BLUEBELL RAILWAY - MODEL RAILWAY WEEKEND 29th - 30th JUNE 2019

8th Model Railway Weekend
The Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Station, 
NR Uckfield,  East Sussex  TN22 3QL

Enjoy steam train rides, explore their superbly restored stations and visit the exhibitions. This year’s show will see more exciting layouts, and new traders. The main elements of the show will be at Horsted Keynes and Sheffield Park stations. Exhibitions will be open from 10am – 5pm on Saturday and 10am – 4pm on Sunday.

Gauges represented will include N, OO, HO, O, P4, Gauge 1, 3 1/2″ and 7 1/4″. Usual site facilities of Cafe, Gift shop, Visitor Centre and Heritage transport displays all available.  In the picnic area at Kingscote station, there will be a 7¼ inch miniature steam railway running.

The Bluebell Railway is always worth a visit and will be running an extensive three train service over this weekend and the timetable for this can be found the the Bluebell Railways Website.

The weekend will also be the first occasion for the public to view inside our brand new maintenance shed at Sheffield Park, where some of the exhibits will be located.

Many layouts on show including:
Plumpton Green LB&SCR P4
Detford OO -- Detford is a fine scale layout in "00" gauge which represents a small terminus station on the western edge of the Southern region at the end of a branch line serving a fairly large rural community. The period is the late 1950's and early 1960's and is approximately 18ft x 2ft 6in in size. All the trackwork is hand built, including 3rd rail electrification of the platforms and single line.

Newchapel Junction O -- (above) Newchapel Junction is a large privately owned finescale “O” Gauge exhibition layout representing a railway in the post grouping period somewhere in the Yeovil area where the SR and GWR ran together. The layout recreates the operation of a busy railway in its heyday with frequent arrivals and departures from the main station. The locomotives in use vary from large mainline express passenger types to humble tank engines of both SR and GWR origin. Engines from trains arriving at the main station proceed to the loco yard to be turned before either going on shed and being replaced by a fresh engine or returning to their trains for the next outbound movement. A large 5-road goods yard enables continuous shunting and re-marshalling of freight trains. A complex triangular junction connects the main station and good yard to a double-track mainline circuit where trains can be seen running at speed. 

Forest Green Diesel MPD OO (right) -- The setting is a former Midland route through South Gloucestershire in the early 60s so several diesels are now appearing and the boundary changes mean that both Midland and Western Region motive power are in evidence. The Cotswolds location features Forest Green, a through station, near the junction with the branch to Kemble. Traffic is mainly local with some through workings from Gloucester and the North to Chippenham, Westbury and the South Coast.
Charlton OO
East Grinstead OO

Eastbridge MPD OO -- Southern 00 gauge MPD, running either Southern Railway (1930/40s) or BR (1950/60s) period locomotives. (Left) Eastbridge shed depicts a small but important depot situated at a busy junction in southern England. The layout is partly based on Redhill. The shed has three roads, as at Redhill, the other trackwork being adapted to fit in the space available. 

Hastings Tramway Museum OO
St Mellion OO
Hawksbridge OO
Meyers Hill OO
Hollywell Sidings OO
Victoria Old Dock and New Fish Harbour N
Hookwood N
Godon Yard N
Kiln Lane OO
Lidlhoe OO9
Holmill OO
Invicta Gauge 1
Arun Vale OO

From Budget Model Railways:
New Longmoore OO
A Mendip Moment, Eve of D-Day OO
Hampton Park Station OO
Tenapenny Junction OO
Sompting OO
Argwin Maintenance Depot OO
Mendip Vale OO

Entry to the Model Railway Show is free of charge with a valid ticket to travel on the day of your visit (see below). For those not wishing to travel admission is by platform ticket for the station you want to visit. The main areas of the show are at Sheffield Park and Horsted Keynes;
  * Sheffield Park - layouts, Traders and Exhibitors will be found in the Loco Works, ASH Project, Birch Grove Suite, the New Maintenance Shed and on the platforms.
  * Horsted Keynes - Layouts, Traders and Exhibitors will be found in the Carriage Shed, Waiting Rooms, Paddock Marquee, Cattle Dock and Platforms.
  * plus at Kingscote where there will be a 7 ¼” 'ride on' miniature railway.

Admission to the Bluebell Railway
All Day Rover Ticket 
Adult - £19.00   |   Child - £9.50
Family (2A+3C) - £49.00   |   Family (1A+3C) - £35.00

10th HUCCLECOTE MODEL RAILWAY SHOW - SATURDAY 15th JUNE 2019

ADDRESS:
Hucclecote Methodist Church,
Carisbrooke Road, Hucclecote, Gloucester,
Gloucestershire GL3 3QP

OPENING TIMES:   10am- 5pm
ADMISSION:    Adults £5.00     Children - Free

Organised by local modellers and church members, this is their tenth annual show. Visitors who attended in previous years could confirm the warm welcome and the quality of the refreshments. It's expected that the 2019 show will be no different! Similarly, the range of exhibits at this charity show will appeal to both keen modellers and local families.The range of exhibits will appeal to both keen modellers and local families. Various layouts are booked in scales from N to OO including one for children to operate, also note that accompanied children are admitted FREE.

It is a charitable show and proceeds will be divided between the church and a local charity. Our previous shows have been enjoyed by all, not least for the excellent buffet. The show is located on the Number 10 bus route from Gloucester to Cheltenham. All aboard!

List of Layouts Attending:

Oily End - N Gauge, (below) Oily End in the Bushey Area was prompted by a desire to display 1/144 scale model aircraft alongside N gauge railways from the 1940s onwards rather than just being limited to 21st Century trains with a separate airport hard standing area.
Similarly, being more modular in nature, Oily End in the Bushey Area’s constituent parts can be deployed as a simple test track for N gauge trains or as non-scale specific scenic backgrounds for other models.  At the heart of the new diorama though was an oil tank farm made from components from a previous layout Church Hislop. This provided a focal point for the custom built and numbered oil tank wagon rakes as well as a number of other 1960s locomotives, wagons and other rolling stock.

Somerset Lane - O Diesel Depot (Above) and is a play on Devons Road, in Bow, east London – Which was the first British Railways depot to be built for solely diesel traction. The period chosen for the layout is late 1950s and early 1960s and the stock of early BR diesel shunting and mainline locomotives reflects what would have been found in east London at that time. Despite the layout only being just under 9ft long, the aim is to always have something moving to maintain both operator and viewers’ interest. There is a small yard in front of the motive power shed to allow shunting with goods shed and loading docks.

Dock Street Sidings - OO
Dock Street Sidings is a self-contained micro layout built quickly as a test track, it is a simple set of sidings which can be used as an “Inglenook” shunting puzzle using wagons if required. It is loosely based in the 1960/70s and depending on the stock used can be located on the BR Western Region somewhere in the Gloucester area or in the North Wales or Merseyside area on the London Midland Region. Both Blue and Green diesels are used.



Riddle Town - N Gauge
Riddle Town is set in the 1960s / 1970s era. DMUs serve the station and run to Old Town, where a small refuelling depot is situated. 



Blenheim Road - OO Gauge BR/SR. (Top of page)
Blenheim Road is a fictitious terminus Station set in South West London. This allows a variety of rolling stock from other regions to access Blenheim Road via the West London Line through Kensington Olympia. 

In this picture (right), a multiple unit wired Class 33/1 stands with a rake of maroon carriages across a platform from a 2BIL electric multiple unit.  In the nomenclature of the Southern Railway – and later British Railways Southern Region – 2BIL indicated a two car unit with both carriages including lavatories.  They were eventually to become known as Class 401 under British Rail’s TOPS renumbering and were in service from 1935 to 1971.

Little Aller Junction - N Gauge WR 1960s
The real Aller Junction is located a short distance west of Newton Abbot station on the Western Region main line to the South West. It is where the quadruple track from Newton Abbot splits into two double track lines. One track is towards Plymouth and Cornwall while the other is for Torbay and Kingswear. Both lines handled express trains and large locos. It is set in the summers of the 1960s when diesel hydraulics were in command. The exact time period can vary from between 1962 and 1967 so, whilst most locos are maroon or green diesels you might see the odd steam hauled train or a rail blue loco.


St Bridgets - N Devon / Cornwall
A Western Region country terminus on the Devon/Cornwall border. The local creamery provides milk for Bristol and the small but busy goods shed keeps inward and outward traffic moving. The local coal merchant also has a siding. 
Three Acres - TT WR Branch
Three Acres is based on the station that was at Dymock in the Forest of Dean on the Gloucester to Ledbury line as it was when the line from Dymock to Ledbury had been lifted. Although the station area and yard is a good representation of the site it is not totally accurate so hence the name change. Three Acres has been chosen as there is a similar named place, Five Acres, close to Coleford and the area modelled is approximately three acres. Dymock itself at this stage, from July1959, had no passenger service being goods only, but Three Acres retains a service to the community as a rural terminus.  
Winterwell on the Fosse - TT Mswjr

Bilston Road - 1960s WR Shed
Journey's End - OO9 Necropolis
Glb Bitterfeld - HO German
Crossways - A Static Bus Display
Gloucestershire Road Haulage (Static)
Joint Harrier Strike Force (Static)
Barnwood Halt - Interactive layout designed to allow children to operate and enjoy.
Nearest Railway Stations:
Gloucester  [2.55 miles]
Cheltenham Spa  [4.66 miles]
Stroud (Gloucestershire)  [7.63 miles]
Stonehouse  [8.44 miles]

MAP

HILLINGDON RAILWAY MODELLERS 2019 OPEN DAYS -- SATURDAY 8th JUNE

http://www.hillingdonrailwaymodellers.co.uk/

Welcome again, it's time for the third Open Day of this year at Hillingdon Railway Modellers, these regular events are very popular and the next one will be held on Saturday 8th June 2019.

Haven't attended here for a little while so this is a good opportunity to get myself over there and give a few of my Dads O Gauge models a bit of a run out since I've no room for a layout at home and I don't want them to live in boxes forever. I aim to hopefully get there for the afternoon with a few items in my bag to try out and also update a few pictures too. It's always a popular day and doors open to the public at 10:00am. 

Address 

Yiewsley Baptist Church

74 Colham Avenue
West Drayton  UB7 8HF

* the entrance is at the side of the church down a path and the doors at the end should be open, don't try and enter the main doors of the church. 

Club Events For 2019

Date	Description
8 June	Test Track Open Day
10-14 June	Club Trip to Great Central Railway
24 August	Test Track Open Day
12/13 October 2019	Grindley Brook - Great Electric Train Show
19 October	Test Track Open Day
14 December	Test Track Open Day

Owing to rental costs of the hall there is a cover charge of £5 but there will be two extensive O Gauge and OO Gauge Test Tracks available and have recently added a three track N Gauge circuit too (Pic Below) all up and running so if you have anything you wish to see get a good run do please come along.

N GAUGE TEST TRACK 

There are always plenty of refreshments available, Tea, Coffee and cold drinks for the youngster, in addition the freshly made bacon rolls are highly recommended. (just don't scoff them all before I get there!!)

It should be stressed that these ARE NOT exhibitions, so please bring your own locos and rolling stock to run. At busy times we may have to introduce time slots so that everyone can get a chance to operate their stock. Here's a short clip of one of the earlier open days YouTube LINK

Below you can see a busy picture of their 8 road yard in O Gauge it's a very extensive track and will give your models a very good run. A few photo's taken from the previous open days are below, if you read back to some of the earlier postings in this blog I have tried to show the variety of excellent models on show, these guys are truly experts in their craft I only wish I had some of their talents and skills.

People will bring a wide variety of stock to run, nearly all are kit built though and the skills / detail is truly incredible.

Everyone will get their turn to run on each of the test tracks I  promise but it is popular and a queue system will usually operate.

I hope that these pictures give a good indication of the size of the O Gauge test track, you can give your models a really good work out here. This formation can also transform into an exhibition layout called Grindley Brook a scenic section replaces the long straight down the back.

This layout was shown at the Warley show at the NEC Birmingham in November 2017 and will have recently been making an appearance at the Wigan Show in October 2018 so well done to all concerned getting this large layout out there to be enjoyed by people far and wide.

Grindley Brook will next be putting in an appearance at the Great Electric Train Show, over the weekend 12th and 13th October 2019. 

Grindley Brook station approach

Grindley Brook Station

A few more pictures from some of the previous Open Days, though they mostly focus on the O Gauge track there are also Test Tracks available for OO and N Gauge too. There are many society members on hand who are both extremely friendly and knowledgeable too so if you have any problems with modelling or questions they will be more than happy to try and help i am sure. 

Couple of Dads models (right) , Jersey and Caen simple looking Class B4 0-4-0 engines but plenty of detail and most of all I really like them both. There's a wide variety to be seen on these Open Days. 

THE BUSY OO GAUGE TEST TRACK

LONDON UNDERGROUND STOCK MAKE A WELCOME APPEARANCE

N GAUGE TEST TRACK 

BRIGHTON BELLE IN "N". SOON TO REAPPEAR ON MAINLINE TOO 

HOW TO GET THERE:
If you are Travelling by Car

Check here for Parking Options.

Nearest Railway Stations :

West Drayton [0.34 miles]

FLYING SCOTSMAN LONDON TO SALISBURY AND HAMPSHIRE TOUR 1st JUNE 2019

London to Salisbury with Flying Scotsman. 
This rail tour in two parts will depart from London Victoria on Saturday 1st June 2019, scheduled timing from London is 08:45 for this journey through the southern rails network and taking us in the famous town of Salisbury before a tour of Hampshire later. Arrival time into Salisbury is scheduled for 11:36. The return journey back to London is expected to depart around 18:24 with an arrival in London Victoria for 21:31. 

Salisbury was recently in the news for the Russian spy and poison scandal but there's plenty to enjoy here not only the home of the tallest Cathedral spire in England and known as "The city in the countryside", the magnificent medieval city of Salisbury has it all, historic streets and alleyways alongside a range of attractions. If you are not on the additional Countryside Tour then you have about five hours to enjoy Salisbury and have a spot of lunch before coming home. So what better way to arrive in style than behind one of the most famous and iconic steam locomotives in the world. 

HAMPSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE TOUR
While Flying Scotsman waits in Salisbury there is an additional tour which can be booked around the Hampshire countryside. Scotsman will depart about 3pm and spin you around a wonderful summertime journey through Hampshire's countryside towards the coast. Should arrive back into Salisbury by 5:23pm ready for the return run to London.

Flying Scotsman info;
60103 Flying Scotsman has been described as the most famous steam locomotive in the world. Built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley, it was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably on the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service after which it was named.

The locomotive set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour on 30 November 1934, and then setting a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles on 8 August 1989 while in Australia. 

Retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2,076,000 miles, Flying Scotsman gained considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of Alan Pegler, William McAlpine (seen below), Tony Marchington and finally the National Railway Museum (NRM). As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive toured extensively in the United States and Canada (from 1969 to 1973) and Australia (from 1988 to 1989).