Moggs Eye

Hi Karl, Thanks for the enquiry. Unfortunately Cottleston is under wraps at the moment. Most of my modelling time is taken up with Emsworth at present, I'm taking it to Southwold in a couple of weeks, and it has a few more shows in the autumn. Cottleston's next trip is to the Weston on Trent event in November. Cheers, Ben.

If any of you are coming to the Southwold on August 6th and 7th, come and say hello. The team and I will be enjoying a trip to the seaside with Emsworth. See you there. Cheers, Ben.

Thoroughly enjoyed last weekend in Scunthorpe, how often do you hear that said! (Sorry Scunny). The Scunthorpe Modern Image Group are most hospitable and welcome exhibitors and traders alike with a bacon buttie and tea when you rock up in the morning. Good quality bacon too - highly recommended. The layout performed well, with the exception of one point failure, and two new drivers (thanks guys) were broken in and have said they'd happily drive again. The public seem to like the card system that runs the loco yard, particularly when it gets busy in there. I'm not quite sure how it happened, somebody ay have sabotaged the pack of cards, but at one point there were so many locos stacked up in there it looked like a Sunday morning and we were struggling to find motive power for the freight services. Making it's debut was 31466 in its EWS livery. It used to be a Fragonset 31452 before I thought I'd have a respray session. It was only when I'd started the whole process that I realised that 452 and 466 had different positions for their high intensity headlight. I can live with that. It needs some weathering and a couple of handrails, but I'm generally pleased with how it turned out. Here's my favourite class 60 taking on fuel. Finally, a random composition of several generations of motive power at Emsworth. We all felt a little smug about having successfully smuggled a 'kettle' into a modern image show. Our next outing is to the Suffolk seaside at Southwold. Cheers, Ben.

Emsworth is having a trip out to the Scunthorpe Modern Image Group's exhibition next weekend. See you there. Ben. PS - I found these details on an events website, the club seems to be having some problems with its website. 2016 Model Railway ShowThis exhibition, run by Scunthorpe Modern Image Group, concentrates on the diesel and electric era of railway modelling. There will be a number of layouts on display, specialist traders and modelling demonstrations, plus refreshments. Performance times St Paul's Church Hall, Scunthorpe Ashby High Street, Scunthorpe, DN16 2JR Sat 14 May £3.50 (£3; Children £2; £9) / 01724 842732 10:00 – 17:00 Sun 15 May £3.50 (£3; Children £2; £9) / 01724 842732 10:00 – 16:00

Nice to see life being breathed into those old models. Hopefully it will inspire folk to have a go themselves.

It's well worth the effort using finer scale track - I had people (probably shortsighted) looking at my layouts and asking if they are built with EM. With the amount of effort and detail you've put into this layout I'm sure you'd manage re-wiring live frog points. Frog juicers are okay, but they are expensive and only do the job of a switch on your point motor. Give it a go, you'll never look back.

I used C&L Finescale Bullhead flexible track with Peco code 74 electrofrog points on Emsworth - it's survived two exhibitions so far.

The layout's looking really good, a lot more detail and thought gone into it than many. Good work, looking forward to more pictures.

Well done for finishing it. Really good work. Ben.

We had a trip to a small model engineering show near Spalding on Sunday, sharing a hall with some excellent radio control tanks (if you think some people have the sound on their locos too loud, these guys were very noisy) and amazing ships and boats (Bismarck and USS Missouri stood out). Our neighbours were a pair of gents with a big, old, O gauge tinplate layoutHappily Emsworth was proclaimed best in show and we've won tickets to a big model engineering show at Doncaster. Thanks to the organisers. It gave us the opportunity to test out a new operating sequence and work out ways to keep the movements flowing both on the mainline and servicing point/wagon works sides of the layout. It all worked out well and even the Kadees behaved themselves. We ended up with three of the Spalding Model Railway Club juniors joining my lad and his mate for a drive and at one point I had six operators organising themselves around different jobs from drivers to signallers and a dispatcher. David and I, the 'grownups' were relegated to shunting the yard. To be fair, the boys did a cracking job and even kept to the sequence most of the time. Apologies to the South Devon Railway Diesel lads, but 20118 Saltburn by the Sea appears to have been hired out at as a 'super shunter' to the Emsworth International Freight Terminal - here it is having just tripped a wagon up to the repair shed by Emsworth station. Here it is again, propelling a steel wagon past the loco servicing point. A quiet moment at the servicing point. The supervisor will probably want to know why the lights have been left on. A view from under the Station Road bridge as a 150 trundles in with a Leeds service. The 153 in platform 2 is waiting for it to clear the single line with a local to Sheffield. A class 60 moment. 078 is awaiting her next duty while 040 heads north with a train of armoured vehicles. The 144 in platform 3 has just rolled in from Doncaster and will be heading back there as soon as the crew have changed ends. There aren't many guaranteed connections at Emsworth. Not a lot of down time 60078 - here it is heading towards Leeds with a military train which seems to be mostly Land Rovers (you can never have too many). Any similarity between stock on Emsworth and Cottleston is purely coincidental!

I'm pleased you had a good show and look forward to seeing some more pictures. Cheers, Ben.

I remember Wendy Craig filming for something at Havenhouse in the mid-eighties. A group of went down there to watch and I got her autograph. I'm sure they painted WW2 style white markings around the platform side doors on the main building. There was no steam train unfortunately, they added the steam using witchcraft in the studio afterwards. The Waiting Room featured in the Railway Magazine used to be the signalbox coal store.

Unfortunately I missed the talk. I'm trying to make a start on planning buildings now, the first one being the station signalbox. I was planning to use pictures to obtain brick counts for sizing, but was struggling to find photo with sufficient clarity. A good look through Michael Vann's book 'An Illustrated History of Great Northern Railway Signalling' revealed Firsby Station box has been classified as a Type 1B built to the same pattern as Stow Park between Lincoln and Gainsborough. When originally built it had the same three bays across the front as Stow Park though was extended to four bays. Having studied some pictures of Stow Park box I'm going to head over next week and take some of my own as it appears to be extremely close in form to Firsby. I have made a start on the signals - most of them will be tubular steel post upper quadrants, using Ratio parts and MSE etched arms, though the Down Main Home will model the upper quadrant arm on a GNR concrete post that stood there until closure. To assit with planning the main station building I'm going to use Alford to obtain a footprint which, coupled with a survey of the surviving Porter's residence, should give a close representation for the model. I don't intend to have any kind of railway presence in this building, I don't think there would be the call for even a ticket machine at a contemporary Firsby, but wasn't sure what it could be. Tea room and art gallery like Tattersall, a museum like the ones that use to be at Burgh or Legbourne Road, apartments like Louth or a fine restaurant. Ideas on a postcard please. Cheers, Ben.

I didn't get much chance to look at the layouts over the weekend at Telford, but I did enjoy having a few moments watching this one. Lots of comments have been made about the detail and street scenes, but my favourite bit was how the disused platform had been depicted and then the modern replacement built over the loop's formation; something unusual really well modelled.

I picked up a copy at the Lincoln show last weekend. It's a nice book, lots of good photographs including many I've not seen before . I'm not sure about some of the captions, but a good buy in my opinion.

If any of you are passing by Surfleet Village Hall (PE11 4BW) in deepest Lincolnshire on Sunday 13th of March there will be a model engineering show to which Emsworth has been invited. After that our next model railway exhibition will be the Scunthorpe Modern Image Group's show in May

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately Telford was Cottleston's last appearance until much later in the year. Cheers, Ben.

Telford has come and gone. I had a thoroughly good weekend, the layout behaved itself and seemed to have gone down well with the people who stopped by to have a chat. It was a good venue, spacious and comfortable, though we were on the first floor above a huge dirt bike exhibition. Getting up to the floor was unconventional. Here's the boxed up layout being uplifted by a very friendly forklift truck driver. There was a pallet truck waiting to wheel it to our part of the hall. Next morning, there we were ready to go. A new addition to the loco roster is 20118 (currently my lad's favourite). It came along as a 'super shunter' to replace an 08 to shunt cement trucks and electric locomotives along the military branch. There are probably too many large BR logos for a post-privatisation layout, but the 50 (Glorious) has brought the electric locos from Crewe for long term storage on spare Mod sidings. Here the Depot Commandant has pulled rank to use the ex Longmoor shunter to bring the Commandant's Saloon down to the exchange sidings for an inspection. I suspect fault will be found with the weeds everywhere. While an FV432 passes in the background there's a meeting between a Royal Logic Corps Officer and a Network Rail engineer about some upcoming engineering work. The station cat appears to have found a new friend. As a Land Rover fan, I was pleased to see how many of the layouts at Telford had one or two scattered around. Now that the line south of the station has been taken out of use, a couple of S&T technicians are discussing recovery of the token instrument from the cabinet on the platform. A Central Trains controller seems to have cocked up by allocating a class 170 to a branch service.

Thanks for the feedback and picture. I know lots of people haven't liked the Network Rail semaphores, but I've been keen to model them. Now I'm thinking of going against real life by changing the colour lights on Emsworth, or at least most of them, for semaphores. Even though that will mean a rebuild of the signal box.

I was your narrow gauge neighbour on Saturday. I really enjoyed Mickleover - always good to see an GNR railway being modelled.

Lego, particularly fire engines, is not something we're short of here! I'm very fortunate to have two lads who like model railways, Land Rovers and Lego. Most importantly I have a very supportive wife who lets us all get on with it.

Hi Temeraire, Thanks for the feedback. The decals come from Appleby Model Engineering, they do a sheet to cover most military wagons. As I recall the only way to get them is to enquire by post via - J Talbot, 10 St Dunstan's Close, Battenhall, Worcester, WR5 2AJ. The service was very good. Good luck with the warflats, they'll look excellent on Tidworth. Cheers, Ben.

As requested earlier, here are some pictures of Cottleston's remaining semaphores. The remains of the Midland Railways Damson Hill branch run along the bridge that makes the scenic break and the signal at the far end is a Midland Railway fixed distant for Wolery Junction. This is a Model Signal Engineering kit that looks like it's ready for a trip down the embankment or recovery by a preservation group - by the looks of the track there hasn't been a train for some time. Here's a 153 slowing for it's stop and reversal at Cottleston having just passed Signal 37 - the Main Single Line Down Inner Home. The fixed distant arm was originally for Crow Lane box, but now refers to the Stop board at the far end of the platform. There is theatre route indicator mounted on the post, if I'd had the time and know-how that would be capable of showing a 1 or a 2 depending on how the road is set for either of the platforms. There isn't a subsidiary for this signal which means if the platform is occupied the train has to be brought to a stop and the signal cleared slowly to let the driver know there is an obstruction.The signal, representing a late BR short post type, is made from Ratio parts with Model Signal Engineering etched arms. Looking along the disused former Up Main Line there is Signal 43 - now referred to as the Acrewood Single Inner Home. This also has a fixed distant arm for the Crow Lane Stop board. The route indicator is mounted on its own post just beside the signal. This one is all Model Signal Engineering and represents a rare survivor of a Great Northern Railway concrete post signal. Signal 16 is a short posted shunting signal which controls access from the Military Branch to either platform 1 or 2. It has a yellow arm which tells a driver approaching it that they only have to stop if they are intending to go along the signalled route, where the DRS 37 is going. If the route is set for either of the sidings they are allowed to pass the signal at stop. Another signal based on Ratio parts, this one retains its plastic Ratio arm. 60007 has just been given the right away to pass Signal 23 and head away along the Acrewood Single Line. This has a yellow arm like number 16 so that shunting moves cn proceed past it along the exchange siding. This is is a Ratio lattice post with an MSE etched arm. The sign just past the signal makes it clear that MoD locos are not allowed on the main line! Finally this is the Network Rail style bracket signal controlling departures from platform 2. The right hand arm is cleared showing that the 153 is on it's way to Nottingham via the Main Single Line and Wolery Junction. This signal is largely scratchbuilt using styrene, etched grills and MSE arms. The enclosed laddering is from an American fire escape kit which I can't seem to get hold of anymore. All the colour light signals are Knightwing heads on scratchbuilt posts, while the route indicators and subsidaries come from Britannia models. See you in Telford. Cheers, Ben.

Thanks Jonny, I've got the books you've recommended, but thanks for taking the trouble with them. The internet has proved useful too. I found a couple of people who have original pictures to share at a photo history and tribute to the East Lincolnshire Railway at Alford last October (to mark the lines closure in 1970). I've got almost the whole of the platform side of the main building in pictures now and much of the island platform structure too. All need now is some time! Cheers, Ben.

For the historians out there I have found some archive pictures of the original Cottleston, back before it was rebuilt into the form for its first exhibition in 2009 and appearance in Model Rail. This is the original station, a single platform that was only long enough for a three car unit. The Metcalfe building was modelled as the local library, parish council offices and local police office. The signalbox was a card representation of Deeping St James box between Spalding and Peterborough. The 156 is passing the original platform starter, which had a scratch built (non-working) theatre type route indicator. The small Wills good shed was used by an infrastructure company while the modified Metcalfe factory covered the control panel. And where the Military Branch and exchange sidings are now there was just an oil terminal! The moral of the story is to plan your layout properly before you start building - it saves on skinned knuckles when you lift all that ballast! Cheers, Ben.