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?