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Wednesday 21st November 2012 (Welcome to the palindrome) Parking bulletin I have just learned from the council that the disabled space outside the shop is "advisory" and has no statutory force attached to it. It was put in some years ago for the lady upstairs, who subsequently sadly passed away, so if you are visiting by car and spot a space there please feel free to use it. After all, everyone else does - it is currently occupied by the natty runabout belonging to "Doris" our local femme fatale (for the last three days and counting), which was how I came to phone the council in the first place..... Well so much for our Indian autumn....... Despite my best expectations it has all been a bit damp around the edges down here, although the easing of absolute monsoon conditions has allowed my trusty de-humidifier to return to my shed and "lathe protection duties". One day I will do something useful with the lathe.... Ahem, back to the shop. As some saturday visitors to the shop will have noticed, I managed to slip away for several weekends in October, apologies for missing you - I trust that Kevin Justin and Stephen looked after you OK. One was work selling books at the Exeter Garden Railway show at the Matford Centre which is so ably and cheerfully organised by David Lemar and his family, whilst two were pure "jollies" - displaying "Pomparles Siding" at John Dale's excellent Shepshed model railway show on the 5th October and a grand weekend away in Wales over the 13th and 14th of October. A group of us stayed with Neil and Jan Rushby at their beautiful home at Capel Bethesda (where they also have two delightful cottages) and took the opportunity to ride on a train or two, "help" poor Neil with his splendid EM model railway and of course drink lots of tea. I have put some pictures from the most adventurous part of my wonderful Welsh weekend on my Facebook page. I also collected various odd plants on my wanderings and dodging rain showers have been planting them out around my stalled garden railway, here is a recent shot showing various plantings old and new by the loop pointwork. The fern came from Limpley Stoke Station and went in last year, the new Welsh plant is immediately next to the stump. Hopefully next year I will lay some more track, the weather this year has been horribly wet
and not entirely conducive to garden railways. Whilst I'm on the subject my current modelling project is a BR brake van which is mostly a Jim McGeown etch blown up to 1/32 scale. I'm currently casting some home brewed brake shoe assemblies in resin for this which is then pretty much ready for the paintshop. Here it is undergoing running trials on one of the better mornings last week.
Back in the shop last week I had the great pleasure of a visit from Colin and Joy Robins. Colin has written down his early life on the Railway in a self published book "You Can't Take The Steam Out Of Me" (In stock at £13.50 and thanks to David Winter for putting me on to it) which is an honest and frank account of working on the footplate on the lines around Yeovil. Written in Colin's own style, which takes a little getting used to but adds to the experience, it is a worthwhile and interesting addition to a popular genre of railway book. It exposes some of the less "comfortable" aspects of the job, particularly in respect of the Aslef strike of 1955 and the bitterness that arose from it but also in terms of what it was like to work on the footplate with a less than perfect mate. All of which is recounted by Colin with what seems to me to be extraordinarily good grace. He also speaks with some feeling about the impending (in the book) take over by the Western Region with its disastrous decimation of facilities and services. Apart from the human stories what comes across very clearly is just how busy the whole operation before execution - and Colin doesn't give us any rose tinted view of this past, he's clearly a realist with a good grasp of what made and makes the World go around. I am flattered indeed to have received this message from Colin after his visit: I have explained in the most graphic terms that the footplate was unforgiving and brim full with dangers. Those recognised factors acted as a bond that gelled motive power men. Those times are long gone,but when we meet we are back on those vibrating boards. You guys are up there with us. OK, it is a different age, but believe you me, you incredible home taught and professional engineers are sincerley respected. |
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Here's a quick "blast from the past" courtesy of the camera of Jon Hughes. Number unknown but captured under repair at Swindon Works.
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Whilst I'm in a nostalgic mood, how about these two blasts from the past? C.J. Freezer, surely a name synonymous with the youth of at least two generations of railway modellers. Whilst I don't agree with everything he wrote I think his contribution to the hobby was enormous, and I still love this booklet on branch lines. Descriptions that caught my imagination, glimpses of an unknown world and I still think the way in which he describes how a simple model branch line can mirror the real railway scene with genuine credibility is pure genius. I also like his style of planning and remain happily able to while away my life dreaming of the model railways that CJF drew and described in booklets such as the one on the right. Thank you Cyril.
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Simon Castens |
