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Penhayle Bay


Gwiwer
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Thanks Peter.  It's always good to have you here and to have the uncommon privilege of through trains from Llanbourne as well.

 

My video clips are ready after an extended time uploading - there seems to have been a shortage of width in the band around here today.  That's the "superfast" NBN for you.

Firstly the daytime train on the St. Agnes branch which was formed of a pair of ex-LSWR coaches and worked by no fewer than three locomotives.  With two of the Beattie well-tanks in the yard the third was on the train with an A1X Terrier coupled inside.  At the other end was an Isle of Wight O2, No. 16 "Ventnor".  Not an everyday sight on the mainland let alone in "Cornwall"

 

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As mentioned in the post above with the stills one of the Bulleid light Pacific fleet West Country 34041 "Wilton" was assigned the freight which had been brought in the night before by the Garratt.  The Bulleid worked hard and ran for a couple of hours sometimes coping with the gradients - if only just - but here requiring a rear-end shove after stalling on Penhayle Bay's 1:50 reverse-curves.

 

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One of the class 22s masquerades as its Scottish class 21 sister running in tandem (though not in multiple due to incompatible control systems) with a Scottish Region class 17 Clayton.  This working was christened the "McMilk" train.

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A visiting class 25 and a mixed freight all of which looked suspiciously clean by Penhayle's standards!

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Another most unexpected combination occurred when this Chinese steam locomotive was coupled to the old Australian carriage set and ran a few circuits.  

 

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My own all-Lima train glimpsed above in the sidings took quite a run at the bank when let loose on the main line.  For a loco which hasn't turned a wheel in 12 years this ran rather well.  Both loco and wagons are Australian.

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That remarkable Airfix kit Rocket seen in action and pushed by the Black Beetle-powered coach.  To build that kit so well and able to run freely on a layout required skill indeed.  This was also something of a crossed-finger moment as neither had ever been run before.  

 

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P.C.M's Crompton 33111 races downhill with the direct mails from Llanbourne to west Cornwall and is passed by a pair of Penhayle's own 37s working hard uphill with a heavy train of china clay.

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The Melbourne tram in action.  Despite the protruding step-boards she managed to run perfectly without fouling any of the lineside structures.  I'm not sure what the power unit is but it's not exactly quiet.

 

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This class 25 was another visitor from Llanbourne and had charge of a mixed rake of engineer's hoppers some of which are kit builds.

 

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The two GWR pannier-tanks took over the milk train from the Scottish Region diesels and are seen in a late-night movement coming off the down loop towards Treheligan station.  This train usually has a GWR Hawksworth brake van on the rear but for this occasion featured an LMS design brake instead

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And finally the train which started it all in more ways than one.  The Powerline coaches and generic "Bulldog" locomotive are intended to resemble regional passenger trains used in the State of Victoria.  Some of the "S-cars" remain in traffic to this day though the tangerine livery is long gone.  This set, with an oval of track, was presented to me a few weeks after we moved to the house 14 years ago and ran around the dining table on an oval of track for want of anywhere else.  "Anywhere else" became Penhayle Bay.  The formal opening of the layout featured a shiny new Bulleid light Pacific with a ribbon to be broken upon its departure.  While the opening speeches were in progress I slyly ran the orange train in from the other direction, unseen until the last moment, whence it broke the tape ahead of the Bulleid while the onlookers gasped in astonishment.   The S-set has seen very little use since the layout was built but will be kept on as historically significant.

 

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So - the final open house running session has taken place.  It isn't quite the end as the originally-advertised closure date of 17th April, Easter Monday, will be honoured for the benefit of those taking their Easter holidays by train.  Some "farewell" specials, in the traditional manner, are expected in coming days.  One more personal visit is expected as Mr. St.Enodoc of this parish hopes to be here one evening before final closure.  The very last trains will then be featured before this topic is closed. 

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Now that Penhayle has closed, do we get a rail replacement bus service?

 

Stewart

 

Watch this space.  Final closure is Easter Monday.

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The run-down has commenced.

 

The station buildings from Treheligan have gone to a new life in Sydney.  Discussions have been opened for the sale of the farm scene.  The stations have been de-staffed prior to closure and certain items including running-in nameboards have mysteriously vanished.

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The station buildings from Treheligan have gone to a new life in Sydney.

Indeed they have - assuming they survive the perils of Qantas later today - and in due course they will, by virtue of that invaluable modeller's tool a time machine, reappear about ten years earlier at Porthmellyn Road.

 

Thanks for a great evening Rick. It was a pleasure and a privilege to see Penhayle Bay in the flesh for the first (and last) time and I wish you and Sharon every success with your new life in the Old Dart.

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The end of one era, and the start of a new one.

Sorry I couldn't get there for that one last time. Wishing you and Sharon every success in the new location. Good luck, and Bon Voyage,

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I missed the last open event and Rick was kind enough to allow me to go round on the`10th, when John was down from Sydney and see it in action one last time before dismantling commences.

I took some pics and have included a few to mark the occasion.

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Good to see the photos Peter, thank you.  

 

Negotiations having been successfully completed I can now also confirm that the farm scene will live on and will move just a short distance away in the next few days.

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Easter at Penhayle Bay has often brought a crop of special workings.  Despite its imminent closure today has been no exception.

 

The demolition of some buildings at Treheligan have given it a rather bare appearance but have opened up a better view of the branch bay platform.  The DMU pair seen in some photos above remained on duty first thing today

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A class 52 Western gets the road up from Ponsangwyn to the Down Loop alongside the main line

 

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It wasn't too long before the first of the day's specials appeared.  A Pullman dining train led by an as-built West Country light Pacific

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The Southdown coach in the parking area is also a visitor and is down from Portsmouth

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The 2-car DMU returned from its trip to St. Agnes and crossed to the Up Main rather than retiring to the bay platform

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Its place was taken by a single class 153 car in black Cornish promotional livery.  Would this be big enough for the holiday crowds on this seaside branch?

 

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Shortly afterwards an enthusiasts' charter formed of a 6-car DMU also crossed over to take the branch for a farewell trip.

 

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The special ran through Treheligan station having crossed from Down to Up tracks and then onto the branch.  

 

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One last special was a 2-car class 171 diesel unit in Southern livery and a long way from its usual home on the Brighton - Ashford "Marshlink" line

 

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The Western handled the china clay train with the usual ease seen here coasting down through the woods

 

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With no turntable available for the West Country the steam special was returned by an S15 which seems to be having too easy a time of it on Penhayle Bay's 1:37 bank

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Definitely not enough smoke for the task at hand.  Something must be amiss

 

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What ever was amiss at the front all the work was being done by a class 66 at the back!

 

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Yinging its way around the curves and up the hill the "shed" pushed the ailing steamer clear as quickly as it could

 

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The railtour also powered up the hill into the lowering sun and bade farewell to the surf beach and sand dunes of Penhayle Bay

 

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And the branch 2-car DMU set also left for up-country never to be seen again in these parts but leaving a lasting impression in the sun's glow

 

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For at least one whole generation nothing said "Cornwall" louder than a grimy Western leading a rake of blue-hooded china clay wagons.  The train exits the Down Loop, snakes beneath Treheligan station bridge in a move always popular with visitors, and enters the Down Platform Loop.

 

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And finally the clays ease back for the downhill approach and reverse-curves at Penhayle Bay, disappearing into the distance as the surf rolls in far below, the gulls cry and the distant sound of voices from beach and clifftops merge with the rustle of evening air.

 

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The last trains run tomorrow.  Some changes have already taken place.  One final picture-post will record their departure and the final "ring out" of the signalmen as the line closes for ever.

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Once again another English seaside on its way to dying. Anyone remember Hunstanton? (local to me). Busy little place, then the railway closed (the car was king) but today it is a nowhere-place. Hardly anyone bothers to drive there anymore.

 

Stewart

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The first few pictures from the final day.  All taken at Treheligan (others will follow) where some drastic changes had taken place.  What was once a busy four-platform junction with passenger and freight trains coming and going had become a half-demolished unstaffed halt.  The canopies and shelters had all gone.  The buildings had gone from the down platform which was closed altogether.  The down main was rusty and disused but the down platform loop had already been lifted.  

 

All trains used the remaining through platform, once the up, on what had become a single line through the station.  The ability to do this was built in to the layout from day one; it has always been a fully signalled move though seldom used except on winter Sundays.  The sparse service on those days could easily be handled at a single platform and meant that the station could be single-manned.

 

I had this planned but surprised myself at how realistic it looked after just a few minutes.  One track was torn up, the other had wetted weathering powder "rust" applied and some new green scattered about.  The signals have the requisite cross markers meaning out of use except for the bracket at the London end of the down platform which has already been cut though the scrap is lying on the ground for anyone to make off with as a souvenir.

 

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How many layouts get new work - even if it only took a few minutes - purely for their final day of operation, I wonder?

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Rick,

 

I've given you a "Like" but am really sorry to see the layout being broken up - I've enjoyed it over the years.

 

I look forward to seeing a new layout when you return to the old country!

 

Regards,

 

Dave

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Hi Rick,

Some quite sad pics really. It's nice to see you had one last running session.

 

If you need any help taking things apart let me know, also let me know what you are working in the next few weeks we can get you down for tea a couple of times and a last look at Llanbourne.

 

All the best Peter.

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Hi Peter

 

The more I look at those last few pics the more i think how much they remind me of so many places in the late 60s right through almost to present day where rationalisation and eventual closure has occurred.  Half-done demolition jobs, scrap left lying around and the growth of weeds and rust.

 

I'm not sure how well that could be modelled if one set out to do it from scratch as opposed to removing what was already there as per prototype.

 

I'll drop you a PM with my dates as there is time, but not much, for a final visit to Llanbourne which I would very much appreciate.  

I'll add the very last trains when I get a moment as videos take a bit longer to process.

 

Cheers

 

Rick

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Hi Rick

 

I just wanted to wish you all the best for your move. As others have said, it's sad to see the layout being broken up (although I do agree with you about the realism of the lifted track). Hopefully, we'll be able to see at least some of it in some form again in the future.

 

I grew up in Cornwall and I've enjoyed dropping by your thread over the years to see what you've been up to and your latest developments.

 

All the best 

Dave

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Many thanks Dave.

 

It has been a great honour and my pleasure to be able to share a little of Cornwall with some of the best modellers around, your good self included.  I just need an extra hour in the day to get the last videos sorted and I'll have the final moves posted for all to see and remember.

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I'm not sure how well that could be modelled if one set out to do it from scratch as opposed to removing what was already there as per prototype.

If someone sets out to reproduce this by planning it in as a first class element during layout design it shouldn't be a problem to re-create. It shouldn't need actual track to be laid then lifted -- it should be sufficient to do that in the plan only.

 

The issue we see all too often is when a decision is made to introduce a section of removed track at the scenery stage, after the plan was finalised and the track is laid. There's always a tell. A curve that would be too tight. Junctions with impossible geometry or too little space. A clearance issue with a bridge or retaining wall. Something like that.

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Easter Monday, 17th April, would have been Dad's 89th birthday has he lived a few more weeks.  It was also the date, set some time ago, upon which the last trains ran on the Penhayle Bay Railway.

 

In the morning there was a steady trickle of passengers some of whom seemed shocked at the state Treheligan station had been left in

 

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With the down tracks closed and the loop lifted most signals on the down side were marked out of use; only the route to the right across the diamond into the up platform remained available

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The footbridge remained but was fenced off on the up side to prevent unauthorised access to the now-closed down side.

 

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The hoods make their way slowly across the diamond to loop through the up platform .....

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..... before regaining the down road at the far end of the station.  As can be seen this has always been a permitted and signalled move.

 

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The wreckers had certainly been at work; more signals out of use pending removal with rusted and torn up tracks.

 

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The clays ease over the western end crossover to regain double track

 

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For its last day of operation the St. Agnes branch was worked by the black-liveried Cornish promotional class 153 car, passing the glimpse of angry seas one last time

 

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And giving some idea of just how steep this gradient is.  The branch was an afterthought and the need to have it clear the fiddle yard access tracks hadn't been thought through properly when the gradient went it.

 

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Waiting for the board to drop and move on into the platform; the weathering applied to the 153 is apparent in this light.

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There were still a few passengers for the branch trains right to the end.

 

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Most down trains were replaced by buses in order to have all rolling stock cleared from the end of the line by closure; there's always one idiot who thinks bus stops are free car parks.

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The final collection of vans was in the hands of a red-livery class 47

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The reds of the train stood out against the sand dunes and sea of Penhayle Bay

 

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One last time a blue Western led the hoods above the beach, around the reverse-curves and through Penhayle Bay

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The final train from Ponsangwyn, where the shed was already deserted, was the empty milk tanks off to maybe a new working or perhaps a scrapyard.  Warship 812 "Royal Naval Reserve" was in charge.

 

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Surprisingly the yard lighting was still working which allowed the weathering and the cast nameplate to be shown off.  It's actually a Fox etch.

 

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A single class 37 was rostered to work the final up clay tanks, seen here on a downhill stretch across Darras Viaduct but no doubt providing a fair amount of thrash when working uphill.  This train is usually a two-engine load.

 

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A group of mourners had gathered at Penhayle Bay later in the day as the class 22 struggles gamely with a long freight against a steep climb.  Again the need to remove motive power before the end resulted in an under-powered train instead of a double-header

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The very last down train of all pulls away from Treheligan .....

 

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..... only to be brought to an ignominious halt at the section signal.  Perhaps someone was having a laugh as there hadn't been anything in front for hours.

 

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With the road cleared there was one last opportunity to frame a train beneath Church Lane bridge amid the gorse and greenery

 

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The divisional inspection saloon conveyed some senior managers over the lines about to be closed including making a trip to St. Agnes worked by 66511, here seen pushing the saloon back to the main line.

 

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The photographers who have patiently waited for and recorded trains from the hillside at Darras all these years finally moved down to Treheligan station to record the very last trains.  The maroon Western is back from Penzance for the final time.  It's best not to ask how those lads got access to the closed platform!
 

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Even into the evening there were still a few passengers about though the numbers had been dwindling all day.  

 

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The inspection saloon passes through Penhayle Bay where the gradient post shows the climb steepening from 1:50 to 1:37

 

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Towards nightfall the very last shunt of clay wagons took place at Carreglyb; the duty 08 draws back one half of the train from No.2 (loading) Siding

 

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towards Treheligan station

 

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This half is then propelled forwards to be joined to the other half n No.1 Siding.  Weathering work again in evidence on the Hornby shunter and Bachmann wagon.

 

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The shunter withdraws from the section; until recently it would have trundled off to the loco run-round loop alongside the St. Agnes bay platform but with that also now closed the move was simply to the branch itself and sit outside the signal to release the block on the main line

 

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The final departure from the clay dries was thus ready and led away by a green Warship

 

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One last time a string of short wheelbase clay wagons was seen threading the curves above Penhayle Bay

 

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Onwards and upwards to Nansglaw Tunnel

 

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The shunter followed as soon as the road was clear.  

 

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Not one bus on the bridge but two.  Just in case a crowd turned out for the very end.  But both seem to be empty.

 

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The St. Agnes unit returned up-country pausing in front of the mourners

 

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One last loco-hauled train came up through Cornwall featuring a large-logo blue class 50 in a scene which typified the Cornish main line for some years

 

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The final loco-hauled working on the line

 

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Honour of being the very last train fell to a humble 2-car DMU calling at all stations to Exeter and "sweeping up" the very last passengers from Penhayle Bay.  At least it seems to be decently loaded.

 

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The final station stop; the last train from Penhayle Bay

 

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Waved away by a couple of saddened locals

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The last video.

 

Featuring a trio of typically Cornish trains including the very last to run on the Penhayle Bay Railway.



Thank you, one and all, for the interest, support, friendship, comments, learning and everything which this layout has brought.  With well over 10,000 Facebook followers in addition to being featured on three modelling forums it has proved far more popular and enduring than I ever expected.

 

Life moves on.  I am moving on.  A new project will emerge in the future.  I hope you will be around to share that with me too.

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 The demise of Pehnayle Bay was truly marked well Rick.  I love that you reflected real life with the closure of the bridge, the enfoced single line working, and the out of use signals.

 

Hope all goes well in the UK for you and Sharon, and that once you are settled, you can start on a new and equally exciting project here.

 

Regards

Stewart

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 The demise of Pehnayle Bay was truly marked well Rick.  I love that you reflected real life with the closure of the bridge, the enfoced single line working, and the out of use signals.

 

Hope all goes well in the UK for you and Sharon, and that once you are settled, you can start on a new and equally exciting project here.

 

Regards

Stewart

Many thanks Stewart.  The next project will make use of the boards once intended to become a show layout here but which can be readily adapted for a different theme back in Blightly.  As such the track is almost all down already and powered test runs took place several years ago!

 

 

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For the final time, I must say, a brilliant set of pictures. A sad loss but I look forward to your next venture.

Many thanks indeed.  See also my comments to Stewart above.

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