HILLINGDON RAILWAY MODELLERS OPEN DAY -- SATURDAY 8th APRIL

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

Soon to be looking forward to the second open day of the year at Hillingdon Railway Modellers which is being held on Saturday 8th April 2017.

Feels like a long time since I paid them a visit so want to be bringing along a few of Dads models for a run, I will hopefully get there for the afternoon with a few items in my bag to try out and given them a run as it's always a popular day and doors open to the public at 10:00am. 

18 February	Test Track Open Day (confirmed)
8 April	Test Track Open Day (confirmed)
10 June	Test Track Open Day (to be confirmed)

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. 

Owing to rental costs of the hall there is a cover charge of £4 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 incredible.

Everyone will get their turn I promise.

This picture gives a good idea of the size of the O Gauge test track, you can give your models a really good work out here. This can also transform into an exhibition layout called Grindley Brook a scenic section replaces the long straight down the back. 

A few more pictures from some of last years 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. 

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]

THE ROYAL WESSEX RAILTOUR -- SATURDAY 8th APRIL 2017

The Royal Wessex recalls the days of named steam trains from the 1950s on the former Southern Region of British Railways. We recreate this train, which ran from London Waterloo to the same three destinations.

The Royal Wessex leaves Three Bridges early on Saturday morning hauled by steam locomotive No. 34046 Braunton. The train stops at Haywards Heath to pick up more passengers, and at Preston Park, where passengers from the Brighton area can join the train. Our train by-passes Brighton, taking the West Coastway Line, with stops at Hove and Worthing for further passengers. The route follows the south coast of England with brief glimpses of the sea at Shoreham and between Chichester and Havant.

We pass through Fareham and Southampton before entering the New Forest, the picturesque area of heathland and forest, famous for its ponies. We stop at Bournemouth to set down those passengers who have chosen to visit this famous seaside resort, with its beautiful gardens, pine walks and sandy beaches. We continue westwards to Poole where there are spectacular views across the harbour. We stop at Wareham where passengers can choose to alight to visit the town, or maybe nearby Corfe Castle and the Swanage Railway. We travel through classic Dorset countryside and delightful scenery between Wareham and Dorchester, and then descend steeply to the coast at Weymouth. There will be over three hours in Weymouth for those who choose this option. This provides ample time to visit the beach and shops, which are close to the railway station, or to venture further a field to the Old Harbour or Nothe Fort.




Our train leaves Weymouth for the return journey diesel hauled at around 16:30. We call at Wareham and Bournemouth to collect those passengers who left the train at these stations on the outward journey. We continue to stop for setting down passengers at Worthing, Hove, Preston Park, Haywards Heath and Three Bridges.

O GAUGE MODEL -- LNER CLASS G5 -- 0-4-4T (No 1319)

MODEL INFORMATION
O Gauge -- Class G5
0-4-4T Tank Locomotive 
LNER No 1319

Hand built by my late father Mr Geoff Tyler in the late 1990's believed to have originated from a Gladiator kit.

Generally this model is intact with plenty of detail as seen in pictures only two small notes;
  1) the cab roof is not permanently sealed down, probably deliberate as this was common on a lot of his models guess it was to allow access to the cab detail.
  2) there was possibly a "whistle" or small detail on the top of the cab that is no longer there, while I'd rate this as a minor blemish which can be easily rectified by any modeler it's still worth pointing out up front. 



As stated it's not been used for some time and would benefit from a bit of tlc and running in. 



BACKGROUND
On becoming the North Eastern Railway's (NER) Locomotive Superintendent, Wilson Worsdell switched the NER's passenger tank locomotive policy from his brother's 2-4-2T Class A (LNER F8) design, back to a design resembling Fletcher's 0-4-4T BTP (LNER G6), with his G5 design. Compared to the F8s, the G5s had smaller driving wheels and greater coal and water capacities. A total of 110 were built between 1894 and 1901, across seven batches.



The later batches replaced many of the BTPs (LNER G6), which were then converted to 0-6-0Ts (LNER J77) or push-pull locomotives.

The G5 design served its purpose well, and no substantial changes had been made by Grouping in 1923. A modified boiler design with a single-plate barrel was used by the LNER after 1930 for replacements. This design was further modified from 1937 with an increase in boiler tubes to 205. This second modification had a dome 20in further back than on the earlier boilers.

The G5s were noted for being sturdy, working long and economical careers. They worked throughout the North-East area, and could be found on both branch line passenger trains and the heavier suburban trains. They were regularly clocked at 60mph on the Middlesbrough to Newcastle services. The G5s were only moved away from these heavier suburban services with the arrival of the larger A8s, V1s and V3s.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, many of the G5s were replaced with steam railcars. In turn, the displaced G5s replaced withdrawn F8s and G6s. In further attempts to economise on branch-line routes, twenty-one G5s were converted for vacuum-operated push-pull working from 1937.
The G5s survived pretty much intact to 1949. The first withdrawal was in 1950, but most were withdrawn between 1955 and 1958 as they were replaced by diesel railcars and DMUs (diesel multiple units). The last G5 was withdrawn in 1958.


Technical Details
The following dimensions describe the G5s when they entered LNER ownership. Very few changes had been made since they were built.

Cylinders (x2): 18x24in.
Motion: Stephenson
Boiler:
    Diameter (max): 4ft 3in 
    Length: 10ft 3in
    Boiler pressure: 160psi
Heating Surface:
    Total:   1093 sq.ft.
    Firebox: 98 sq.ft.
    Tubes:   995 sq.ft. (205x 1.75")
    Grate Area: 15.6 sq.ft.
Wheels:
    Coupled: 5ft 1.25in
    Trailing: 3ft 1.25in
Tractive Effort (85%): 17,200
Length: 35ft 9.75in
Total Wheelbase: 22ft 6in
Coal Capacity: 3 tons 0cwt
Water Capacity: 1360 gallons

Preservation

Sadly none of the G5s survived into preservation. 


However, the "Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited" has been formed to build a brand new G5 for use on preservation lines primarily in the north east.

http://www.g5locomotiveltd.co.uk/

Models
Finney and Smith produce a 3mm scale kit of the G5.

Alan Gibson, London Road Models, Dave Alexander, and Nu-Cast all sell kits of the G5 for OO gauge (4mm scale).

Both Connoisseur and Gladiator sell kits in O gauge (7mm).