An unexpected trip out on the 1st saw me going to the annual model railway show at Wirksworth. I hadn't intended to go, and in all honesty I could have sworn it was normally held mid-October, however the social media algorithms were in my favour for once and alerted me that the show was on first thing in the morning! As always, not a complete show catalogue is presented here, mainly layouts that caught my eye.
The show is rather unusual in that it is held over three different venues, each a few minutes walk apart. This year there was a vintage bus service running from the station up the short distance to the main high street. No doubt welcomed by those wishing to avoid the intermittent downpours.
Doe Lea (N) - Derek Gelsthorpe. One I saw previously this year at Bakewell, and a nice example of what can be achieved in a small 4x1ft footprint.
Hollington Quarry (009) - Dave Jones.
Boxworks Wharf (009) - Unknown builder, the layout didn't appear in the show guide!
Knowles Hill Colliery (00) - Phil & Jack Sharpe.
Pizza Layout (00) - Again, a layout that wasn't in the show guide so another unknown builder and unknown name if any.
Knottmuch Moor (00) - Ronan's Railways.
Knottmuch Moor (009) - Ronan's Railways. I'm unsure as to whether the name duplication is deliberate or a mistake in the show guide.
Cowley Yard (O) - William Plant. Another nice micro layout example.
Lockdown Quarry (009/00) - Tim Oaks.
"N Gauge in a Suitcase" (N) - Malcom Hughes.
One thing that did become apparent walking round was that there were a few layouts advertised in the show guide that weren't there. Naturally, this does happen sometimes but it left me with the feeling that some of them might have been Saturday only exhibits. Fair play to the exhibitors though the spaces did seem to have been filled with unadvertised small layouts, the only place it really stood out was seeing a solitary 4x3ft N gauge layout on its own in a room roughly 15x10ft.
I understand the organisers were also having new fire safety rules to work with this year, necessitating some space/layout changes to the norm. Again, credit to the exhibition staff, they did hand out a comments/feedback form on entry!
Trade was also very well catered for. There were the usual off the shelf box stores but at least two sellers had large 2nd hand rummage boxes, managing to make me part with money for two lorry kits. A complete Airfix cattle wagon was also mine for the princely sum of £1.50, a steal!
Overall, a bit of a mixed experience this year, partly due to me having to leave much earlier than intended (Forgoing a ride to Duffield and back) and probably due in part to the weather. It's one that I'd definitely return to next year as I'm all for supporting local shows in my area given how few and far between they are. It just seemed to be missing something this year, and I can't quite put my finger on it...
Apparently it is the law of the internet that if you go to a model railway exhibition and buy things you have to make a 'look what I've bought' post.
At the Statfold 009 show I finally got round to purachsing some of the 009 society's wagon kits. For the more than reasonable price of £6 (At the time of writing!) you can quite easily build up a large fleet of wagons that would look at home on almost any narrow gauge railway. A plank sided Colin Ashby coach also made it into the mix. The Eggar Bahn balcony ended coach and the Worsley Works Talyllyn Refreshment Van are projects for another day...
Opening up one of the wagon kits, in this case the steel sided wagon, the parts are very neat and crisp. Slotting together almost seamlessly when offering them up for a test fit before glueing. The kit also comes with metal wheels.
Assembly is very straightforward. Two edges and one side are joined together before being wrapped round the floor piece. It's worth mentioning that due to the nature of the sprues, each kit comes with a spare wagon floor.
Two wagon bodies assembled, the wooden bodied variant on the left. After this it is simply a case of adding the sole-bars and wheels underneath. I did open out the axleboxes slightly to allow the metal wheels to rotate more freely, though this step could easily be missed out.
All three assembled wagons pose on 'The Garden Railway', along with the Colin Ashby coach. Assembly of the coach is of an incredibly similar nature, the only major additions being the inclusion of seats and after final painting, the windows panes and roof.
Next stage, adding some Peco NEM coupling pockets and then onto the paint shop.
Last week I mentioned how I was only around for the 009 50th Anniversary show for the Saturday. the reason for this was simple, a planned getaway to the Isle of Man on the Sunday. This is one of those places I've wanted to go to for years and my first trip certainly didn't disappoint.
After an unexpected short flight on the Sunday (20 minutes from Liverpool. Takes me longer to drive from my house to the nearest town!) There was just enough time to catch a tram from Douglas's Derby Castle stop to Groudle for a ride on the Groudle Glen Railway.
To say if was the railway's annual steam Gala it was surprisingly quiet. I can only assume the wet weather earlier in the day might have put many off the ten minute walk through the glen to the station. Certainly one that I really want to get back to in the future, and hopefully for a full day!
Monday saw me undertaking the challenge of walking from Douglas to Peel along the old railway line. One that many locals who I encountered told me the Manx goverment were kicking themselves that they'd closed and partly built over. I can see why, it's a great way of exploring the ever changing countryside, and there's a surprising amount of structures left along the route, in particular the many crossing keeper's cottages. This example, modelled by yours truly, on the Glen Darragh Road (Glen Vine) seems to have found a new life as part of the Manx RSPB as a shelter!
Tuesday saw a trip on the railway down to Port St. Mary. Back during my student days I'd sketched and drawn No.3 'Pender' at the science museum in Manchester more times than I can remember, but to witness one of these unique Beyer Peacock engines in steam is quite something. No.4 'Loch' has the honours of taking us out. After an explore of St. Marys and a short (Less than a mile!) walk to the other side of the island and Port Erin, there was time for an explore of the Railway Museum in the goods shed.
One thing that really did catch my eye amongst the many exhibits was this model of Douglas locomotive sheds and workshops by Robin Winter. The itch to model something 'Manx-ish' in 009 is certainly there..
Heading back to Douglas in a slight drizzle of rain, No.11 'Maitland' was the engine. Personal preference here, but out of all the colour schemes I've seen on the IoM engines, this is the livery I like the most.
Wednesday was a day allocated for the trams, starting off with an enjoyable, albeit very slow, ride along the promenade on the horse tramway. Thankfully, horse tram services are timed to meet up with those of the electric railway. From there it was a ride in a breezy but very comfortable tram trailer to Laxey to see the big wheel, the 'Lady Isabella', the largest waterwheel in the world.
Originally built to pump out water from the mines below, the wheel has now become one of the most instantly recognisable landmarks on the island. The old mine buildings still survive up the hill in a ruined state, but a very well laid out trail made for a very fun morning. Also, whilst in Laxey, it's worth checking out 'The Tram Junction Shop', naturally just next to the station along 'tramway close'. A shop literally filled with second hand railway books and memorabilla, and very friendly staff too!
From Laxey, there was just enough time for a quick return trip up Mt Snaefell before another quick return trip out to Ramsey and then straight back to Derby Castle. For someone like myself who has only ever known the likes of Crich, Sheffield Supertram, Nottingham NET and Blackpool trams, the steepness of the gradients and the sharpness of the curves on both tram railways is quite suprising!
Thursdays saw me using the Steam Railway again, but this time only going as far as Ballasalla, hauled by No.13 'Kissack'. From there it was a short twenty minute walk to Silverdale Glen, with an attraction that when I heard about it from a friend I knew I had to go and see...
A water-powered roundabout! As the instructions say, it is operated by a dead man's handle that opens a sluice into the water wheel in the cage. Apparently the wheel comes from the long closed mine at Foxdale, another location once served by the railway.
Yes. Yes I did ride the roundabout. It was surprisingly quite speedy!
From Silverdale I walked alongside the Silver Burn River to Castletown, stopping off at Rushen Abbey on the way to visit the ruins. After a very pleasant afternoon exploring Castle Rushen (And unexpectedly geeking out about Space:1999 with one of the tour guides!) It was time to catch the train back from Castletown station. Readers of a certain younger age like myself may instantly recognise it as 'Shining Time Station' from when the box office flop 'Thomas & the Magic Railroad' was filmed partly on the island in 1999.
An on the final day, there were no trains or trams, save for the tramcar on display in the Manx Museum. There was also just enough time to go and see the castled archway on Marine Drive, just on the cliffs south of Douglas.
Open top tramcars used to run through the archway on the right on the way to the beach at Port Soderick, a rather hair-raising ride by modern standards as the trams hugged the cliffs and crossed the wide coves via tall trestle viaducts, not for the faint hearted! At this point the wires used to come so close to those sat on the open top deck that there were large signs warning passengers not to stand up, a modern health and safety nightmare! Dismantled after the 2nd World War all that survives now is the road, archway, and Tramcar No.1 in the museum at Crich.
There is however a brilliant reconstruction of the route on Youtube for those wishing to follow the journey of an Edwardian traveller:
Overally, a fantastic week on the island. Highly recommended by myself if you ever get the chance to visit!
Last Saturday saw me heading out into Staffordshire again for the OO9 society's 50th anniversary show. I could only make the Saturday (That's another story!) but an enjoyable day was had by all, and the weather even held out nicely. A surprising amount of time though was spent shaking hands and saying "Yes, it has been a long time, hasn't it?" with other members...
As always this is by no means a complete exhibition guide, and whilst all the layouts were fantastic, I only seemed to get time to photograph a few. Enjoy!
Sandy Shores (009) - Jamie Warne.
Glendale (009) - Chris Beadle. A compact pizza layout built on a recycled tilting coffee table!
Tren Bach (009) - Richard Johnson.
Turze Ore Mine (HOe) - Lucien Eijdems. Based on a classic design by the late Carl Arendt, this layout uses a nifty concealed sector plate to allow loaded and empty wagons to be exchanged with each other. The original track plan can be viewed over on the Small Layout Scrapbook.
Loctern Quay (009) - Michael Campbell. I've been reading Micheal's blog for years now, so read about the full construction process of this shunting puzzle layout and all the intricate details. What I wasn't prepared for however was how tiny it really is in person! An incredible layout, and the stand in operator seemed to be having great fun (And some difficulty!) with the shunting arrangements.
Slugworth & Co. (009) - Joshua Campbell. Michael's son Joshua created this layout as an entry into one of the old 'Dave Brewer Challenges' that were held at ExpoNG, in this case creating a layout in 50x35cm. Again, another fantastic layout that you'll notice more details on the more you look at it, and another that I really enjoyed reading about the building of over at Michael's blog.
I seem to be seeing an increase of double sided layouts lately. The bug is certainly there for me.
Finally, a big thank you to all the members of the society and Statfold who made today possible. A very enjoyable day out.
Every now and again (And I'm sure I'm not alone here!) I see something on a model railway Facebook group and think, "Yes, I'd like one of those...". This is one of those projects.
It all stated when I was made aware of a 009 steam railcar being sold by Narrow Minded Railworks:
For the price, level of detail, and the fact that body is cleaned up from the 3D printing process by the manufacturer, that seems a bargain. Order placed - One duly arrived a few days later (Very well wrapped and with a unexpected free sticker!) And now the infamous 'mind gears' are turning again...
As assembled here straight out of the box, the body has roughly the same dimensions as a Peco Glyn Valley Tram kit. The only obvious downside is that due to the thickness of the chassis plate, when it's sat on the Kato chassis it just seems a little too tall. Which brings us nicely to the first modification challenge, getting the body to sit lower. Not by much I should add, just a mere 2mm would probably be enough to both satisfy myself and make the body not look like it was about to topple over on the tiny bogies. Rather than hack about the supplied chassis plate, I decided to set too with the 40thou styrene sheet to fashion a new one.
Nothing fancy here, just taking my time with a ruler, set square and mechanical pencil, slowly taking measurements of the motor block and measuring them out onto the sheet. Checked and double checked, the centre was cut out and tested for size.
It was during this trial fit I found that the clips on the Kato 107 chassis sit slightly higher than those on the four wheel 103 unit. Small strips of 60thou square strip were cut and glued in place where the clips connect with the plate, making sure to glue them on top so the plate still sits low! It's not a tight fit, but it is a snug one. Given that the railcar is probably going to run the majority of the time solo, or hauling only one wagon, this isn't particularly a problem.
A quick side by side comparison with the Glyn Tram again shows how the height has been reduced. It is still slightly taller than the tram, but it's so minimal it would only be noticeable if they were parked cab to coach. The important thing is the railcar is lower than the tram's tall funnel.
Still having a little bit of a play around as I'm sure I could get it to sit just a tad lower by making what I can only describe as a 'double skinned' chassis plate and chopping the chassis itself down a bit at the ends. It can still be dropped down another 2mm before it starts interfering with the body.
