Chris M Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 I'm taking everything apart and packing it up ready for the Swindon Steam museum exhibition this coming weekend. Swindon Steam museum show is always a good standard show in a great location. I'll be taking three layouts down in one van which might well be interesting in itself. I have ordered a long wheelbase van which I will be driving - a bit different to my automatic car. As only I know how to assemble and disassemble two of the layouts I'm in for a very busy weekend. After that I have the Warley NEC show in November which I am looking forward to. Dawlish Warren is also possibly going to a show in October. This is not planned but one of the layouts due to go has quite an electrical problem. I have agreed with the owner that we will offer Dawlish Warren as a substitute layout if the electrical problem can't be solved by mid September. I expect the show organiser will be OK with that but we will need to see what happens. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 Just a few photos for no good reason. The first two show my newly added "Walls Ice Cream" signs. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 8, 2023 Author Share Posted September 8, 2023 I'm off the road today with Dawlish Warren. We will be at the Swindon Steam museum this weekend. I'm about to go and pick up a long wheelbase van and then try to load four layouts onto it, Dawlish Warren plus three Warley club layouts. I'm sure that will make an interesting start to the day! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowley 47521 Posted September 29, 2023 Share Posted September 29, 2023 On 08/09/2023 at 08:00, Chris M said: I'm off the road today with Dawlish Warren. We will be at the Swindon Steam museum this weekend. I'm about to go and pick up a long wheelbase van and then try to load four layouts onto it, Dawlish Warren plus three Warley club layouts. I'm sure that will make an interesting start to the day! Evening Chris. How did the show go? Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share Posted September 29, 2023 Swindon went well although I didn’t run Dawlish Warren. I was running another layout and I left Dawlish Warren in the capable hands of others. My last signal with a Dapol mech packed up on the Sunday. In two weeks time Dawlish Warren will be at the Farnham & District exhibition. It will be there as a last minute substitution for another layout. After that it’s on to the Warley NEC show in November. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted September 29, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 29, 2023 Hi Chris, Thanks for posting all these photographs - I have seen the layout and it is even better in real life! I know your favourite period is the 1960s but I noted that Model Rail put the IETs on the cover and I think it looks great running the dark green 'modern' GWR stuff too! cheers Ben A. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 Thanks Ben I tend to run 1960s at shows because the buildings are correct for this period, and anyway I just love those oil sloshers. I also like the contemporary scene but I tend to keep this to running at home. As the layout had been in a few magazines before I thought the more modern stuff would make a nice change. There is a possibility I will run it using up to date stock at a one day exhibition next year. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 Here is my latest addition to the contemporary fleet - a pair of Calendonian sleepers! This is quite authentic as the GBRf twins did take 3 Caledonian sleepers down to Plymouth for inspection. The GWR took two of them and the twins returned with just one sleeper. That was in 2020 i think. For modern GWR fans here a few more photos. Please excuse my slightly dodgy application of the vinyl sides. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted September 30, 2023 Author Share Posted September 30, 2023 Here is a nice little video that Ben might enjoy. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted October 25, 2023 Author Share Posted October 25, 2023 Dawlish Warren was at Farnham & District show a couple of weeks ago. This is a very well organised show with high quality layouts. Everything went well but the Victorian footbridge copped a hit on the way home due to bad packing of things into the van. My fault - I should have checked everything more carefully before moving off. I've fixed it and now the next stop is Warley NEC on 25th & 26th November. I'm thinking of running 1980s for this exhibition, just for a change. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 I have been going through the emotions with my Victorian footbridge. Contentment pre and during the last exhibition. Distress On getting home from the last exhibition Happiness restored. After buying some etched fencing from N Brass Loco and a bit of work. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 I’ve been running contemporary stock again. I just need a Revolution 66 in DB red livery to complete the scene. The only planned exhibition this year is Statfold Barn in April. I might just run contemporary stock there. I wonder if Revolution would lend me their production sample 66 for the weekend? 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 My only trip out with Dawlish Warren this year is next month. I'm going to the Statfold Barn model railway exhibition on 13th & 14th April. Statfold Barn is a wonderful venue for a model railway exhibition and I do recommend visiting. You can now go to two shows a year there with Statfold Barn's own show in April and Warley at Statfold in October. Although I would not call myself a narrow gauge fan I do love seeing their large collection of narrow gauge locos. They run their narrow gauge trains all day at these exhibitions and you can have as many rides as you like. I have decided to go back to my first love and run my 1968 stock at Statfold Barn. This allows for a good variety of colours with Warships in green, maroon and blue and Westerns in maroon and blue. The last green warship turned blue in 1967 so my green one isn't allowed even though it looks very nice in green. There is also plenty of mix and match between yellow warning panels and full yellow ends. I can run my motorail with 5 coaches plus six carflats; at this length it just fits my longest storage siding. My coaches will be mostly blue & grey but still with quite a few maroon all mixed together and of course the Cornish Riviera Express was hauled by double headed Warships at that time. I think this makes for a nice mixture of trains which will just run round once and then the next one will go. Some will stop, some will go straight through and some will be overtaken while sitting in the station loop. I think this is reasonably entertaining - but then I must do because I love running these trains and watching them go past at home. At the risk of sounding boring I already know exactly what trains I will be running because they will all be getting a good run at home this month, just to make sure everything is fine. The trains will be:- UP Motorail, paddington express, engineers train, local passenger, milk for Kensington and clayliner for Etruria. DOWN Cornish Riviera Express, NE to SW express, long freight, parcels, DMU, local passenger. One of the things I love about N gauge is that it is possible to run reasonable length trains on a reasonable sized layout. My long freight will be around 38 wagons and my clayliner 30. It takes quite a time to set the stock up on this layout. The first time out I ran different stock on the Saturday and Sunday but my fellow operators have since explained to me that it is a bad thing to do; it causes a lot of unnecessary work on Sunday morning. I get plenty of advice from my fellow operators.... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 (edited) Testing is going well so far, and I haven’t cleaned the track yet. Yes I know it’s the wrong kind of DMU for the West Country. One day I might get a more suitable one. Edited March 5 by Chris M 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 (edited) 2 hours ago, Chris M said: Although I would not call myself a narrow gauge fan I do love seeing their large collection of narrow gauge locos. I'm going to drift my own thread as the above statement needs further explanation. I do not consider myself to be a narrow gauge fan but I have always seen the charm of narrow gauge trains. This may have changed over the last 12 months. In addition to visiting Statfold Barn last year I also had a ride on both the FFestiniog and L&B railways. Maybe this has affected (or infected) me. Over the last few months I have designed and am now involved in building an 009 layout. I have even bought a few items of stock. Edited March 5 by Chris M 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 No rest for the RAIB even on a bank holiday Monday. 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 Hymeks in South Devon 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted Thursday at 14:02 Author Share Posted Thursday at 14:02 Someone filmed the layout at Statfold Barn a couple of weeks ago. I don’t think I noticed- too busy running trains and chatting. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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