Fiddle yard envy

 

I felt a pang of envy at Doncaster. 

Waiting to get started with a photo shoot on the Friday evening, I watched the guys putting stock in the fiddle yard, and remembered when that was me.

Back in the days when I was an exhibitor. You turned up, moved the layout to your allotted space and set up. The layout was your little world for the duration of the show. You were responsible for everything in that world, but nothing else.  

I'm not really sure what I yearned for at that moment. Maybe things were simpler then. As a regular exhibitor, you went through the same actions at every show. As long as things went well, it was a whole load of fun. Playing trains to an audience, being told what you've built is amazing. Sometimes being asked interesting questions about the prototype, or how you've made a particular model.  

Dunno. But I definitely felt it.  

Saturday Film Club: Toton Yard Hump-shunting 1950

An interesting film, made up of a lot of clips I think, showing Toton hump shunting yard in operation. A really fascinating thing to watch. 

Paint on the VER car

 

A quick update on the Volks Car - painting has started using the closest colours I have to hand. Precision Paints LNER coach cream for the top, and Humbrol 73 (Wine) for the lower section. 

Looking at photos, they aren't a bad match for the current colours. Yes, I know Car 2 never made it into this livery, but I'm keeping things simple so the model actually gets finished. 

A dirty little hut in Spring's BRM

 

It's been a busy time, so I've only a single practical in the Spring issue of BRM magazine - weathering the little metal hut that I built in the last issue. 

I have been out with the camera again though. 

First, we have Canalside in OO.

The simply stunning Clyre Valley Railway in 009. 

 Finally, Barnwood in N. 

 You'll notice that two of these layouts have boats on them - happy Phil!

Warehouse Wednesday: City of Birmingham Electric Supply 1920

 

Head up to road level from Bournville station, and this is what you find. A 1920s substation, from the days when "The Corporation" handled electricity. 

What a beauty it is too. OK, the various extensions don't add anything to the look, but at least the building is still doing the same job it was built for - even being upgraded a few years ago.  

Younger readers may not understand just how widely the tentacles of the local authority once spread. Nowadays, everything is chopped up, and sold off, but once, the council was seen as a benevolent body that looked after the local area. People actually cared who their local representatives were. When this place was built, people were proud of their construction, and intended it to last a very long while. I wonder if they expected it to be doing the job a century later, though. 

From a modelling perspective, putting the name of your fictional council on the end of a building like this would help the viewer form an idea of where the layout is set. This isn't a complicated building either, as the view on Streetview shows.