Lambton58

Not to mention his brother Milton Bryan, also in Bedfordshire which also has Ireland, near Old Warden and a Witts End, near Eversholt.

And a Nova Scotia, near Fatfield

Nice little conversion challenge there ... fix up a few scooters with an appropriate number of mirrors and lights

Harlyn Pier. Have to say I thought this layout was the best scenically. The sea, the horizon and coastal geology were well done and the harbour mud was excellent.

Johnstown Road and Aerodrome Park The Cambrian trestle bridge and mountain view reminded me of Ynas Las on the Dyfi, although there are fewer trees and no dam there! Wonderfully captured Art Deco buildings.

Fintonagh

So as threatened here are some snaps of bits of the show, starting with Heybridge Wharf. Ralph Lambton58

I went with Flying Pig yesterday; not a vintage CMRA show but very enjoyable none the less. We arrived about 10.10am and had no trouble parking in the car park by the main door - there were plenty of spaces. Infact, I've been to all of the Stevenage shows and never had any problems parking. And at £2 per day that's darn good value! Getting tickets and finding our way in to the halls was a little chaotic, but not impossible. The show was reasonably busy all day, but the hall layouts are well spaced out and it was easy enough about and see things. People were generally friendly and we chatted to a number of the operators, demonstrators and exhibitors. Travel to Stevenage is fine and it takes me about the same time to get there as St Albans. The venue is a vast improvement on St Albans. Quaint and quirky as it was, it's not accessible for a show of this size and, rightly, that's just not acceptable these days. Quite apart from the crowding in main auditorium and stage areas, the balcony/basement arrangement was an accident waiting to happen. It can't have been great for the exhibitors either - I know from a friend that being on a demonstration stand in the basement near the gents for the weekend was not a pleasant experience. Choosing favourite layouts is always going to be a bit subjective, but I particularly enjoyed watching Heybridge Wharf, Fintonagh and Harlyn Pier. There were some beautifully made models on many layouts, such as Burntisland and Johnstown Road, and I loved the Art Deco of Aerodrome Park. We were also very impressed with Mothecombe which was well built and operated to a very good standard by High Wycombe MRS Juniors. So all in all, well done CMRA for putting on another good show. I've just got a new camera so was playing with that yesterday and will post some photos in a while. Ralph Lambton58

Also finally just caught up with Episode 1 - I thought it was quite a good programme. Informative and entertaining and done in a fairly sensible, sympathetic style. Nicely filmed too.

Had you considered making a working version of Oxford's Rail Gun? Ralph Lambton58

Congratulations, that's really rather good, excellent work. A quick question, who makes the figures ? Ralph Lambton58

Indeed! Even better OR76J27003- BR (Late) No.65817 was a 52G engine, at least in 1959. Another visit to your fine emporium is required! (Peckett 560 is running beautifully btw). Ralph Lambton58

Flying Pig and have been running my 560 in on my slowing evolving shunting plank... what a little beauty!! 560 that is, not Flying Pig!!! Bought from AGR in Leighton Buzzard, so she was tested before purchase. Again excellent service from Anthony. So what of 560? She's a little hesitant over a couple of points on my layout and the pick ups might need tweaking but otherwise she runs well and is incredibly quiet running. Ralph Lambton 58

Will it come with a Zontar add on pack? But seriously, that's a great choice of prototype and the initial results look very, very good. Ralph Lambton58

Woohoo! I got a letter about published in MRJ! Ralph Lambton 58

It was a good edition. I haven't said anything till now as I was waiting to see if / when my letter to the editor would get printed. It did, in MRJ267 :-) and was just to offer a correction to the otherwise excellent Fencehouses article. Mention was made of the Lambton Railway's running powers over LNER/BR lines to Hareton Colliery. That should be Harraton Colliery. I've got a personal interest in the pit as several of my ancestors worked there, including my grandfather who was overman underground just before closure. Ralph Lambton58

I suspect it may have been quite a common thing, especially towards the end of the war as manpower shortages took effect within regiments and men were sent where they were needed. My great uncle was from South Shields and enlisted in 1918 with the 3rd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, but served in France with the 9th Royal Fusiliers. He was killed in action near Lecelles, Northern France on 23 October 1918 during the 100 days offensive at the end of the war. Ralph Lambton58

Living pretty close and it being a rainy Sunday, it seemed a good idea to go! First of all, a big thank you to the kind gentleman who (with the blessing of the show staff) gave me his spare ticket. Sorry I didn't ask your name, but if you're reading this, thanks again and I hope you had a good trip back to Norwich and everything was fine. I thought the show was ok. My favourite layouts were Hospital Gates, Dubmill Sidings, Vale of Oxbury and Bewdley. The lighting was par for the course for large hall venues like this one (ie not great) and I think showed the need for exhibition layouts to have their own lighting rigs and a backscene. Traders - a good selection for the type of show; it was nice to see my local model shop (AGR Model Railways) there and apparently doing good business. I wouldn't have expected to see the range of specialist suppliers that you'd get at a show like Scaleforum or Railex, but I thought the selection was appropriate to the show. That said, I take the point about the lack of a tools supplier such as Squires or Eileens. Ralph Lambton58

Thanks, that's good.

As a unrepentant OO modeller I still enjoy going to Scaleforum. This year's was definitely a bit different though, certainly much quieter than previous years at Stoke Mandeville. The emphasis on demonstrations gave the event even more of a feeling of a members gathering than normal. I hasten to add that's not a criticism at all. Along with Flying Pig, I had some very useful, helpful, thought provoking chats with exhibitors. Particular thanks go to 5050 of this parish for his advice (I didn't mention the OO bit!) and Allan Goodwillie from the Beginners at Work for his explanation of lightweight baseboards. Ralph Lambton58

I reckon anyone who plays or played village cricket can think of grounds like that! Ralph Lambton 58

Ahhh, a proper batsman! (From another duck collecting left hander!) Actually I thought the figures weren't bad at all. The only things missing from the set are a scorer and group of out/not-out batsmen barracking their team mates at the crease! Ralph Lambton 58

"Interesting looking carriages used on the Saffron Walden line. Any kits available?" Not sure these days - the lamented D&S range would have been the choice, but they're like hens teeth on Ebay these days. I was thinking an NER brake third would nice alongside a couple of Hornby LNER offerings. Ralph Lambton 58

Aye, that's canny, very canny. 18 months to wait? Suits me - time to save the pennies and/or 2019 birthday present sorted. It will still be running before I get my Dave Bradwell J27 built. Ralph Lambton 58

As people have already said all the loco's I first thought of how about something like an RSH 0-4-0ST? Failing that, how about a Wickham Trolley in full LMS crimson lake with Stanier streamline go faster stripes? Ralph Lambton58