Moggs Eye

I'm happy to report that beyond a few teething problems, no show stoppers, the layout behaved well today. I'll put most of it down to operator error - myself included. We had much positive feedback and a couple of exhibition invitations, which is always good for the self esteem! Here's a 66 awaiting something to do on the headshunt by the old loading dock. An 08 positioning some VGAs while the postie waits for it to clear the level crossing. 47829 gets on its way back to Immingham after picking up the single line token from the crossing keeper. Another 153 heads towards Barton. 60007 trundles into the exchange sidings past the PWay team who are more interested in the Gazelle helicopter.

Holland Beck set up and ready for the exhibition opening tomorrow. I hope to see some of you there, from what I saw this evening there are some cracking layouts on show.

Brilliant modelling. I'm a post-privatisation modeller myself, but I'm sure I would spend some time hanging over this layout admiring the work and detailing. Great work.

This looks like a well thought out and interesting layout. Great work.

One of the joys in exploring railways, even modern ones, is finding the quirks. Cheers, Ben.

A quiet moment at Holland Beck, looking along Station Road towards the level crossing with the cricket pavilion to the left and war memorial on the right. I'm very much looking forward to the exhibition this weekend. See you there.

I don't remember the blade positioning from my groundcrew course, there is plenty of other stuff I've forgotten but I reckon I could still get a Gazelle up on it's double diablo wheels! I had some good flights in Gazelles, most memorably from Leeming to Oakington with 657's QHI after an exercise, then in Kenya where I got some stick time and learnt how hard it was to keep one in a stable hover. There's a Gazelle based somewhere near me in East Lincolnshire - every time I hear that distinctive whistle I want to run out and start up a bowser! Cheers, Ben.

Hi Gordon, Many level crossings had gates which didn't fully close off the railway when they were one for road traffic. Wisbech North and St Mary's Crossing are examples. Some had gates which opened outwards when the train had passed, for example St James Deeping. Here at Holland Beck the little used lane crossing a backwater branchline at an oblique angle didn't warrant the expense of providing four gates or the mechanism to operate them. The crossing keeper has to come out and swing them by hand. Cheers, Ben.

Hi, Thanks for the update re the rotor blade, happily the model's will still rotate so I'll get it moved. There will be a Bowser nearby for the exhibition. October '93? I'd been discharged a month by then and still missing it! Cheers, Ben

The layout looking towards Barton. It's almost finished now and ready for its exhibition debut at the Lincoln Post - Modernisation Show next weekend. The final electrical testing has been done, there are just a few details to add before I get stuck into wheel cleaning. I'm looking forward to operating a relatively small, uncomplicated layout for a change. The Lincoln show should be a good one, there will be some fine modelling to admire, even if diesels aren't your thing. Hopefully I'll see a load of there. We're in the smaller hall, if you're passing come and say hello. Cheers, Ben.

Holland Beck is finished and ready for its debut at Lincoln this weekend. See you there.

I took Emsworth to the Boston Model Railway Club's show this weekend. It's a small, friendly show run by a great team who looked after us very well. One of the great things about a small show like this is having a chat with folk who aren't necessarily enthusiasts, but who have just stopped by, or potential modellers who want to ask a few questions about different aspects of the hobby; people who were interested in the modelling rather than just hurrying past looking for their own particular niche interest. In summary - the layout ran well, I enjoyed the driving, food, banter and conversation. Thank you to everyone involved. 60078 gets the right away from platform four with the feather on the starter signal showing it's got a trip down the branch with a diverted military train. A view down the new section of the layout with the buffer stops at our backs. I wanted to include a shot of the position light signal which can't be seen by the public, but which I insist is cleared for every movement out of the headshunt towards the platforms. To celebrate the impending demise of the Pacer, here are all three of mine (with a token 153) offering a rich choice of luxury transport to exotic locations for Emsworth's travelling public. See you at Spalding in November. Cheers, Ben.

Thanks, Rob. I wanted a Lynx, so the pitch would get a load of engine oil dumped on it when the crew shut down, but I couldn't find a decent kit and I wouldn't have had the room for a bigger cab. The Gazelle barely fits. Cheers, Ben.

Hi Paul, Thanks for looking at that for me. Mechanical signalling has so many wonderful variations it's always interesting to get an objective view. You're right, the diagram is the wrong way around as it will be on the operator's side of the layout. I have one for the public side which is correct. The facing points are worked by an economical system which only has one lever to move the points and lock them. The lever is half blue and half black - there is a convention about which colour goes at the top of the lever, I think I have it right with blue on the top. I did think about having two levers, it would have made for more interesting rodding runs, but expediency and a lack of scale levers won out. I'm scratching my head trying to think of some shortish form of words for the viewing side to explain why trains are halting by the level crossing to hand tokens over. With a layout this size, particularly with modern single car DMUs, many people will just walk past without looking, but for those that do take a moment to have a look I want to try and get some of what inspired me to build it. I've had a word with the groundsman about the outfield. He muttered something about a pay rise and slouched off. Volunteers! Cheers, Ben.

Scenification going ahead on schedule. Pub, riding stables and some detail to finish on this board. The level crossing board is almost done. I'm told, by my lad who does a bit a cricket, that the outfield for the New Holland and Barrow Haven Cricket Club's outfield is shocking - particularly after the Gazelle helicopter has done an autorotation emergency landing on it. I've started work on some of the displays which will help put the layout into some kind of context. Below is a representation of the pulling diagram for the ground frame. It may be a bit extravagant for a country ground frame, but I enjoyed doing it.

Loughborough has come and gone; Team Emsworth and I had a thoroughly good weekend - good food, good accommodation, good location and good hosts in the Soar Valley Club. Taking a largely rebuilt layout for the first time caused a few butterflies for me, I'm sure you understand, but in the end the layout performed very well and with only slight teething trouble (over-enthusiastic ballast shoulders catching the suspension of a Realtrack 144 on one of the new platform roads. Easily overcome. Even the brand-new sequence, which was only finished at 1000 on the Friday, flowed well without issue and kept the whole thing moving well. Here is Emsworth V3 set up and ready to go on the Saturday morning. By this time a quick trip to Tesco had replaced the 6-way extension lead I'd forgotten. The loco yard has its three engines placed ready for the shunting puzzle to start. For Sunday we increased the starting stud to four; partly to make it more complicated, but mostly because I realised I had sufficient stock. The first train ever to run the full length of the layout from the fiddle yard into the rebuilt station was my favourite Pacer. Apparently I should have had a ribbon for it to break, or a bottle of champagne to smash over it, but that wouldn't have ended well. The brisk and comprehensive passenger service gets underway. Emsworth is now exceptionally well connected to Yorkshire and beyond. Trains for Wakefield, Sheffield and Doncaster (from left to right) are shown here. The whims of the card based loco yard movements meant the class 47 didn't get out of the yard for the first couple of hours on Saturday. Every time it was due to escape it came up for another inspection and had to go back to the servicing bay - I suppose the 47s are getting on a bit now. A moment when the sequence has all four available platforms occupied with DMUs for different directions. It looks like the 47 has finally got away. There are a few jobs left to do; The position light signal at the headhunt needs moving, because nobody can see it. I need lots more people - but they take awhile to paint, The foot crossing between platforms could do with some warning light, The back scene needs sorting. All in good time. I have a new layout, Holland Beck, to finish off for October and that is the priority now. Thanks to all the folk who stopped by for a chat over the weekend, thanks for the encouraging, positive feedback. The only criticism I got over both days was for the interior of the signalbox - it was suggested that having a woman signaller in there was incongruous. I was very polite, mentioning that it was a modern layout. What a strange place the 21st century must be to some people. The layout will be out at Boston and Spalding later in the year. Have fun, Ben.

I have just got me and Emsworth home from this one having had a great weekend being hosted by a very friendly club. Thanks for the invitation and support over the weekend.

Hi Nick, We'll be at the Lincoln Club's post-modernisation event at the Newark Showground in October. The details are here; Cheers, Ben.

Further progress has seen the fencing contractors moving in. As much of the scenery will involve weeds and a general, modern unkempt appearance I'm putting in most of the structures in place. Here are a couple of pictures of the current state of play. Almost a driver's eye view looking west towards Barton on the approach to the station with the Humber Logistics Services shunter stopped in a convenient spot for its crew to have a brew with the crossing keeper. With the train having gone on its way, peace returns.

The first train to move into the rebuilt station under its own power. The view from the headshunt (formerly the Down Main Line) with the freshly wired and powered position light signal. Only two weeks until the next show!

Apologies for the poor lighting, but here are Emsworth's two scenic boards brought together to get the backscene correctly lined up. We're looking towards Sheffield with the buffer stops on the truncated main lines behind us. Next job is putting the weeds down, putting in the platform canopies and then sorting the people and details for the platforms. Looking in the other direction you can see the scarring left by the bridge's removal. The bay platform has been extended slightly while the new platform face (with the station building on it) is just long enough for a two car DMU.

Holland Beck is almost complete, structurally and electrically now with just the scenery to finish once the fencing is down. I'm looking forward to October and its first exhibition now.

Initial, rapid progress on the Emsworth rebuild has been slowed somewhat by a bout of Sudden Onset Manflu and an overtopping water tank in out attic. Thankfully the damage is all to the house and decor, not any of the layouts. However, the wiring is done and the platform extensions are nearing completion. I always think a modern layout should have a nod to the Victorian railway, so there should be enough here to lead the imagination to glory days when there was a double track main line heading past the buffer stops at the top end of the picture. The cut out in the middle distance of the disused portion of the platform is to allow step free access to the island platform and is inspired by a similar arrangement at Ulverston in Cumbria - my island platform isn't wide enough for a footbridge. The original station building has been saved from its former position on the now dismantled bridge while the building beyond will be a signing on point for Northern Rail train crews. The large model building to the left of the picture is another project. Have fun. Ben.

I have finally got tired of operating Emsworth as a through station. Here it is being reworked with the former double track mainline reduced to a headhunt. The layout will be running in its new guise at Loughborough in September. No pressure!

While East Lincolnshire is flooding just down the road from my house, I've been at Quorn and Woodhouse Station on the GCR showing Emsworth at the big event there. Aside from the weather, it's been a great weekend so far and exhibiting beside a finer, heritage railway like the GCR is an experience not to be missed. However, the operators of the 12" to the foot railway next near near to drop the volume on their sound decoders! It's hard to communicate with your operators while some steam engine is blowing off close by. We did manage to have a class 37 depart our loco yard in time with a real 37 heading south yesterday. By contrast, a 4mm Pacer leaving Emsworth Station to the sound of an 8F (I think) making a spirited departure was a little odd. New for this exhibition (well, second hand) is this Heljan 47 - it performs well, though the characteristic Heljan droopy couplings are a little irritating. Hopefully tomorrow will be another good day, before I head back North to see if anything is left of the house. On a big downside was the burglary from some of the traders on Friday night and the reports today that there were prolific thieves circulating the exhibition.