Our world in miniature, hobbies

Hi all I cannot remember this shop in particular, but that does not mean a lot. When the UK world of model railways was child-popular, late fifties & early sixties, when Hornby & Triang were producing fairly robust toys, many local newsagents stocked them. My childhood newsagents in Torcross Ave stocked Hornby Dublo. These days, retailers tend to shy away because of it being a far more specialised hobby.

Bohica the shop I was thinking off was around the corner to the bike shop at the bottom leading on to Roseberry Avenue , it had two windows either side where you could walk in between to the door way, it was nt a toy shop but I know I thought it was an expensive shop at the time.

Hi all For me, the enjoyment of model railways is more than scenery. It has to run well & reliably, but also prototypically. At Hall Brooks, we lacked an "Up Holding siding". It is when we enjoy an operating session with friends that discrepancies are shown up. Hall Brooks is a slow railway, as there is no continuous running. Every train has to have a purpose for where it is going as well as having a space for it to go. My son & grandson know the workings of our railway inside out so to speak, but newcomer visitors often find it daunting, with so many sectional switches & so on. 'But then', is that not like a real railway? Anyway, the picture shows class 25 or type 2 if it was green, having arrived in the reception siding, the crew have gone in for a cuppa, whilst a shunting loco is detaching vans & trucks at the rear. Just a comment, food for thought for anyone considering starting out fresh. The revolution in digital chip technology, means that nowadays, model railways do not have to have separate block sections like Hall Brooks, which has over forty, as each loco can have its own identity & so can be controlled independently. The chip technology also permits control of lighting or anything else for that matter. There are some drawbacks to the chip systems, so my jury is still in favour of the separate block sections as at Hall Brooks.

It all looks wonderfull Philip where is the train taking us today.

Hi Morgana, The places served directly from Hall Brooks, include B'ham (Curzon St), Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury to the north west, to Banbury, Oxford & Reading, to the south & Northampton & Euston. Fridays we have a through northbound train to Blackpool as well as a southbound to Bournemouth. Shall I reserve seats for you?

Have you a Restaurant car on the line Philip ? just for some 'fine dining' , that would be very nice for a 'meet up' for the ladies.

Hello Dreamtime We have all forms of catering, ranging from standard buffet, first class "alacarte"restaurants & dining cars. For the special occasion, we have full Pullman catering. Mayjan & Tricia had an excursion to Bournemouth a year or so ago aboard a Pullman train.

Thank you Philip, I ll get off near Ludlow to see my cousin .

Hi all A new slant on people trafficking. Just received 50 Chinese assorted sitting people by 'Airmail'. At a scale of I-50, they are slightly too big, but as they are seated, that is not quite so significant. Some may go inside carriages, we will see. It was the cost of less than £5 for the lot that attracted me. Already painted figures, there is nothing to match the quality or price in the UK.

O'h my word! & Arr! although I don't know though!

Hi all As today was originally forecasted to be a wet day & I was staying in to wait for a parcel, I carried on adding signal detailing to Hall Brooks. The picture shows two signal posts, the nearest shows the back of Bramble Lane down starter which has three arms. The tall middle is for Burrow Hill through line, the one on the left (in picture) is Burrow Hill Platforms, whilst the very small on the right is for Hounds Hill. It is the one on the right which I have lowered today. The further away bracket with two arms is Bramble Lane up direction, for Three Spires Junc. The signal on the left is for the Coventry voiding line, whilst the one on the right is for Coventry via Foleshill. I would seriously appreciate help from our rail enthusiast members, about the correctness of the arms, both being on the same level. The height for the arms usually indicated the status of the junction ahead, but as both directions are very slow & of equal status I have set the arms at the same height. Am I wrong? Picture of Bramble Lane up signal--:

Hello Philip Having double checked this with my brother (48 years on the footplate, unfortunately for him retired recently from Chiltern Trains due to failing eyesight), I can confirm that your signals would have been set at different heights on the real railway. One of the routes would have been classed as the 'main', therefore that semaphore would have been set the higher of the two. Even if the traffic levels were the same for each route, it would have almost certainly been based on the historical background to the location in question, the first line there would have been classed as the 'main'. Hope this helps ! Ron