Skipton's Apple Crumble tugboat

Wandering around Skipton, I spotted something a little different. Yes, the canals are lovely (more photos in a future post), but there is a tugboat serving crumble!

Of course, I had to know more, so once I'd walked my lunch of Yorkshire pudding, sausages, mash and peas down, dessert was to be from the towpath. 

At a guess, this is a converted Bantam tug, although the superstructure seems more boxy than normal. 

Food is served through a hatch in the side, presumably it used to be the side window. 

The photo above is from a bench where I sat scoffing the crumble and ice cream. All the time pondering the modelling opportunities. I've built a Bantam in the past, so the upperworks don't worry me, and hopefully I can buy another hull. The toughest job is all the lettering. You can't really avoid it if you want the model to look right!

To be honest, this isn't going to bother my workbench for many years, if ever, but I hope the photos will inspire someone. Looking online (search "the ice cream tugboat skipton"), there is no shortage of information, apart from a history telling us what the boat was before it became a crumble dispenser. 

 

Test running the steam locos

 

 

Did all the servicing make a difference? There was only one way to find out. A dryish Thursday evening saw me at the L&WMRS outdoor track with a box full of gas and water. 

First out, the Lady Anne. She fired straight up, was soon in steam, and ran very nicely for a few circuits. No worries there, and the batteries didn't fall out of the cab roof. 

Next, the Merlin. I lit it up with a bit of fuss, and the model was struggling to raise steam. I could hear the burner, but it was very quiet. 

After 10 minutes, I decided all really wasn't well, and wondered if the gas jet was partially blocked. As it happens, access to this is pretty easy. The unit pokes through a hole in the back of the cab, and, with a single banjo bolt undone, lifts the pipe off the unit. This them pulls out, and the jet can be unscrewed from a brass block. 

After squirting some WD-40 through the jet, all seemed to be OK, so I reassembled it, and this time the loco lit straight up, with a good, loud burner.  

After that, the loco ran perfectly. Plenty of steam, and a nice exhaust. 

Finally, Ragleth. 

I hadn't spotted that the loco was set to 32mm gauge, but that was quickly changed. Then I lit it up, and a few minutes later, the servos stopped working. Yes, like an idiot, I'd not charged the receiver batteries!

I packed everything up, and then took Ragleth into the railway club, putting it on charge in the workshop. An hour later, suitably refreshed with some tea, custard creams and plenty of chat, I took advantage of the light evening for another go. 

This time we lit up, the servos operated, and off the loco went. Sadly, the regulator servo stopped working again, but it turns out, you can drive on the reverser alone.  Which is what I did for a few minutes, and the model seemed quite happy. This isn't so odd, the Merlin works the same way. 

So, more work to do with Ragleth, but it's usable for now. The others are spot on. Until something else happens, I'm sure... 

Loco servicing

With a bit of public operation in the offing, it was time to catch up on some loco maintenance with the live steam fleet. 

First, replace the battery box in the cab roof of the Lady Anne. The original had distorted over time, and would drop the batteries out, not ideal in the middle of a run!

I've had a replacement box for nearly a year. The old one is bolted into the roof, using holes in the plastic that are also in the new box. I thought this would be a doddle, but it's a fiddly job since the bolts are only just long enough.You can't get at the screw head on one either as it's under the non-sliding cab shutter. Pushing the nut very hard onto it allowed me to just catch the thread. Bolting a flat box under a curved roof isn't ideal, and so replacing this with a battery pack in a side tank, something I have seen done, appeals. 

Next, I planned to swap out the regulator servo in Ragleth. 

 

I'm a dab hand at removing the body, it's only six bolts after all, and could soon see the recalcitrant item. I had another servo, a posh one with metal gears, but when I plugged this into the receiver, it wouldn't turn. Hmmm. So, the old servo, which works, went back in. I think the problem is that it's being affected by the heat, but we'll have another test. 

Finally, the Merlin Mayflower.  

All I needed to do here was regauge the model. Simple job, slacked off the screws, shove the wheels out, and do them up again. There are even dimples in the axles, I didn't expect those, to set the gauge. 

Next stop, the club track.  

Open day haul

 

You won't be surprised that I managed to swap a fiver on the Bring'n'Buy stall for some stuff I probably don't need, although this time I managed to find items that might just be useful. 

Vinyl letters are always useful. They are now in the drawer with transfers. These are larger than anything I own, I think, so a quid well spent. Possibly less useful is a roll of blue and white check vinyl, but if I did another RC car, I could use that on the wings. 

Obviously, I don't need another model boat kit, but a Police launch for a couple of quid? 

What appealed most is the length of the model - 410mm. Ideal for a "Thursday boat", the sort that I can pick up at a moment's notice, and head off to the lake with. 

Slotting the main hull parts together suggests that the build shouldn't be too hard, although the proof will be in the eating!As a hard chine hull, there is wood to be bent around the edges, and a nose to be carved from solid, but none of that should be too difficult. There's space inside for all the gubbins, probably a brushless motor and battery pack. 

Having found it online, this is a nice-looking freelance model too. More about sailing than looks, although, I think it will look nice on the water. One day...
 

KMBC Open Day 2026

Time for a break from all things toy trains, with a day spent lakeside, enjoying the Knightcote Model Boat Club open day. 

The weather was kind, and we saw more visitors than normal. From opening time to 3:30, there was always something on the water, with a wide variety of vessels to be enjoyed. 

For an open day, I like to make a bit of effort, and so had brought pride of the fleet "Pigeon Pie" out of storage for what appears to be its annual sail. 

Despite lack of use, the Pie didn't let me down, processing around the lake perfectly, and looking great. In fact, all my boats, MisCheif and the tiny tugboat, worked perfectly. This made for a very pleasant day. 

Was there cake? 

Of course. And sausage in a bun too. But mostly, there was chat, and boats sailing, which is what it's all about. 

More photos from the event over on Flickr. 

Saturday Film Club: Merry Hill Monorail remembered

Another excellent video from Transport Matters - and another monorail I missed out on riding. 

Titch

 

I'm pretty sure that if you'd asked my Dad which was his favourite of the Melbridge Dock locomotives, he'd have plumped for "Titch". 

Not really a serious loco, as far as operating the layout goes, Titch is a petrol-powered LNER shunter.  

Built from a Branchlines etched brass kit, because it looked interesting, I think there is definitely something attractive about this little model. Unlike the GWR version, modelled on a shed, the LNER had these nice curved ends - whitemetal lumps on the model that add valuable weight. 

Only powered by a single-axle drive, this isn't a powerful model, but it can haul the odd wagon around, usually out of the permanent way siding at the front of the board. It's quite handy for testing to see if electricity is reaching all the rails as the wheelbase is so short. 

One issue is that the unpowered axle, despite being compensated, sometimes is reluctant to rotate. If it didn't have to have pickups on it, I'm sure this would be less of a problem, but we need all the electricity-gathering we can get!

Not sure why Dad loved this model so much. I suspect novelty value, but it doesn't matter. On his celebration day, Titch did a turn around the layout in his memory.  

Vents, and lots of layouts in the July BRM

 

There's not a lot of practical from me in the July issue of BRM magazine, but I've not been idle. 

On the workbench, there are some tips on building a laser-cut kit, in this case a rather nice roof vent. 

But, I have been very active with the camera.

We start with Donaghadee Railway Station in OO. 

 Next, Andrews Yard in O.

 Rhinefield Junction in N. 

 And finally, The Causey Arch, again, OO. 

 Don't worry, I'm back at the workbench for next month!

The ancient art of Kintsugi

 

Always aware that Melbridge Dock might have to be carried out to the car when rain was falling, I brought home a plastic bag to enclose the layout from work. It arrived wrapped around a filing cabinet, delivered to the Ministry of Agriculture in the mid 1990s. 

Since then, the bag has travelled many thousands of miles, and performed its role admirably. Along the way, it's picked up a few battle scars. 

Repairs have been effected using gaffer tape. Not pretty, but effective. In Kintsugi, the Japanese art of making and celebrating repairs, they use gold, but my budget doesn't run to that. 

In 2026, the bag is really looking a bit sad. Some of the tape has peeled off, but I can't bring myself to do the sensible thing and throw it away. The internet would surely furnish me with a replacement, but I think it might be unlucky to replace it. 

So, more tape it is. I wonder if orange would be better than silver? 

I like big bolts and I cannot lie

 

Melbridge Dock is held together by bolts. 

Eight are used to fix packing boards on to the end of the baseboards, to turn the modelling into a box for transport. 

When the model is set up, four of these hold the boards together, in addition to the loose pin hinges. The other four hold the information boards to the front. 

These bolts are big, chunky things. I know that something about 4BA would do the job, strength isn't an issue. The threads on these are around 1cm wide. Far more metal than is really required. But, my overengineering has a big advantage at the end of the day. Coarse threads are much easier for tired hands to thread. 

So, today's lesson - go for the big bolts. You won't regret it. 

Llangollen Haul

 

I can't go to a show and not spend a few quid. It would be rude. 

So, the first purchase is a follow-up to a kit I built around 30 years ago. That kit was a Bachmann Big Haulers coach, and I now have the guards version to complete a two-coach train. As I recall, these kits fall together, and are really comprehensive, including the lighting wiring. 

My plan is to build it as a short tourist train to run behind my Bachmann Shay I know I ought to have a load of log cars, but you need a long train for that to look sensible, and I don't have anywhere to store it. 

These kits are basically a  CKD version of the RTR stock. For a while, years ago, they were everywhere, and then vanished. It seems another batch has appeared, possibly NOS, as Footplate are the third outlet to have them. I'll admit, I was tempted to grab another coach. Maybe next time. 

The other buy was one I intended to make at the NGRS, but was thwarted due to Plateway selling out of them. 

This is right up my street - a 16mm scale working pump trolley. The figures come from Motley Miniatures and are supplied ready-jointed so they can work the handles. 

I'm pondering if this is a magazine or blog project. The latter looks promising, as the pile of review items is large, and anyway, I paid for this myself!

Watch this space.  

Llangollen Garden Railway Show 2026

Sometimes, I get around. A couple of days in Yorkshire were followed by a trip to Llangollen for the garden railway show. It's an excellent event, which I've attended every year. 

This time, I had a bit of a mission. First, the G scale society had asked me to judge their modelling competition. Second, the Indian Railways layout will be at the NEC in November, and so photos and video would be very useful. 

Spaghetti Junction in the rain is never fun, but things had dried up by the time I made it to the venue. OK, the hilltops were hidden in the cloud, but we were indoors. 

As ever, there was a good mix of trade and layouts. 

A quick chat with the owner of the Indian Railways layout has hopefully secured me a feature for the appropriate issue. I spent a lot of time taking photos, and video of the event. The trouble with video of live steam layouts is that a single loco will tend to circulate for 20 minutes or so. I ended up standing in the middle of the hall, racing between layouts to obtain a variety of shots. 

The rest of the time, I chatted. To the trade, looking for feedback on the Stoneleigh show, and gossip. The operators and visitors on the lookout for future articles. There were some cracking models, that I hope to bring to Garden Rail readers in the future. 

Judging the competition didn't take long - there were only five entries, but each was very interesting, and accompanied by an information sheet, which I found both useful and interesting. 

The cake situation wasn't great. A couple of white chocolate cookies on the official coffee horsebox, but fortunately, Bob came to the rescue with some delicious fruit cake baked by Mrs Bob, who I was able to complement. 

All in all, a very enjoyable show. The good news is, I checked with the organiser and it will be on again next year. So, keep an eye out for the date. 

There's more photos from the event on Flickr.  

Saturday Film Club: The Dry Fit

Another video from me. This time, providing some sage advice for anyone building a kit. 

The missing seagull

 

Written in permanent marker on the back of Melbridge Dock, are the words "7 seagulls". 

Pretty soon after the layout appeared at shows, people took to counting how many of the birds were on the model, and so I jotted it down so we didn't have to remember. Later, when the information boards were added to the front, seagulls became part of the spotting list. 

Remembering this, I checked how many gulls were on show, and there were six. 

Disaster!

Fortunately, in the bolt box, there is a little jar of details. I keep these handy in case something is damaged, and we need to stick a box or pallet over it. In there was a seagull, who was quickly superglued to a rooftop. 

I'm not sure if anyone counted over the weekend, but at least if they didn't, the numbers were correct. 

Oh, and if you are interested, the 4mm scale birds are whitemetal models from the Springside range.  

Not in the stock box

Not all my loco fleet made it to the weekend. A week of testing at home persuaded me that there were a couple of models that would be more trouble than they would be worth, So, they stayed at home, and also missed out on a proper photo, having to make do with mobile phone shots. 

First up, the Garratt. No great surprise here, it's always been a problem child. We have shunted with it in the past, just so I could say I had, but the front power unit seemed to have an aversion to some of the points, and there is still a stick spot in the mechanicals. With more time, and more shows lined it, I'd have it on the bench and work out if the running maladies are mechanical or electrical. I suspect a bit of pickup tweaking would help, but that's for another day. Let's face it, this isn't exactly the perfect shunter for a 6-foot layout!

The other was the Lewin shunter. 

To be fair, this has never been part of the Dock loco fleet, but as it's a very appropriate model, I decided to try it out. 

There are a couple of reasons it wasn't practical. The first is that the model runs on Gibson wheels, and these are a little finer than the Romfords the track is built for. Matching track and wheel standards are a must for reliable running, and this wasn't happy with a couple of the points. 

A bigger problem though, is that massive dumb buffers. The gap between them is a pretty small target for the Sprat and Winkle hook to find, and coupling up was more miss then hit. I'm not sure what I could do about this, those buffers are a bit part of this model's look, replacing them with something more conventional would ruin it. 

Fortunately, I'm not short of rolling stock, so this isn't a problem, but it shows that you have to make hard decisions sometimes in the name of reliable operation. 

'Layout in a Day' in Garden Rail July

Can you build a garden railway in just 8ft x 6ft, and do it in a single day?

In our July issue, the Garden Rail team proves the answer to both is yes - as our ‘Layout in a Day’ wowed visitors at this year’s National Garden Railway Show.

Also in this issue: metal 3D printing, making the most of Mostyn vans, personalising a Mini Plant locomotive, building a sheep wagon, a manrider for your permanent way staff, and a 16-ton mineral wagon for Gauge 1.

Plus reviews of Gaugemaster’s G scale BR diesel, a 16mm De Winton, and a look at a garden line powered by clockwork — along with all the latest new products for larger scale modellers.

 Garden Rail is available from all good newsagents, and our online store: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/ 

Locomotive stars of the show

 

Among my worries about hauling Melbridge Dock out for a weekend, was how well the locomotive fleet would work. After all, they had been in store for a decade, and maybe my memories of their operation were rose-tinted after all this time? 

I shouldn't have worried, in the stock box, I still have a selection of reliable workhorses, four of which I feature here. 

Starting with the 02 diesel. My model pre-dates the RTR version by many years. It's a Craftsman etched brass kit with a Mashima motor inside, and probably Romford gears. The class is a favourite of mine, I've built this kit at least three times, plus my original DJH version, and the same companies O gauge model. There is a TT:120 loco sitting awaiting building too!

Moving up a number, we have the ever-reliable Mainline 03 diesel. 

By tradition, this always works the first train of the day, retiring to the display cabinet after this so the kit-built models can show off. My reasoning being that people haven't paid good money to come into a show just to see things running that have come out of boxes. I'm a bit old-fashioned in that thinking, but when the layout was in its prime in the 1990s, you didn't buy a shunter that worked, you built it. 

Yes, I know that the Bachmann model is more realistic, the bonnet is narrower for a start, but I don't think this looks bad. It resembles the 03 enough for me. At the time, it was a huge leap forward in model shunters after all. 

Talking of shunters you still can't buy RTR, the 06 diesel. 

Hornby make one, but it's pretty terrible, and no amount of detail can make it worthy of a place on my layout. This version, from a Judith Edge etched brass kit, is pretty perfect, though. It runs a lot better than I recall, but then it's a late addition to the fleet, so perhaps it never enjoyed the chance to impress me in the same way other models did. 

Finally, some steam. A Y8. 

The Y8 is our passenger locomotive, and so modelled reasonably clean. It's a K's whitemetal kit on an etched brass chassis (sorry, I can't remember the maker, but I doubt they exist now). The train is based on the Davenport Dockyard set of coaches, and photos showed it hauled by a small loco, and this is as small as they get!

Each of these models behaved impeccably for me and my operators all weekend. Running locos that I've built myself, reminded me just how much pleasure there is from seeing a model I've built with my own hands working properly. If you've not done it yourself, I heartily recommend having a go. 

Celebration day haul, with a mystery

 

There was a small second-hand stall at the open day, and of course, it liberated a fiver from my pocket towards club funds. 

The Hobby's model light set is a fascinating bit of vintage. I suspect it's not that old, as Hobby's (not Hobbies) tend to keep stuff in the range for a very long while. This has incandescent bulbs and holders, none of your LED stuff, and I dream it will be used in a vintage boat project. 

Memory Wire used to be very fashionable in the more serious end of the model railway hobby, but you hardly hear of it now. Has it all been replaced by servos?  For those new to this product, it's wire that gains in length when you pass a current through it. Use a spring to pull it back when the current is removed, and you have a useful(?) device to move signals and points. Or at least that was the idea. I've never played with it, so for a quid, I'll satisfy my curiosity. 

Tongue depressors - I stick people to lolly sticks or chip forks for painting, and I've run out. These will be perfect, and I don't need to stuff my face to acquire some tools. 

And finally, a mystery. 

I've no idea what this clamp is for, but it's so well made, and so useless to anyone other than an idiot like me, I had to buy it. 

7.5cm long and 2cm wide, it splits into two parts, which are accurately aligned with four pegs and a pair of brass corners. 

 

Inside, there is a V shape, but that's not helping me work out what this rather well-made device is for. I am stumped, and so is everyone else I know. The clamp arrived in an estate clearance, so we can't ask the maker. 

Any ideas?  

Dad's celebration day

 

What a wonderful day!

My Dad didn't want a funeral, but we felt that there ought to be some sort of celebration of his life - a chance for people to say goodbye properly, but in a fun way. 

My plan was that we'd jump onto the L&WMRS open weekend Sunday. That way the clubrooms would be open, with all the layouts working anyway. In the social area, I'd install Melbridge Dock, the layout that Dad and I built and exhibited for years. Next to it. would be a slide show with some old photos. 

On the water, we'd have three of the boats he'd built. 

"Puffin", a scratchbuilt tug, "Isobella" a Victorian steam launch, and "Felix", a ferry. 

Finally, on the outdoor track, the set of coaches he built would be doing a few circuits. 

Beside the track, which he loved, there would be a barbecue, which he'd be less keen on. 

I'll admit that putting all this together kept me busy, and a little concerned in the run up - but it all went brilliantly.  

Obviously, this is all down to the people. For a start, Mark, Duncan and their wives who ran, with the aid of my mum and sister, the burnt food and salad end of the day. No one went hungry!

Then the guys from the model boat club who sailed for me. They didn't have a special weekend, but a few came along to help out anyway. 

Chris and Andy ran the layout in the clubrooms, keeping things moving all day (all weekend in Chris's case as he was there on the Saturday). No, I wasn't being lazy, I needed to be walking around talking to people, so I recruited a few assistants to help out.  

Then there were those who just came along. Too many to mention, and several I didn't expect. The grapevine worked well!

One special guest was Earl King. A long-term friend of my parents, and arguably the person who got me involved in railway modelling. Yes, it's his fault, and now you know what he looks like. 

Thank you to everyone who joined the party, or simply thought of us on the day. We gave him a terrific send-off. One he would have enjoyed, even if he'd been slightly embarrassed at the whole thing.  

I miss my Dad. At the end of the day, when things had wound down, I sat on his bench at the boat club for a few minutes, looking out over the water as we had done so often in the past. It was lovely and peaceful. 

Then I headed back inside to run a couple of trains on Melbridge Dock, remembering some of the shows we'd done this at in the past. A proper connection. And that's what it's all about.  

Saturday Film Club: Buying second-hand railway models

My most recent video for World of Railways, covering a few things to look for when buying second-hand locomotives.