September 2017 Update

Friday 1st September 2017

Quite a lot has been going on since the last update. Progress with improving the Gauge 1 and O Gauge test track has continued with the Gauge 1 trackwork now operationally complete. A new pale blue backscene has been added to hide the stone wall of the club room that the test track is built alongside and LED light strips have been installed directly above. Below is a photo featuring a GWR 48xx loco with a short train of mineral wagons and one of GWR Hall class loco Umberslade Hall, both on the Gauge 1 test track showing the new backscene panels.

Since these two photos were taken, the trackwork for the improved O Gauge test track has been partially laid. While this is yet to be completed, it is progressing nicely and part of it can be seen in the photo below that features a Gauge 1 LMS Stanier 8F loco. The two tracks nearest the wall are Gauge 1, and the two in front of those are O Gauge.

As well as the Gauge 1 and O Gauge trackwork, there has also been progress on another feature being added to this test track during the last month, but we shall reveal more on that in a later update.

Moving away from the test tracks, club members have also continued working on other projects. Wiring on club layout Nailsea Wharf is nearing completion, with the scenic area of the layout completed. A quick test during a recent meeting saw a couple of engines operate on the entire layout except for part of the fiddle yard, which just requires completion of the point wiring. Pictured below are three Great Western liveried tank engines on part of Nailsea Wharf.

Other projects worked on have been intended for club members’ own model railways. These have included constructing kits, weathering models, soldering handbuilt trackwork and control panel construction amongst other things. Pictured below is one of our members weathering a number of N gauge wagons by applying and removing paint to create a grimey appearance.

Finally for this update, we had a visit from a Technical Trainer at Eurostar Trains for a talk evening who gave us a slideshow of photos he’d taken during his time working for Eurostar Trains as well as a number of photos taken on visits to one of Switzerland’s railways. We also had a visit to the Dial Hill Railway, which is a private garden railway in Clevedon.