Re6/6

There was a RTP gathering of steamers today as a precursor to their sale! When I've done some more sorting some of these may come up on the 'classifieds' shortly.

A 'visitor' arrived yesterday. A hotch-potch plonked on the viaduct just to get the feel of what's to come! Hopefully the next 'visitor' will be the much loved blue and grey set!

Excellent stuff Pete. You've really captured the 'heavy' look. If made up as per instructions they always looked 'undernourished' IMHO. Looking forward to seeing the 2-HAL! I've got one to do, but I'm going to have a go at using the Branchlines conversion kit on it's own by scratchbuilding around it. I feel loathed to use one of the Kirk kits. I might have a look at using one of my Kirk Maunsell kits as a basis now that they are redundant after the Hornby ones came out.

Today we had a reunion some of the team after our outing to this year's Scaleforum. It is the first time that it has been put up since the last outing. It has proved a valuable exercise, totally justifiying the decision to retire it from the circuit and rebuild. Every single board joint has moved, with all the associated alignment problems. We have one outstanding show commitment that we will be fulfilling in August this year, but then that's it for this particular incarnation. As noted on this blog in 'Matford 'New'' we are looking forward very much to the rebuilding with all the new trackwork and track layout and the improved method of baseboard construction. The challenge for us is to keep the 'essence' of Matford but improving on the quality and size. We had some fun with a time warp using CK's visiting 'vintage/preserved' stock! A Callow Lane visitor Another Callow Lane escapee This little critter appeared from somewhere. This is a DJH kit and a Kemilway chassis. This one must have come from the Dart Valley. They've got one of them!

Well done all. It was particularly difficult for me to decide. Congratulations to the winner. A worthy effort. It effectively captures the finescale look for me.

Oh I do so agree! Once I had the temerity to 'criticize' a beautifully made 'scale' layout for having trains moving so boringly at a snail's pace. The layout was just exquisite in every way, a joy to behold. I was truly put in my place by being told that XXX railway company's trains were restricted to X MPH within station limits! Mind you they appeared to be operated at an even lesser speed than that! One would expect that on these sort of quality layouts that the locos would be able to move ultra smoothly and slowly anyway. Do it at home chaps, not in front of paying punters who like to see trains moving in a visually realistic way. It would seem to be a case of ' my trains can go slower than yours!' Any steam hauled train that I ever travelled on in those days started slowly but always seem to accelerate briskly away. I always think that slavishly 'scaling' everything down just doesn't always look right...colour, mass, speed etc..

Figures in mid action! Aargh! As far as figures are concerned, still poses and 'less is more'. Overworked 'cameos' and as has been said, wheels (loco and wagon) littered about a one road engine shed!....but then 'each to their own' I suppose!

...ermm, is this not still current in the Hornby catalogue?

:)

Charlie, have you had any joy on the artwork for the black 'Visit Bristol' Wessex version? The much missed Wessex Trains company have a faithful following down here! They were frequent visitors for a while at Exeter .

Great stuff, thanks Andy. Where abouts is 'NIMBY central' in all this? There has been reported in Rail Magazine some strong opposition with some very silly and spurious objections. Bring it all on! This new line is just what the railways need.

Damn you Sir! Still more stuff to waste time on!

...and I thought that I was mad, thinking just that! N catenary is not a problem (if you don't mind the grossly overscale wires). Sommerfelt do some basic stuff as most of the overhead here looks to be large spans. Viessmann do some lovely double wired and triple wired posts (if a bit expensive!) I reckon that the main viewing angle could be as 'from the webcam', a view that we now know so well!

Could it be a rail grinder or tamper of some sort?

Working again now . Looks like there's been new snow and it's colder.

:)

I'm no weathering expert but this just looks like a quick blow-over with a little more on the tender!

Lovely morning there today!

Thank goodness for that, I was getting withdrawal symptoms! Perhaps someone went up there with a brush!

It was like it first thing this morning! I feel deprived!

I've seen worse up for auction, a lot worse in fact! But who would actually want such a load of rubbish as this?

... This has been up so many times that I don't think that this tw*t will ever learn! It's like this one that has been put up for longer that I can remember. I've got one of these awful things that is even 'MIB' (brown cardboard!) that I might put up for 0.99p! It says in his description He can't have been very good to produce something so awful! ......perhaps that's a little unkind seeing as it was a long time ago.

Alle ist klar! Besten dank! I now see that I'd been 'connecting' the said beam (bridge!) to the lattice post on the left! I now see that they are in no way connected!

A fascinatingly wonderful timewaster! I now look every day. The variety of traction is surprising. Question. What is the very prominent beam that is seen across the picture at the front? On a Google satellite pic it is shown that it used to go right across to the station front area.