Well what a weird day! After a monumental effort from the staff during the afternoon the majority of the school is ready to receive their exhibits. It was a weird feeling setting up a model railway exhibition whilst dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown as part of a Children in Need fundraiser. Such is the varied life of a teacher! At least the fundraising film club in the afternoon allowed me some free time for setting up.
The hall is ready, although we have had to reduce the tables for the re
As I sit and write this entry there is less than a week to go until the Weston on Trent model railway exhibition. Things are slowly coming together, but there is still so much to do in the next five days.
At present I am working on putting the show guide together. It is almost finished, but still requires information from one layout owner. My aim is to get the guide finished by Wednesday so that it can be printed on Thursday and Friday. This year's guide will run to 12 pages compared to 8 l
As the Weston-on-Trent show creeps closer here is a further update:
The show
What a difference a few days make. In my last blog I reported that a layout pulling out had reduced the total to 18. Within a few days it has increased to a provisional total of 21. One small layout which had pulled out earlier in the year is now coming again, and I have received a kind offer from another RMWeb user to bring their shunting layout too! It will certainly be good to welcome one of the website's young
As the pumpkins appear outside some of the doors on our street, and little witches, ghosts and wizards start begging at my door, it reminds me that November is almost here. In fact there are now just 17 days until the second Weston-on-Trent model railway exhibition. That is quite a scary thought as there is just so much to do. Here is the latest update:
The show
After the children had left school at the end of the half term last Friday, I finally made it into the junior classroom to comple
The Weston show is creeping ever closer and thinks are beginning to take shape. Here is an update:
The Show
The number of layouts is growing steadily. After a phonecall last week I have provisionally booked the 18th layout for the show. This will nicely fill another hole in one of the corridors. I can also confirm that the Meccano display will return for a second year, with different exhibits to last year. I still have a couple of other layouts I would like, and once I have measured up the
I can't believe that my last blog entry was in June! Where has the time gone?? All of a sudden there has been the first chill of the upcoming Autumn and the nights are starting to draw in and that means the second Weston-on-Trent model railway show is starting to creep ever closer. As I write this there is less than two months to go. So much has happened since the last blog, and so little has happened too.
I had hoped that my six week summer break would see me get stuck into the planned ext
Part 1 – George Pepper
George, a retired widower, is the lone resident of “Yew Tree Cottage” – the thatched dwelling which peeps its way through the trees at the top of the embankment next to the tunnel.
A keen gardener, George bought Yew Tree cottage following the death of his wife, Mary, last year. At the time the cottage was in quite a state of disrepair. Throughout last summer George was often seen out in the warm sunshine, clad in his overalls, bringing the building back to its forme
An update on Skaleby West
This week has been the school's half term holidays and I had hoped to get cracking with the Skaleby West extension. Sadly one or two family issues have prevented the development of the additional board. But I have managed to make progress elsewhere!
Today I had a free afternoon whilst my wife was visiting her mother, so I turned my attention to the fiddle yard for the layout. This was built in a bit of a rush prior to last year's show and appeared with the faci
It has been a while since I updated this blog. But a few hours spent on Skaleby West has prompted me to provide the latest news on progress / lack of progress on the layout and on the second Weston on Trent show.
Skaleby West was constructed last year. It took me nine months from starting it at the end of February, to completion for its debut at the first Weston show last November. Now my plans are to extend the scenic section by constructing a second 4ft x 1ft scenic board. Unfortunately t
The Easter holidays are here, and a break from the constant round of planning, marking, teaching and assessing student teachers. A chance to spend some time with the family and catch up with some modelling. Here is the latest update....
The layout
Despite the granting of planning permission for the extension to Skaleby West, and the placing of an order for the wood, there has been no physical progress as regards the second scenic board. That does not mean things have been at a standstill h
In my last blog entry a month ago I mentioned that I had begun the hunt for layouts to make up the 2013 Weston on Trent model railway show. With plenty of time until the November date I was expecting things to move slowly! I was wrong! The period around the school's half term break produced a rather manic spell when everything seemed to happen at once!
It all started with a visit to the Sileby show where I had discussed the show with three layout owners. One of these was booked and another i
Now I appreciate that winter services into Skaleby West are rather infrequent, but is that really an excuse for a couple of members of the local gentry to use the track bed to exercise their steads? I wonder what those passengers, sat on the platform waiting for the next service, thought about the arrival of a couple of members of the Skaleby Hunt as they passed through the station in the "four foot".
Considering Skaleby West station is built on land within the estate of Skaleby Manor, perhaps
More details on the Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire model railway show!
Here we go again!!!!
2012 did not exactly have the most optomistic of starts. I saw the year in, practically on my own, whilst watching the BBC's "New Year Live" coverage on the lowest possible volume setting in order to avoid awaking my sleeping wife. My 2 week old daughter sucked away on her late night bottle before bed and I made do with a small glass of celebratory wine. I did wonder how much time I would find
Last Sunday I was sitting in the spare bedroom catching up on school work. I had lifted the window blinds and was enjoying the warmth of the Autumn sunshine which was streaming through the window whilst I beavered away on the laptop. I suddenly noticed that the sunlight was hitting Skaleby West which was lying dormant on top of the rabbit hutch. The natural light created some great effects and I could not resist taking advantage and taking some photos. I hope you like them.
The sun peeks thro
Back in February I started this blog entitled “What have I let myself in for?” With the Weston show now over I have had a chance to reflect on that, and also to look to the future!
The layout - Skaleby West
I had always wanted to build an exhibition layout, and organising the Weston show gave me the excuse and motivation to get on and do it. I thoroughly enjoyed the nine month build, and have learnt many new skills during the period including hand ballasting, using static grass and even a p
According to my diary the “longest day” is the summer solstice in June when we have more daylight than on any other day. For me the longest day was, without doubt, Saturday 10th November, the date of the Weston-on-Trent model railway show.
The show has been nine months in the planning, and the subject of many a blog entry here on RMWeb. Now the day has been and gone. And what a day it proved to be!
It all started the night before as I began to pack up Skaleby West for transportation. The
I can't quite believe it. The Weston-on-Trent model railway show is almost here! The last nine months have flown by. It only seems like yesterday that I was suggesting the show during a fundraising staff meeting back in February. So much has happened in the mean time. The show, and the layout, have dominated my thoughts. Now the nerves are really jangling. Will the show be a success? Will we make some money for the school? Have I done enough advertising? Will enough people come through the door?
So, as I write this blog, there is now less than three days to go until the first ever Weston-on-Trent model railway show. Now is the time that things should be coming together. As far as the layouts are concerned that is very much the case. Most layout owners have replied to my recent email and confirmed their attendance and how many operators are due to be coming. That will help us to sort out the free lunches for them and hopefully ease the growing panic amongst the ladies who are running the
RMWeb uses of a certain age will probably remember a television programme by the name of "Challenge Anneka." Anneka Rice, fresh from leaving Treasure Hunt, squeezed her then shapely rear end back into a jumpsuit to race around the country. Instead of looking for clues she attempted to help different good causes by attempting to complete projects in a seemingly impossible time.
This week I felt like I was facing a similar impossible task. The model railway show is now just a few days away and S
Has another week passed by already? Time really is flying at the moment and that is more than a little scary. As I drove out of school on Friday night, and headed off towards a half term break, I reflected that the next time I would be making the same Friday journey it would be on the eve of the model railway event. By then the hall will need to have been cleared, tables set up and there may well be some layouts already on site. The event really is that close now. Without doubt I am approaching
Another update on progress with the Weston show and some more layout pictures!
At the end of last week I sat in my classroom enjoying a rare moment of peace whilst the children worked quietly on a writing task. The tranquillity did not last long. All of a sudden the silence was shattered by loud music drifting through the wall from the adjourning infant classroom. My class’ concentration was shattered by the strains of the Hokey Cokey! I sat there, cursing my inconsiderate coll
Another week has passed and the show is now just one month away. Here is the latest update!
This week has seen more changes to the show line up. Sadly the Hockley Goods diorama has had to withdraw from the event. A big thanks to its owner, Don, for giving me as much notice as he could. Nothing he could do and just one of these things. A big thanks to him as well for all of his help and advice over the last few months. Fortunately I have managed to secure a replacement exhibit with a small l
The first ever Weston-on-Trent model railway show is getting ever closer. Here is the latest update!
I may have been a little worried as I approached the staff meeting last week. The Weston on Trent model railway show was the only item on the agenda, and I faced the task of persuading the female dominated staff of exhibition virgins to provide help on the day. Thankfully my worries proved unfounded. They seemed to get quite excited by the event and a few have got together to take on the o
Back in February I uttered those immortal words during a school staff meeting...."perhaps we could have a model railway show to raise funds for the school". And so there was no backing out. The staff liked the idea and handed the organisation over to me. After all, I am sure that none of the female dominated staff had ever been to a model railway show, let alone realised such things existed!! I am not being sexist here you understand...there are some great blogs written by female modellers out t
As I get stuck into planning for the new school year the summer really is over for me. It is back to the constant slog of planning lessons, preparing resources, attending meetings and dealing with all kinds of hassles. Yes I really do love my job!
And with the end of summer comes an end to my extended modelling time. One final fling last week saw more progress made on Skaleby West. Using some Gaugemaster materials I created a small rock face on the nearside of the embankment. This was then
