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Railways of Telford

At Christmas I received the quite excellent book 'Railways of Telford' from my future in-laws. It was a book I'd looked at several times and, having moved Telford way, is an area of the railways I've become very interested in, meaning it was a very much well-received present. Included within it's pages is a chapter on the Lilleshall Company. This is of huge interest to me, as it is very much the area that I'm looking at basing my layout on.

The back cover of the book states that the author, David Clarke, is building a model of Trench Sidings and then, by chance, I discovered a thread on the Lilleshall Company and Mr Clarke's own blog to do with his layout build on RMweb.

After some initial conversations we swapped email addresses and since then Mr Clarke has - very kindly - sent me lots of pictures of the Lilleshall system and it's locos alongside more information about it.

One picture - included below - has solved a problem I was facing. Having weather the Cory Brothers wagon, I was wondering how on earth I could include a South Wales wagon on a Shropshire-based layout. Well, look at the wagon poking out from behind Lilleshall No. 4 (on the left).

Inspiration truly is everywhere!

Things to do in 2017

I'm not massive on New Years Resolutions, however I thought this year I'd have a few aims. So, here they are:

1) Build a model railway layout and get out of this modellers block! However, a future blog post might shed some light on the inspiration I've gained recently.

2) Finally get my music publishing service up and running. I've been meaning to do it for a while and am looking in to the hosting side of things currently.

3) Get back into a bit of brass playing. It's probably been too long since I last played seriously. Perhaps a brass quartet or something?

4) Complete the Everton jigsaw I bought 18 months ago. I've not been able to face it yet as the thought of putting all that grass together has been putting me off.

Perhaps there is nothing too ground breaking there, however I'd like to get cracking with them all.

Oh! I almost forget...

5) Get married. ;-) 11th August can't come soon enough!

Wow. Just... wow.

Cory Band perform 'The Triumph of Time' by Peter Graham at the 2016 British Open Championships last year.

Wow.

Enjoy.

A Simple Project?

Today I took delivery of this little beauty. A Hornby J94 Austerity that I picked up via Rails of Sheffield's eBay store. A low price that I made an even lower offer on and, quick as a flash, I've got another item of traction for my new layout to go alongside the Sentinel.

The loco was listed as repainted and the number 68012 and BR symbol you can see were added on via sticky labels. A splash of water and a gentle rubbing and I now have the following:

I've got a set of name and number plates for it already - Alexandra, 1877 - from a previous Sentinel project. All that needs doing on top of this is a repaint into blue, some weathering and the addition of a crew. Reasonably simple and hopefully a quick little project.

  

All Change at Crewe!

No, I don't mean the railways. Today brought in the end of an era as Crewe Alexandra announced that they had 'parted company' with First Team Manager Steve Davis after five years in charge.

The general response on Twitter and Facebook was 'good,' as 'SD' seemed as though he was unable to halt a slide that had seen the team drop out of League 1 last season and slip down to 18th in League 2 this term. The irony of the decision that the board announced today being that when Davis took over he took over a team in 18th place in League 2.

I'll be honest. For the good of the club I think that the right decision was made today. League status is paramount to a club of Crewe's size. If we went down we might never come back; look at Macclesfield, Wrexham, Kidderminster. Yet on a personal level I felt very sad. SD seemed a decent, honest man. When manager at Nantwich Town he used to come in to a school I worked in to coach football as part of Nantwich's community programme. He was great with the kids and, indeed, the school. Ultimately, today boils down to the fact that someone lost a job, no matter how good he was or wasn't. 

However, one man's loss is another's gain. Hot on the heels of the departure of SD came the announcement that David Artell - formerly a promotion-winning captain of the club and Academy Director - was appointed as his successor. It's his first job in management and everyone will wish him well. Passionate, whole-hearted, courageous and intelligent, (probably the first football league manager with a degree in forensic science!) Artell is already a popular, if somewhat left-field, choice.

But back to Davis. There is no skirting around the act that the last two or three years at Crewe have been poor. A small budget, player sales and youngsters not making the required grade all added up. Today it reached it's head. But this troubled times, particularly the last 18 months, should not subtract from Davis' achievements at Crewe Alex; A record-breaking unbeaten run that ended in Play-Off glory at Wembley and winning the Johnstones Paint Trophy in 2013 - another glorious Wembley triumph - that meant he was the first Crewe Alexandra manager to EVER win a competition outright. That's how SD should be remembered by Crewe Alex fans, and that's why my last comment on it isn't a comment; it's a picture. And it says a thousand words.

Thanks for the memories Steve. It's been a pleasure and I wish you all the best in the future.

'Oh no! I've ruined it!'

That's what I thought several times whilst carrying out the work below. In an effort to do some actual modelling last night, I turned off the laptop, put Doctor Who (series 9) on the box and set to work with the MSC DH16 Hornby Sentinel. The goal was to remove the lettering and basically make her one dirty girl, ready to receive new nameplates.

Rather than post a blow by blow transcript of what I did (acrylics, cotton wool buds and the odd drop of water) here is a photographic account transformation. I'm very happy with it, but can't help but wonder if I've possibly over done it? I'm yet to varnish it as I might remove a little bit more first. All thoughts and comments welcome.

End of the Line.

Two days ago I posted about my idea for the MRL 2017 box challenge.

I've changed my mind. Several reasons.

1) I get married this year. Any modelling funds - which aren't high, unlike the wedding funds - are very small.

2) Therefore, I want any funds possible to go towards my main layout idea - the 'for keeps' layout - rather than losing them on something with little potential.

3) If I do anything it will be very much the diorama approach and I want to have tried something new out, like building my own track.

Therefore, staying in Shropshire, Jackfield Sidings, a curious place, seems a good potential idea.

What do you think?

Thinking Inside the Box

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all. I hope the Christmas period was good to you and that 2017 is a happy and productive one.

Now 2017 is here I can now reveal that the 2017 MRL Forum Challenge is 'In a Box.' As always with me, I'm thinking micro. Therefore, after a shopping trip to Ikea I am now the proud owner of a Knagglig box. 

Made of pine, the Knagglig has dimensions of 23 cm deep, 31 cm wide and 15 cm high. I'm yet to build it up - it's from Ikea, of course it's a flat pack - but when I do so I need to leave one side open, as well as cutting an exit hole on one side.  I might hinge the side, meaning I can then close it to aid dust avoidance, but I'm unsure as yet.

But that's the box. What about inside it? Well, since I've moved to Shropshire I've taken quite an interest in the railways of the area. Although you don't perhaps think of Shropshire as a major railway player, the county has lots of railway history. Therefore, I've decided to use a bit of it as the basis for my challenge entry. Coalbrookdale and it's surrounding area, to be precise.

My entry is going to be a pointless fork based around the tile industry found in the Jackfield area. The plan is a low relief factory (I've got a Dapol shed that will be just the ticket) down the back of the layout, with a door leading to a loading area (un-modelled) on one line, with the other just being a siding. As much as I hate working with Wills sheet, I'm thinking that the back siding (along the factory) will be inset in the cobbles. 

That's the plan, anyway. I best go and put this box together! 

Train Planner

(C) Mark Branson

Back in the day, before working in education, I worked on the railway. I was a train planner for a large freight company, in their bulk freight division. Now, I almost feel like I'm back there, train planning. Except, in fairness, it's not trains I'm planning, it's layouts.

Since Chetwynd Aston bit the dust I've been debating what I want to do and have held off doing any layout building until I decided just what. However, the forum I'm an admin on is running a layout building competition in 2017. Yet, as the brief hasn't been announced (as admin though, I was in on the discussions), I can't really go too far into details.

Suffice to say, I'm beginning to lean towards something along the lines of Juniper Hill (photo above) again. It's a fantastic layout with a genuine sparse-feel to it, detailed yet not over-crowded, and with a really excellent atmosphere to it. The cogs are whirring, that's for sure.

And I need somewhere to run my new Sentinel (and weathered Cory wagon) too...!

December Playlist

Ok, let's start with the confession first. My 'Sunday Playlist' has already changed. I haven't managed to create any since that first one so, with that in mind, I decided that a monthly playlist would be more suitable. So I'm starting over with December.

December being December means that there is most certainly a Christmas feel to this playlist. If Christmas music isn't your thing, I'm sorry, but there is something a little less Christmas-sy included too. This is in the form of Tallis Variations, a wonderful 14 minutes of music from the pen of Philip Sparke. I had the honour to hear Glyn Williams perform Candlelight Carol live at the beginning of December, a stunning piece played beautifully by a maestro of the instrument. Further to that, standard brass band festive fair is included; Jingle Bells (performed by Lions Youth) and Mistletoe and Wine - a piece I remember well from my time playing with Audley - this time performed again by Cory. The playlist (just over half an hour) is finished by the fantastic 'Yule Dance,' a superb combination of  O Little Town of Bethlehem, In Dulcio Jubilo, I Saw Three Ships and Sussex Carol.

Jingle BellsComposer: Traditional, Arranger: Derek Ashmore
Performer: Lions Youth Band
Conductor: Nigel Birch

Tallis Variations
Composer: Philip Sparke
Performer: Cory Band
Conductor: Philip Harper

Candlelight Carol
Composer: John Rutter, Arranger: David Griffiths
Performer: Cory Band
Conductor: Philip Harper
Soloist: Glyn Williams

Mistletoe and Wine
Composer: Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan, Arranger: Darrol Barry
Performer: Buy As You View Band
Conductor: Robert Childs

Yule Dance
Composer: Philip Harper
Performer: Cory Band
Conductor: Philip Harper

Dirty Trucks

Amy's on her work's Christmas do and isn't back until tomorrow, therefore I've got an evening to myself. So, with a beer and a Bond film on the go, I got stuck into a bit of modelling.

Bachmann recently released the quite stunning Cory Brothers 7 plank wagon, weathered and, all in all, looking quite grotty. I was very tempted to buy one, but then decided that, already owning a Hornby version in pristine condition, I should just do a bit of 'proper' modelling and weather that myself.

Having dug the model out I realised I'd forgotten that, on receipt of it, I'd had a little go at weathering it with a bit of dry brushing. It was pretty rubbish so after a quick splash of water I'd rubbed it off and it was back as new.

After that, I lightly scrubbed the surface with a craft knife to distress some of the lettering on the sides. In some cases I totally removed the lettering on planks, with the aim of priming and repainting these to indicate replacement panels.

Then I primed (acrylic) the replacement panels and then dry brushed the chassis of the truck to lose the sheen of the black plastic.

  

After that the next stage was to paint the replacement panels brown. As soon as the paint was applied I dabbed at it with a small cloth to remove the paint, leaving a slightly grainy effect (it looks ok from a distance) on those panels.

The next stage involved dry brushing all over the wagon with the primer. Again, the aim was just to tone down the black plastic effect that the wagon suffered from. On the wagon ends I feel I may have overdone it, so there will be a little reworking of that in the future.

The final job was to dry brush (a technique I love) the wagons with the brown paint again, this time on the underframe and around rivets and metalwork to try to indicate a light rusting effect. This can just about be seen on the pictures but I'll probably add a bit more work to this, potentially using a lighter shade - I have a 'burnt sienna' somewhere that will do the trick I'm sure.

Overall, I'm really very happy with the wagon. Perhaps it is a little too lived in, but I'm applying 'rule 1' of railway modelling. It was a very pleasant way to spend half an hour too.

Next steps: weather the Sentinel and decide on a layout plan to run both the loco and this wagon on!

The case for the defence.

I have no idea how this happened...

That, of course, is a lie. There was a Black Friday sale. I saw it advertised. I clicked to 'have a look.' There it was. Somehow it ended up in my basket and it's now on my modelling desk.Whoops.

Except...

Maybe it's not quite so whoops. It's retailing for around the £53 mark. In this sale I got it for £35. It would have been rude not to. Plus, I'd been eyeing up the Model Rail Sentinel - all £70 of it - so this was half that price and is a stunning little loco that I've wanted since seeing it announced.

Oh, I've also got a layout plan in mind for it to run on.

Am I convincing you yet?

It need's debranding. I've got no plans to make anything M.S.C related, but I like the blue and the yellow lining so I'll keep that but lose the writing. Then I'll added the 'Clara' nameplates I have stored away and give a really filthy weathering job.

Convinced? Yes. Good,

Case closed.

A day out at Ironbridge

Last Saturday Amy and myself went to Ironbridge for a stroll, a look in the Museum on the Quay (we've got the Ironbridge Museum annual pass) and a bit of a mooch around the shops that are there. Earlier this year I bought a fantastic book called 'Shropshire Railways' by Geoff Cryer and in it were a few pictures of the old Ironbridge station. Therefore, I decided that this visit would be the perfect chance to have a peak at the site and we decided that we'd take a walk down the pathway that was the line, back in the day.

What was surely once a station in the most stunning of locations is now a (quite cheap, now you mention it!) car park. The pub in the first picture is called 'The Station' - I bet a lot of late nights went in to naming that one!

If you look closely at the picture above you can see the lines crossing the road. This was a crossing when the station existed and it was a picture from this angle - with the bridge and the toll building in the background - that piqued my interest in looking at what was there now.

As mentioned above, the lines go across the road still, although it's Mazdas, rather than Manors, which cross the rails now.

The path above, once the line, heads off towards the cooling towers now. We set off and walked a pleasant - and leafy - mile or so, before heading back.

Just before we got back to the car park and the former station site we passed under an old rail bridge before emerging into the platform area.

Then it was off to the nearest coffee shop to warm up!

Salute to the Cory

On 20th November 2016 the Cory Band and their Musical Director, Philip Harper, won the final trophy in their quite astonishing 'Grand Slam.'

Up to that point 2016 had seen them win:

• The European Brass Band Championships
• British Open Brass Band Championships and
• The National Brass Band Championship Final

At the Sage, Gateshead, they completed the full house when they won the Brass In Concert Entertainment competition. An astonishing achievement.

With all that in mind, I felt it prudent to post the link to the BBC Listen to the Band radio programme that has their full programme. It's well worth a listen as it's going to be a long time before we see/hear a brass band as good as the 2016 Cory Band.

You can listen to their winning performance 'The Extraordinary Life of Roald Dahl' by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Sunday Playlist 1

In a new feature for my blog I've decided that, when time permits, I'll put together a 'Sunday Playlist' of music I've listened to over the past week. A half hour each-way journey to work, plus other journeys that the working week entails, means I get the chance to listen to plenty.

Here is this weeks, 26 minutes including a nice mix of old and new, with some stunning lyrical playing thrown in before ending with the timeless Resurgam. The best brass band piece out there? Maybe, maybe not, but the perfect piece for a Sunday for sure.

Gallipoli '100' March
Composer: Martin Ellerby
Performer: Black Dyke
Conductor: Nicholas Childs

Barney's Tune
Composer: Elgar Howarth
Performer: Buy As You View Band
Conductor: Robert Childs

Soloist: Andrew Williams (Bass Trombone)

Libertango
Composer: Astor Piazolla, Arranger: Jeremy Sleith
Performer: Fairey Band
Conductor: Mark Peacock

Revered Archie Beaton
Composer: John Mason, Arranger: Frode Ryland
Performer: Fodens Band
Conductor: Michael Fowles
Soloist: Glynn Williams (Euphonium)

Resurgam
Composer: Eric Ball
Performer: Cory Band
Conductor: Philip Harper

A blank canvas. Again...

I enjoy modelling.

I really do.

But once again I have a lack of motivation. Or rather, a lack of motivation brought on by a lack of focus of what I want. Do I want a shunting layout? Do I want an SLT (single line terminus)? I get part way through a project and decide that I don't want what I'm making and give up. Chetwynd Aston has gone to that great layout in the sky and once again I'm layout-less. And clueless.

When I was back at my folk's home recently I discovered a Tim Horn scenic board (40 x 25cm) that I'd forgotten I owned. This was snapped up and brought back home with me and is currently sat to my left, with my Sentinel on it. A bit like this...

If only I knew what to put on it. I have an idea regarding a tile factory; Jackfield, near where I now live (and near Ironbridge) has a tile museum and I feel that might be a decent idea. A simple fork layout with tile loading facilities perhaps?

However, an Arriva SLT set in the same area (around Ironbridge) also appeals. Not that I have the 153!

All ideas and thoughts welcome.

In other news, I've finally got around to fitting the plated to my 'de-Wabteced' Sentinel. It's now got the number 1877 (which the cruel close up shows to be wonky... needs re-fettling) and the name 'Alexandra.'

A little loco like that would do just the job for a tile works... wouldn't it?

What's On My iPod 3

For me, one of the beauties of music is that you don't need to play a certain instrument - or even play at all - to appreciate the beauty of it. To that end, I'm no trumpet soloist. But this CD, regardless of what you do or don't play is an absolute must have.

Tine Thing Helseth, the Norwegian trumpet sensation's debut album for EMI, Storyteller, eschews the more traditional concertos and 'show off' pieces focusing on telling stories without words through the medium of her trumpet and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

What do you end up with? A quite stunning CD full of warm, rich, lyrical playing that does exactly what it's titles suggests; tells a story, or rather, stories. For me, the items which see the trumpet take the lead on soaring melodic lines see Tine Thing Helseth at her best. In fact, for me, the first ten seconds - and the soloist's third note - of the CD are worth the price alone. Click play below to have a listen.

Regardless of what you play - trumpet, clarinet, bagpipes, comb and paper - buy this CD. You won't regret it.

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.