Friday, January 30, 2026

Brian Parker - RIP

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  On Wednesday night, my dad, Brian Parker, passed away peacefully.  It's very difficult to know what to write in this blog post. He was...
20 comments:
Thursday, January 29, 2026

Time for a new loco cradle

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  I think it's really time to deposit this Peco loco cradle in the bin. It's performed admirably for many years, but the foam has re...
Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Warehouse Wednesday: 7 1/4 tunnel

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Tidying up on my computer, I found this photo of a tunnel mouth on the Heath Park Miniature Railways and Tramway in Cardiff, operated by the...
Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Playmobil 45mm gauge track

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  We are giving away the Planet diesel I have been building in recent issues of Garden Rail, to someone who has bought advanced tickets to ...
Monday, January 26, 2026

Syston Haul

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The rule is that when you go to a show, you must come back with some new toys.  But. There are very few new toys that I actually need, and n...
1 comment:
Sunday, January 25, 2026

Syston 2026

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  That's what I want to see when I arrive at a show! The event itself is held in a social club next to the clubrooms, but feeding, and t...
1 comment:
Saturday, January 24, 2026

Saturday Film Club: The Hospital with its own Private Railway - Hellingly Hospital Railway

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A really nicely put together film about Hellingly. There's even a photo I don't think I've seen before. 
2 comments:
Friday, January 23, 2026

A hut and a warehouse in March BRM

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It's all buildings from me in the latest issue of BRM.  We start with a little etched brass hut from Severn Models.  I've tried to d...
Monday, January 19, 2026

Time for a break

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  For various reasons, I need to take a few days' break from blogging. Please talk among yourselves, I'll be back soon. 
2 comments:
Sunday, January 18, 2026

The Valley Railway Adventure

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  Last Saturday, I nipped over to Evesham Country Park, to buy some unfashionable shoes. While I was there, I couldn't resist watching t...
1 comment:
Saturday, January 17, 2026

Saturday Film Club: Toton Yard Hump-shunting 1950

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Ahhh, the happy days when everyone thought railways had a real future moving freight. When you needed a super shunting yard to make things e...
Friday, January 16, 2026

Scalextric 2012 Olympics Velodrome

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  This is Simon Kohler's fault. Reading his autobiography , the 2012 Olympic Velodrome set, was given a bit of a kicking. Of course, tha...
Thursday, January 15, 2026

Bog done

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  With the hinges sorted, all that remained to finish the wooden toilet was to fit the latch, which is in the kit, and glue the roof down.  ...
2 comments:
Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Warehouse Wednesday: Irish flour mill

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Hat tip to Duncan Young for this:  This was lifted with permission of the administrator from the Disused Stations site. It’s a rail-served f...
3 comments:
Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Hinges

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  I've been pondering the door hinges for the wooden WC for some time. The kit is provided with a couple of laser-cut plastic versions. ...
Monday, January 12, 2026

At last, a good use for the Sun!

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  Just a little detail for the wooden WC - something to clean up with after your visit! The newspaper front pages come from ScaleModelScener...
3 comments:
Sunday, January 11, 2026

Saturday at Kidderminster

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Between Christmas and New Year, I like to take a train ride to Kidderminster. It's nice to watch a few trains, browse the big book sale ...
Saturday, January 10, 2026

Saturday Film Club: The Origins of Groudle Glen

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Why is the Groudle Glen Railway the best in the world?  It's not just because of the trains, even though these are the best in the world...
1 comment:
Friday, January 09, 2026

Annie

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For many years, one of my regular contributors to Garden Rail was Dave Skertchly, with the tales of his Vale of Weedol tramway. Dave's ...
3 comments:
Thursday, January 08, 2026

Garden Rail - February 2026

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Beat the winter blues with a trip to sunny Wiltshire! We visit Ian Folland’s incredible 7/8ths scale Chalke District Railway. Join the slow ...