Chris M

No, I decided analogue suited my needs better for this layout basically because I prefer to just select a track and turn the control knob. My layout is much simpler and smaller than Banbury

I’ll just be running Hydraulics, plus a Brush 4.

And the F units in action. Set sound to very loud before playing.

Three more EMDs out in the garden. If you think this is an odd mix let me explain. The Quinton Line I saw a short line somewhere in the USA. It gets by running freight and it’s income is supplemented by tourist trains. Here we see the luxury tourist passenger train being held while the recently restored to Rock Island livery GP40 hauls a log train through. The SD70 awaiting its next turn of duty is on loan from the UP who have lots of these in store at the moment and are only too happy to lease a few out. So, all perfectly believable!

Taunton Show looks like being quite an N gauge fest this year with Banbury, Marsh Chipping, Midford, Stapleforth St Stephens Knuddelstein and my Little Aller Junction. I feel very honoured to be in such company and am really looking forward to this show.

More photos can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/48235702@N06/albums/72157627464817118/with/8039557853/ Its interesting to follow the career of a coach. I always liked 8750HA, a Harrington Legionnaire on a Bedford Val chassis with a Leyland (or maybe AEC) engine. I travelled to Rome in 1965 on this coach and saw the pope give his Easter blessing. I spent a lot of the journey sitting on the engine cover just inside the coach - just imagine anyone doing that nowadays. https://flic.kr/p/dfqAEW https://flic.kr/p/832EqH https://goo.gl/images/TgFrwM http://www.travellerhomes.co.uk/pictures/3675_700w.jpg Although scrapped in the 1990s the rear axle lives on in another coach.

Although based in Smethwick these coaches went across to Europe on private hire tours even as far back as the early 1950s - I think the first would have been to Italy in 1952 or 1953. Usually one or two trips each year. High Savoy 1967 No date or location on this but it is almost certainly somewhere in Switzerland and clearly in the early 1950s

A few photos of coaches from various times

I prefer exhibitions organised by clubs; it is good way of raising funds. There is a danger that commercially run exhibitions take visitors and therefore revenue from club shows which isn’t a good thing. However it’s a free country and there is absolutely nothing wrong with model railway exhibitions being put on by companies. It could be argued that some commercial shows, such as the International N Gauge Show are very important in that they provide an event that is good for the hobby and different to anything put on by any club or society. Magazine organised shows, such as those put on by Warners, are of course put on by organisations that exist purely to make a profit. I really have no information but I expect these magazine run shows, if all staff time was fully charged to the show, would show they had made a loss. This is based on my knowledge of just how much work is required to organise a big show. I would guess that these shows are seen as an important part of the whole activities of the magazine and contribute to helping magazine sales. I would also expect that much of the staff time used on producing the show is accounted as part of total magazine costs. It wouldn’t surprise me if a number of staff do a fair bit of free overtime in order to make these shows happen. It may therefore be argued that the magazine organised shows should be seen as rather more than just done to make a profit. As a paying visitor it makes little difference as to whether it is a purely commercial venture or club event save for getting the feel good that by attending a club show you are actively helping the hobby. As an exhibitor the problem is that you are giving up your time for free to help someone else make a profit. For me I have happily exhibited at shows that are put on by “for profit” companies based on the reasoning above. I would not exhibit at an exhibition which was purely for a profit for someone else and was not within the categories mentioned above. If others are happy to exhibit under those terms then that is fine. The point I am rambling on to is that I would feel personally ripped off if a show organiser claimed to be a club but wasn’t.

Being owned by a venture capital company isn’t going to be a comfortable experience. Their plan will be to turn the Homebase business into a pile of cash by whatever means necessary. They won’t worry about details such as ethics or caring for staff.

A genuine club would need to have members. It is normal for a club to have a constitution to say what it is there for, minutes of meetings to show what decisions have been made and annual financial accounts so the members can see what is happening with the money they have taken part in raising (and also so the HMRC can also see if they ask). If there is no constitution, record of meetings or accounts then there is almost certainly no club. For instance I have a group of friends with garden railways. We share emails within the group and arrange days to visit each others gardens (the entrance fee for such events being a pork pie or packet of cookies). We sometimes arrange days out together. In some ways this sounds like a club and maybe feels like a club but we are just a group of people with no formalities and no declared reason for getting together so we are not a club. Perhaps more importantly, we do not get involved in any activities where money is transacted so we cannot have any accounts. If any individual or group carries out activities which raise income then there is a legal requirement for all financial activities to be recorded and declared to HMRC if it is taxable.

Surely Model Rail (and maybe other magazines & websites) should check that a club actually exists before publishing?

Sorry my mistake.

Hmm, up to 20 layouts, one day show and it’s “tip to be one of the largest in the country”. Not sure what that statement actually means but it is clearly nonsense and it to connect that sort of show in any way with being one of the largest in the country is false advertising. The problem is that if people go to this they may be put off proper large model railway exhibitions. Maybe the organisers of the larger shows should get together and threaten him with legal action?

There are a number of side operated layouts that might fit. I have two that would fit but have got more than enough exhibitions lined up for the rest of this year. Maybe you should ask on the N gauge forum as those size spaces are well suited to N gauge layouts.

Looking forward to seeing the first train.

I don't know what a diesel with yellow warning panels is doing pulling crimson and cream coaches. Yellow warning panels weren't introduced until 1962 by which time crimson and cream coaches would have been extremely rare or non existent. I must be more careful with my choice of stock next time.

Agree about the class 22. Mine are the only locos that see regular use on both of my layouts. See the last post on http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/131708-the-ridgacre-branch-a-very-small-n-gauge-layout

A couple of videos showing the versatility of the class 22; a loco for all purposes. Ok they maybe they could have been more reliable but there is something cute about them. On the Ridgacre Branch And on the main line ( my other layout)

Set your password to “incorrect”. If you get your password wrong your computer will tell you “your password is incorrect”

Just to try to cheer up those in charge of this great forum let me say that I do enjoy and buy Garden Rail.

I don’t know what the rules state but it seems perfectly reasonable that if you join a completely free forum the organisation that pays for the forum will send you advertising emails for that organisation from time to time. I would imagine this is somewhere in the sign up terms that we agree to but usually so t read. RMweb is Very clearly publicised as being an intergal part of BRM magazine.

SVR diesel gala

Lady Di on the SVR today. The coaches seem to be going over track that is about as level as my garden railway.

Just out of interest what are your favourite locos?