The Titfield Thunderbolt Bookshop

Holiday time!

After the recent monsoon like conditions what a joy it is to see blue skies and sunshine. I don't really know what effect weather conditions have on booksales, but sitting at the computer in its new position "behind the scenes" with the cool air coming up from the basement and an open front door and back window allowing a gentle breeze and maximum air into the shop, it sure makes me feel a lot better!

Schools have broken up and holidays are being planned and looked forward to. I think we intend to take a chance on Cornwall again this year, hopefully Fowey over Regatta week, with the fantastic river, Hall Walk, Lerryn and all the other delights of the area. This year I'd like to cycle up to Wenford Bridge and day dream about Beattie Well Tanks and the De Lank quarry (so superbly represented by John Greenwood's magnificent 2mm scale model at Camrail just gone) but will miss dropping in to the quirky bookshop at Padstow, which place we are bound to visit I think....

All of which brings to mind a railrover ticket in ther summer of 1976, when I captured this sunny scene at Gunnislake Station, still sporting its splendid corrugated iron Colonel Stephens station building.

Camrail

Was a great success I think, lots of us got together to talk about and show model railways, much tea was drunk and the financial result was that £300 was raised for the Railway Children charity. A new development this year was that several members of the "Western Thunder" forum (including the estimable Cynric Williams from Hereford who set it all up) gathered for an informal "show and tell" of various interesting modelling projects. To see the results I can do no better than refer you to the thread on "Western Thunder" itself, in which several participants have posted photographs and comments on the day view it by clicking here. One very nice touch on the Saturday was having the latest MRJ 216 delivered direct to the show and its editor Gerry Beale selling books on the "Titfield Thunderbolt" stand - how wonderful, thank you very much to Paul Karau and Gerry Beale for making it all possible.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any better I was informed by my friend Tim Maddocks (busy making sandwiches in the kitchen) that Chris Nevard was going to make his first visit to Camrail and "would it be alright if he brought along a small layout" - well yes of course, and so I had the very great pleasure of meeting Chris for the first time and seeing his latest miniature masterpiece "Polbrook". Chris has made some very kind comments regarding the show and for these and more views of this year's junketings I recommend his blog - thank you very much Chris!

Book News

Just into stock is "Inclined Planes In The South West" by Martin Bodman and published by Twelveheads at £15.00. A gazetteer and guide to over 200 cable, rope and chain operated inclines, it is published in softback format with 128 pages, 84 illustrations and 58 maps - a fascinating guide to the significant remains of phenomenal industrial endeavour - I'm taking a copy on holiday with me!

Also just in is "Lyd" published by the Ffestiniog Railway Company it is a great quality hardback priced at £15.00, a new reprint of the 2011 book that tells the amazing story of how a brand new Manning Wardle L&B replica was built at Boston Lodge Works. I was lucky enough to see its first outing to Woody Bay back in September 2010 - just stunning!

Due any time now from Wild Swan is Gordon Gravett's second book on modelling trees which covers conifers, it is 96 pages long, produced in full colour and priced at £21.95. It is at the printers as I type this and judging from the beautiful cover picture the results of Gordon's endeavours are fjords away from the "bottle brush" school of tree production. Which rather dubious side swipe at continental models leads me to the latest edition (91) of "Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review", containing some breathtaking modelling from two modellers in Scandinavia. Priced at £5.50 this magazine looks to be entering an interesting period of development with Bob Barlow as editor and publisher. I stock the current issue and all available back numbers "in depth" in the shop and can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Meanwhile "Weathered Steam Locomotives" is proving pretty popular; subtitled "A modellers guide to prototype weathering" its format is quite clever, consiting of good colour photographs of locomotives with two selective enlargements of each to highlight aspects of how the steam locomotive appears in service - priced at £17.99 from Santona.

Peter Harding has produced a new booklet covering the Lee On The Solent Railway, a delightful look back into the past of a short lived "twig" of a railway. All of his booklets now cost £4.00 each, remarkably good value for thoughtfully written histories with well reproduced potographs I think.

We are currently anticipating a new book on the Great Western route to Weymouth from Irwell. Written and put together by Derek Phillips it is due in about two weeks and should provide a good record of a line that doesn't get too much attention. As an aside, and from talking to a customer down in Weymouth yesterday, I learned that this under utilised route is not being used for any extra trains to Weymouth for the Olympics. This despite earlier promises and an apparent lack of capacity and overcrowding on the LSWR route owing to the cheap way in which it was electrified in the 1980s. Anyway, as I'm inflicting dodgy old trainspotting pictures on you today, here's a shot of one of the regular loco hauled summer extra trains that BR used to run to Weymouth leaving Bath and heading back towards Bristol one afternoon in 1982 (I think) passing a London bound HST.

Chocolate and Cream

Back in the shop I have finished expanding shelf space and moving the back office functions out of prime selling space, the door at the back of the shop is now where I "reside" - behind a somewhat reduced counter which is however now painted in a fresh coat of chocolate and cream paint. As noted earlier I now need to move a few subjects around in the shop to make best use of new shelf space.

Postal charges

As noted previously postal charges have risen and as a result I am now considering using APC overnight for at least some of my deliveries, especially the heaviest parcels on which I am currently "losing money" in terms of postage I charge versus the actual cost to me for delivery. Based upon my experiences with APC this shouldn't cause any problems but if and when I do make the change I would be interested in any feedback good or bad from customers.

In the meantime enjoy the sunshine!