Kelvin Pinnock

A pause in the morning's shunting.

Thank you for your comments 97406. We are just showing a few of the views around 'Stratford St. Mary', trying to add a bit of variety each time. We will be holding back pictures of 'Elmleigh Market' until it is exposed to the critical eye of the camera, for inclusion in a future BRM article. Todays weather has put a stop to progress, as the loft layout is subjected to 102°.

Heading for a race meeting at Newmarket.

I'm glad our efforts have inspired other modellers. It makes it all worthwhile.

Back in time to the early BR period. Eastbound local passenger train approaches the station, yet another outing for the E4.

An arrival at the 'Sudbury' end of the station. The Great Eastern 'coal shed', another of Robin's creations, is based on photographs at Clare and Lavenham.

Hi Justin, yes it was featured in the February '23 BRM - sorry, I've just noticed the previous replies!

A view of the trestle from another direction.

Hi Captain Kernow, Thanks for your suggestion of a video clip. We hope to make a video of 'Elmleigh Market' when that side of the layout is tidied up, mainly for our own entertainment, but who knows? In the meantime, a short clip of 'Stratford St. Mary' could be made, showing the animated features. We'll see what we can do ... Just as an afterthought, are we allowed to show videos on this forum, or should we wait until we start our own layout topic?

Rest assured gwrrob, the loco has a Class K ( branch freight ) lamp on the far side of the buffer beam, and the side lamp on the brake van is out of sight, off the edge of the picture. I'm sure Tony Wright would approve.

Many thanks Johnster, once again, I must thank everyone for their support, but remember much of the detail you see, is created by my brother Robin ('robock'). I am hoping he will provide some of his own pictures (which I am unaware of), and post them here under his own name. The viaduct scene is entirely his own creation, I just provided the loco and wagons.

A closer view of the viaduct, with an all-Great Eastern branch freight train.

A little further down the line ... An Elmleigh Market - bound DMU crosses a timber trestle, based on the preserved example at Wickham Bishops. This one requires a much higher route availability to handle some of the traffic encountered on the branch, but the authorities are probably unaware. Rule 1 applies.

Johnster, you've opened a whole new category of responses! - but thanks anyway.

Another view previously seen in the BRM feature. The W&M railbus passes the station's home signal, in the shade of one of Robin's scratchbuilt oak trees.

Another view from the diesel era. Class 21 No.D6120 calls at Stratford St. Mary with a stopping train, during its brief allocation to Ipswich (32B).

Many thanks to everyone who have appreciated our efforts so far. I must mention that brother Robin ( who posts on here as 'robock' ) is responsible for a lot of the detail work you see in the pictures. The W&M railbus in this picture is an example of his scratchbuilding, built many years before Heljan's version, and still going strong!

Further to the preparation of Elmleigh Market, I have a recent photo of my brother Robin repainting the backscene behind the station, as he has done on the entire layout, using his skills as a professional artist before retirement. As you can see, this part of the layout is thoroughly disorganised while this is being done! Rob. is referring to a picture of the layout, superimposed on a suitable sky photo taken in a local park.

Another couple of photos to show the other end of the station.

Hi steve45, my brother and I like your suggestion, and could consider starting a thread on Layout Topics. The priority at the moment is the preparation of the Elmleigh Market station side of the layout, as we would prefer to show the layout in its complete state. We could then show some of the more technical aspects encountered during its construction. I'm sure the topic could go off in several different directions. In the meantime, work continues on the layout, but I'll sort out some previously unseen photos. Kelvin

Hi steve45, thanks for your interest. Stratford St. Mary is part of a layout I have built with my brother Robin over a period of 40+ years, and represents a station on a Great Eastern cross-country line on the Essex/Suffolk border. If any of it looks familiar, it was featured in the February '23 edition of BRM magazine, the printed edition showing some photos, but the digital edition showed many more. I enclose a couple of pictures which have probably been seen before on another forum, that feature other parts of the station. The line continues on towards the 'other half' of the layout, which represents a junction with the Great Eastern main line at the fictional 'Elmleigh Market', which we hope to feature in a future edition of BRM. The station area is being 'tidied up' before we begin work on the photography to accompany the article. Kelvin

The Siphons have reached the Great Eastern. A view of Stratford St. Mary not previously seen on this forum, inspired by a photo of a similar train at Cavendish on the Stour Valley, in the book 'Great Eastern Album' by R.C.Riley.

The backscene was hand-painted by my brother Robin. The view features the church of St.Mary in the village of Stratford St.Mary as seen from the site of the imaginary station.

A view of our station 'Stratford St.Mary' on an East Anglian branch, connecting at Elmleigh Market Junction on the Great Eastern main line. My brother Robin and I are progressively improving this long-established layout, and hope to feature more scenes in future.

A suitably distressed van found at the end of the yard at Stratford St. Mary. This van, and also the similar banana van, runs happily at the head of a 22-wagon train without problems and no additional weight.