A Quiet Time

Well, it's been a quiet week in Hillside, Stoke on Trent, my hometown, out there on the edge of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Mainly because both Mother and Issy are away, leaving me to care for the animals. Thanks to the "joys" of MS Teams, I've been able to crack on with workshops about AI governance, and now need to knuckle down and write the content I get paid for.

I keep looking wistfully out of the window, thinking I should really be playing with the garden railway(s), and building something more permanent. As we do more work in the garden, some new ideas are creeping into my mind, including extending it across the garden steps to create a ground-level section for occasional use when two people are present.

I've also found a site for the semi-portable 16mm line for the grandchildren, which so far has stood up to the dogs without damage.

I really must finish the last little jobs on the Kato modules. I've replaced the tree again, with an unfinished seafoam version, but I'm struggling to find foliage that works in N gauge. That NW2 as well...
                        

...I wish I hadn't posed it on the module, because suddenly it looks so much better, despite being derailed, and in need of that Great Lakes waterside layout that is on the to-do list. Another item added to that list is this DoubleM Models Peckett destined to sit on one of Sven's 12v  chassis. I do need to think through the valve gear and cylinders. I always wanted the old Peco/Wills? kit, so I was really pleased when this came on the market.

A rash decision by Issy means I'm in the middle of totally reorganising my office/studio yet again, to accommodate a surplus armchair. That, in turn, means modelling is on hold as I play 3D Tetris and move a lot of boxes back to the garage now that the space there is accessible. 

Buxton Railex 2025

 Another weekend and another model railway show.

Rather an odd one, perhaps because of the venue

The Pavilion Gardens are rather eccentric. From an exhibition perspective, the plus point is that for once, the lighting is natural. I didn't once struggle with white balance. The downside is it is a little cramped and the show seems smaller than it really is.

That is a shame, because it has an A-list roster of layouts. Most of them would be the headline layout at regional shows, or be surrounded by inpenetrable crowds at the big shows.

So this is going to be another photofest, but don't read anything into the order or the number of photos. Every layout deserved to be there.

Edgeware Rd

OK, this was my favourite layout if judged by how long I spent watching it. 7mm scale. It was amazing how much the scene encompassed without feeling cramped.

And the trackwork was superb.

Swan Street

I liked the multilevel aspect of this, and the more urban aspects of it. Let down slightly by the rock faces and the wall on the embankment top, but that's me being picky.

Nicola Landing

A layout that is underrepresented in my photos, even though I was really keen to see it. I was rather focussed on the shipping, which is relevant to an idea that has been at the back of my mind for a long time.

Port William

This appeared to be seen as a bit of a celebrity layout. I liked the stock, but something seemed a little lifeless about it in my eyes, and inconsistent in terms of detail. 

Millhouses

One of those layouts that was good, but not exciting to my mind. The other one was....

Two Bridges

Having said which, the basic layout has tons of potential. It is just a little too clinical and, in my eyes, the position of the signal box doesn't work. Whether that is compositional or a gut feeling that it isn't prototypical, I don't know.

Grindley Brook

I can imagine this layout getting a massive crowd at some shows. There are a lot of things to like about it, and an excellent layout for just watching trains go by.

Iron Mould Lane

Another layout that follows the trend for excellent industrial layouts. Interestingly, it was very popular with younger members of the audience.

Hindlow

Another really good industrial layout. As you can see, I became fixated on the narrow gauge element.

Hartley Bank Screens

This shows the frustration of trying to take photos of small, front-operated layouts. But then a show is about people seeing the layouts, not photographers.

OO9 Society

I love the heritage displays that the OO9 Society put on. Here we see two examples from different ends of the spectrum. A Polar Bear built by Charles Insley, and the David Mander Darjeeling Garratt. A loco that amazed me when I first saw a photo of it some 50 years ago.

Ashover Butts

This is a layout idea I came close to building myself in my early twenties. Unfortunately, I didn't have the room for it, so I compromised with a diorama based on Salter Lane.

Exchange Sidings

An exquisite finescale 2mm layout. Every exhibition I go to, I see N and 2mm gaining more traction.

Burnham-on-Sea

Another, rather famous, finescale 2mm layout, with the infamous lifeboat!

I was really pleased to see it again. I was also impressed by how the operators reacted with children, without being precious about the layout.

Eldir Fach

Rather nice, thirty years ago I think this would have been seen as state of the art.


St Ettienne-Ea- Caux

I do like a bit of French narrow gauge. And the name of the coaster that harks back to a Ffestiniog railway legend.

Tellin Dalloch

Winner, for me, of the best trees award. 

Overall, a great event.. I'll be honest I only spent an hour there, but none of that time was wasted