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News
13th August
Since mid May, I have been building the snow
scene diorama of Bratton Fleming and yesterday, I am glad to say that I
reached an important step in its completion. All that is left to do is
the scenery and backdrop graphics. As usual, it is the infrastructure
and wiring that has taken much of the time. It may be of interest to
review what has been achieved so far.
-
construction and
finishing of the three baseboard modules.
-
Installation of LED
lighting array with dimmers
-
laying of track and
ballasting
-
fitting of point motors
and wiring, including required electronics to permit automated operation
using Railroad & Co software.
-
building a Backwoods/Bemo
model of loco 'Exe' including lights and DCC
-
building Backwoods/Grafar
08 model of Lyn including lights and DCC
-
building four coaches
and fitting of lights and sound
-
construction of station
building, bridge and goods shed
Scenery does not take so
long usually so hopefully, the layout is on schedule.
The time has now arrived
to check over County Gate ready for the first autumn exhibition. All
seems to be working very well so far.
The big news has been
the completion of replica locomotive 'Lyd'. This is another huge success
from Boston Lodge of the Ffestiniog Railway. It seems to be working well
'out of the box'.

the new loco prior to fitting of
cowcatcher and application of Southern livery - photo
Matt Waldren
A whistle was made for
the loco from original drawings and what a weedy sound it is! We have
replaced the whistle sounds on County Gate to match the 'real thing'.
1st August
The shuffle of trains on the fiddle yard now
takes place as trains run onto blocks further from the fiddle yard and
the problem is solved.
30th July
We are gradually fitting working tail lights
on the County Gate trains. This means that a simple function chip is
installed in the last car of each train. All of a sudden, we had
problems getting the trains to 'shuffle'. The long train clear a block
but the the last car is telling the software that the next train has
arrived! More programming is in order to fix this one........thank you
Malcolm!
27th July
Work has progressed on the Bratton Fleming
layout with both new locomotives made and all baseboards complete,
finished and varnished. Track is laid and wiring droppers installed.
There is pressure to complete this layout as a blue diesel gauge 1
layout awaits to be built.
10th July
The two main baseboards of the Bratton
Fleming layout are complete, filled and finished in dark navy blue and
very smart they look too. The next step will be to attach the two
together in correct register using mould makers pins and then the fiddle
yard must be made.


9th July
The main two baseboards of Bratton Fleming
are built and primed. Right now, they could easily be hamster cages! The
fiddle yard is yet to be built.
The test sample decals for the Manning Wardle
have arrived and include the lettering, green panels and white lining.
They look very good indeed.
2nd July
Our Mallet, 'River Avon' had become a little
'tatty' due to excessive handling when converted to operating lights.
Robert
Kaczmarczyk (pronounced Shithotlocopainter) kindly offered to
give it a 'brush up'. Some of the lining had been displaced and in
a few spots we were down to metal.
I like weathered working locomotives so a
'brush up' might not mean quite the same thing for some. Thanks Rob.

Tomorrow, Andy and Fiona of DCC Supplies are
back with us to programme our loco sounds. I have had a torrid time
getting the train running properly for them and managed to wreck two
chips. Still, all is well now and I have been enjoying the little train
running round CG with all the lights out!
30th June
I have been building the first locomotive for
our Bratton Fleming diorama. It is a model of the Manning Wardle 'Exe'
and is based on a Backwoods kit. I have been unhappy with the design of
the Backwoods chassis as it is very difficult to get working correctly
and almost impossible to repair. This model incorporated a Bemo outside
frame chassis from a small H0e diesel.
Build time was 44 hours and I am happy to say
that it runs like a top. Panelling and lining still remains to be done.


24th June
Away
with the Fairlies
My oldest friend, David Line, felt well
enough to make a visit to the UK from France for a few days. A retired
BBC man, he has always been besotted with narrow gauge railways and the
Ffestiniog in particular. Paul Lewin, general manager of the FR and his
staff, very kindly offered him a footplate ride on his favourite loco, a
double Fairlie called Merddin Emrys.
In glorious summer weather, we drove up to
Portmadoc in sufficient time to first be able to visit the Welsh
Highland Heritage Railway. The station is attractive and very well
presented and the staff helpful and friendly. A diesel hauled train
eventually drew into the station and the half dozen or so passengers
climbed in and we were slowly drawn to the end of the line at
Pen-y-Mount. The slow speed of the train is rather necessary as the line
does not even reach the first mile post. Here is a replica of the
original station halt, built in corrugated iron. The open side faces the
WHHR platform while behind it, the Welsh Highland Railway main line
passes unseeingly behind fencing.
After running round, we stopped at the new
narrow gauge museum. This is actually well presented with good passenger
facilities. My friend, who owns a garden steam railway, enjoyed a run on
their 71/4" line.
On our return to the terminus, there was a
small scattering waiting for the train but one does wonder how this
operation manages to keep going on its traffic returns.
A very sour note was the text on WHHR
posters, "we cannot sell tickets for the WHR as the Festiniog Railway
does not allow us to". Hardly surprising really: when I visit Marks and
Spencer, I do not expect to be able to buy things from Tesco.
a real
class act
On arriving at the Ffestiniog Harbour
station, we found ourselves pushing through the throng of visitors. This
station had to be the most popular place in Portmadoc. We enjoyed an
excellent lunch at Spooners Bar before our train arrived, full to the
brim with happy passengers. Due to the recent low rainfall, Merddin
Emrys was piloted by single Fairlie, Taliesin. This was to prevent the
loco working too hard and setting light to the lineside.
David quickly decided that Merddin Emrys was
more attractive to photograph than ride on and elected to travel on
Taliesin instead. The long train was again about as full as full could
be and right on time, we drew out of the station. In recent times, focus
has been on the growing Welsh Highland Railway, also owned by the
Ffestiniog and it is easy to forget what a stunning railway the FR
really is. I cannot guess how many times I have ridden on it and I have
to say that the ride never gets boring. This has to be one of the best
narrow gauge lines in the world and frankly, seems to be better run than
the British main lines; a real class act.

ready to depart
All to soon, we drew into Blaenau Ffestiniog
station and we all got out onto the platform and pondered why anyone
would want to go to Ffestiniog except as part of this railway trip.
David had enjoyed a wonderful ride but found that it was a tad tiring
and elected to return in the train.

David with his stead
Only too soon, we had returned to Portmadoc
and sadly it was time to leave. That evening, we even managed to find a
good restaurant at Tremadoc.
the
great bladder saga
An early start next day, found us at the
Welsh Highland terminus under the shadow of Caernarfon Castle. The
installation is still a very temporary affair and is served by a gaggle
of Portacabins. After finding a seat in a semi open coach, David loaded
my disability scooter into the guards van and off we went. Garratt No 87
was hauling eight fully loaded coaches rather than the usual ten but
still suffered considerable wheel slip upon starting.
The first part of the trip runs on what used
to be the LNWR main line. In a way, it still feels like the two foot
gauge is a small boy wearing Daddy's trousers and is frankly a bit
boring. There was a compensation that the track felt good and we cracked
along at a fine speed. After a short stop at Dinas, the original
terminus, the journey really began. I still find it magic that after a
lifetime of looking at an empty trackbed, the Welsh Highland has come
back to life. This railway has almost everything British scenery can
offer in profusion and description of it bankrupts the English language.
There is still a lot of work to consolidate the trackbed
and for now, it is
nowhere near as smooth as on the FR. The WHR will need many more years
of hard work before it could be described as finished.
After our plunge through the long Aberglaslyn
tunnel, we passed the new Nantmor halt and rolled down the dreaded
Nantmor bank of 1:40 before coasting onto the river estuary plain beyond
it. Until the Cob, at Portmadoc, was built some two hundred years ago,
this large area was actually tidal. Dig a foot under the grass and one
will still finds nothing but sand.
Last year's temporary terminus at
Hafod-y-Llyn was passed and we were on new territory. In many ways, it
reminds me of the first few miles out of Durango, on the three foot
gauge. The mountain vista falls away as we rattle across steel girder
bridges and by marshy fields before passing over the long Croesor river
bridge and stopping at the latest terminus. From here, there is just
three miles to go before reaching Harbour Station of the Ffestiniog.
Some public trains are due to reach it later this year.
Pont Croesor is again a melange of assorted
Portacabins and seems far more important than its remote location would
suggest. This is because of the adjacent Osprey Centre, a Mecca for all
twitchers. There is just one breeding pair and it is difficult not to wonder
what would happen if they stopped nesting here.
During our trip down, David and I and enjoyed
a variety of drinks offered to us by a very pretty French student who
was working the summer on the line. Perhaps we drank more than
usual because she was so pretty. Fortunately, at our age, we are still
allowed to look! After the various bumps from the
consolidating track I felt it was about time to visit the disabled
toilet at the other end of the platform. David set forth to recover my
scooter only to discover that for some reason it had been off-loaded
from the train and stored at Caernarfon!
It is amazing but when one discovers that one
cannot go to the toilet, the urge to do so multiplies tenfold! The guard
was most apologetic and promised to try to get a wheelchair for me at
Beddgelert. It is at this point that one really does realise how long
the WHR has become!
At some deep subconscious level I was aware
of a hard working Garratt, wheel slips and tunnels but most of my
thoughts were taken up with trying not to think about my bladder!
Beddgelert finally came into view but no
wheelchair...........Oh my God! I was promised that there would be one
at South Snowdon. I have no recollection of the next section at all except
my Herculean effort not to find myself in a puddle of the wet,
warm and wild. The journey was endless and for me, a trial. I tried to avoid looking at streams, not visualise toilets or
dripping taps and of course those were the only things that did come to mind and in my
imagination there was this image of a toilet, looking at me and beckoning.
I felt sure it was laughing at me!
The guard came round, apologised profusely
yet again and told me that I would feel as right as rain once we got to
Rhyd-Ddu. I smiled weakly; he really shouldn't have said that!
After an eternity we arrived at Rhyd-ddu
(South Snowdon) and eventually a wheelchair arrived. David huffed and
puffed as he pushed me down the endless platform. By now, I swear that I
could actually hear the toilet singing to me like a
porcelain siren. We got to the end of the platform and had to cross the
other line. Worse, I could now see the toilet building. A train was very
slowly approaching the platform. "Go, David. Go". David hesitated and the
endless train crawled by us.
After the last coach, David accelerated and
we were off again. The front wheels of the chair promptly dug into the
rail gaps and I was thrown onto the track like a projectile from a
trebuchet. Perhaps it
was a good idea that David had hesitated after all. Various station
staff rushed over and I was quickly reloaded into the chair and finally
we made it to the 'hallowed place'. I can say for certain, it was the
best pee I have ever had. By now, our train was loaded up ready to go
and was waiting for me. David, by now well out of puff, wheeled me back
to the other end of the train while all the passenger stared at me!
The last part of the journey was uneventful
but I have to say that by then, I was quite pleased to regain the
independence of the car.
The Welsh Highland is indeed already very
long, and even at OAP prices, the tickets cost over £50 for two. I
rather suspect that many will choose to take just a section of the line.
Altogether an excellent and very funny two
days in Wales with a best friend. Needless to say, I am taking the WHR
and FR again in two weeks. This time, I shall handcuff myself to my
scooter.
15th June
One train is now fitted with lights and sound
and very good it is too. Any break in current collection, however,
results in a crackle. This means that more coaches have to be hooked up
for collection.
The entire website crashed due to the server
failing. We have been offline for 24 hours while this very large site
had to be loaded up onto a new server.
I am continuing building the snow covered
scenic work for the group's Bratton Fleming layout. The snow seems to
get everywhere when being applied as the particulate size is about scale
for a snowflake!
1st June
Oops!
While preparing a brake observation coach for
the fitting of interior lights and sound, I managed to drop it onto the
carpet. I pushed my office chair back in order to pick it up and managed
to run over it!

This is the result. A new coach is almost
complete!

23rd May
Work is progressing on the working Bratton
Fleming snow scene diorama. With the main station building and bridge
completed, attention is moving to the 'goods shed' which appears to be
little more than a converted farm barn. With only one photo of a gable
end available, imagination will have to play a role. The snow scene
began as a photographic commission. A local group of narrow gauge
enthusiasts, (Marches Narrow Gauge Group) then asked if the diorama
could be made to operate so that it would become a club layout. Their
website is on
here

On the home front, I have finally succumbed
to the attractions of a stair lift as my efforts on crutches were
becoming more and more precarious. We now have a huge pipe that sweeps
up the stairs that is a passable imitation of a petroleum cracking
plant. I ascend with a multitude of electric hums, bumps and whines. The
cats, surprisingly are not in the least afraid of it and need the
occasional prod with a crutch to make them move out of the way.
My young grandson is fascinated with the
affair. A high clear voice from the kitchen floats up to me.
"When Grandad dies, will he use that to go to
heaven?
Ho hum!
16th May
For a little while now, the automation on
County Gate had become a bit unreliable. It was no longer possible to
turn one's back on operations for a moment without something dreadful
happening. A number of possibilities were considered from insufficient
voltage to corrupted software. Andy and Fiona from
DCC Supplies
spent Sunday with us and in the gaps between lunch and watching the
Monaco Grand Prix, we finally found the issues. Due to the lack of flush
mounted Loconet sockets, we had used DIN plugs between baseboards. These
are not the best plug at the best of times but it is always hard to find
decent plug/socket systems. Due to constant plugging and unplugging when
travelling to exhibitions, some wear had occurred causing corruption of
Loconet information packets being 'sent down the line'. By connecting
the computer with the Zephyr unit with one Loconet cable, it now runs
like a Swiss watch! In the end a simple solution when we had feared the
worst!
Our thanks to DCC Supplies for helping out.
15th May
The West Midlands 009 Society Group visited
County Gate today and for the most part, it all worked quite well.
Martin Radcliffe brought his superb Leek and Manifold boxed set which
quickly found its way onto the layout. The transporter wagon would have
never got through the tunnel though!

14th May
Back from Brighton with the lined and
weathered Kitson Meyer. This was done by
Robert
Kaczmarczyk and a jolly fine job it is too. No 6 really is a brute.
It runs extremely smoothly. 'River Avon' is now with Rob for a bit
of 'titivation'.


6th May
UK election day. It does seem a bit pointless
as whoever wins will only be a new group of pigs who put their
collective noses into the trough with disregard to promises. I have the
impression that politicians are chosen these days for their 'X factor'
rather than skills. Two of them are still children! At least I can get
lost in County Gate while all this bullshit is going on.
I have been testing the automated system for
many hours and these days, we do get a few misses. That is, the computer
thinks an order has been obeyed but it is actually ignored. The reality
is the such systems are also electro-mechanical and resistance increases
with age and I rather suspect that over the miles of wires, we are
experiencing more voltage drop. Andy of DCC Supplies is bringing around
a Digitrax Chief which has a booster and puts out much more current than
the 2.5 amps produced by the Zephyr. We shall see if it makes a
difference.
I have also developed a predilection for
articulated locos with two motors which also eats up the power.
Another issue is to get the train placement
on the fiddle yard correct. At shows, I like to have the greatest
possible variety of locos and trains running. Sadly, when I built the
fiddle yard, I have not anticipated my superpower locos. The new low
pressure cylinders of River Brue foul the Manning Wardles so that train
must now be moved!
The Kitson Meyer is almost ready to collect
following lining and weathering.
I am starting a small winter L&B diorama for
an Xmas magazine front page. Snow and winter trees will be a good
challenge. I have also been playing around with a small diorama concept
called Barbrook, showing the higher level track to Lynton and the new
main line to Minehead. The upper track would be of a smaller scale so
building L&B stock would be a good challenge.

Finally, my 0 scale L&B modelling friend Tony
Spencer has just had his birthday and this was one of his cards!

3rd May
A little while back, I made the 'how to'
articles on registration only. This was due a person who created many
problems! The difficulty has now been rectified and I am
therefore opening up the how to articles freely again.
Amazingly, 1354 people registered from as far
afield as Oz, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Brazil. The emails, names and
data have been now wiped and are no longer stored by myself. I am really
sorry to have put everybody to such trouble but something had to be done
to stop this person.
1st May
Took some of CGs rolling stock to the West
Midlands 009 annual exhibition. This was held near Kidderminster and was
a well run affair that suffered from rather poor attendance. This did
give us time to chat and have a few laughs. Food was excellent and a new
figure, Martin Radcliffe trolleyed in with a presentation case of the
complete stock of the Leek and manifold Railway, build to near
perfection in 009.

photo by Mick Thornton
The 009 stand arrived with Brian Guilmant who
had managed to get a visa to come this far North and as usual, some very
tasty pickings were on sale.

'River Avill' on Simon Coward's Isle of Mudd layout - photo by
Mick Thornton
River Avill worked hard pulling long trains
on Simon Cowells 'Isle of Mudd' layout while the rest of the CG stock
languished in cases.
Thanks to Blair Hobson who organised the
event.

a special event - the first public steaming of 'Lyd', replica of 'Lew' -
photo Andrew Thomas
20th April
Bit by bit I am going through the rolling
stock and where necessary renewing parts. For some time, the Grafar
chassis under the prototype railcar No 200 has been misbehaving. I finally
managed to buy a similar chassis on EBay and installed that. The railcar
now works perfectly. Work is continuing to re-chassis 'River Brue'.
17th April
The Kitson is now running wonderfully well
and will be making the trip to Brighton tomorrow for lining and weathering
by Rob Kaczmarczyk. Five new empty bogie coal wagons have been completed
so a 'return trip' can be operated in show.
The Garratt is still not running correctly
with the push pull from the harbour and we must wait for Andy of DCC
Supplies to come over and programme the back EMF on site.
11th April
Yesterday we drove down to Winchester to the
Wessex Narrow Gauge exhibition at Sparsholt. 40 narrow gauge layouts were
scattered in a series of classrooms. The exhibits were varied but included
some well known examples, including Tarrant Valley, Ilfracombe East and
East Quay Chapel Pill. They were supported by a smattering of traders
which included Parkside Dundas who continue to support these events, all
the way from Scotland, with amazing regularity.
It was a difficult show for someone like me
who is confined to a small mobility scooter. The crush in each room made
it extremely difficult to manoeuvre and Jenny quite quickly felt
claustrophobic. I saw most of the exhibits and we left quite quickly and
spent the rest of the day exploring the fabulous city of Winchester and
its cathedral.
8th April
The Kitson Meyer is back after having its
chip sorted out by DCC Supplies (spot on people they are too). The
handrails are fitted temporarily and she has been trundling around the
layout without too many problems although she is still a bit stiff.

5th April
The Garratt with consist works fine on test
although, for some reason, I cannot programme acceleration and
deceleration into the chip. A trip to DCC Supplies is needed I think. The
brake ramps have to be changed but this is a very quick thing to do on our
software. Yet another CDU from the original batch failed today, so at
least they are consistent. I have therefore changed all the CDUs of this
batch in the hope that we can have another long period of reliability.
I have mentioned that I have found that metal
etched valve gear is too heavy when fitted to the Bachmann class 08
outside frame chassis. This is now been confirmed on close examination of
our Mallet 'River Brue' which used the gear from Backwoods 'Russell'
etches. The loco had become increasingly unreliable and is now worn out
after travelling 5.2 actual miles. I am replacing the entire chassis using
ROCO valve gear.
It does make me wonder how Victors will fare
with their La Meuse offering.
I finally realise what an old codger I have
become. My trusty old mobile phone broke down. It was simple,
made phone calls and the battery lasted for days. The new Nokia sent to me
looks a lot better, as if I care but it has taken me over a day to figure
out how to make a phone call. Nowhere did the instructions say that a
clear bit of invisible plastic had to be removed from the screen so one could
operate the touch sensitive scrolling. I still only want a phone but this
thing, if one could only understand it, does everything including getting
stones out of boy scouts' feet! All I want is a simple bloody phone.

4th April
It is very strange that all my locos can
easily pull these two coaches up the grade from the harbour but pushing
them seems to be a lot harder. The only loco that is able to push up the
rake without effort is No.4 Garratt, the oldest loco of the fleet. I have
added a power socket to the front of the loco to take current collection
from the rake and this will have to be the consist. The double heading
using No.1 and No.2 with a mixed goods will continue and the poor old
4-6-0 Baldwin (No.9) still does not have a job to do!
I have been giving some thought to the work
the new Kitson Meyer will do. This is still awaiting attention to its chip
at DCC Supplies. The Diesel, 'River Avill' hauls a long coal drag towards
Barnstaple. The Kitson will haul a drag of empty coal wagons in the
opposite direction. I do not have enough stock for this, so I shall have
to order some new kits from Parkside Dundas.
I have just seen that Nine Lines are winding
down. They have produced excellent L&B kits of the bogie goods wagons and
their loss will be a huge problem for those modelling the L&B in future.
2nd April
For the first time in two months, we now have
all the fiddle yard tracks properly working. At the same time, all the
panel point indicator LEDs have been replaced and bigger resistors added,
which will stop burnout in future. I am now locked in battle with the
4-6-0 Baldwin to make it smoothly travel its new route from the harbour to
the bay platform at County Gate. The wheels of the Baldwin are perfectly
set with the correct back to backs, although the actual rigid wheelbase is
quite long. It completely jammed in two points at the harbour. The rail
gauge has had to be eased a little at these points and I have now removed
the flange of the centre driver. Now it works!
31st March
We lost two roads on our fiddle yard ladder
at our last exhibition which restricted our operations. Gradually, the
problems are being identified as failed CDUs. These were made for me and
were supposed to be pretty powerful. I have replaced the failures with
ones from Gaugemaster which actually seem to have even more capacity and
everything is now working, thank God!
The dilemma is now that as the four failed
units were installed at the same time as all the others, it is likely that
they too will be on their way home. I am inclined at this point to replace
the lot, about eight of them, rather than risk a failure at exhibition.
I still have to replace many indicator LED
lights on the fiddle yard control panel which had burnt out due to
excessive voltage.
25th March
With the painted floor mostly dried now, I
shall soon have access to the layout...not a moment too soon as
politicians and elections are already driving me mad so the railway barn
is a safe refuge. There MUST be a politician gene which results in
complete dishonesty. If it was ever found, I would recommend foetal
termination!
As far as I am concerned, Tesco should run
the country and politicians stack their shelves (if they could be trusted
not to steal the merchandise).
The push/pull coaches are now complete and
ready for road testing. The workshop floor will be ready for rolling on by
Sunday so I shall be able to get on with solving the electrical problems
of the fiddle yard.
The NGRM forum seems to have regressed 30
years back to bashing Kitmaster Pugs and railcars. It is such a pity that
so much narrow gauge modelling still revolves around such shenanigans
while the rest of the hobby strives to excellence.

weathered

24th March
The push pull set is now wired up and ready
for painting

the completed push pull coach end with sandpots and plough cowcatcher
22nd March
Access to County Gate's barn is not possible
over the next week as the floor is being painted. This is an annual
bit of fun! While this has been going on, thoughts have turned to the
Harbour Branch. At present, the passenger shuttle, under automation, is
performed by the Glenthorne railcar. Should any problem happen to the
railcar, we are without a service. Our history states the railcar is not
always too reliable and at times, a push/pull steam service is used. I
have always felt a bit sorry for our 4-6-0 Baldwin, scratch built back in
the early seventies. It runs well but has never found a role.

I have started to build the two coaches by
butchering some L&B etches.

15th March
So we are back from Basingstoke, County Gate
is offloaded into its barn and as usual, I am really tired. Basingstoke is
not the first place that comes to mind when considering a recreational
weekend but we went anyway. Aldworth Science College seemed to be
generously blessed with large halls and we were quickly offloaded and had
mostly set up by 22.00 hrs. The organisers of the show were very welcoming
and helpful and we got to our hotel in good spirits. We were billeted at
the local Hilton and could have asked for nothing better. The place looked
like an up market old peoples' home but was well appointed and very
comfortable.
A party was in full swing in the function
room and even as early as ten thirty, there were a large number of young
women who were already incapably drunk and being more laddish in their
behaviour than I remember us blokes were in much earlier years! The old
maxim of 'if you've got it, flaunt it', seems to have mutated to 'flaunt
it, even if you don't have it'. All I know is that if I was a girl and had
legs like most of the women we saw, I would wear a long dress!
Next day, after a hearty breakfast we
returned to the school and got thing going before taking a look around.
The range of layouts was very diverse and covered everything from an
excellent 'Thomas' layout to fine scale 0. Three other narrow gauge
layouts were in evidence.
In 009, was East Quay Chapel Pill by Angus
Watkins. Despite the very strange name, the layout was excellent and
included some lovely scratch built vessels and a working loading dock. The
locos were running reliably and very smoothly.

East Quay Chapel Pill

East Quay Chapel Pill
Oro Grande Railroad, an SN3 diorama with a
working crane was there although all I was able to see was the top of the
crane. This was disappointing for me as photographs show it to be of an
excellent standard. Worse was Crichel, apparently a 7mm/16.5 NG layout
which was so high up that many able bodied folks were unable to see it
properly. I find it difficult to understand the arrogance of Roy Wood, the
builder whose work excludes anyone of short stature, children and of
course the disabled. I have nevertheless included a photo of this layout.
Scenically, it was very poor indeed.

Crichel in 7mm/ft
Saturday night arrived and we were off to the
Conservative Club for an excellent dinner and quiz organised by the host
club.
Sunday was relatively quiet, being mothering
Sunday and of course, the first Grand Prix of the season. County Gate for
the most part ran well except that we suffered a points failure just
before the exhibition closed. We had hoped to test the new Kitson Meyer
but a defective chip kept it immobile in the sidings.

The Kitson sulked in the siding for the
duration.
Fellow Desperado Dave Renshaw was exhibiting
his 00 diesel (making nasty noises) Cramdin Yard. Needless to say, a great
deal of joshing took place throughout the exhibition... mostly about our
noisy seagulls and his traverser which had refused to work!
County Gate won best in show.
Basingstoke is an excellent regional show
which is friendly and comfortable to visit. We hugely enjoyed our time
there and thank the organisers, the BNHMRS, for making us feel so welcome.
Later on Sundays, the crowds always thin out a great deal. It was so good
that the show closed at 16.00hrs, which gave many a chance to pack up and
get back to their families. As usual, a very special thanks to Desperados
Andy Beresford and Martyn de Young who so ably helped out and made it all
possible.
9th March
The Kitson is now in etch primer and will
make an appearance, (not running though) at the Basingstoke show.

The fiddle yard is set up in my room and
finally I have identified the fault on one of the points. The Peco point
motor had failed. This has now been rectified.
8th March
I celebrated my new workshop by building the
Kitson Meyer. It is nearly finished and we are just waiting on a few bits.

4th March
Modelling standards in smaller scales are
fast improving. I am delighted to see more and more folks getting into
etching and other new techniques. Companies like Dapol nowadays trolley
down to the station yard and laser scan a prototype to produce masters
using 3D printing.
...........and then we have 'little people'. Our near perfect rolling
stock, set in highly detailed scenery are more often than not ruined once
the 'little people' are added. They may be purchased ready painted or are
white metal; it doesn't matter, they are so far from looking like real
people that the entire effect of the layout is often ruined. One of my
railway staff looks like Michael Jackson, for God's sake, and NO ONE looks
like that!

these days, this is just NOT good enough
4mm/ft seems simple enough to me....this does
seem to escape some suppliers too and it is often impossible to mix
figures as they have been made to different scales.
When at the Brighton exhibition, I visited 'Overlord' and was shown a
small range of 'little people' which for the first time actually looked
real. There was even a model of someone pointing with a scale finger. It
can be done but isn't!
What is needed is to get real people to dress up, laser scan them and then
3D print them. Then there is a chance. Am I the only one to feel the need
for something a lot better?
I have more or less moved into the new
workshop and hope to get to grips with the loco maintenance starting
today.
2nd March

My workshop re-instated. Now for putting all
the bits back in the new drawers!
So far, I have been able to do nothing on the
railway as we are still in complete disruption from having flood repairs
done to our home. One advantage of being flooded is that eventually, you
get a cheque for damaged furniture, carpet and decorating. The
disadvantage is that one is overrun by contactors who all have 'builders
bums', (a particular dislike of Jenny). Come to think of it, Jenny tells
all the Desperados who come to help showing County Gate, "Make sure that
John is not showing his bum on his scooter". Below is probably the record
beater of these proceedings!
By the evening, I had assembled the new Ikea
flat pack drawer units for my workshop. They go together superbly well and
are worth the trip to that dreadful store! I just wish loco kits went
together as easily!
MDF is unbelievably heavy and it astounds me that it
is still used by some for their baseboards. In fact, I suspect the severe
earthquakes are caused by the excess weight of Ikea MDF which is
proliferating around the world.
Jenny sent me to bed early as she thought I
was getting 'hyper' assembling the flat packs!

Still, the carpet went down today and I am
now building up flat packs of new drawer units for my workshop....
damn....there are some bits left over!
I do hope that some of the sick engines will be able to
be fixed before the next show.
22nd February
Back in 2008, County Gate attended the
Birmingham Model Railway Exhibition, hosted by the Redditch Model Railway
Society. This year, we were again their guest at the Redditch show. This
was held at the town hall and very comfortable it was too. I am always
struck by the friendliness of this club and this year's event was no
exception. We were very short of Desperados for the event and club members
cheerfully stepped in to unload and dismantle the layout.
The Warley show at the NEC seems to act as a
'black hole' for other shows in the area and visitor numbers suffer as a
result. This year was sadly not as well attended as it deserved. It is my
understanding that in future, the club will hold just one event a year at
a new venue.
County Gate automation caused a few problems
but began to improve as the show went on. We have not had time to do any
maintenance since Brighton so there is quite a 'to do' list outstanding.
River Avon ingested a lump of foliage and was
withdrawn. Brue is still out with a bent rod and Exe suffered a broken
wire to the companion car. My 40 year old K1 Garratt took over running the
eight coach holiday special and operated faultlessly throughout the day.
Altogether a good show and I would like to
thank the organisers for the help and kindness afforded to us.
15th February

So we are back from the Brighton
Modelworld show. We arrived at lunchtime Thursday and found ourselves at
the loading bay in freezing conditions. For one who dwells in the
backwoods of Herefordshire, Brighton is rather a strange place. Among
other things, it claims
to be the 'Gay capital of Britain'. On the streets, were men in frocks,
and others (of indeterminate gender), had trousers with the crotch well
below the knees. This made them look as if
they had shot a load in their shorts!

I rather naturally burst out laughing on
seeing such apparitions. Someone suggested that I should go on a diversity
course. I found this hurtful as I have already been to two and last one
actually had more than thirty sorts of real ale.
The Brighton Centre is a slightly frayed
building more or less on the front. The interior is a rabbit warren of
halls with one large arena on the first floor. When they built this place
design work stopped some place short of the loading bays. These are
cramped in the extreme and totally inadequate for the size of venue. The
organisers made a valiant attempt to help exhibitors unload but the
'architecture' got the better of them. Many had to wait at
some race course half way to Dover before being called to unload some
hours later and there were quite a few grumps. Due to our long setup time,
we were allowed in quickly and organisers kindly helped us to unload.
Light relief was afforded for exhibitors when
the huge boating pool burst, dumping thousands of gallons of water across
the floor.
Six hours later, we were more or less set up
and retired to our hotel very cold and tired. The organisers had kindly
booked a hotel on the front. On arrival, the Polish staff were more
interested in getting guests to sign in multiple boxes to confirm they had
read their no smoking policy (which was longer than the Maastricht
Treaty), than actually making people welcome. A sort of Polish run Faulty
Towers, in fact. The real problem arose when they demanded £150 in cash or
credit card per person so they could fine anyone who broke the rules.
I rapidly disavowed them of any hope of
getting a deposit from us and we
retired to comfortable rooms and began to warm up.
Upon arrival at the venue the next day, we
were confronted with burnt out debris and an overwhelming smell of fire.
Some idiots had tried to set fire to the building. Fortunately, Brighton's
finest were there to extinguish it in short order. Hell, this place is
Dodge City in a frock!
The Brighton show is eclectic in the extreme
and is a first class venue for parents and kids. There was a large Lego
stand where kids could build what they liked and an area for huge model
tanks which gave battle to each other. Personally, I hate war games stuff
and see it as playing with large radio controlled Tonka toys and dolls.

There were boats, planes and cars galore, all
being controlled by RC. There was even a radio controlled goose! The entire building must have been awash with
radio frequencies and therein lay our problem.

At the beginning and end of the days, the
County Gate automation worked faultlessly. As more and more frequencies
fired up during the day, it infiltrated our system and all sorts of mistakes
cropped up which resulted in trains going into the wrong places and at times
colliding with each other.
Some superb large robots were also wandering
around. They were by far the most disruptive to our systems.

My favourite was 'Titan the Robot' which performed a great show. When
he was around however, points even began to start changing all on their
own!

Titan inspects County Gate
We had to almost run the thing by hand at
times and gave up the unequal struggle during robot and tank shows. For
the first time we did manage to run a Manning Wardle double header
though.

the first MW double header
Being in the main hall was certainly not the
ideal for us. As we were directly underneath the loudest Tannoy system
ever installed, close to tank battles with ordnance and extrovert
singing robots, we drowned in a cacophony of sound. It was impossible to
hear oneself think and regular exits were in order to get one's hearing
back. The lower floor, by contrast was as peaceful as a summers meadow and
I just wish that we had been down there.
The food provided by the Brighton Centre was
inspirational. I had no idea that road kill could be served in so many
different ways.

Despite our tribulations, the public did seem
to like the layout and we were awarded gold. All in all the experience was
'educational' and we shall certainly avoid venues with radio control all
around us in future. At all times the organisers did all they could to help
but for us, it was hard work to keep up a show.
My thanks to Desperado Rhys Davies who so
valiantly helped out.
9th February
The layout gets loaded into the trailer
tomorrow. The figures arrived from Aiden and have been planted. Some of
the figures were too large in scale but have found a place in the
foreground of the harbour. At last the awful flat sailor who stood on the
platform has gone!
click
here to see what
happened!
5th February
So it is time to knock down the layout ready
for going to Brighton. All seems to be going well and just a few repairs
and new detailing remain to be done. I have been very unhappy with some of
the figures on the line. Some new ones are due to arrive from Aidan
Campbell.
31st January
It has not been the best time for us as we
have had a death in the family and part of the house was flooded.
Sometimes, during such trials, it is better to get really lost in some
project or other rather than face reality! The website, which was
originally intended to be short had grown into a monster and its
navigation had become chaotic. In particular, the 'how we did it' articles
were scattered all about the site. They are now together in a section
which can be easily expanded. Of course, it is frustrating to have to
rediscover how to navigate the site and I apologise for this. Nevertheless, I do hope that the new look website will work OK for
everybody. Please let me know if there is a problem or bad link.
The Lynton and Barnstaple modelling section
has also been revamped although no new material ever comes our way. This
is disappointing as it could be a more useful resource.
22nd
January
Back in the workshop and I am glad to say that
after a few glitches, the layout seems to be working quite well. Taw jammed
up and the problem was that the crosshead slippers had become worn. A curse
on the covers over the slide bars on our Manning Wardle tanks. The job took
almost a whole day.
20th
January

Outside is yet again a blizzard and workshop
access impossible.
Being born at the end of the War, universal
hatred for Krauts and Nips was quickly displaced to the Commies. Our
household became worried about annihilation by nuclear war, woodworm and dry
rot in about equal measures. Rotten weather was always blamed on nuclear
testing, of course.
After many years of concern about nuclear
destruction, we have since been threatened with gigantic volcanoes, huge
meteorites, extinction of wildlife, AIDs, and mutated flues. For me, the last
two threats always looked quite hopeful. A mass reduction in the burgeoning
world human population would resolve one of the other fears, that of running
out of resources such as oil.
And now they have moved on to global warming,
terrorism and unrestricted immigration. First they said that British weather
would become like the South of France if we used aerosol sprays. In the
spirit of things, my consumption of aerosols went up four-fold but still our
winters remained grim and depressing affairs.
And now, that hotbed of potty extremists at the
University of East Anglia have managed to fiddle data sufficiently to
convince some fools that we are experiencing global warming.
Yeh, right!
Looking through the window at yet again, fast
falling snow, tells me that this global warming thing is just another excuse
to raise taxes for British politicians to pay for their absurd warmongering
and of course the city bankers must all still be paid kings' ransoms.
I used to think that such hobbies as railway
modelling were the preserve of those who suffered from horrible winters. I
even convinced myself that the best model railways must be in Scandinavia and
Canada. The internet has shown otherwise and it is clear that the hobby is
pursued even in places of good all round weather.
As I have become older and hopefully a little
wiser I now see that governments feel it necessary to keep us permanently
anxious about some major potential threat.
It is little wonder that many of us retreat into
imaginary little worlds where it is always summer and nothing ever happens!
10th
January
The bad joint is repaired and now stock operates
faultlessly. I would have liked to be testing on the assembled layout but the
weather has got the better of me. Snow has been sufficient to make it almost
impossible to get to the barn. Hopefully things will improve soon.
27th
December
After finishing off the cold turkey and chestnut
stuffing, it was time to go forth and work on the layout. Endoscopic
examination of the track joint, hidden in the tunnel between the viaduct and
harbour baseboards showed that one rail was .5mm higher than the adjacent
one. Clearly, during setup or knockdown, we had managed to hook the end of
the track to cause the problem. Jenny calls such things 'events'. This, in
girl talk, means something we did during exhibition and therefore nothing
whatsoever to do with her! It is quite surprising that most of the stock
managed to get across the joint at all. I am sure the endoscope had a faint
whiff of cow's bottom!
There was nothing for it but to cut out an
access hole in the baseboard, remove part of the track and relay it. All is
well now and we are left having to refill the access hole. Once this is
complete, the layout will be reassembled and testing begun.
19th
December
Now back from France, my thoughts are again
turning to some CG maintenance. Our little engines have really covered some
miles and were beginning to be less well behaved by the end of the Warley
show. As an example of our maintenance schedule, here are the worksheets so
far.
'Exe'
Complete ultrasonic clean. The plunger pickups were worn and giving only
intermittent contact. They were replaced by phosphor bronze spring wires.
'Yeo'
A coupling rod bush on a drive wheel had become detached which caused rough
running resulting in damaged teeth on one of the spur gears. The gear was
replaced as was the rod bush. The chip was not always responding so this was
also replaced. Chassis cleaned and loco tested and reprogrammed.
'Lew'
Replacement of failed plunger pickups with wire.
railcar no 200
Chassis cleaned and all bearings re-lubricated.
15th
December
I had found that the forum on modelling that I
set up on Yahoo was not a suitable format to easily combine photos and text.
As a result, I set up a more suitable message board which would allow for an
unlimited disc space for the storage of articles. Sadly, this forum remained
largely unused and as a result, it was withdrawn due to the cost of running
it.
24th
November
I am shortly off to France for a while and face
quite a lot of maintenance work on CG on return. For some reason, a baseboard
joint has started to derail a railcar (we will have to borrow an endoscope to
see why) and all the little engines will be visiting the ultrasonic cleaner!
Some of them have now travelled over 7 real miles; James May, eat your heart
out!
23rd
November
Well, we are back from Warley and we survived!
The drive to the NEC is a short one for us and on arrival, it did not take us
too long to be able to drive the trailer into the hall and offload.
Already installed was the K1 Garratt from the
Welsh Highland. What struck me was how tiny it looked in that barn of an
exhibition hall. Also at the vehicle entrance was a stand being set up called
S & M! We wondered at first if we were unloading in the right hall!

WHR K1 Garratt
The layout was together by 4.30 pm except, where
was the electricity? Our automation does require a start up cycle that takes
at least two hours. In the end, power did not come to us until 7.45 but by
then, all we could think about was getting to the hotel for a meal and BEER.
It was nice to be alongside John and Jane Jacobs
'Nettlecombe'. That layout is exquisite. John and Jane were
a tad more concerned in case I collided my mobility scooter with their fiddle
yard, however! Despite many 'attempts', I am happy to say that the yard
remained intact throughout the show.

Nettlecombe looks just like
the place I would like to live in!
John tells me that in one show overseas, he was
not awarded a trophy because his layout was too low. Certainly, in Europe,
there are now more layouts at shows that are not accessible for the disabled
to see than those that are. In Britain, the law requires that there is
accessibility for the disabled at public events. It is amazing how folks can
be so selective about observing the law. As a smoker, I do have to go outside
for a ciggy. However, as a disabled person, I have to campaign just to be
able to see a model railway!
I had wanted to see the WW1 layout Willesden
Junction. This was brought to the exhibition by members of the Greenwich
Narrow Gauge Railway Soc. Sadly, I was out plum of luck as they had clearly
decided to further their campaign against the emancipation of the disabled,
short people and children. Just to make quite sure, much of the layout was
lower than the foreground! I am given to understand that there were a lot of
things that looked like cow pats on the layout but then again, I shall never
know! The Greenwich operators did however remember to bring step ladders to
stand on so they could see their own layout.

Willesden Junction - a view from quite a high mobility scooter
It is still my hope that exhibition organisers
will eventually wake up and insist that layouts shown, comply with the law.
We stayed at Holiday Inn Express and I have to
say what a comfortable place it was, so we were able to get back to the NEC
on Saturday morning in reasonable shape. It is such a pity that the hall
lighting is so awful. All visitors should be issued with a valium pill to
compensate! We were not able to go through the start up cycle before the
visitors came in so for the first time we did suffer from a series of
automation glitches throughout the first day. Luckily, trains were still able
to run for the most part.
Saturday was extremely busy and at times,
visitors were five deep trying to get to see County Gate. Sunday morning gave
some respite and one was able to wander around the hall and see the seventy
odd layouts and the numerous trade stands.
One thing that has always upset Jenny and
myself. The people on County Gate. This is just something that we have never
managed to get right. I have often seen the work of
Aidan Campbell
and the photos on his website always look like caricatures from Punch
magazine. In real life I was very surprised how jolly good they actually were
and the painting surpassed anything we could do. I therefore kidnapped him
for a while and we will now be starting a gradual replacement programme with
painted figures from Aidan.
I must say that I am getting less sure about
some folks with sound chips in their trains. Some were actually louder than
the prototypes and could be heard many yards away. Behind us was a G scale
LGB layout with lots of sound... again rather loud, but it was the sound of
Westinghouse pumps which did me in. Every time they parked close to us with
the pump noise on it made me want to go to the loo!
I really enjoyed the 7mm hi-tech layout Dinas 1869 by Paul Holmes.

Dinas 1869 by Paul Holmes
Other favourites were:

New Ponca Yard, a very
evocative US layout
Quite a large number of continental layouts were
there, including our old friend
Ems-land Moortrack who we had met at Utrecht.

Ems-land Moortrack
We were sharing the hotel with folks exhibiting
at the National Cat Show...(very sad for me that it is the same weekend as
Warley). At around 2am on Sunday morning I was wakened by "Mau....mau....mau".
At first thought it was one of my cats wanting to get under the duvet until I
realised that I wasn't at home. Oh well, got up and dressed and found a fine
looking grey English shorthair at the door; and very worried he was too!
Picked him up and ran him on the scooter to the lift and down to reception.
He never stopped with his "Mau....mau....mau": as accurate as an atomic
clock! At reception, he was reunited with his equally worried owner who
suspected that 'cat show sabotage' was behind the whole affair; (those people
will kill each at the drop of a hat).
All in all, a very well run friendly, huge
exhibition with a high standard of layouts and the largest selection of
traders you will ever see in one place. County Gate won best NG layout in
show and the huge trophy spent time standing on the Contisbury cliffs. A few
felt it was somewhat out of scale. I later discovered that the trophy was
presented by Pete Waterman!

All too soon it was all over and we were
knocking it all down. Some delays were experienced in getting the trailer
into the hall following a car accident outside. How someone managed to run
over a traffic warden covered in visibility vests and reflectors I have no
idea. I only hope that he will make a full recovery. Despite this, it was all
packed up soon enough and I was home before 9pm.
I had heard many tales of exhibiting at Warley
and was somewhat nervous. We actually enjoyed the experience and felt the
club had looked after us well.
As usual, a thousand thanks to the Desperados
for helping so wonderfully at the show and well done Warley MRC.
15th
November
With everything working properly, the time has
arrived to pack up CG for Warley. After the 10 page article on CG in the
British Railway Modelling magazine, showing at the NEC seems a hard act to
follow!

7th
November
Work is now beginning to repair the detached
cross member under the viaduct section. Once this is completed, the railway
will be reassembled and the new and repaired rolling stock programmed and
tested for automation.
5th
November
Diesel electric 'River Avill' was completed
today and has been passed for service.

I have also been busy fixing a few small
problems encountered at the previous two shows. River Brue began to run
roughly and I replaced a wheel set and keeper plate. These had become damaged
during the initial construction. The loco is now as smooth as River Avon.
Better bogies were fitted to the Glenthorne railcar, (one had become detached
at Genk), but the greatest effort as been with our 'Taw' (Mr Slippy) which is
fitted with a Class08 chassis. It is impossible to add further ballast to the
loco so I am fitting a Tomytec Scale 16m Chassis to its companion box car.
This will have to have its own chip and be adjusted in speed to match the
loco. It is the only way I can see to obtain reasonable load hauling
capability up our grades.
29th Oct
Following mediation, a well established model
railway exhibition will no longer be exhibiting in their current venue where
no access to the disabled is afforded. Further details will be released
shortly. The action took place as part of a campaign to ensure that this
hobby remains inclusive for those with mobility difficulties.

logo of the Desperados, those kind enough to
come and help run County Gate - click on image to enlarge
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