Railex haul

 

Combine me feeling reasonably flush (not loco buying flush, but not bad) and an excellent second-hand stall, and you won't be surprised that my rucksack was pretty full. 

Like any proper modeller, my first stop was the stand, and I pretty quickly worked out that stuff was priced to sell. A Bachrus rolling road for a fiver? That has got to be the bargain of the year. I already have one, but it only has three supports. Add these three, and I can test bogie locos properly. 

An 80s Hornby Post Office kit - you'll see that one in The Collector at some point. Kenline chassis? Cheap, and a little nostalgic. There is also the possibility of a project that might make use of it...

Grass and flower tufts are handy scenic standbys, a 7mm scale whitemetal fitter kit likewise. 

Grafar wagons can wait for another post, there is a bit of a Beatties backlog to get through. 

Petite Properties barge kit? I wanted one as soon as they announced it, but they don't normally take dolls house stuff to toy train shows. Unless you ask nicely, which I did. 

Rolls of silicone-covered tool wire at a fiver a pop save me buying the stuff elsewhere, as I've nearly run out. Mind you, they certainly weighed my bag down for the rest of the day!

And then, possibly the most Phil thing I could buy. 

Yes. It is an S gauge wooden kit for an American "reefer" to carry watermelons. Someone was selling a collection, and I decided, for a tenner, I wanted to know more. My colleague Steven thought I'd lost my mind. He may be right. 

I've had a look and still can't work out if I've just bought a box of random wooden bits, or a proper kit. As far as I can tell, the complicated bits for the chassis are there, as is the roof. All the metal bits (trucks, wheels etc.) are present, but I can't see all of the sides. Maybe they only paint the ends, and the rest is left to the modeller. Not to worry, I think there will be enough material there to build a wagon. One day. 

Railex 2026

 

Phew, what a scorcher!

On the hottest weekend of the year so far, I jumped on a train to enjoy a proper finescale model railway exhibition. And boy, it was warm in the hall! I felt for the exhibitors as I felt under the weather the following morning, even though I'd made an effort to take plenty of liquid on board. There's nothing the organisers could do either - that's the weather for you.

The show itself was as good as ever. High-quality layouts, and trade you don't find at other events. As I write, it's too hot to knock out a detailed review, so this is going to be a photo dump. I forgot to buy a programme too, which makes things even tricker.

Looking back through my photos, I don't seem to have taken much of the S gauge island. Some cracking layouts, but I've photographed most of them for work. One of the picture even made it's way into MRJ as part of the show advert. I had to buy a copy because of this. Finescale fame at last! 

The trade here is interesting. Lots of bits for making things, much like you would have found at a show 30 years ago, when kitbuilding in 4mm scale was more popular. I'm pleased to see this, but wonder how much gets sold. Sadly, most of these guys wouldn't be able to justify financially, appearing at a general show, but then that's what makes this event worth the trip. My colleague Steven drove four hours to visit, and it's not the first time!

I wish I had more time available for loco building, this new model from Judith Edge really appeals, but I don't need another kit sat on the shelf. And with the death of Romford wheels, combined with my inability to build a chassis without taking it apart several times, I'm not sure what I'd sit it on. 

There was spending of course, but I'll cover this tomorrow. You have been warned, some very Phil items came home with me.  

Catering isn't bad here. Lunch was a nice tuna sandwich, and morning tea came with cake. 

Of course, on a hot day, the walk back to the bus stop needed an ice cream. 

Talking of the bus, this is my only complaint. We were told to look out for a vintage bus for the ride from station to show. This is what we found. 

According to a poster on board, this vehicle was built in 1995. OK, it's now out of service and preserved, but 1995 isn't really old, never mind vintage! I mean, you'll be telling me the 1980s was more than a couple of years ago next...

 

Saturday Film Club: This is Japan's UNIQUE Monorail Built By a Hospital!

This is a terrible video. I recommend skipping the first minute and a half, but the subject is interesting, a monorail in the grounds of a hospital. A bit like Hellingly Hospital, but not for carrying coal. And with one fewer rail. 

There's a cracking view of the thing on Google Streetview too. 

 

L&WMRS open weekend ahead

OK, after me banging on about it for ages, the L&WMRS Open Weekend is upon us. 

On both Saturday and Sunday, the clubrooms in Knightcote (near Leamington Spa) - you can find us on Google Streetview.  

All the club layouts will be set up and working, as will the outdoor track. Plus a rare appearance by Melbridge Dock!

More details on the club website. 

Obviously, on Sunday, we will be celebrating the life of my Dad, Brian. This isn't going to be solem. The plan is a slideshow of photos on a screen and the Dock on display. We'll unveil a bench by the boat club, and sail a couple of models he built. I'll also give the 16mm scale coaches he built, a spin on the outdoor track. No fuss, it's what he would have wanted. 

As part of this, we'll be laying on a free barbecue so you can watch trains, and munch burgers (and salad) and of course, there will be cake.  

So, if you can be in the area, please drop in, even if you didn't know Brian. We'll be pleased to see you. 

 

Will the trains run?

 

The layout has sat idle for a decade, and so the locos have done the same, so the first job was to set up the wheel cleaning station, and give them all a good polish. While I was at it, all the bearings received a drop of Loco-motion, as I think this does what it says on the bottle. 

First impressions were good. OK, a couple of models took a little while to wake up, but that's to be expected. Given a dose of God's own 12v DC, they were soon turning over. 

Tradition demands that the first loco of the day is my Mailine 03 diesel. And so it was on this occasion. 

It trundled around nicely, and revealed the electrical gods weren't completely on my side, as I found a couple of dry joints in the track. Soldering iron out, these were quickly dealt with (I found another a couple of days later) and we were running. 

This was all good fun, so each loco in turn, was driven around the runround loop. And to varying degrees, they all seemed to behave. 

Of course, even though the light was rubbish, I took photos on my phone, and shared them on social media. 

 

The only loco that wasn't playing was the Portescap-equipped 07 diesel. This needed the body lifted off, and a bit of poking around to turn the gears over. Back on the track, it lumbered into life, but quickly improved as the lubrication of the metal gears and bearings took effect.