A bit of maths for you...

I've been pondering over this maths sum this morning.

Take this...

Add these to it...

And what do you get...?

A tiny servicing (water and coal) point for a small preserved/industrial railway.

Thoughts?

Oh Doctor Beeching!

Doctor Beeching visited Chetwynd Aston yesterday, ripping up the lines. Another railway gone and forgotten.

Back to the drawing board.

Beware of Trains

Beware of trains!

Especially model ones, as deciding what to do with them is bad for your health.

On Friday night I had a running session with my micro layout, in it's current unfinished form. It performed terribly. I used several locos and they all ran poorly. So I cleaned the track and tried again, several times. It ran no better.

I left it and tried again on Saturday and once again it performed poorly. After this I had a good look around and came to the conclusion that my track laying was not good enough. So I've decided to stop work on it for now and practise on some dioramas to improve some of my skills.

I've got a static grass puffer bottle that I want to get better results from as well so thought that a tiny diorama - and tiny is the word - is a perfect way of doing this.

So I'm planning something just 6x4 inches. It'll act as a good photo board for any stock I model (particularly as I have found a lot of enjoyment from making kits over the past year) and will also enable me to have something to look at to inspire me. Plus, as I'm planning a wedding it will be cheap and will help me practise scratch building.

So, although it's sad to see the end of Chetwynd in it's current guise, I still feel full of modelling mojo and am looking ahead with gusto!

Whats on my iPod 2?

It's been a while since I've blogged about music and what I'm listening to. Last time, I was listening to the fabulous YBS Band under the baton of David King. Fast forward to October and I'm still listening to a band directed by David King, just this time it's the world famous Brighouse & Rastrick Band and their 2014 'in concert' CD, titled Vita Destructa.

Professor King rarely follows the traditional concert pattern when it comes to programming; march, overture, solo etc. He works his own order out and to me this makes for a far more interesting listening experience. The CD opens with the ten minute Latin fantasy 'El Carmino Real' which is full of the fire you'd expect of a latin number but for me it is the second track, 'In Love For Me' which is the highlight of the CD. It is beautifully treated, both by band and MD who draw all the emotion out of the music. 

All the soloists are on excellent form - I particularly enjoyed Ryan Watkins' performance of 'Radio City' - and the rest of the programme is performed with aplomb and a slight swagger. The final track, Vita Destructa, is a real tour de force by 17 year old Todd Smith. His handling of the hymn 'Abide With Me' is interwoven maturely with other melodic ideas to bring the CD to a thrilling close.

What else can I say but what an excellent CD this is.

What's In A Name?

Names are important. We all have one. We all have an identity that begins with our name. We give our pet names. We give our cars names (mine is Clara... my car is Tardis blue). Some people name their golf clubs, their cricket bats. In fact, you name it, people name it.

So why is it so hard to come up with one?

Chetwynd Aston is, the more I hear it, not resonating with me. It's too, what's the word, clunky. It ties down the layout to a location. I'm not sure I want that. There is a trend developing in the model railway world to not use 'locations' as names; 'Terminus, All Change!' and 'The Sidings' being two examples. Do I want to go down that route? Do I use a location name, but make one up. Possibly, but I always feel that my 'names' sound exactly like what they are... made up.

I'll have a think about it I think.

Incidentally, speaking of names, the Wabtec shunter has lost it's identity ahead of receiving some new plates. It's going to be called 'Alexandra' courtesy of the good people at Narrow Planet. I've posed the loco on the layout (currently 'un-named' of course!) which has recently seen the track and ballast get a good weathering. It's amazing how that starts to pull things together. The fencing is posed and, again, starts to pull things together. In fact, I'm pretty pleased with how things look.

Now, about that name...