cromptonnut

Particularly good for "A brand-new, unused, unopened and undamaged item"...

That makes two of us...

It's meant to be "Buy It Now" ... but I think you're probably more accurate. Quite high on the "WTF-ometer" that one. I wonder if it's meant in some vague way to represent something like this?

Ouch, that's not fair. Here I am browsing a random thread and find that you're talking about me and my modelling indecisiveness...

... and cash only to boot.

Class 35? Funniest Hymek I've ever seen. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LIMA-class-35-Diesel-Electric-Loco-Number-35004-Queens-own-Highlander-boxed-/150702162172?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item23168c80fc

Definitely a varied list of items... Jouef, G scale, clockwork, British, continental... one heck of a collection!

Fantastic... shared that on Facebook.

Outside a local butchers.

Wow... that's changed a lot The last time I was in Chard Junction box was back in the seventies when it was all levers.

There's a level crossing at Chard Junction and theoretically a second platform could be accessed by crossing the road and having access. There could indeed be, say, every other train in each direction stopping there and running the other through the loop, but I believe it's something like 30mph over the loop pointwork so unless they replaced the points either end of the loop with high speed ones so you could run through either platform at linespeed I don't think there'd be a lot of advantage in it - and the cost of the associated work might be more than putting in a simple, shortish platform. Maximum train length is usually 2 x 3 carriage 159's, and often just a single 3 car unit, so you wouldn't need the second platform to be as long as the existing platform necessarily.

Depends which way you go though The 'minor road' to Chard Junction from the B3167 is actually a fairly good road due to the milk lorries, J B Wheatons lorries and anything going to/from the quarry and industrial units at Yonder Hill. From then, you could go B3167/B3162 via Forton to Chard which is a fairly slow and not particularly good route, but I'd cut through Waterlake Road pas Perry Street Club up to Tatworth Church then take the A358 into Chard, which is the same road that you'd use from about a mile west of that point where it joins the B3167 to travel to Axminster, via that lovely bridge/traffic light problem at Weycroft which you mention. However, one positive point of going - particularly in the car - from Chard to Axminster on the A358 is that you pass Buffers Model Railways at Colston Cross...

Platform singular - the 'London bound' platform is still there, although not sure whether it's in a suitable condition for passenger use by current standards; the 'Exeter bound' platform on the loop is long since gone. There has been a campaign for many, many years to get the station reopened - I was involved in it until I moved away in the late 90's as I lived a mile or so from the station. Local councillor Andrew Turpin is very keen to see it reopened - http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/somerset_news/7991036.Campaigners_defiant_over_Chard_Junction_sale/?ref=rss but that's the last news I can find about it. The station itself is about a mile from the main village of Tatworth/South Chard, and three miles from Chard itself (the Chard to Taunton branch of course long since gone and built over in a number of places) so you'd need about a 4 mile bus journey to get into Chard - whereas both Axminster and Crewkerne are only about 8 miles away. You're right it does seem silly when a large number of trains have to stop there to wait in the loop for a passing service anyway, but I guess that it's more down to the bean counters than anything else. Within 5 miles of Chard Junction you have a population of about 18,000, and the alternatives of Crewkerne or Axminster on the same line, or Taunton on the Paddington line being about 15 miles away, there is certainly a good potential - but I wonder whether the thought is that taking those people that would use the train away from Axminster or Crewkerne would make either of those stations less financially viable? I totally agree with there being no need for more work (on the face of it) than tidying up the platform, installing a shelter or two, and tying in with the local bus service to make everything work together - although admittedly the cost of reinstalling the second platform could be quite an expensive task. I believe that some of the land of the old platform may well have been 'commandeered' by the adjacent milk factory (which although still rail connected hasn't seen any milk trains for about 30 years and I'm not sure quite how functional the facilities still are). Crewkerne's second platform still exists and appears in reasonable condition, but when I was there about a month ago there didn't look to me like there was enough room now to put in a second track and that's without all the clutter such as control boxes that are in the space.. It's about an additional 5 minutes on the train from Chard Junction to Axminster, then about 35 minutes on the bus from Axminster to Chard. Unless buses were timed to meet the train then I suspect that the 20 minutes it is likely to take on the journey from Chard Junction to Chard on a bus, you're only saving around 20 minutes each way on the journey. To local people that would be a significant change, possibly opening up employment opportunities, although in all honesty I wouldn't fancy the commute from there to London!

Just came across this thread, we had a very nice week's holiday recently down there just a few miles away on a cottage at West Hollowcombe Farm, and only discovered the fact there used to be a railway there on leaving as I passed a building that looked very much like a station and googled it when I came home. This was the picture I found: http://www.exmoorian.co.uk/dulverton-railway-station.htm Some lovely scenery down there - and you've got some fantastic buildings there so far to start on it. Will follow this with interest.

Here's an interesting one, quite apart from the unusual format. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Different-Heljan-Locomotives-75-00-Each-New-/150691781902?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DPI.WATCH%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4425948088770393783 Listing contains Heljan locomotives Class 50 58001 in Railfreight red stripe, and a Class 54 "Western Nobleman" in blue. I wasn't aware Heljan had made a Class 50 (or there were any Railfreight red stripe ones) and didn't know a Class 54 existed.

"PART OF A SMALL COLLECTION AVAILABLE OF BLANK BODY SHELLS THAT WERE REMOVED FROM THE FACTORY WHEN IT CLOSED BY A VERY ANGRY CHIEF DRAFTSMAN !!!!!" Is that an interesting way of saying "removed without permission", and potentially the seller is guilty of 'handling stolen goods'?

My lords... over a year has passed since I posted this. Not achieved a thing since! However I've got a plan for an N gauge layout and I reckon I should just be able to fit this in on a headshunt siding that I'm tweaking at the moment on my xtrackcad plan.