Back on the REAL Church Lane

I unexpectedly found myself in Rowsley on the same day as a Gala at nearby Peak Rail. It seemed rude not to take a walk down that direction, it was a nice day.

It's been quite some time since I was last here. Back in my late teens I used to volunteer here on what was the Derbyshire Dales Narrow Gauge Railway every week. The change since then is remarkable.

I'll admit, it was slightly sad to see the state of what was the old narrow gauge railway. Back when I was here the setup was a fairly lengthy run round loop in front of the platform, the main running line following the line of trees towards the standard gauge shed. A spur from the loop ran parallel till it came to the shed area where the patch of grass is now, the line splitting into three, the first road leading to a long container converted into a shed holding four engines, the third road being the same but for the coaches, and the middle lane running between the two and leading to a couple of storage sidings packed buffer to buffer with restoration projects.

I think it's the remains of "The Break Van" snack bar that probably evokes the strongest reaction. There are many happy memories there, particularly during the 1940s weekends where at least five of us would be cooped up in there for two days! Cosy is an understatement!

Still, it's a very model-able structure, certainly a definite contender if I ever felt like making a heritage railway model.

08762 was happily plying back and forth on 'Driver for a Fiver' runs.

The ex-Bamford signal box now sits quite proudly at the yard entrance, looking in much better shape than the memories I have of it sat at the end of the platform at Darley Dale - A credit to all involved in the restoration.

And with it being around 2:30pm on a nice sunny day, it was time for tea! A very nice view to while away the time with, and very good cakes too! Highly recommend the flapjack!

The new water tower was a nice surprise, again I have really strong memories of engines filling up from the tanker wagon at the end of the platform.

The railway's DMU was waiting a turn nearby. I hear this unit has already proved its worth during the recent heatwave and also as a shuttle service during the Matlock Christmas markets. Looking at the current commuter trials over on the Severn Valley, perhaps that might be something that could happen here too?

The station throat also provides this nice photo point now that extra sidings are now being laid in what was always a rarely used area of the car park.

On this day there was an event on in the old station building at Darley Dale, which gave a nice purpose to what is always a mandatory 'call in' if I'm in the area to Church Lane.

This house is always a special place to me. I've never been in it, but back when the Ambergate - Buxton Line was in place this is the house where my grandparents and my dad lived. Grandad eventually rose to the ranks of 'Pass Fireman' at Rowsley shed and when that closed transferred to become a passenger guard based at Buxton. Prior to him Great Grandad was one of the top rank enginemen at Rowsley.

The new extension behind the car is weathering in quite nicely with the original structure at this point. 

And for comparison, a photo of Crossing Cottage as it was back in the day. It's an interesting comparison with the above photo to see how little has changed in 60 years!

I still have a set of scale drawings for this building from the July 2002 edition of Railway Modeller, and have built at least three versions of it before, perhaps it's time to have another go?

Back on Church Lane...

I mentioned all the way back at the start of July that I'd finally gotten the urge to work on Church Lane again...

The backscene finally appeared, along with the facsia boards. All cut from 5mm mdf, nothing special here. At this point though the outer edges of the baseboard frame are three layers thick at the ends and seemingly rock solid. Hopefully that should stand up to an exhibition outing if the chance arose!

As an aside, the Glyn Valley Tram is a really useful gauge measuring loco. The chimneystack funnel makes it the tallest (Along with the bell detail on the cab) And the boxy nature of the tramway requirements also makes it the widest. Certainly a good call for anybody reading this who's thinking of going into 009. If this can get through any tunnel or low bridge, generally anything can.

And after smoothing the corner out with some filler, this was the result after a quick paint job. All over with a can of white primer (Probably not needed but I figured it might save some time later on) and a couple of light coats of "Summer Tide" from an old Wilkos tester pot. Heaven knows where I'm going to turn when those things finally run out!

Next job: Taking a look at the fiddle yard layout. A bit of rejigging might be in order!

The Chapel Railway

Something a little different this time round. At the back end of July I attended the temporary "Alton Towers Exhibition":

"But Rob!" I can hear regular readers cry "You're in a chapel, in a ruined stately home, in the middle of what is now a theme park. This is too much! How is THIS model railway related?!"

As strange as it may seem, there is a connection.

All the way back in 1957, what was reportedly Britain's largest model railway opened in the old chapel. The layout was an eye watering 51ft (Yes! Fifty One!) by 16ft and contained five independent circuits, the highest two running continental stock whilst the baseboard level lines were home to the UK stock.

Interestingly, right up until the end of the layout at least one of the lower circuits was using the Hornby Dublo three rail system. Apparently it was the most liked by the staff as the extra rail meant there was less track cleaning involved compared to the two rail systems!

I'd known about this layout for years (But sadly was born too late to ever see it) one thing I didn't realise was that if you ever find yourself in the Towers chapel today look at the floor. The big concrete foundations the layout sat on are still visible! Take a moment to compare the above photo with the one of the layout. They're both taken looking in the same direction and the arches of the chapel entrance are just visible in the background. You'll also notice the layout was effectively built under a tent, tragically hiding the Pugin designed 'Gothic Revival' ceiling from visitors.

So what became of the model railway?

With all the thrill rides of the modern theme park springing up just outside the Towers building, it might surprise some to learn that the layout lasted all the way till the end of the 1992 season! To borrow a quote from Stephen, who currently provides the House & Garden Tours, "The story goes a little something like this...":

One evening the head groundskeeper was walking past the Towers ruins when a loud crash was heard. Having obtained the keys and a few willing hands an inspection was made revealing a large beam had fallen from inside the chapel roof and crashed to the floor. Further inspection showed the cause to be a leak after the original lead had been stripped from the building in 1951.

What isn't recorded is what, if any, damage there was to the model railway.

The result of this though was a much overdue restoration of the chapel ceiling. As the above advertisement shows, the model railway was sold at auction and packed away. Interesting to note that the layout was still operational for viewing on the date of the sale! One last chance to 'play trains'?

Despite this, if you know what you're looking at, one rather large relic from the model railway still remains...

The original ticket booth, no less!

Back when it was first opened the railway was an 'upcharge' attraction, hence the need for one. Paint it blood & custard livery and it wouldn't look out of place in any railway station. Look even closer, and you'l see another relic...

A somewhat battle scarred Lilliput sticker!

For anyone interested in further reading, the July 1957 Railway Modeller has a good (If brief) overview of the layout complete with track plan, and the old guide books and postcard sets come up online occasionally. One of the best views though I just stumbled upon whilst writing this post! Silent footage from a Midlands News report, probably used to report on the opening of the layout, it shows it under construction and eventually as a finished layout. Enjoy!

Tractor

I seem to be on a bit of a rolling stock spree at the moment...

Readers may remember that back in early June I stumbled upon a W&T models kit of a '1920s Style Tractor' in a rummage bin at Bakewell Model Railway Show. After replacing the missing steering wheel the kit went together quite nicely Trying and failing to find the exact prototype it was simply put into an all over grey livery, some will say this screams Ferguson but research showed many manufacturers sent their machines out in grey for the customer to choose the final colour.

And now it sits quite proudly on the Chris Ford style flatbed built all the way back in 2024. The wagon itself has no weight in it and very limited room to add any in the body so this was the perfect alternative. Nothing groundbreaking here: The chocks are matchsticks given a wash of black and earth brown paint whilst the ropes are cotton thread fixed to the underside and looped up and around the wheels.

The result is a fun alternative to the endless parade of open wagons!

Rusty

A silly project from my shutdown week back in May. Ever since I first saw the toy train prop of Rusty the steam engine for the 2024 revival of Starlight Express, very clearly based on a Jinty, I immediately made a note that it would be a fun, simple and quick project.

He's made from one of the older Farish N gauge 3F models (The one with the big metal body), stripped down to its component pieces, painted into as close as stage accurate colours as I could find, re-motored with a Tramfabriek kit, put back together again, lettered and finally varnished and weathered.

He looks (and is) simple but there were a few interesting challenges on the way. Firstly, I didn't have (And have apparently never had any need for!) yellow paint - Thank you Railmatch! Secondly, it seems I've run out of 'R's on my decal sheets. The above ones were created using the old school technique of butchering parts of letters - In this case it's a letter 'P' with and additional leg taken from a 'K'. The result looks better than I ever hoped for!

Whoever said there's no need for these older techniques in the modern day hobby?

D3

This project actually reached completion in late May, sometimes there's just too many topics to cover with the fortnightly posting!

Introducing 'D3', simply numbered because it's the third diesel locomotive completed for the 009 fleet. It's a Narrow Planet kit comprising a 3D printed body with etched detailing parts, running on a Bachmann Plymouth N gauge chassis. 

I've also finally decided on a livery for the diesel stock that I really like (What will become D1 & D2 will no doubt get a repaint to match at some point in the future) It's simple, but it works really nicely, especially when weathered. I'm thinking of doing a similar livery for the steam stock, but with green replacing the grey.

I just need to find the right shade of green...

Railex Buxton 2026

It's amazing the difference two weeks can make. Last time I was walking through the pouring rain to the Bakewell show, this time I was applying a liberal amount of sun cream and making sure I had a water bottle topped up for Railex at Buxton. Now in to its fifth year, this show is hopefully sticking around for a good few years yet, even more so now they've rolled the date back a bit to avoid it clashing with the Buxton Wakes week celebrations. It certainly makes parking easier!

The show could also boast that it was roughly 50% bigger, and gone was the section on the stage of the Octagon that caused access issues for some.

As always, what follows is a small selection of highlights. I made a point of taking more photos than I did at the Bakewell show!

Minories (OO) The Model Railway Club - Late 60s/early 70s BR, based on the classic small terminus plan by C.J.Freezer.

There was a slight twist though, the main bays had been extended to give a 'run through' station. 

Farringdon Street (7mm Broad Gauge) Peter Boyce - I'd enjoyed seeing Peter's 'Edgeware Road' at Railex last year so it was nice to see a return of the theme even in this under construction point. An interesting place to ave a baseboard edge with the turntable pit!

Evercreech Junction (N Gauge) Shepton & District MRS - Just a small portion of this layout. I was quite impressed with how the plain sky blue backscene blends nicely with the model work.

Kaninchenbau (HOe) Ian Morrison - One of those layouts I've seen and read about several times in the 009 News and Railway Modeller, but this is my first time seeing it in person. Even as someone who is very much a DC modeller, the amount of computer control here is impressive.

Eastville Flats (O gauge) Dave Madden - I always like seeing a proper 'train set' style setup, and this was a fun example of a three rail system. The Duchess did look a little out of place amongst the American stock though!

Sakura Cherry Blossom (N Gauge) Tony Barratt - A nice example of Japanese N gauge (I'm noticing this is becoming more and more popular in the UK thanks to the likes of Kato) Watching it though, I couldn't help thinking that the new TT:120 stuff really isn't all that far off size wise. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Karoline Falls (On30) David Bailey - Seen this one a few times now on the circuit, but watching the real water never gets old.

Hidden just round the side of the layout is this little On18 scene. This would make a fun little micro layout on its own.

Emwell (S Scale) Brendan Walsh - Very much in Great Eastern Railway territory here. Lovely use of muted colours here.

Middleton Top (4mm finescale) Jay Dean - Having had relatives who worked on the Cromford & High Peak during its final few years I'm always amazed at just how accurate the details can get on layouts of the line. Thank goodness for all those well patronised railtours during the final years! You may have noticed the large white sign on the layout...

I hope it didn't cause too much disruption, but I will admit the sign itself did give me a good chuckle!

And finally:

Fort Whiting (009) Charles Insley - I spent a lot of time watching Charles operating this layout, probably too much time on reflection, but we did have a very good chat on approaches to the hobby and how it differs from modeller to modeller. I'm still telling myself that under no circumstances do I have room for a Garratt no matter how tempting Charles's example running on a pair of Life-Like chassis is!

Most importantly though, Fort Whiting has inadvertently solved a lot of problems that had caused my own 009 layout 'Church Lane' to stall. I'd got the point where I was convinced a cased layout was the only way to go and that of course brings all the setbacks of trying to work out hands free control in a small space. This was proof that I didn't need to go down that route, and as Charles quite rightly pointed out this sort of setup is FAR easier for a one man operation.

Plans were put in motion the moment I got back from the show! More on them another time.

Bakewell Model Railway Show 2026

Bakewell Model Railway Show time again. Regular readers will know that this is always a 'must visit' in my social calendar.

It was wet. Very wet. In fact, the most it had rained for quite some time. It certainly didn't seem to be affecting the footfall though. If anything, given the inside nature of the show, quite a few excursionists in the coach park seemed to making the most of it as a means of staying dry!

As always, not a complete show guide, just some highlights.

Bessie Bulls (OO) David Wright - Always nice to see David's modelling demo stand putting in appearance, and this time the subject was the pub on part of the Trent & Mersery Canal near Burton on Trent. Fear not, it's not a simple diorama! A train was happily shuttling along the short stretch at the back of the scene. Some after show research tells me that the site is no more, having been flattened when the railway was expanded.

Forge Island (OO) - No makers name for this one, but a really nice cameo layout clearly influenced by the likes of Iain Rice. It certainly had a lot of attention during my time at the show - This was the closest I could get to it for a photo! At it's core it appeared to be an almost inglenook style layout with a three way point leading into the factory/warehouse. Some really clever bashing of the Scalescene industrial boxfile kit buildings there.

And that's all the pictures I actually took during the show! I'm still trying to work out if that's a good thing or a bad thing. True, there were a few layouts that I'd seen a few times before, but I was also busy talking to people which generally means I forget. It's been quite a while since I last went to a show (Last July according to the blog!).

There was money spent though - Mainly on books! A few local railway interest books, and the Keswick railway book is mainly for some further reading on the railways. Snailbeach is one of those railways I keep meaning to look into but always forget about so stumbling upon the small Eric Tonks book in a second hand bucket seemed a good starting point. The tractor kit is a little bit of fun from a rummage box on the same stall that bought the total up to a nice round number that could be payed with a pound note.

A tiny little weekend project for a rainy day, no doubt.

Ravenglass

A somewhat spontaneous trip to the Lake District happened at the end of May. I'd not been here in about twenty years so it made an interesting change, and I was surprised at just how many railway encounters I managed during the quick weekend stay.

I knew there were some disused railway lines in the area, and at first I thought I'd stumbled upon one. Wrong! This is actually the remains of the Kendal section of the Lancaster Canal. Still, the mixture of curved girders buttressing the stone bridge is unusual, and highly model-able.

Walking back into Kendal itself though this small lockup was passed. A really nice reference for structure modelling, and the triple sliding doors are a nice change from the norm.

Onwards, there was a chance to call in at the Haverthwaite end of the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway. This was a line that I'd travelled on last time, and from what I remember of it it's a very pleasant run and a very handy connection for the steamers on Lake Windermere at the other end. If you're ever planning to explore that part of the lakes, travelling this way is far less hassle than trying to find a parking space.

There wasn't enough time to take a train ride this time around, but that didn't stop the railways gift shop from lightening my wallet a little! Prototype-wise, Haverthwaite has a lot going for it for the space starved modeller, especially given how the station is bordered by tunnels at either end.

Looking back at the other tunnel. I really like the composition of this with the starter signal and water tower.

Next stop of the day was Millom. Whilst the other were busy shopping I was tasked with the job of exercising the dog for a few minutes. Not a bad place to stop really. For starters the local Tescos is, in what is a recurring theme for old UK railways, built on the site of the old station yard, with the goods shed seemingly having been converted into the supermarket. If it isn't the original building, it's a very good facsimile for railway style architecture.

Taking a walk round to the station from the car park revealed a nice set of rusty buffers in a disconnected bay platform. I kept stumbling over these nice examples to model on this trip.

Also there was the local train stopped in the station. Turns out there was a problem with one of the level crossings just outside the town. With the nearest 'big' station probably being Barrow, a good three quarter hour drive up, round and down the other side of the estuary, it clearly wasn't going to be a quick fix! I can't say I saw any trains on this stretch fr the rest of the evening.

And finally that evening saw us arriving at 'base camp' for the weekend - The old General Manager's bungalow on the platform of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. It's a cosy place. If I had one nitpick - It's the directions on the welcome pack for how to access the building. It simply states 'entrance round the back', making no mention of the need to navigate round the railway from the car park, quite the trek going up and round the turntable each time. It was about the third of fourth journey when a staff member appeared and told us we could use the barrow crossing behind the 'staff only' gate as a short-cut.

One benefit of staying on site is that I could get into the railway's museum bright and early at 9am when there was no one else around. About ten years ago I stumbled upon the work of Sir Arthur Heywood and his railways at Duffield Bank and Eaton Hall, but this was the first time I'd ever seen any Heywood stock in person. Katie surprised me - She's bigger than I had expected! I certainly didn't expect the funnel to be taller than myself.

Despite the less than ideal lighting, being the only person in the museum allowed me to get a mountain of references photographs of areas that seem to escaped attention both online and in the excellent book by James Waterfield on the DBR. The biggest mystery was the colour of the tank tops - They're red oxide!

Yes, there is a Heywood project in the works. More on that next year (Probably!)

Reference photos were also taken of the surviving Ratty coach body. It's a good lesson in how photographs can only give you a gleam of an idea about rolling stock sizes. I'd always assumed the smaller windows on the sides and ends of the coach were above head height for a sitting passenger (Thinking it was like a cattle van with glazing!) but the coach is much lower than I'd imagined. Certainly one on the 'to do' list modelling wise. I've found I quite like scribing, but I've built a brake van, and I've built Toby, a slightly shrunk 009 version of this coach is probably the next logical step.

With the Heywood interest I had hoped River Irt would be in service. Unfortunately not, the trade off however was a ride up to Dalegarth behind River Mite, another one on the bucket list.

And from the station it was a short walk up to Boot and the site of the old 3ft gauge terminus. The original plan had been to get off at Beckfoot and walk up and round in a loop, but the maps I had to hand showed the lane along the old railway behind the Dalegarth cottages as a private 'no go' road, however all the material published by the railway says it's a route the public can walk. Which is correct I still don't know, but we got as far as the gate on the Boot side of the cottages before deciding to turn back.

Just how evident the course of the old railway was surprised me, especially when you consider this section was officially abandoned sometime in 1918. There are parts that have obviously been put in to show the old line, but peeking through the grass every now again you'll find the odd sleeper or heavily corroded rail top peeking through.

Spotted at Dalegarth, a cut out of Katie watches over the station clock.

And heading back to Ravenglass it was River Esk at the head of the train. Confession time: I'm not normally the biggest fan of engines being painted black, but it looks so right on River Esk that I think I prefer it over the probably more well known green livery. Only the second time I've thought this, the other loco who has the honour is the Ffestiniog's Linda!

Coasting back down the estuary, I had to get a photo of Miteside Halt. It's not the original boat, or even the right station, seen in the classic postcard image but it's a great little nod to the railway's past, and clearly gets a lot of people talking!

Back at Ravenglass, and after a very good meal at The Ratty Arms I couldn't help getting a snap of this track maintenance vehicle, clearly built up from an old Massey Ferguson tractor!

On the Sunday it was a case of having a 'round trip' of the lakes and taking in as many places as possible. You can imagine my surprise when, walking along the quayside at Whitehaven, I suddenly noticed the obvious remains of longitudinal sleepers and the holes for sleeper chair bolts in the stones. A quick cup of tea and the use of their free wifi at 'The Edge' told me that this was the remains of the Whitehaven harbour railway. Long gone, but sill apparently causing problems for the locals. There's a tunnel built by the railway company just to the north, when it rains the water running out is a bright orange, and it keeps finding its way into the harbour turning the sea orange too!

What is quite nice is that the majority of the town's buildings that form the backdrop for the old railway photographs are still visible today.

And a small memorial mosaic in the high street. At first I wasn't sure if a Crampton ever ran here, but further research shows that the Lowca Engineering Works that made the first engines of the class was based near here.

From there it was a quick drive over the Keswick, unknowingly travelling as close as possible to the route of the old railway line to get there! Despite seeing signs for the old station and the rail trail to go with it, there simply weren't enough hours in the day. I did get to fulfil a long ambition of going to the Pencil Museum though! The livery on the Morris J-Type van though was certainly worthy of a reference photograph. I've wanted one of these on a layout for quite some time.

And that really brings the trip to the lakes to a close. But one more thing before I bring this post to a close...

If you know where to look, Sodor is closer than you think!