Category Archives: HW&DMRS

Exhibitions, General, HW&DMRS

COVID19, exhibitions, mental health and life changes…

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I will start by apologising that this post is not really about model railways (but a little creeps in along with 12″ to the foot railways!)

Restrictions due to COVID19 has prevented model railway clubs and societies having their usual meetings, let alone model railway exhibitions from going ahead. This meant that appearances of Canute Road Quay at shows including the Epsom and Ewell MRC show back in April fell by the wayside. This week I was advised that the Beckenham and West Wickham MRC show on 17th October has also understandably been cancelled, this along with previously announced cancellation of the excellent Chiltern Model Railway Association show in Stevenage in January next year means Canute Road Quay will not be leaving the cottage for some time. Details of any exhibitions booked for next year and still at the time of writing going ahead can always be found on my Exhibition Diary page here.
The loss of these exhibitions is understandable but a great shame, although a number of virtual shows have taken place its not the same and for most model railway clubs and societies they were an important source of income, so once they are back up and running hopefully next year, please support your local show!

A tease of a “Making Quay Changes” post to come
A view of the cottage in my “view from the cottage series of images
My local Jay sits atop my LSWR boundary marker

It does mean that I have been able to do a photoshoots for my Making Quay Changes series which I hope that you are enjoying, there are at least three more in the pipeline so watch this space, and I welcome any requests.

Like many people I have been furloughed since the start of April and whilst I initially kept myself busy creating a new look and feel along with writing many pages of new content for the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society’s  website that can be seen here, check out the History & Archive pages along with the Technical and Education Centre pages. If you really want to look smart whilst helping support the project we have a new clothing range available here.
As restrictions eased we have been able to start our working sessions on No.11 again which has been good both physically and mentally.

As lockdown rolled into May and beyond, as experienced by many, keeping ones headspace on the straight and narrow was sometimes a challenge.
I remembered the adage “it’s ok to not be ok” and “seeking help is a positive not a negative step”, people are there to assist, and your local front line NHS such as your GP is a great starting point, mine was fantastic!

I took the opportunity to make use exercise time to enjoy the lovely part of the Chiltern Hills that my cottage is set in and undertake more photography, ranging from: scenic views, sunsets, the splendid Red Kites that now once again grace the area, other birds, visiting animals and some arty views and angles to take in texture, foliage and clouds etc.
I posted many of the photographs on my twitter feed @grahammuz with the hashtag #viewfromthecottage but have now also created a gallery of some of my favourites on my gallery page here, check them out if you have a few minutes spare.

Catching up on kit builds

I also managed once the mojo had returned to catch up on some simple model making and build a few wagon kits that had been in the will do sometime pile for well quite some time. They are at the painting stage now and will likely appear in a workbench post soon.

In other news after 15 years in the Road Safety and Traffic Management, I decided to apply for voluntary redundancy, so am now in furlough for my notice period that finishes at the end of September.
I then start a new job that by of a tease before it is officially announced will be in… wait for it… the model railway industry!
It’s all pretty exciting really and will definitely improve my work life balance and I am really looking forward to getting my teeth into the new role, so again watch this space…

In the meantime stay safe and well, both physically and mentally, it’s good to talk!

Canute Road Quay, HW&DMRS, Model News

A bit of an update: Heljan 07s, 247 Developments and Canute Road Quay on tour

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This post is a bit of mix of a couple of updates in the BR(s) related model world and also where and when you can see Canute Road Quay on tour.

Heljan 07

Firstly, Heljan have announced a further run on their excellent 07 Class. This has been in response to strong demand and positive reviews, such as mine here, for the first production run.

One of the original releases D2985 is seen at rest on Canute Road Quay

Nine additional Class 07s are now being prepared for release in early 2019. These will cover new identities for the most popular BR green and BR blue editions which sold out quickly earlier this year, the well-known Eastleigh Works shunter of the 1970s/80s, D2991, plus two more  industrial versions in ICI grey/orange and Powell Duffryn blue/white. These model have a 6 Pin DCC socket and will be priced around £139. see below for the full list.

Artwork drawing for 2906: BR Eastleigh Works light green D2991

Version 1 – as-built BR Locos

  • 2904: BR(S) green D2986
  • 2905: BR(S) green D2988
  • 2906: BR Eastleigh Works light green D2991
  • 2907: BR blue D2998
  • 2908: BR blue 07002
  • 2909: Powell Duffryn blue/white ‘07006’

Version 2 – Later BR and industrial dual-braked variant

  • 2914: BR blue 2989
  • 2915: BR blue 07009 (weathered)
  • 2916: ICI grey/orange 07005 Langbaurgh

247 Developments

Friend, excellent modeller and proprietor of 247 Developments Brian Mosby has advised me that he now has produced 22 etched smoke box number plates 30081-89, 30092-103 and 30147 for the Dapol ex LSWR B4 Class 0-4-0t. Brian also stocks a range of SR etched nameplates and smokebox door number plates including the Lord Nelson class which will be of great use when the forthcoming new Hornby model arrives. In addition he stocks dated smokebox door roundels for the Bulleid pacifics and SR Engine Head Signal route discs. Brian’s products are of excellent quality and I can wholeheartedly recommend them.

Canute Road Quay on tour

It was a very enjoyable weekend at the Worthing MRC show last weekend with Canute Road Quay, Thanks to friend and fellow modeller Simon Paley for his assistance and company over the weekend and all those readers of this blog whom dropped by and said hello.

Simon keeps the visitors to the Worthing show entertained
A Dapol ex LSWR B4 ‘Caen’ in Southampton Docks livery makes her debut at the show

It is always a pleasure to exhibit at this show, I took Fisherton Sarum there in 2015, as the Worthing MRC club president, Dave Kent, is a friend and past member of the High Wycombe & District MRS. He will hate me for saying this again, as I know he reads this blog, but when I joined the Society at the tender age of 15, *cough* years ago, he took me under his wing so to speak, working on the scenery for the Societies then large 00 layout ‘Hillingdon Court’.  Dave is an exceptional modeller and some of you may well have previously seen is excellent SR third rail layout Ashington (which featured in the November 2007 issue of Hornby Magazine).

For those that could not get to Worthing, Canute Road Quay can be seen a few upcoming shows, the first of which is my own Model Railway Societies show in four weeks time, on Saturday 3rd November 2018 the High Wycombe and District MRS Wycrail 18 show being held at , , Cressex Community School, Cressex Road, High Wycombe, HP12 4UD It is always a good show and Canute Road Quay will be one of 30 layouts on show.

The first couple of months next year sees Canute Road Quay attending the following shows:

26th / 27th January 2019 – Canute Road Quay: Southampton MRS, Barton Peveril Collge, Chestnut Avenue, Eastliegh, SO50 5BX

23rd Feb 2019 – Canute Road Quay; RisEx Princes Risborough and District MRC, Community Centre, Wades Park, Stratton Road, Princes Risborough, Bucks, HP27 9AX

As always the full list of show dates can be found on my Exhibition diary page here. 

Exhibitions, Fisherton Sarum, HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

A bit of an update:- Hornby Lord Nelson, Hatton’s P Class, Oxford Rail, Milton Keynes Exhibition and British Model Railway Awards

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This post is a bit of a smorgasbord of updates including product development updates from Hornby and Hatton’s, a new announcement from Oxford Rail, Fisherton Sarum’s next outing and finally the 2017 British Model Railway Awards…

Hornby SR Lord Nelson 4-6-0

The livery sample of the Hornby SR 4-6-0 Lord Nelson. Image copyright Hornby and linked directly from their Engineshed blog

Announced only earlier this month as part of the 2018 range Hornby have, via their Engineshed Blog here, shown off how much of an advanced stage in development the model is at, with the first fully decorated Engineering Prototype sample having been received. Hornby are already aware that a few slight tweaks are still needed but that is the point of such samples.
Generally the process of the development of such a model is around two years, so it demonstrates how much work had been competed before the announcement earlier this month.
To see more images and a video of the model running click here.

Hattons ex SECR P Class 0-6-0t

The full suit of the Hatton’s P Class releases. Picture copyright and courtesy of Hatton’s

Hatton’s have this week confirmed that the majority of the production run of their ex SECR P Class 0-6-0t locomotives are on their way to them and will be arriving in two batches. Product codes H4-P-003 to H4-P-012 will be arriving on Friday 9th March 2018 whilst H4-P-001 and H4-P-002 will arrive in May 2018.

Originally only announced in September last year the progress made on these models has been excellent, although the over delivery dates have been delayed slight from that first stated, I feel that Hatton’s can be excused for such a slight slip in the delivery schedule.
Having had the pleasure to handle and indeed run some of the Engineering prototypes I can safely say it will be worth the slight additional wait.

For more information and to see all the sample photos, click here.

Oxford Rail announce Rail Mounted Guns

  • OR76BOOM01 WWI Boche Buster – Camouflage and ROD2330 (Dean Goods locomotive)
  • OR76BOOM01XS WWI Boche Buster – Camouflage and ROD2330 (Dean Goods locomotive) with DCC Sound
  • OR76BOOM02 Railgun Gladiator WWII

Some might be wondering why I have mentioned this here on a Southern related blog, however I am reliably informed via a number of sources that the Gladiator rail mounted gun was for a while based on the Elham Valley Railway in Kent during the Second World War. Apparently, although it was never actually used in anger it has certainly been recorded that at least one test firing broke lots of windows in the area. See here for more details on the prototype.

The have also announced a further ex LSWR 4-4-2 Adams Radial in a presentation box as OR76AR008 25th Oxford – Southern Late Sunshine Lettering 3520. New wagons to be added to range include 5 plank mineral wagons and 12 ton tank wagons.
See the full announcement on the Oxford Rail website here.

Fisherton Sarum to appear at Milton Keynes Exhibition Sat 10th February

Making its second and possibly last appearance this year Fisherton Sarum,on Saturday 10th February, will be at the Milton Keynes Model Railway Society exhibition being held at  Stantonbury Leisure Centre, Stantonbury, Milton Keynes. MK14 6B

This popular and large show will comprise of over 40 layouts, including scales T, Z, N (including BR(s) Bodmin General), H0 (including Prospect Point from the High Wycombe and District MRS) , 00, 009, EM and G. Also attending will be over 30 traders. The show is open between 10am and 4.30pm.

Please drop by and say hello.

British Model Railway Awards for 2017 (a shameless plug)

Voting for this years British Model Railways Awards promoted on RMweb and British Railways Modelling Magazine is now live and open for voting until 31st January, so you don’t have long to vote, with the winners being announced in the Spring edition of British Railways Modelling Magazine and on RMweb.

As well as giving you the chance to vote for your favourite models and manufacturers of the year, the categories also celebrate excellence and innovation in the wider British model railway scene such as websites and exhibitions. There have of course been a number of Southern / Southern Region related models released during 2017  so I urge you to support the production of these models by choosing your best in the relevant category and voting accordingly.

I am also very humbled to see that this little corner of the blogosphere of mine has once again been nominated for the third year running, within the website of the year category, so and this is a bit of a, well a big, shameless plug, please feel free to vote for it, if you have enjoyed my ramblings over the last twelve months.

Also if like me you have received excellent service from a particular retailer such as Kernow Model Rail Centre or maybe Hatton’s please also vote accordingly.

Please make sure you vote counts to support the Southern / Southern Region models that have been produced in 2016 by voting here before the 31st January.

Here endeth the shameless plug…

 

 

Exhibitions, Fisherton Sarum, HW&DMRS

November exhibitions and open day; Fisherton Sarum, Wycrail, Showtrain and Warley

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November sees the continuation of the bust Autumn schedule of exhibitions and an open day. Fisherton Sarum is making two appearances and it is also the annual Wycrail exhibition of the High Wycombe and District MRS, its open day two weeks later and at the end of the month The Warley National model railway show at the NEC Birmingham.

The latest Chris Nevard masterpiece Fountain Colliary and Brew Street will be on  show at Wycrail. Picture courtesy and copyright C Nevard

First up this coming Saturday, 4th November is the Wycrail exhibition, now in its 45th year,  organised by my local club the High Wycombe and District MRS. This show is established as one of the largest and best one day shows in the South of England and this year should be no exception. With over 26 high quality and inspirational model railway layouts, of British, North American and Continental outline and in a wide range of scales and gauges including Z, N, 3mm, 00, H0, EM, 0 and narrow gauges.Full trade support will be present ranging from tools, kits, electronic components to R-T-R models and books.
Wycrail takes place at The Cressex Community School, Holmers Lane, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. HP12 4UD and is open between 10am and 5pm. See the HWDMRS wtycrailo website here for more details.

A quiet period on  Fisherton  Sarum shed with Bulleid pacific 21C102 “Salisbury” being cleaned, A Drummond 4-4-0 L11 “Large Hopper” No 405 is being coaled. and an Adams 0-4-4T O2 No 213 also simmers on shed.

The following weekend 11th / 12th November sees Fisherton  Sarum make one its few exhibition appearances at the Hampton Court MRS, Tolworth Showtrain at the Tolworth Recreation Centre, Fullers Way North, Tolworth, Surrey, KT6 7LQ
This is always an excellent good sized show and well worth a visit, it is certainly show I have visited regularly and I am very much looking forward to exhibiting Fisherton Sarum in what is of course within SR territory.

Saturday 18th November is the annual High Wycombe and District MRS clubroom open day that takes place a couple of weeks after their Wycrail show (see above) and in addition to the many permanent layouts within the club room and its large multi gauge test track I have agreed that Fisherton Sarum will also be set up and running to ensure a Southern presence during the day. If you are interested in popping over to see us sometime during the day, we are open between 10am and 4pm then please drop me an email here to obtain further details.

Hornby Magazine’s Twelve Trees Junction a combination of Southern Region steam and EMUs

Lastly this for November is the annual, self styled National Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham rrganised by the Warley Model Railway Club over the weekend 25th and 26th November. It has become a major event in the model railway calendar with a large number and wide of layouts along with many associated trade stands, the key manufacturers and model railway press all present. I shall be at the show all weekend once again assisting Mike Wild editor of Hornby Magazine operating his Twelve Trees Junction BR Southern Region layout with its newly added full fiddle yards to improve operation.

If you are attending any of the above exhibitions please come and say hello.

 

 

 

HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

New SR related R-t-R updates, H Class, P Class, 10201/2 and Gate Stock @hornby @HattonsModels @kernowmodelrail

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There has recently been a flurry of activity in the Ready to Run world from various manufacturers / model commissioners and this post is a quick update on a number of models that I  had the chance to take a look at, run and photograph at the Hornby Magazine Great Electric Train Show (GETS) on their Twelve Trees Junction layout, that I was helping to operate last weekend. Further posts giving a more detailed photographic review of some of the production models about to be delivered will follow in due course.

Hornby H Class

Hornby H class No 1518 on Twelve Trees Junction

First announced  in September 2016 as being part of their 2017 range the ex ex SECR / SR Wainwright H class 0-4-4 tank is progressing well and the first of the production samples can be seen pictured left. No 31518 in lined black with late crest is Hornby catalogue number R3539 and is also pull push fitted. She ran very nicely on Twelve Trees Junction layout over the GETS weekend. Also being released are R3538 as No. 308 in full SECR livery, R3450 as No 1234 in lined olive green and No 31551 as part of a train pack with pull push set 602.

Hatton’s P Class

A line up of three of the Hatton’s P Class tank livery samples

Although only announced last month progress on the twelve livery versions of their ex SECR / SR Wainwright P class 0-6-0 tanks is progressing at pace. They have now received in the last week the first livery samples and three of these can be seen left, with all able to seen on the Hatton’s website project update page here.

Shades of a 1960s LCGB railtour the P Class tank along with a Hornby Adams radial tank. The Kernow Gate Stock can also be seen in the background.

These are of course the first livery samples and a few tweaks are still to be made but the excellent attention to detail on these models can be clearly seen.

Shades of a 1960s LCGB railtour the P Class tank along with a Hornby Adams radial tank. The Kernow Model Rail Centre Gate Stock and O2 can also be seen in the backgroundThe full details of the available versions and pre-order details can be found here.
Although being livery samples these were unpowered we could not resist running one the samples as a double header to possibly represent a Locomotive Club of Great Britain railtour in the 1960’s.

Kernow Model Rail Centre, Gate Stock and Bulleid Diesels

Set 363 sits in the bay platform at Twelve Trees Junction

The ex London and South Western Railway pull push Gate Stock has featured on this blog often and now that they have been produced and awaiting shipment from China a small number have been air freighted to the UK for magazine review samples etc. The BR Lined Crimson set 363 (K1003) can be seen left. Three other livery versions are being produced, namely: K1001 Set 374 SR Lined Olive, K1002 Set 373 SR Malachite, and K1004 Set 373 BR Green (plated) See here for more details.

 

10201 hauls a rake of Pullman coaches with ease

Although announced some time ago, the necessary research for the production of the CADS for these diesels with their complex multiple curved exterior shape has as already documented taken much longer than planned. When last year additional information came to light the development process moved on at a fast pace and now production of the first versions has now been completed. The model ran exceptionally well on Twelve Trees Junction hauling a long rake of twelve wheel Pullman coaches with considerable ease, due to its good weight and a centrally mounted 5 pole motor with flywheels powering each bogie.

These models will each feature in a more detailed review post in due course so watch this space…

Both an example of the the Gate Stock, the Bulleid diesel 10201 and as an exclusive, their first running Engineering Prototype of the Western Region D600 series Hydraulics, also being produced by the Kernow Model Rail Centre will be running on the High Wycombe and District’s Hinton Parva layout this weekend at the Warners / BRM Magazine National Festival of Railway Modelling. if you are planning to attend come and say hello to the Hinton Parva team.

Exhibitions, Fisherton Sarum, HW&DMRS

Fisherton Sarum out on the road again, the Epsom and Ewell show this coming weekend

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This coming weekend, 22nd & 23rd April,  sees the annual Epsom and Ewell MRC exhibition and one of only a couple appearances of Fisherton Sarum this year.  The Epsom and Ewell Model Railway Club is I think one oldest model railway clubs around having been established in 1952. The exhibition is being held at their usual venue of the North East Surrey College of Technology (NESCOT), Reigate Road, Ewell, Surrey KT17 3DS . It is always good to be exhibiting in the heart of the Southern Railway’s territory.

I have taken some time out from building my latest little train set Canute Road Quay (which itself is making its first ‘public’ debut the following weekend, more of which in a future post next week) to set Fisherton Sarum up at the clubrooms of the High Wycombe and District MRS, for which I am most grateful to repair a couple of things such as the turntable and ensure that everything else is working OK.

Although missing the show my Dad will be attending in spirit and in model form as he and fellow school mates are captured trying to bunk the shed as he did in his school short wearing days
I will be ably assisted during the weekend by some regular operators and friends, although unfortunately my father will miss the show as he is recovering from recent emergency heart surgery (for which offer my sincere thanks to all the amazing staff involved within the NHS). I am pleased that he is well on the mend but rightly still convalescing, so get well soon Dad!

All boxed up and ready for loading. The green boxes resting on the top of the layout are the two lighting rig boxes. The control is nestled between the ‘L’Girders of the baseframe under the layout’s ‘Target’ style nameboard.
As with most layouts being exhibited some method of protection for transportation  is required and this is not normally seen by the general public at shows. Although when set up the Fisherton Sarum is 20 foot  long it was designed from the outset in such away that  everything included the stock boxes  (converted stout DJ cases designed for carrying up to 120 CDs) containing over 80 locomotives and some 20 coaches along with numerous wagons, will all fit in a Mondeo estate car!

An overview of the scenic section of Fisherton Sarum
My two scenic boards, each 4′ x 3′ are bolted together by wooden end frames to form a box just small enough to fit through though the tailgate of the car.  The layouts legs are bolted to the inside of baseboards  ‘L’ girders and therefore fold up inside the baseboards out of the way.  The whole box arrangement sits on a set of wheels for easy transportation from the car into and around the exhibition venue. As I use cassettes in the fiddle yards these boards are flat topped ‘paste table’ style  and the legs fold up held in place by clips and then these slide alongside the scenic board ‘box’ in the rear of the car.  Other items such as the end backscene pieces, lighting rig support struts and the control panel (whose width was designed specifically to do so) tuck between the ‘L’ girders of the upturned scenic board.

I hope this little insight into the behind the scenes aspect of exhibiting a layout has been of interest, if you are dropping by the exhibition next weekend, please make sure you say hello!  Fisherton Sarum is stand 25 at the show.

Exhibitions, Hornby MN, HW&DMRS, Model News

A little update… Hinton Parva, @Hornby Merchant Navy & Adams Radial and 247 Developments H Class plates

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Last weekend I was attending the Festival of British Railway Modelling held at Doncaster racecourse organised by Warners the publishers of BRM Magazine, and spent the weekend as part of the operating crew of the High Wycombe and District MRS large ’00’ layout Hinton Parva.

Hinton Parva keeps the crowds at the Doncaster Show entertained

Hinton Parva represents a very busy junction station on a Joint Midland/Eastern north-south line. The “Branch” purports to be a cross-country line bringing Southern and Western trains from the south-west. As well as the usual “mainline” movements, there is a goods yard constantly shuffling wagons for the pick up goods trains, and a motive Power Depot which has to receive, service, prepare and dispatch locos for the stopping branch express trains, all of which require a loco change. We operate a varied, late 1950s,  steam/early diesel schedule with a wide range of stock from modern detailed RTR and a large sprinkling of quality kit and scratch built locos and coaches.

A view from the other end of the 32′ long Hinton Parva, different day different crowd

Not many layouts feature two Garratts  (one an LMS and the other the sole LNER machine) hauling 60 wagon trains or an ex LNER W1 or 10001,10201,10800 and prototype diesels / gas turbines. The loco roster for an exhibition is nearly 50 locos, and they all make a running appearance.
Another unusual feature is the working semaphore signals, 37 working arms at the last count. Apart from the aesthetic value of the signals, they also provide drivers with their only means of indications of what they are supposed to do, truly prototypical.
The layout is large at 32ft x 12ft, and maximum use is made of this size to provide a running spectacle for the viewers. The complete sequence takes some 50 to 60 minutes and involves about 90 mainline movements, trains in, trains running through, trains starting.

21C3 ‘Royal Mail’ making an appearance on Hinton Parva and easily handled an 8 car Pullman rake

Hornby, have increased the number of shows they are having a presence at this year and I took the opportunity to run and photograph on Hinton Parva, courtesy of Hornby, one of the first of the product batch their new original style Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacifics 21C3 ‘Royal Mail’. This is an advance version with the main production batch due to arrive at retailers during March.

21C3 rests on shed on Hinton Parva

These locomotives have a 5 pole motor with flywheel and plenty of adhesion weight and hauled an 8 coach rake of Hornby, Pullman cars with plenty of power in reserve.  It should be noted that in the pictures to the left she has been taken straight out of the box and the detailing pack containing front steps and cylinder drain cocks etc have not been fitted. I am also pleased to confirm that the lettering shading has been corrected from the livery sample to be black as it should be.

Another view of 21C3 on Hinton Parva

As I advised in my Talking Stock #35 post back in December about the imminent Hornby Merchant Navy releases R3435 No. 21C3 ‘Royal Mail’ is in the condition between when introduced in September 1941; with the ‘widows peak’ style front end without smoke deflectors but with the opening around the chimney and the slot in the front face above the smokebox; and when she was painted in wartime black livery in May 1943.

R3422 Adams radial number 3125 in SR wartime black livery

The next batch of ex London & South Western 0415 class Adams radial tanks have now arrived with the retailers including R3422 number 3125 in SR wartime black with ‘Sunshine’ lettering. this means that for once to suit my modelling period I do not have to repaint and/or renumber an RTR Southern release (although I do have an R3334 ex 30582 with Drummond boiler ready to become 3520 also on SR black with Sunshine lettering as she ran between March 1945 and March 1948).

Another view of R3422 number 3125

Number 3125 is in the condition she ran between October 1944 when she regained an Adams boiler and March 1949 when she was repainted in British Railways lined black livery. The other recent Hornby, Adams radial release is R3423 as number 30583 also with a an Adams boiler in British Railways lined black with late crest that she gained in early 1959.

H Class smokebox door number plates from 247 Developments

Also now available for Southern Region modellers wishing to enhance or renumber the H Class tanks being released by Hornby later this year are etched smoke box door number plates from 247 Developments.

A cruel enlargement of the H class smokebox door number plate

Recently under the new ownership of Brian Mosby, an excellent modeller himself whom I have known for some time, 247 Developments has produced the full range of H Class numbers (except 31264 and 31312 which never gained the BR number!) The etching is of a high standard and will be welcome addition to the 247 Developments range for any Southern Region modeller.

Exhibitions, General, HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

British Model Railway Awards for 2016, vote now, vote Southern… (shameless plug!)

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Voting for this years British Model Railways Awards promoted on RMweb and British Railways Modelling Magazine is now live and open for voting until 9th February, with the winners being announced in the Spring edition of British Railways Modelling Magazine and on RMweb.

As well as giving you the chance to vote for your favourite models and manufacturers of the year, the categories also celebrate excellence and innovation in the wider British model railway scene such as websites and exhibitions (see below).

There have of course been a number of Southern / Southern Region related models released during 2016  so I urge you to support the production of these models by choosing your best in the relevant category and voting accordingly. These Southern models are as follows:

N Gauge:

00 Gauge

Following a few difficult years Hornby certainly appear to have turned a corner, and with the Cattle trucks to Diagram 1529 and 1530 and the ex LSWR Muansell 58ft non corridor stock alone have provided us Southern modellers with some excellent models (and more are to come in 2017 I assure you) so must be in with a good chance in the 00 manufacturer of the year category this year…

I am also very humbled to see that this little corner of the blogosphere of mine has once again been nominated (it was voted 4th in last years awards) within the website of the year category, so and this is a bit of a, well a big, shameless plug, please feel free to vote for it, if you have enjoyed my ramblings over the last twelve months.

Regular readers will also know that I am member of the High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society and our annual Wycrail exhibition is once again of those that has been nominated in the Exhibition of the year category, so again if you attended it, enjoyed it and think it deserves your vote…

Also if like me you have received excellent service from a particular retailer such as Kernow Model Rail Centre please also vote accordingly.

Please make sure you vote counts to support the Southern / Southern Region models that have been produced in 2016 by voting here before the 9th February.

Here endeth the shameless plug(s)….

 

 

 

 

HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

The Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR Gate stock 2nd Engineering Prototype pictures and video

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I am pleased to show on this post the progress made on the Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR Gate Stock sets, with some pictures and video of the 2nd Engineering Prototypes (EPs). The purpose of such EPs are to check the toiling and the options within tooling to represent the variations being produced.

2nd EP of Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR / SR / BR(s) Gate Stock K1002

Although some will feel that it has been a bit of a while since both the initial announcement back in 2011 (but please bear in mind the manufacturer has changed in that time and the resources available to Kernow Model Rail Centre for such commissions) and the tooling starting for the first Engineering Prototypes (EPs) at the end of 2014, I can assure you that work and modifications since the first EPs have been undergone in that time to try and ensure the greatest of accuracy within the production constraints and costs of producing such models.

A close up of the front of the 2nd EP K1002

With thanks to Kernow Model Rail Centre I have been able to have a look over the EP of their K1002 which will eventually be Set 373 in Southern unlined malachite green. There will also be three other variations of the 1914 Gate Stock namely: K1001 Set Number 374 in lined Southern Olive Green, K1003 Set 363 in BR lined crimson and finally K1004 in BR Green with tooling to reflect the additional steel plating fitted to this set for this period.

The Driving Brake Third of K1002 2nd EP

All are as per their condition post being modified by the Southern Railway around 1929/30 to their adopted air control (as opposed to mechanical via wires and pulleys) and the driving cab changed to the standard SR 4 window style.

The Trailer Third of K1002 2nd EP

Although it would be nice to have been able to produce a variant in original London South Western Railway (LSWR) condition the commercial consideration of possible sales verses the additional tooling costs precluded such an option (but I am sure some talented pre-grouping modellers might be able to do a conversion and I can provide details / reference information if required).

The video below taken on the Hinton Parva layout of the High Wycombe and District MRS and shows the set running pushed and pulled through a series of point work.

There are still a small number of known additions and slight corrections to be made to the tooling, but these models are really looking the part, all versions of the EPs are being checked over to pick up any other minor corrections needed and extensively test run. Once these tests have been completed and Kernow Model Rail Centre are happy with the running qualities we will move to decorated samples.
The livery artwork is being worked on at present and I have provided some advice to assist Kernow Model Rail Centre with this, they have already completed the box design.
An actual delivery date can not be given at this stage as this will only be known once livery samples have been approved and the model is actually in production.
All the 2nd EPs will be on display on the Kernow Model Rail Centre stand number A75 at the Warley  National Model Railway Exhibtion at the NEC this weekend. 
I will also be at the Warley Exhibtion all weekend as the ‘unhired’ help playing trains on the Hornby Magazine‘s latest layout Grosvenor Square (just turn a blind eye to the fact that it is a BR Western Region!) on stand A36 so please come and say hello.
Look out for a post show report of anything of a Southern / BR(s) interest that crops up.

Exhibitions, General, HW&DMRS, Kernow Models

Visit the High Wycombe and District MRS open day this Saturday 19th November @hwdmrs

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Following on from our successful Wycrail exhibition at the start of the month the High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society is holding an open day at its clubrooms this Saturday 19th November.  It gives the opportunity to see what the Society has to offer in a relaxed environment slightly different from a usual exhibition.

The large clubrooms, in excess of 4000 sq ft houses a large number of permanently set up Society layouts in a variety of scales and genres including both British and North American outlines and most will be operating on the day. These layouts include Hinton Parva (00), Prospect Point (H0), Prospect Valley (H0), Cariboo (H0),  Itldo (0); and a number under construction such as Oxford (00), Quincey and Cedar Creek (0n30), Cane Street (00) and our new junior layout in 00.
In addition facilities include a large test track in N, 12mm, 00/H0 and 0 Gauges, an extensive workshop and a kitchen / refreshment area. Also for the open day a number of the Society’s own members layouts will be set up and operating.
In addition for Southern / BR(s) fans there will be be a little surprise item of rolling stock on show and or test (I will leave you to guess what)…

The Society’s club rooms will be open between 10am and 4pm, there is small entry donation of £2 per person that includes light refreshments, access to the test track and a chance to see behind the scenes on the Society’s and visiting layouts. More information including details on the location of the clubrooms can be found on the HWDMRS website here.