Not Jeremy

Thank you very much for your comments. In truth, it is a relatively small and quirky Gauge One layout built in a pretty steeply sloped garden with limited width. Although it was designed with "photographic angles" in mind, the fact that it is only half (or less) finished and that more planting is required to mask things like a fence, the shed and houses etc, there are currently limited opportunities for proper "realism". One benefit of the steeply sloped garden is that quite a lot of it can be viewed and photographed from below, and shooting into the sky struck me as another way of avoiding visual distractions. Distinctly unrealistic at 1/32 scale, but giving me great pleasure, is this chap who lives in the dock which runs across the base of whole scheme. He sat calmly in this position for a good quarter of an hour or so while we moved around and took photographs etc, before moving to the bottom of the dock. I presume he "lives" under the overhanging plants that have started growing into the water. It all lives in my imagination and keeps me more out of mischief than I would otherwise be....

A train today.. The not entirely real train Simon

Outline business case for Plymouth to Tavistock submitted November 22, outcome awaited. Modern Railways appraisal railways around Dartmoor This image from the Facebook group.

The "join up" website fizzled out, but the idea just won't lay down.

No trains today.

And very good it looked too. Although it still sounded like a meat grinder when it moved!

A couple of thoughts, nothing stays the same forever, much as we may like it to, and various posts above have highlighted lots of reasons for the contraction of shows, some much missed for sure. That said, I suspect that there might have been too many shows “pre Plague” if I may put it that way, there were a lot of shows for sure - were they all that good? If big shows are too expensive then start with a small one, and pick your participants with a view to how you want the show to appear. Give it a theme, be imaginative, persuade participants to join in for little money, donate proceeds to a charity, make it scale specific, make it something you or your friends are interested in, it is possible to get some good trade if you limit the numbers and have a theme or focus. In short - start something new! Reasonably priced venues are around, if you budget accordingly then you don’t “need” thousands of visitors either. You won’t create a Warley but you might have a lot of fun and grow something new, acorns and oak trees etc. Also, do it with people you like and get on with, and who will “get” what you are trying to do. An example of this, which is also a “lost”” show was the Shepton Mallet Small and Delightful NG show, a great bunch of people first and a great show second!

Respect to your labrador! This represents thread drift, but at least it's a pictorial one....

Oh yes, the 3F - I got hold of one of those a few years ago! Apologies for the poor photographs, these taken a while ago on a now defunct train set and everything packed in boxes and currently can't access anything. On a similar note, one of my favourite "relics" is the Triang "Midlander" train set, I don't know what it is about the box artwork and contents, but it absolutely "does it" for me - just lovely.

What a great thread! I love all the different things everyone has done with their models. And this picture absolutely does it for me: Some years ago, my friend Dave and I built a half decent model of Monkton Combe. Panniers etc nothwithstanding, my very favourite stock was my Lima 47 hauling Dave's Airfix Mk 2Ds. I ran it and ran it, what a great looking combo it is! Thank you

21/29s are OK, don't forget that Jouef/Playcraft made quite a creditable looking one in HO about a million years ago. I'm afraid I am a bit of a sucker for the WR version, which Dapol have done a pretty good model of. A friend's example is pictured here with the "faces" of some other models. Of course, if you want a really good looking 22 then you're best off building one of Fred Phipps 1/32 kits, here's D6318 as built and painted by Andrew Vines.

The Mainline 2P is a thing of beauty, although the tender drive is a bit of a let down, it never looked to me as though the driving wheels were going round as much as they ought to! 40568 ran off a layout once and I had to rebuild the front right corner, hence the lack of lining there. I was tempted when Hornby reissued it, but didn't indulge because of the accursed traction tyres and the fact that I was/am now modelling in a larger scale. The loco is hauling my "Replica" 3 coach southern region suburban set of coaches, which are also really nice.

Mike That is exactly how I created Radstock's 47316 Nice as the Bachmann model may be, I actually prefer your 7308, it absolutely looks like a Jinty and is something you created yourself. If you could only keep one of them then that is the one to keep. Standing next to the Bachmann model it still looks absolutely "right" to my eyes. In fact I'd go further, the subtle differences add to the realism of your scene, as in real life if you photographed two "identical" types you would likely as not see lots of minor differences between the two, and in the real world nothing is "perfect". Which is why some of today's computer generated and perfect models can look a bit "dead" I think. Also, great modelling on your layout too.

No names no pack drill, the "best" I ever managed was to pack up and leave before I had even started to set up, owing to complete f*ckwittery by the utter twerp who'd been delegated the job of organising the show. More cheerfully, at Railex in 2017 we were treated to showing of Martin Stringer's utterly fabulous "Tollesbury Quay". Chatting to Martin in the pub on the Friday night he revealed that things had not gone entirely to plan.. Which resulted in possibly my favourite ever photograph taken at an exhibition, the estimable Kevin Tong operating the layout on the following day. Pure class!

Mike Bass's Bristol model railway exhibitions in the old train shed at Temple Meads were terrific events, all quite a few years ago now. Anyone got any photographs or memories they'd like to share? I used to attend with the books and Peter and Ginny Barnfield were also regulars, I think. Simon

I agree, a lovely looking thing- one of the two locos I had in my youth. Having converted mine to a 2P, I bought this rather nice example some years ago at a 009 bash.

That's a nice job you've done there westernviscount.. There is something about your unit which I find appallingly attractive, I can't say I liked the real things but as a model it has a weird fascination and charm. I think you should get it going again! Units as a whole are interesting, I love the diesel electric prototype and LEV 1 too. Model-wise I have a few, seen here splashed across Rowley New Street, all of which I like, shortcomings and all.. 108, 158, 158, 159, all Bachmann.

My pleasure. Here is another shot featuring your great work with 1401, behind it the brass (Korean?) Pannier which I bought from Brian, which is also pretty nice. I can almost feel another colliery coming on - possibly more detailed than the last....

I think there's a deal of truth in that, although I think we can add quite a lot to operation, the look of the thing, creating our own realities, "art" even, we will all have our own leanings. One thing I have enjoyed a lot is taking a model and seriously "bashing" it into either a better version of what was supposed to be or something completely different. To take an example, I am intrigued by the Triang saddle tank already mentioned. When I was last poddling in small scale stuff, before getting very involved with G1 and a garden line, I had done most of the work to "correct" this particular model. At the time my idea was to try and give it a "Triang" finish and put it on to the later "Jinty" chassis rather than try and make it into anything "scale". It has quite a pleasing shape I think. I might get back to it one of these days. I feel almost sorry for the current generation with all the fantastic quality RTR that is available, because its complication, quality and cost do not encourage modelling, I think instead it can intimidate us and and limit our possibilities. I recently took apart the fantastic AC cars railbus from Heljan(?) for a friend to try and cure a fault. I consider myself fairly adept at fiddling with stuff, but found this very difficult and failed to sort out the problem. I just about got it all put back together and did not enjoy the experience!!

OK, but apart from that it wasn't a bad model.. Anyway, some of us have since discovered actual modelling, which offers and opens up all sorts of possibilities that high fidelity RTR will never deliver to anyone.

Oh yes, you are right number6, the short Triang restaurant car was a particularly pleasing model. By Christmas 1969, my "express" consisted of the "Princess Royal" in maroon, pulling a maroon operating mail coach (even shorter), a maroon sleeping coach, the shorter restaurant coach you show above in maroon, finished off with a "modern" brake second. I loved it, it gave a proper sense of 'main lineness" and the different sizes and shapes of coach looked somehow "right" to my eyes, Happy days

Well, I'm sure I'd work it out if I was building one, but until you mentioned it I can't say that I'd noticed that the wheel spacing on your Pannier was wrong. It's the buffer height that I notice. Thank you for your kind comments re the "Bagnallish" Hunslet. Being a tart, I can't help inflicting a picture of the beastie. It was worked up with Plastikard and odd castings from a Rivarossi 0-4-0 tender switcher. The talented Brian turned the hideous wheel flanges down for me. It is quite "growly" but still runs pretty immaculately. The JInty is my re-working of the later Hornby Moulding on a Perseverance chassis with a DS10(?) motor, which runs very well. (beginner's luck) 1401 is your superb re-working of the Airfix on a Persverance chassis with a Portescap motor and gearbox - lovely jubbly! I really ought to gently weather it, you did a really good job on everything else. A mere forty odd years ago - eek! Simon

That's really interesting I have a Lima 47, which I like very much, bought when they first came out. I fitted "Ultrascale" wheels to it and cut off the hook and bar couplings and ran it so much that it became very smooth. I love the 47, and was really looking forward to the Heljan one, but just couldn't bring myself to buy it when it came out because of it's "wideness" and too squareness, as I saw it. Ten yours ago I bought Bachmann 57 in Freightliner livery and did quite a lot of work on it to turn it back to a 47, I think it was heading in quite a good direction I really ought to finish it, mostly just painting.

I remember the Hornby "Pannier" coming out, and ogling it in the window of Eric Snook's shop in New Bond Street before it was knocked down, and thinking that it was very nice. Your detailed one still looks great Tim, it is the dreaded Triang buffer height that gives it away really, another thing that Hornby Dublo got right. And of course the later Hornby Dublo suburban coaches were the right length - really lovely models in green, and very free running with nylon wheels and a better wheel profile than Triang. I had three of those, bought in Kenya(!) and sold them to Dave Webb to fund the purchase of a Ford Cortina. He's still got them I think!

This is sort of not quite in the right thread, but related. My very first model train was the Playcraft clockwork "Bishopsgate" set, which thinking about it would have been purchased for me sixty years ago - sheesh! It grew a bit with limited purchases from Woolworths, including the NBL diesel, the beautiful can motor from which I still have, (and hope to use in a new model in due course) Later I graduated to Triang with "Winston Churchill" and a large oval of track, and so it went. I have always liked the shape of the Playcraft shunter, and some years ago I cobbled together a sort of "modern" version, by combining an old body, the chassis from the Bachmann train set 0-6-0 and the cylinder and connecting rod assemblies from a dead Mainline 4MT. The result is quite pleasing to my eyes, vaguely "USA Tank" ish. In true "train set" style I could not get all the valve gear attached, but it doesn't really notice.