying stuff no one else wants, but appeals to my weird interests. 

So, we have a 1/24 set of "Campus Friends" in an odd Tamiya box. This set looks to be the original 1983 version, there is a more modern set with a figure taking a selfie. However, the plain box confuses me. Is this an early "white label" version? 

The Russian army figures are useful poses, especially those with the fuel drum. And the MG, well, I hadn't brought my spend up to the value of my entry ticket, and it just appealed to me. There is a lot of box for a very small motor car! 

These came from a preservation stand. The Merit carboys are nice models, and with straw packing, will make a wagon load. I suppose most people would ignore them for something 3D printed, but that's their loss. The trees are just nice boxes, and I'm curious about them, especially the Alder trees. 

Anorak's Anonymous provided me with a nice kit for a road roller, travelling van and water bowser. These are nice kits and make up well. Six quid is a lot cheaper than a RTR diecast model, and so much more fun too. While we are looking at road vehicles, the diecast trailers from £3 for three, and the second-hand stall had a pile of them. 

Another AA find. I didn't know what I was buying here; I just really loved the box design, from a firm I've never heard of. What I have is a set of street light kits. Probably a bit American, but not outrageously so. However, buying old kits because I like the look of the box is very on-brand for me. 

Finally, from the donations table, at the end of the day, so obviously not that popular, a railway simulator. I don't think I've ever had a proper go with one of these, so why not? I'm probably one of the last people with a CD Rom drive in my computer anyway - which probably explains it being left on the table!

Not a spendy show, but the trade was good fun. I haven't picked a few bits up for work projects too, but this is the fun/weird stuff that makes going to a physical event so entertaining.  

 

 

Stafford 2026

I suppose that I ought to mention that I managed to blag a free ticket for Stafford this year, by virtue of having given the exhibition organiser my old layout, "Edgeworth". Mind you, this, and York, are both on the list of shows I happily attend as a punter, paying to go in. Stafford is always a worthwhile trip. Partly because I get to take the train, and then vintage bus, to the showground. Yes, it would be cheaper to drive, but not nearly as fun. 

Of course, as I'd save my money on a ticket, I was duty-bound to spend at least the entry fee on the club second-hand stall. But that's for tomorrow. 

I've been visiting Stafford for a long while. In the old days, it took place in February, often with snow on the ground, and in three adjoining halls rather than this single building. They have gradually grown to completely fill the "new" hall, with all of the generous balconies being in use. 

Being in one room gives the show a nice atmosphere. It is a big event, but still feels like a club show, which is what it is. 

Layout quality is always excellent, and I normally book a shoot or two for BRM. This time, I recognised many of the display as ones that have appeared on our pages, at least one of those was so pleased with the way we showed off his excellent layout, the magazine itself is part of the display!

Yes, I am a bit smug about this. North Cornwall Brewery is my kind of layout, and so when the owner is pleased with the photos, I am delighted. 

Despite being a big show, there are a good number of small layouts, the ones I think inspire people, and those that I'd like to build. I don't think there was a single stand-out "Phil would like to build this" model this year, but many fell into this category. Maybe I'm so busy with other things that even my imagination doesn't fancy adding another project to the list! 

Trade was excellent, with many of the big names represented, including Dapol, who don't do many shows now. 

But the cake. I finally, after many years, succumbed to the giant custard tart. 

I'm sure these things used to be size of a coracle, but even now, they are pretty large. But, I had snuck out of the hall to the old cafe, and just gave in. You always regret the things you don't do, people say, and this year was the time to stop looking. 

Handy hint, the waiting time for the old cafe, which was beside a dog show, was much less than the one in the hall I'm told. Since your wristband allows you in and out, this worked well. Better still, they are finally taking cards, so no more looking at the menu and deciding how much cash you have left.

Anyway, another really enjoyable show. There are more photos over on my Flickr feed.  

Saturday Film Club: The History of Steam Power and what it means to us!

Yes, another video from the Groudle Glen Railway. What else would you want to watch? 

What colour is a blue brick?

 

Sometimes, work means I have to do some odd things. A few weeks ago, there was an emergency run to buy pencil crayons. Yes, coloured pencils. 

For the station building project I was working on, I had to colour in some blue engineering bricks. Now, in the past, I'd been told "Prussian Blue" was the colour. I tried it, and it very much wasn't. Far too blue. 

That being the case, the project ground to a halt until I located the correct colour, hence a hurried trip to my local art shop, Picturesque, in Warwick, with some photos of real buildings. 

Now, the people running the shop are used to oddballs coming in, and didn't bat an eye at someone testing every flavour of grey in the rack on a bit of card kept from the kit fret. It took a long while for me to work through all the ranges and settle on a selection. The bricks are a lot greyer than you think, but with a hint of blue. Sadly, no one makes a "blue brick" pencil to make things easier for me. 

In the end, I came away with a few: 

• Derwent Blue Grey
• Stabilo CarbOthello
• Derwent Mid Grey
• Derwent Steel Blue
• Derwent Iron Blue
• Derwent Payne's Grey

Eventually, a mix of three randomly rubbed on the etched bricks did the job, or at least to my eyes. It's all subjective anyway...

 

Station, nettles and bushes in November's BRM

 

Lots of making going on in November's issue of BRM. I start with some etched metal nettles. Very nice, but definitely a foreground plant, as they aren't cheap. That said, when only the best will do, this is a very good option. Very easy to use too. 

Next, a seriously time-consuming model. 

MMR Models GWR station is a stunner - but be prepared to put the time in. Nothing is difficult, but there are a lot of parts, and you really need to be pre-painting most of them too. Is it worth it? In my opinion, yes. There is a terrific sense of satisfaction making a model like this, and if that is part of the calculation you make when deciding how to model railways, then that matters. 

Finally, on BRM TV, I'm making hedges. 

My camera has been out, photographing the OO gauge layout, Bere Banks. 

 British Railway Modelling magazine is available from all good newsagents, or our online store. 

Workshop Wednesday - Sherwood Bus Depot

 

On the way to a photo shoot, I found myself running early, so I stopped off in the Nottingham district of Sherwood. The forest is close by, in case you wondered. 

It's an interesting place. More charity shops than you can shake a stick at, but also a local baker and lots of visible signs of community action to brighten the place up. I popped some of them in this Instagram post.  

Halfway along the street is Sherwood bus depot. According to this document (PDF), it was built in 1901, originally as a tram depot. Buses replaced trams in 1936.

One half is now a 'spoons pub, and the other used to be a bus depot, though it closed a month ago.  

Frustratingly, the satnav route back home after the shoot didn't replicate the route out, or I'd have examined the building further over lunch in the pub.  

You can see this building on Street View. 

Fitting out the galley

 

Finally, a bit of time to stick on an Inspector Morse DVD, and get back to working on the model barge. 

The kitchen units confused me. In theory, they fold up, but I got lost in the instructions, and ended up going off-piste. The various sides were split up, and reassembled in a way that seemed to make sense to me. It didn't help that I disagreed with the idea that the doors should open. On a real barge, just like a camper van, surely there are latches to stop them swinging around when in motion? 

No problem, just fit the parts inside out, and the doors stay closed. I added some handles from scraps of microstrip, stuck in place with Deluxe card glue. Extra strips were cut from the spare card fret to add a worktop and drawer fronts. With a sharp blade, the card cuts beautifully. 

Coloured with paint pens, they will look fine when viewed through the side windows, and not bad with the roof removed. I think I'll look for some suitable detail fittings to bring the galley area alive at some point, but they look OK for now.