Announcement: Bristol Model Railway Exhibition

[slow8dirty]

10 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

...., Tiverton is where the Grim Industrial North begins......

 

I thought that was Staplegrove?? Or is that the DMZ?

[Michael Hodgson]

35 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Whilst we're asking questions unrelated really to the show, can anyone tell me why this penguin spent 2 months sat on it's derrier in a pool of what comes out of penguins behinds for nearly 60 days, didn't lay an egg and then yesterday just decided it had had enough, took a walk, had a bath and is now walking about again like all the other penguins.

Why??   ... well if it had been sitting in that stuff for two months it must have needed a bath!

Probably has one every year, whether it needs one or not.

 

When my little brother came back from the Falkands, he told me those birds don't half pong.

[Captain Kernow]

6 minutes ago, slow8dirty said:

I thought that was Staplegrove?? Or is that the DMZ?

These geographical boundaries are confusing and completely uncertain, depending on the time of day, what you've had for breakfast and whether there is a 'z' in the month.

 

The northern boundary of Swagonia, for example, is just a few miles north of Gloucester. Dagworth should still be keeping watch.

 

[009 micro modeller]

10 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

To those of us on the Great Northern, we must be in the West Country - Haven't you heard of West Anglia?

 

10 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

WAGN paid my salary for my last 18 months of employment....

I always understood the ‘West Anglia’ in WAGN to be the West Anglian main line, i.e. Cambridge to Liverpool Street, which the GN lines were grouped in a franchise with when WAGN existed, but aren’t now.

 

 I’ve always thought it sounds like it should mean ‘West of England’. But we already have a West of England line and it definitely doesn’t go anywhere near Cambridgeshire.

 

It’s an interesting term though. Outside of railways there’s apparently an FE College of West Anglia, though it’s based in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, a bit further north than the West Anglian Main Line. There’s also a West Anglian Orienteering Club (my other hobby, although it’s not my club as I’m in a slightly different area). This seems to cover parts of Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire as well as North Hertfordshire.

 

They all seem to be using it to mean ‘the west of East Anglia’, but while there was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles there wasn’t a kingdom of the West Angles, though Wikipedia thinks Mercia could be described in that way: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Anglia

 

Meanwhile the Kingdom of Essex was separate from East Anglia, though as I recall from studying the heptarchy it did extend further west, roughly to Hemel Hempstead, including lots of places which these days definitely aren’t in Essex… 

 

Again not hugely relevant to the thread, sorry about that  There is a (very very) tenuous railway connection though, in that the Kingdom of Essex was later effectively taken over by Mercia, just as the Midland Railway would take over the London, Tilbury & Southend.

 

 I could start describing myself and others from the relevant area as ‘Wanglian’ but it might sound a bit rude…

Edited January 31, 2022 by 009 micro modeller

[009 micro modeller]

32 minutes ago, Captain Kernow said:

Tiverton is where the Grim Industrial North begins.

Or in other words, the GIN. Very important. 

[john new]

1 hour ago, Pacific231G said:

It's very simple. The West of England is where the GWR main line goes to before it turns south west after Bristol and heads for the South West. The London and South West Railway is also a bit of a clue though I definitely regard Southampton as the South of England  

I still tend to see regions in terms of BBC broadcast regions (which were partly defined by TV transmitter coverage and which region they were assigned to)  so South, based in Southampton,  had as its editorial patch a triangle with its points at about Weymouth (barely) ,  Newhaven (at a pinch Seaford but Eastbourne was definitely South East) and Reading includng the IofW.  (It now includes almost the whole of Oxfordshire up to about Chipping Norton which seems a bit odd) West was (is) based in Bristol and South West in Plymouth so i suppose I'd regard the South West as starting somewhere between Taunton and Exeter. I think Salisbury is west rather than SW though the BBC thinks it's South (I once did South Today's  Christmas special from there)    

It all gets very complicated in official circles, Hampshire is in the South as far as the government boundaries are concerned and Dorset is in the South West. I haven't needed this info since I retired in 2008 but  the SW still (officially) includes Gloucestershire (see linked map). The problem is they keep changing things, so, as an example Christchurch when I was a boy was in Hampshire, it is now in Dorset! On to that there is the overlay of personal thoughts as to what is what.

 

A northern lad by birth I have lived for the last 35 years on what is to all intents and purposes an island off the Dorset coast, going over the Fleet Bridge to the mainland has the local expression 'going over England this afternoon" and the like. As for TV, on digital our home newsroom is Plymouth, on Sky it is Southampton! Portland and this western end of Dorset definitely feels like part of the South West but going east beyond Wareham and Wimborne it feels different due to subtle changes. At times, driving north Bristol feels like you've hit the Midlands, but coming back the names on the signs after passing Cheltenham start to feel S Western.  

[Pacific231G]

23 hours ago, DLT said:

And London starts at Reading...

According to the owners of what I used to know as Kidlington Aerodrome. It starts about six miles north of Oxford. They now style themselves London Oxford Airport!

[Huw Griffiths]

8 hours ago, Welchester said:

Arguably it was in England until 1974.

 

5 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

And the county town of Monmouthshire used to be Monmouth, not Newport.   

Until it was hi-jacked by the taffia - nobody asked the locals whether they considered themselves English or Welsh, there's a good proportion of the population, albeit probably now a minority, who don't consider themselves Welsh, and certainly don't want the language rammed down their throats, it now being compulsory in the schools.

 

I remember official mention of "Wales and Mon".

 

As for locals not being asked whether they considered themselves English or Welsh, one of my ancestors was born between Pontypool and Blaenavon - despite an official line to the contrary, she definitely regarded herself as Welsh.

 

Meanwhile, I was born in Glamorgan - so there's no question about my nationality.

 

(Note to moderators: I've never had any "truck" with fanatical elements, intent on ramming their intolerant views down everyone else's throats. I've got a "live and let live" mindset - and mainstream political opinions.)

 

I would have welcomed the chance to learn the Welsh language when I was at school - however, at the time, it wasn't offered at lots of schools, in a number of areas of Wales. Towards the end of my time at school, there was talk about all children being taught the language in schools throughout Wales - which got me wondering exactly where all the newly required Welsh teachers were going to come from ... .

 

Anyway, back to the trains (I hope) ... .

[009 micro modeller]

22 minutes ago, Pacific231G said:

According to the owners of what I used to know as Kidlington Aerodrome. It starts about six miles north of Oxford. They now style themselves London Oxford Airport!

Is it further from London than Southend and Stansted though, which I think both have a ‘London’ prefix now?

 

4 minutes ago, Huw Griffiths said:

I would have welcomed the chance to learn the Welsh language when I was at school

I would have as well - despite going to school in England. In some ways it might even have been more useful to me than the languages I did get to do at school.

[Michael Hodgson]

1 hour ago, 009 micro modeller said:

I would have as well - despite going to school in England. In some ways it might even have been more useful to me than the languages I did get to do at school.

When I went to Grammar School, we all did French in the first year.  The kids who did OK at that were then given the choice of German or Latin for the second year (as well as carrying on in French to O level).  I chose German as I didn't see myself entering the priesthood and I was only Catholic on my father's side.  Came back after the summer hols and was told I was doing Latin.  The German teacher in the meantime had got a job somewhere else. 

[Pacific231G]

1 hour ago, 009 micro modeller said:

Is it further from London than Southend and Stansted though, which I think both have a ‘London’ prefix now?

 

I had to check but yes it is. From Central London, Luton Airport is 28 miles  Gatwick  29.5,  Southend  36 and  Stanstead 42. Oxford is 62 miles from Central London.  It's also far more awkward to get to than the others which all have a direct rail link with London   The others are all airports with scheduled International flights whereas Oxford is a General Aviation operation and considerably further out than Farnborough - about 40miles-  which does not style itself as a London airport. 

At least Oxford hasn't tried to grab great swathes of the airspace around it which, unfortunately, Farnborough, which is also GA, has.

There are three airports actually in Greater London, Heathrow, London City and Biggin Hill (also GA) .

Edited February 1, 2022 by Pacific231G

[woodenhead]

8 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

I had to check but yes it is. From Central London, Luton Airport is 28 miles  Gatwick  29.5,  Southend  36 and  Stanstead 42. Oxford is 62 miles from Central London.  It's also far more awkward to get to than the others which all have a direct rail link with London   The others are all airports with scheduled International flights whereas Oxford is a General Aviation operation and considerably further out than Farnborough - about 40miles-  which does not style itself as a London airport. 

At least Oxford hasn't tried to grab great swathes of the airspace around it which, unfortunately, Farnborough, which is also GA, has.

There are three airports actually in Greater London, Heathrow, London City and Biggin Hill (also GA) .

Just wait for HS2 to get in on the scene then Birmingham becomes Heathrow Terminal 6 and eventually Manchester is Heathrow Terminal 7

[corneliuslundie]

I'll stick with Mid Wales International Airport - at least it doesn't have London in the title.

I was taught Welsh for two years in school in Cardiff but saw no use for it and didn't want to learn it. I later opted for Latin, which for some reason has proved rather less useful now I live in Wales again.

I am not sure which is more of a problem: living somewhere like Llanymynech which actually straddles the border, or areas in no-man's lands between countries, such as between Kosova and Montenegro - the border posts are about a kilometre apart.

But I am now deviating from the deviation! Were we talking about model railway exhibitions at one time? I remember going to one once in the distant past . . .

Jonathan

 

[Andy Kirkham]

Burnham-on-Sea can't be in the West Country because, if it was, there would have been a Bullied pacific named after it.

[Michael Hodgson]

59 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

Just wait for HS2 to get in on the scene then Birmingham becomes Heathrow Terminal 6 and eventually Manchester is Heathrow Terminal 7

Oh dear, Prestwick doesn't count as London airport then?

 

When I was working in Luxembourg, it tended to be foggy there in November and February every year, and as the airlines didn't employ P/Way men in greatcoats with detonators, my flights frequently landed at Brussels instead.  It wasn't safe to land a plane but it was perfectly OK to run a bus 200 km at high speed in thick fog,

[Michael Hodgson]

2 minutes ago, Andy Kirkham said:

Burnham-on-Sea can't be in the West Country because, if it was, there would have been a Bullied pacific named after it.

... you  need to apply Rule 1 

[Calnefoxile]

As a current member of South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust, I can categorically say that the the following Counties are served by us:

 

Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Avon, Dorset, Devon & Cornwall.

 

So there 

 

Regards

 

Neal.

[AY Mod]

10 hours ago, Pacific231G said:

I had to check but yes it is. From Central London, Luton Airport is 28 miles  Gatwick  29.5,  Southend  36 and  Stanstead 42. Oxford is 62 miles from Central London.  It's also far more awkward to get to than the others which all have a direct rail link with London   The others are all airports with scheduled International flights whereas Oxford is a General Aviation operation and considerably further out than Farnborough - about 40miles-  which does not style itself as a London airport. 

At least Oxford hasn't tried to grab great swathes of the airspace around it which, unfortunately, Farnborough, which is also GA, has.

There are three airports actually in Greater London, Heathrow, London City and Biggin Hill (also GA) .

 

Surely London Ashford Airport has got to be the most over-optimistic one both geography and facility wise? Birmingham will probably become North of London Airport and Bristol will become West of London Airport.

[woodenhead]

17 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

Surely London Ashford Airport has got to be the most over-optimistic one both geography and facility wise? Birmingham will probably become North of London Airport and Bristol will become West of London Airport.

I am sure there are people who would love to simply rename England as Outer London, within the M25 Inner London.

 

Then all trains will come under TFL, we'll all be paying a 'congestion' charge and there'll be no need to level up.

 

Any ideas what layouts will be at the Exhibition yet, I think we need something to chew on that isn't geography based.

[AY Mod]

8 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Any ideas what layouts will be at the Exhibition yet,

 

As Sheepy says - https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/information/the-bristol-model-railway-exhibition-layout

 

Updated 20/01/2022

Layout Gauge

Blowers Green  O

Readham  OO

Bristol Goods Shed  O

Sidmouth  P4 

The Live Steam Club  OO

North of England Line  N

Rumbling Bridge  OO

Canada Street  EM 

New Sodbury  OO

Fulton Terminal  HO 

1914-18 Winter in France  009 

 Newton's Yard  OO

Dent  OO

Beijiao  HO

Willowbrook Marsh  O

Abergavenny Blackbrook  P4 

Lizerpool  OO

Knot Littlefield  N

Nicton Borrud  OO

Childrens Corner  OO

St. Mary's  O

Newvaddon  N

Westalan  N

Lindon Road  OO

Freshwater Bay  2mm 

Launceston Steam Railway  009

Herculaneum Dock  OO

 Habbaniya 1942 Iraq RAF base   1/32nd Scale

Norge  HO

 Pencader EM 

 Dobris  HO 

 Stodmarsh Revisited  O

Andeer Line  HOm 

Great Swilling  EM 

Kingsfield  OO

 

Some very good stuff in there!

[Chris M]

1 hour ago, AY Mod said:

 

Surely London Ashford Airport has got to be the most over-optimistic one both geography and facility wise? Birmingham will probably become North of London Airport and Bristol will become West of London Airport.

That’s how “levelling up” works.

[woodenhead]

Quite a list and some I don't recognise, so something new and  generally something for everyone.

 

Why did I think this was later in the year, it's the end of April so not long to wait.

[Metr0Land]

21 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Whilst we're asking questions unrelated really to the show, can anyone tell me why this penguin spent 2 months sat on it's derrier in a pool of what comes out of penguins behinds for nearly 60 days, didn't lay an egg and then yesterday just decided it had had enough, took a walk, had a bath and is now walking about again like all the other penguins.

 

Penguin is reputedly the only Welsh word to make it into the English language.  Very strange given that Wales was a long way from the nearest penguin that wasn't in a zoo.

[Camperdown]

Sounds like a great exhibition in prospect.  I assume "Habbaniya 1942 Irag RAF base" (it's also written this way on the exhibition web site) is a typo for Iraq.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Habbaniya

[Michael Hodgson]

2 hours ago, Metr0Land said:

 

Penguin is reputedly the only Welsh word to make it into the English language.  Very strange given that Wales was a long way from the nearest penguin that wasn't in a zoo.

Don't forget that there's a Welsh speaking colony in Patagonia .... 

 

I doubt many of them will be attending the Bristol show though.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Michael Hodgson