MartinWales

As a result of Ally Pally several invites have been recieved and consequently will be seen at several shows over the U.K. in the future-but I am trying to keep to 4 invites per year, in an attempt to keep the layout fresh and not over-exposed! So the state of play is thus 2014-Southampton, DEMU (tbc), Barrow in Furness (tbc) More updates a.s.a.p.

Indeed! Probably the stand out layout at York!

Aaaargh! I'll look forward to quality Yorkshire Check Shirt and no doubt plenty of p***taking!

Shame! Never mind Duncan-I have more invites to the Home Counties in the offing so it won't be the last!

If you're in North London this weekend don't forget to make yourselves known at Ally Pally! Also you can check out (sorry!) the 2013 Checked Shirt Collection-New to an exhibition near you!

You know me too well!

Thanks Jamie! This will be the second time it's out in amended form, with the stock roster modified to suit-that is rationalized with less items and fitted with new couplings to use in semi automatic mode. Other items may appear in Classified or (say it in hushed tones) Ebay!

Next outing for Kinmundy is the London Festival of Railway Modelling 23-24th March.

Lynbridge appeared in RM July 1983

You're referring to Llandydref-appeared in RM May '86

Penholme also appeared in MR Sept '82

I'll be checking your progress Mark-good to catch up with BCB and it's development

That's right! Keep 'em keen! Seriously though-this is something I experience myself and feel that 4 shows max a year is sufficient But really good to catch up with the progress and very impressed with your quality and workrate!

My sentiments exactly Tim!

Many thanks for all at ERFG for the assistance-namely Neil, Jeff, Alex, Craig, Steve and Alan-and moral support and to all who came and made themselves known over the weekend! 2014 is more or less full, with bookings for 2015! One spare slot free for this year though! Thanks to you all!

A little more of the fact and fiction surrounding Kinmundy During the early part of 1915, the Admiralty decided to locate an airship station, close to the nearby village of Nether Kinmundy, some 8 miles west of Peterhead, ostensibly to protect the Fleet at Scapa Flow from potential Zeppelin air attacks. A junction was put in by the GNSR at Longside on the Peterhead branch, the earthwork of which can still be seen today, and no expense was spared (total costs were estimated at £500,000 at 1915 prices!). Some buildings on base were even constructed in the classiscal style and eventually included powerhouses, a gasworks, waterworks, engineering shops, various canteens, messes, living quarters, garages, afire station, two cinemas and a church all dressed in the local Cruden brick. When construction was complete RNAS Lenabo was a sizeable affair with an establishment of some 500 ratings-operational crews following in due course. The branch proper, completed in 1916, was used for passengers and goods in connection with the site until the Autumn of 1920, meanwhile with the cessation of hostilities in 1918, the RAF as successor to the RNAS, took over the site, but it proved to be unsuitable for fixed wing aircraft training and was relegated to the Admiralty Disposals Board in late 1920, Derelict by 1927, the site was cleared in the early 'thirties. However, local visionaries saw in Lenabo a magnificent ready made base for industrial scale peat processing, another the potential for a canning factory (Crosse & Blackwell had a prescence at nearby Peterhead-indeed their facilities were englared after the cessation of passenger taffic in 1965). Another proposal was to create a pastoral precinct and name it 'New Kinmundy'. The sit of the WW1 terminus is now under a Forestry Commission plantation. The branch was approximately 3 1/2 miles long, terminating close to the village of Kinmundy. Just SE of the branch junction at Longside was a three arch 60ft long masonry bridge on a skew alignment climbing thereafter to cross the A950 Mintlaw to Peterhead road by means of an ungated level crossing. From here the earthworks were minimal the line followed the contours as required. We now fast forward to the late 1960's (it is early Spring 1968) and despite the fact that the rest of the Buchan lines together with the Speyside network have lost their passenger services in 1965, the flourishing RAF station , now given over to fixed wing aircraft and an Air Sea Rescue helicopter unit, have together with a costly 1950's Cold War upgrade, have together with other local industries, kept the line open past the carnage of the Beeching years for passengers as well as freight. 1968 was a year of momentous change worldwide and the branch may be living on borrowed time. All this and North Sea Oil is just over the horizon!

I believe you're referring to Bevelys

Coming soon to an exhibition near you DC!

In response to earlier enquires regarding the grain wagons, they are indeed Dapol/Dublo bodies on modified Parkside chassis-one of which is compensated with MJT W-irons and fitted with Gibson wheels.

Thought I was the only one with another layout in the wings-mine is 'Fearnan'-based upon a westward extension of the Aberfeldy branch terminating above Loch Tay beneath Ben Lawers

Ian-do you remember the appearance of the famous book once Cyril bought the round?

Look forward to seeing it again Ian-remember that year at Barrow!

Sorry to be pedantic but the Allegro's production run was 73-83 which only just overlapped with the 1100/1300 range which was produced 1962-74

I understood that his son was looking at reintroducing some of the range at least. Could be worth checking the website

Ahhh Tim! Once sprung buffered always sprung buffered!