Captain Kernow

Absolutely beautiful work, Derek, really lovely, many thanks for showing us this!

Great stuff, Al. The paving surface on the platform is particularly convincing!

Sorry, when I said 'closure of the Forest lines', I meant everything beyond Parkend and also the Cinderford branch from Bullo Pill. Certainly there were 25s and 37s latterly on the Parkend section.

Yes, the photos of the blue Hymek are amazing! The Class 14s were introduced in January 1966, I believe, and lasted virtually until the closure of the Forest lines, albeit I recall reading in one book that the Class 22s were only seen for the last 6 weeks of traffic?

You'll need a big Bagnall 0-6-0ST as well, so that you can re-stage the race....

I finally got my hands on one of these books yesterday, and I cannot begin to describe it in terms of superlatives. Here is a link to the Lightmoor Press website - http://www.lightmoor.co.uk/view_book.php?ref=L9761&section=CatNew It is, simply, the best colour album on the railways of this part of Gloucestershire that I have ever seen. There is just so much detail, views of stations and structures (with no trains featured!) etc., which combines to give you the richest possible flavour of what the railways looked like in this lovely part of the country. Lots of steam views, of course, but also blue Hymeks at Netherhope Halt and on the Wye Valley line! Colour photos taken in the 1930s of Tintern station!! It doesn't get much better than this, folks, and I speak as someone with no connection to Lightmoor Press or the author, other than a very, very satisfied customer. The thing is, though, that this is simply 'Volume 1' of a total of SIX planned colour volumes on the Gloucestershire and Forest of Dean Area. Future books will cover Midland lines in the area, the Forest itself, the Gloucester to Stroud/Kemble line etc. etc. Anyone who is interested in the railways of 'Ben Ashworth country' cannot afford to be without this book! I got my copy from Simon at Titfield Thunderbolt books - http://www.titfield.co.uk/ He's still got a good stock there (they only arrived yesterday!!), despite me taking a copy for myself and one for Re6/6! Don't delay, go out and get a copy immediately. I'll help you with train times to Bath, if you like! Road directions to Simon's shop - no problem! Hey, borrow my car!! (with apologies to Bill Bryson...)

Lovely work, Jon. In case I don't make it to Scaleforum this year, can you just clarify how you masked the glazing off, when airbrushing the weathering mix? I'm assuming you didn't remove it for the weathering? Thanks.

One of the few similarities is that the wheel-base is pretty much the same (ie. the distance between axle centres), although the wheel diameters are not the same.. This has enabled me to use Alan Gibson 54/64/74XX brass side frames for a 16XX, albeit they have to be shortened at the front and lengthened by a similar amount at the back.

Great news - Re6/6 and I have been waiting for this book since we saw the proofs at the Bristol (Thornbury) show in early May this year!

I wouldn't feel too 'embattled' by this, though... in general terms, you're quite right. Here we have another 'glamorous' main line loco being announced, which will rightly delight Southern/LBSC followers, and which will also generate it's own market due to it's attractiveness. I can see myself being sorely tempted along the way... However, the point you make about industrials is spot on - given the relative plethora of Hornby 'Austerities' and Dapol/Model Rail 'Sentinels' now gracing many layouts, you do have to wonder at what point a manufacturer is going to realise the 'collectability' of almost limitless livery possibilities for even a bog-standard Peckett or Andrew Barclay... Anyway, back to the Brighton Atlantics, interestingly Hattons are saying 'Price is estimated - we will notify you if price rises and offer option to cancel'

Rod - he is actually having one such built!!! (ACE models kit), but the builder has described the 4mm version of the kit as 'virtually unbuildable' in the latest EM Gauge Society journal... As a result, it's getting built 'a bit at a time', in order to preserve the builder's sanity!

Good news but bl**dy typical! My friend has paid good money to have this beauty professionally built for him from the DJH kit...!

I take your point about wanting the RTR model to be right, and what you say about having assembled kits (same here), but what used to be available (and since the demise of Autocom I'm not sure who, apart from possibly West Coast Kit Centre, does a 54/64/74XX kit) was so bad in terms of mis-shapen, lumpen whitemetal, that you were probably better off scratchbuilding anyway. In that sense, the provision of a nice RTR 64XX body would represent a quantum leap forward as a basis for kitbashing into a variant, so if I was in your position (and may well be), I'd look upon the Bachmann release as a good source of 'raw materials'. Hopefully, in due course and in the fullness of time etc. etc., bodies only will become available.

Pilotman contacting the signal box for permission to proceed into the blockade, Kemble station, 12/8/13: Trying to get the satellite dish correctly aligned, Bremhill, Swindon to Kemble blockade (every home comfort...! ): Removing the straps from the sleeper train, Bremhill, Swindon to Kemble blockade:

Having a break, Oaksey, Swindon to Kemble blockade: Walking down to speak to the driver of 6W86, Oaksey, Swindon to Kemble blockade:

Road works at Minety crossing, Swindon to Kemble blockade:

I'll go with that - I have no idea, I'm afraid. All I know is that you start the generator and they light up at night....

Monday 12/8/13 - Oaksey, Wiltshire - Swindon to Kemble redoubling blockade - waiting for the spoil train to move up and re-start excavating spoil...

Thanks for that. I've now got that book on the S&W that you mention, but didn't have it at the time. I found the photos of Dorstone station in one of the R. Clark (OPC) volumes on Great Western station. It's great to see the Dean Forest Railway now building replicas of these structures, even if the basic shell is now using block construction! Hi, the long grass is mostly old carpet underlay, teased out, bleached (it comes in a browny colour) and then dyed using Dylon Olive Green dye. It's then stuck down and the remainder of the 'clump' is then carefully pulled off when the glue (PVA) is dry. Quite long winded in the era of the Grassmaster (which I would probably have tried, if it had been available back in 1999, when I started the scenery). I did also use some grass fibres on the layout, but these were applied 'the old fashioned way' using a Noch puffer bottle!