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P Class history
A few weeks ago, I was approached by the guy who runs out local club second hand stall to advise him on a couple of kits he'd had passed over for sale.One was a bit of a surprise - an original P Class...
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Barclay 0-6-0
If you want to build a model railway layout, at some point you'll need a locomotive. I'm knocking up an O gauge layout, so I need an O gauge loco. The trouble is, the layout is based around a Dapol...
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3mm scale Matador
Around 9000 AEC Matadors were built fro both the Army and RAF. According to Wikipedia, the flat fronted cab was framed in ash, clad with steel. Whatever, the simple design has made them a popular...
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A cold day with a Black 5
Some things just can't be made in miniature.On a January day at the Severn Valley Railway, a Black 5 had just brought it's train into Kidderminster station. There was low-level sunlight, smoke and...
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Fowler 0-4-0 diesel shunter
While digging in the O gauge stock box to find the Barclay Diesel, I unearthed yet another half-finished project from my collection. This ones an Eric Underhill kit for the Fowler diesel shunter, GWR...
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Fowler chassis
As soon as I awoke the Fowler locomotive from its slumbers, the model was plonked on some track and fed a dose of 12volts. To my surprise, it sprang into life and trundled around pretty smoothly....
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Book Review: Narrow Gauge Adventure by Peter Kazer
Wild Swan publish some pretty idiosyncratic book and this has to be one of their more unusual. I've known Peter Kazer for years through a mutual friend for many years. Over this time, I've marvelled at...
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Forge and Plywood baseboards in Hornby Mag
This month's Hornby Magazine sees one of my more beautiful projects - a Cotswold stone forge built from the Wills Finecast kit. Not a complicated model by any means but well worth spending a bit of...
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Fowler diesel body
Looking at the Fowler shunters upperworks provides me with a bit of dilemma. On first inspection, I've not done too bad a job with the whitemetal parts. They are soldered together pretty well with...
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Moonscope
Recently discovered in NASA archives is an alternative design for the famous lunar rover. While the version launched might have been practical, it didn't really fit in with the groovy 60s and 70s vibe....
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Move over GQ
The cover of the January 1964 Meccano shows a delightful scene with one of the ex-County Donegal Railways railcars standing at Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The picture caused me to snap the mag up...
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Parker's Guide - Cheap!
In the work of WH Smith, bookazines have a shelf life of 12 weeks. My top publication is reaching the end of this and so they are clearing the remaining copies by knocking a couple of quid off the...
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Prototype for everything - Sleepers vs slitting disk
Loitering at Leamington station awaiting a train, I wandered up and down the platform to keep myself warm. Looking over the edge of Platform 1, I was intrigued by the sleepers. They show all the signs...
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Don't move this bin
According to the label, this bin is where London Midland technicians are stored at Leamington station. Presumably that means the equipment technicians use and not the techie staff themselves. Not the...
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Classic car influenced cable clip
Wiring up Clayhanger Yard, I've used a trick to keep things neat that I picked up from a classic car magazine.Cable clips are supplied with what I think are masonry nails. You hold them in place, whack...
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Leamington & Warwick Exhibition
Today will be spent crawling around the floor marking the hall out for the Leamington & Warwick MRS exhibition. Despite not being a member, I get to help out with this as many of the people who are...
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Mops, buckets and a first appearence
Yesterday, I drove through the snow (I hate driving in snow) to the showground where we were setting up the L&WMRS exhibition. On arrival, there were a couple of traders waiting on the doorstep so...
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Leamington show, Day 1
To quote the BBC for a moment:OH NO THERE IS A SNOWFLAKE IN SOUTH LONDON AND PANIC BUYING OF SUN DRIED TOMATO CIABATTAS OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE OMG OMG DOOMED WE'RE FINISHED OMG IT'S ALL OVER...
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Leamington Show, Day 2
Today, the weather forecast said, "Light snow starting at noon". What we got was light snow starting at 8am. My first job of the day involved standing by the door, letting people into the building....
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Wintery station
Snow has fallen, so here's the obligatory view of the garden railway station with a white covering. As you can see, I don't take my buildings in over the winter. However, I am very disappointed in the...
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