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Chris Nevard's Blog

A blog by Chris Nevard in RMweb Blogs

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About this blog

Welcome to my RM web BLOG, it's used like most to highlight recently modelling projects and photographs. The postings here tend to mirror my independent BLOG at http://nevardmedia.blogspot.co.uk/

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Combwich, 30 years ago!

8104_stogursey_003_01, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Combwich is a lot older than most people think, the baseboards and track dating back to 1980. It was originally called Churchstanton, then Stogursey and finally the present Combwich when I rebuilt it in 2001-present. The layout is still very active, in fact it's better now than it's ever been: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157630183211760/with/7397034112/ Most of the stock seen here is still in regular use t

June 18, 2012

8

5 years on, still going strong

ï»¿ 43216 shunts a grain wagon with a hot box into the siding at Catcott, September 1959. When backing up files yesterday I picked out the photo of the culvert being tried out for size on the layout back in December 2007, it reminding me of many of the lightweight materials used for the scenic base with much of the cardboard here being from a huge flatscreen TV at the workplace. I remember at the time being far impressed by the cardboard than the TV because it was unusually stout, strong

June 17, 2012

3

Combwich 1960

Here we are back at Combwich looking south into the midday sun, it looking like a windy day judging by those clouds. A little flare from the sun has been captured unfortunately across the smokebox door of 44417, the result of not using a lens hood. The loco has just arrived with the morning goods from Evercreech Junction, but because it's a couple of hours until the next passenger train and the shunter is having lunch, the engine will probably be taken along to the shed for a pit stop before

June 16, 2012

4

Eclipse Peat (Catcott)

nevard_120614_catcott_DSC_5845, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. I haven't typed a 'Billy ######' page for ages, so here goes a snippett of parallel universe 'faction'....... Click on the photo above if you think it's pretty and want to see a bigger one! In 1966 Eclipse Peat (Catcott) upgraded its loading facility with the ability to handle the loose product as well as bagged. In August 1969, diesel hydraulic No. D6313 is captured propelling wagons under the loading hopper. On loading

June 14, 2012

6

Cats, dustbin liners, 1959 and all that.....

nevard_120612_catcott_DSC_5788, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Templecombe's 43216 is captured pottering about the sidings at Catcott Burtle on a bright but blustery day in magnificent summer of 1959. Click on the photo to get a bigger view. '59 was very similar to the summer of 2006, with hot temperatures and wall to wall sunshine running well into the autumn. This is probably one of the reasons why there are so many colour photographs from that year, colour films from that era being g

June 13, 2012

4

Something for Bus Spotters!

nevard_120529_Bristol-LS_DSC_5233, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. At RAILEX over the weekend an hour or so before the show ended I finally got around to having my tour of inspection and came across this rather nice diecast EFE Bristol L.S in Southern National green livery on the hosting club's secondhand stall. The clincher being the Devenish Draught advert which sadly now promotes that long gone well loved Weymouth brewery. All starry eyed, I donned that dirty gabardine raincoat, greasy

May 29, 2012

2

Railex 2012 - and what a show it was!

120527_railex12_DSC_5164, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. The annual Railex in Aylesbury on the weekend of 26th and 27th of May cued the beginning of summer like it so often does. Iâ€™m sat here in the garden with laptop taking advantage of the weather, our rather limp-wristed wi-fi just about giving me a signal strong enough to allow me to reflect on a fabulous weekend away from the more usual camera, sofa or modelling bench. Railex as always is in a very well lit supersized tin shed bui

May 28, 2012

4

Bedazzled buffers!

nevard_110921_leamington_DSC_3796_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Posted in my external BLOG, hence slightly generic non-rail-nutter angle. The real world is full of things that don't quite conform to preconception, with us model makers often being the worst offenders (I'm really bad at this and have to kick myself from time to time), for this reason itâ€™s so important to look at the real world. Luckily railways have always been well explored by camera lenses, so often research i

May 10, 2012

6

Car Train

120503_4-track_DSC_4363, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. As an alternative to a long wait for the Aust Car Ferry or a long drive via Gloucester, the 4.40pm Severn Tunnel Junction to Pilning car train is captured speeding up the 1/100 grade towards its destination on a dull summer day in 1958. The opening of the Severn Bridge saw the end of this service aimed at the more affluent car owner. The new bridge also saw the end to the quirky Aust Car Ferry, however those that wish a trip down me

May 3, 2012

3

Showcase: Arne Wharf

120502_arnewharf_DSC_4315, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. You may have sen this photo in the photo-feed at the top of the index page, here's a little more about it...... To those not familiar with some of my layouts, over the next few postings I'm going to have a look at some of the layouts I've built, starting off with Arne Wharf. Back in 2003 I'd only been back in the hobby for a year or so, and wanted to build something small and compact which could be taken to shows. Since the

May 3, 2012

4

Summer of '69

120429_4-track_DSC_4245, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. During the long hazy summer of '69, D6313 is captured near Great Wishford on the Wylye Valley route with a Westbury bound goods. The highly regarded Dapol Class 22 certainly looks the part on a secondary mainline with just a few wagons in tow. The unkempt finish and hazy light I think capturing the feel of the era which is now getting on for half a century ago. This is of course the era of free love, outdoor concerts and drug induce

April 29, 2012

2

Sunday Smog

120428_4-track_DSC_4215_BW, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Sunday morning's bit of silliness is the replication of a stretch of mainline in South Wales with an ex-GWR pannier tank in possession of a rake of empties just having left the mainline. The 9F flying along behind has a load of freshly filled wagons heading for somewhere distant or maybe just Cardiff Docks. Sunlight has just started to penetrate the fog and pollution â€“ also known as smog it was a typical feature of industrial B

April 29, 2012

1

The Old Days!

8404_smrs_expo_019, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Earlier today I decided to upload a few 35mm negative scans of toy chuffers taken between 1981 and 1984. Many of them were taken down the long gone Southampton Model Railway Society clubrooms at Sholing Railway Station which housed Newhampton, a huge OO gauge out and back and duck under Southampton Terminus inspired layout. I remember that the standard of modelling at the time was generally a cut above the norm, with the miniature portrayal

April 14, 2012

10

It's not the 1st of April, but.....

nevard_120130_combwich_IMG_2324, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Photo: 30587 departs Combwich with the 2pm service to Stogursey. ...but in the ethos of populist journalism for the masses, today I'm not going to let historical accuracy get in the way of a good yarn! Until 1955, a light railway served the small town of Stogursey up in the Quantocks. This railway was part of a grand scheme to link the port town of Combwich with Watchet, but sadly the railway company owned by Sir Henry

January 30, 2012

5

Fresh in from Kernow

nevard_120125_class22_IMG_2312, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Yesterday morning I opened the door to the porch to find this rather well packed parcel from Kernow Model Rail Centre sitting there in the form of the much awaited Dapol Class 22 - a very useful item, especially for those that model railways half a century ago anywhere west of Heathrow. I have yet to look at it properly, but was able to find a few moments to grab this snap of the compact little beast. Obviously the detail pac

January 25, 2012

5

Looking back at the weekend show

nevard_120123_45xx_DSC_1208, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. As mentioned in previous blog posts, the Astolat Model Railway Circle 2012 Expo in Guildford was to be Combwich's last outing for a while pending a total re-wire to take some of the lottery as to whether the layout will perform or not. Luckily, and much to my surprise the old girl, which has now turned 30, presented very few problems other than a dickie frog polarity switch under one of the run around crossover points. On the odd oc

January 24, 2012

7

All up and running...

nevard_120119_combwich_DSC_1024, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. 43216 arrives at at Combwich with the 2.15pm service from Evercreech Junction, August 1961 Yesterday afternoon, Combwich was assembled for an up and under prior to this weekend's show in Guildford. Much to my surprise, it ran pretty well first off, apart from a slight problem with a Peco polarity switch being a tad lazy - next job will be to dismantle the layout and ship it down to the show which is just a couple of miles aw

January 20, 2012

1

Combwich - on the road again, just one more time (for now)

nevard_101106_wycrail_IMG_8340_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Wycrail, 6 November 2010. Note the cast of 'Last of the Summer Wine' in th foreground. Combwich hits the road again on Saturday 21 January at the Astolat Model Railway Circle annual show in Guildford. Combwich is 30 years old now, and whilst the layout has been contantly updated to give the impression of being far more youthful than it appears, the wiring dates right back to the early 1980's and is very overdue for a

January 17, 2012

6

50's in the 80's

8405_barford_50020_p, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. 50020 powers through Barford St Martin a few miles west of Salisbury with a Waterloo bound service during a rather splendid April day in 1984. It's incredible just how the railways have changed over just a couple of decades, for back in the 1980's the majority of long distance trains were loco-hauled. As a photography student in Salisbury during the mid-1980's, this meant that I was perfectly positioned to capture English Electric C

January 6, 2012

7

Secrets of Brewhouse Quay (orig post 24 Dec)

Whilst RM web was having its well-deserved Xmas break, I still kept blogging externally (I usually copy lock stock and barrel here as well). Here's my Xmas Eve post......... nevard111223_bachmann3F_DSC_0529_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. Bachmann Midland 3F weathered and renumbered as Templecombe's 43216. This loco was the 3F allocated to the former Somerset & Dorset line and was withdrawn in 1962. For photographers, this was taken on a mid-1960's Nikkor-S (Ai co

December 31, 2011

0

Bachmann 3F

nevard111228_bachmann3F_DSC_0671b_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. The new Bachmann 3F you may recall from before Christmas, has now received its final session of weathering after a renumbering to Templecombe's 43216. I tend to weather engines in stages, breaking for a day to two to appraise the effect under the layout's lighting and how it looks in relation to the layout and other stock. I like to get a uniform but not necessarily totally even look between engines and other items o

December 30, 2011

1

Old Sox

111216_rydes-hill_DSC_0157_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. This post isn't strictly about model railways, but an interest and understanding of the real world I think helps to make us better model makers. Lights like this are a doddle to make of course. As a model maker of mostly historical scenarios, I'm always on the look out for bits of 'olde England' to record for posterity to aid model making. Currently in Surrey, older street lighting is being updated with new low energy syst

December 17, 2011

9

New Sign for the Pedant & Armchair

111205_polbrock_IMG_2125_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. The Pedant &Armchair is now fully open and is complete with appropriate signage on the front. The nearby railway also has warnings to warn of its presence, but of the course the clientele would never dream of wandering onto the line because they almost certainly read government health and safety guides before going to bed. They are also unlikely to be drunk, 'mother' would never allow it. I just need to think of a suitab

December 4, 2011

18

Dirty Beattie!

Beattie Well Tank No. 30587 trundles through the open crossing at Polbrook with a freight from Wenfordbridge to Wadebridge on a sultry summer day in 1957. 111204_polbrock_IMG_2088_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr. "She smells a bit but has a heart of gold", as coined by John Cleese when introducing his slightly less than fresh wife at a drinks party on a well known Monty Python sketch. Here though I'm writing about Kernow Model Rail Centre's recently released Beattie Well Tan

December 4, 2011

6

Salute to the glass-half-empty brigade

Train nuts aren't known for having the most positive outlook on life, here are a few comments I've picked up over recent times, many on internet forums sadly. Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg, but I'm sure you can add some real corkers (don't be too rude though, this is not my website).... Didn't buy that mag because it was plastic bagged Hope they do it in N gauge soon Why do I have to pay for it? There's nothing in it for me Photography, these days it's all Photo

December 1, 2011

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