WJ Vintage Newsletter (July 2018)

WJVintage July 2018 Newsletter

Welcome to the July edition of the WJVintage newsletter, which I am rushing to get published as I have just returned from a wonderful week relaxing in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales.

UK holidays are hard to beat when the weather is as good as we have enjoyed recently!

As promised last month the ‘Out and About’ section does carry a report on the fabulous Alresford Festival of Toy Trains. I attended this last month but was unable to include in the June newsletter.

There is also a report on the June Northants & Rutland O Gauge Group meeting at Harringworth. As regular readers will appreciate, I do try to take in some railway related excursions whilst on my holidays, and this year was no exception. So please scroll down and you will find I have included a report of my visit to the Stainmore Railway Co. based at Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria.

In the ‘What’s New’ section I am delighted to report that the long awaited and much anticipated Adams Radial is finally ready. First shipments have already left Prague and I have included some sneak photos of the (almost complete) production version. It is really looking very nice indeed.

It is very quiet on the show front at this time of year. I will however be out and about as much as I can. Check out the ‘See Us at Shows’ listing at the end of the newsletter for full details.

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Out and About

Alresford 25th Annual Festival of Toy Trains – Perins Community School, Alresford, Saturday June 16th, 2018 For me this show has it all. It is a perfect balance of well varied layouts coupled with a comprehensive trade presence. It is open to the public and draws large crowds of visitors, plus it is based in a beautiful part of Hampshire and only a stone’s throw from the ‘Watercress’ line.

The event takes place at Perins Community School Alresford and is spread out across the Assembly Hall, the new extension and Sports Hall, plus there are outside traders a BBQ, Real Ale stalls and entertainment from the local keyboard player, Craig Miller. It is billed as the biggest event of its kind in the south of England and with around 90 trade stalls plus at least 24 layouts I can well believe it.

What I particularly like about the show is the way that youngsters are actively involved and encouraged. Local Scout Groups do much of the traffic marshalling and catering. Several of the layouts were aimed at the younger enthusiasts, in particular a quite superbly detailed Lego display

by Peter Corish and the Brickish Association and a fabulous James Bond layout, by David Rhodes, who really looked the part in his tuxedo

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In the Sports Hall, pupils from the Montbatten School were running no fewer than 3 layouts this year – Hornby Dublo, Triang TT and O gauge.

It really is great to see the future of the hobby actively promoted to and enthusiastically supported by yougsters.

Elsewhere in the sports hall there were plenty of other fantastic attractions based around mainly larger scales (O gauge and bigger).

Foremost amongst these was the impressive 3-rail vintage layout by Howard Starr-Keddle and the boys from the Mortimer HRCA group.

Just down the road at the ‘Watercress Line’ the theme for the weekend was ‘War on the Line’ so it was a really nice touch to see the layout dotted with references to the military theme. In particular there was a crashed Stuka in one corner with a group of soldiers from the home guard just over the lines about to go and investigate. In another corner was Mike Little’s lovely Triang barrage balloon and again, just across the lines a crashed German biplane that had come down close to a military camp.

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Other excellent displays included a pre-war American O Gauge layout with Lionel, Marx, American Flyer and others, plus America G Scale trains running with 1:24 scale slot cars and playmobile figures!

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There was also live steam O gauge and Bryan Pentland had a very popular display of Tinplate and plastic trains.

The layout included a Walt Disney Monorail, two Casdon Monorails and a Lego Airport shuttle, plus a great selection of tin buildings and a Christmas Cable car – great stuff!

I could go on but the only way to really take it all in is to actually be there yourself. Next year’s date has already been set as 15th June so why not put it in the diary now and plan a weekend around it – perhaps with a trip to the Watercress Line as well. I will certainly be there!

Northants & Rutland O Gauge Group – Harringworth Village Hall, Mon 25th June, 2018

With Royal Weddings still fresh in the memory we thought it would be appropriate to have a Royalty and Nobility theme for our June meeting.

Once again, the support was excellent as was the turnout on another beautiful summer’s day that ended with a stunning sunset.

Richard Holder produces an excellent newsletter following each event and if you do not receive a copy and would like to, please let me know and I will get you added to the list.

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As I am short of time this month I won’t attempt to do a full report, but instead I thought you might like to meet some of the royal and noble guests that attended (in photographic form of course).

Prince Charles

Princess Elizabeth

The Prince

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Princess Helena Victoria

Duchess of Montrose (Right), Princess Elizabeth (Centre) and Prince Charles

Duchess of Abercorn

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Duke of York

Lady Patricia

Sir Nigel Gresley

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A Royal Scot

There were others that I didn’t get to photograph so apologies if I have missed you out. Finally, what royal occasion is complete without a bit of ‘pomp and ceremony’?

Well we had that as well in the form of a military parade courtesy of Dave Peasant. Many thanks Dave for tasking the time to set this all up.

Before I finish on ‘Narogg’, I must just say how nice it was to welcome George Johnson and Frank Sidebottom to their first meeting. Frank picked up George and they drove down all the way from Lancashire, hitting some horrible traffic jams on the way, so their journey took close on five hours.

It was lovely to see you both and thank you for making such an effort. I trust the journey home was a little easier.

Thanks also to Chris Holmes for the Atlas guest layout, and to Angela and Cathy for the usual excellent catering.

Our next meeting is a week earlier than usual. It is on Monday 20th August to avoid the bank holiday. It would be great to see you there.

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Stainmore Railway Company - Kirkby Stephen, Sunday July 15th, 2018 I have to confess that I had never come across the Stainmore Railway Co. until my wife googled it and suggested it might be worth a quick visit. I am certainly glad she did as it is a lovely operational, heritage railway and is well worth searching out.

Kirkby Stephen is tucked away in the Cumbrian Pennines between the Lake District to the west and the Yorkshire Dales to the east and the Stainmore Railway Co. is tucked away on a small industrial estate, so you do have to search it out.

The derelict Kirkby Stephen East station site was acquired in 1997 and in 2000 the Stainmore Railway Co. was formed. Volunteers have spent years working to completely transform the site and today it proudly offers visitors the opportunity to savour the atmosphere of a country railway station as it would have been in the 1950s. In 2010 permission was granted to run trains again and in 2011 the first passenger services commenced.

Given the work I did to develop the Bassett-Lowke Peckett 0-4-0 tank during my days working for Corgi, I was shocked but also delighted to discover that the site has not one, but two Peckett 0-4-0 industrial tank locos.

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2084 ‘FC Tingey’ is a 1948 Peckett 0-4-0 fully restored in BR black lined livery. 2111 ‘Lytham St Anne’s’ is a 1949 Peckett 0-4-0. It was fully restored at the Midland Railway Centre at Buttery and only returned to steam in April 2017. My visit was by sheer coincidence only the 2nd day in service for this Peckett at the Stainmore Railway.

Also on display, was a lovely North Eastern Railway Fletcher 901 Class 24-0 Tender Locomotive no.910, which is on loan from the National Railway Museum.

The Stainmore Railway Co also has a Hunslett J94 0-6-0 Austerity loco awaiting restoration once their engine shed is completed.

They also run some diesel engines and on the day of my visit I saw a nice 0-4-0 Hibberd Planet DM 'Elizabeth' which was helping the little Peckett to haul 2 carriages with a bit of extra push from behind!

Another major project is aimed at raising sufficient money to restore the sole surviving member of the LNER J21 Class to full working order.

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To round off the day there is a nice Gresley teak restaurant car which has been restored and is used as a café, plus the shop has a good selection of OO gauge (but sadly no O gauge) model railways. If you get the chance I would certainly recommend a visit to the Kirkby Stephen East Station and the Stainmore Line. Don’t do what I did and go first to the Kirkby Stephen mainline station. This is still operational as part of the Settle to Carlisle Line.

Talking of which, you will see from the header photo of this newsletter that I also paid a quick visit on our way home to the Ribblehead (or Batty Moss) Viaduct. This was something I have only seen in photographs or on film so I was pleased to finally get to see it for real, even though, after a week of wall to wall sunshine, the weather finally turned and it was grey and a little drizzly.

Customer Corner

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Just as I returned from my holiday I was delighted to receive some fantastic photographs from Toby Ross in Malta. Toby has been working on his layout for some time and had a very specific idea of what he wanted to achieve. It isn’t quite finished yet, but it is certainly getting there, and I think it works superbly well. Here, in Toby’s words, is a brief description of what I think is a very unique approach to his model railway layout: ‘It has taken a long time for my initial idea to come to fruition. I wanted it to be perfect, so took my time.

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The idea was for the layout to be a nice piece of furniture that would be acceptable in a living room. Part of the room, without overpowering it. And it has totally worked.

Eventually there will be a station and a few 1930s modernist buildings. But nothing else. No trees, no cows, no cars. Minimalist.

A second tier can be added in the future if I get bored enough.

Strangely, the room appears bigger than before. An inspiration for wives who are reluctant to give up space. Which does not apply to Sophie who would probably let me take the whole house over!’

The layout actually runs around Toby’s office and doesn’t it work so well?

It is, as he says, like a piece of furniture, perfectly blended in and I think the tunnel through the bookcase is just inspired! The whole layout is like a working display case and I can’t wait to see photographs (and a promised video) when it is all complete.

Toby, thank you so much for sharing this with us. I hope it proves inspirational to others too! It is certainly making me think about my office and the possibilities đ&#x;˜Š

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What’s New?

PRODUCTION LSWR/SR Adams 415 Class Radial 4-4-2T Update The Epitome of Victorian Elegance in Locomotive Design Well, it has been a long time coming, but you know what they say; ‘Good things come to those who wait’.

I hope you will agree that it has been worth the wait. The photo above shows the nearly complete production version of the LSWR Adams Radial in lined Adams Pea Green. Only the safety/whistle valve in front of the cab needs some attention and painting, and I am glad to say that this work has now been completed and the first batch is on its way and will be with me in a day or two.

If you compare the production model to the prototype photo below I’m sure you will see that a considerable amount of work has gone into improving the final model.

PROTOTYPE

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My allocation of Adams Radials is now almost 60% sold so whilst I do still have all variants available, please don’t leave it too late to order as I would hate to disappoint.

Here are the full details of liveries and specifications: WJV01078 WJV01079 WJV01080 WJV01081 WJV01082

Adams Radial LSWR lined Adams Pea Green Adams Radial Southern lined Maunsell Green Adams Radial Southern unlined Black 'Sunshine' lettering Adams Radial BR early crest lined Black Adams Radial BR late crest lined Black

Technical Details: ❖ Precision engineered, (7mm to the foot) O gauge models ❖ Hand built tinplate construction ❖ Beautifully tampo-printed liveries ❖ Fitted with standard (BL/Ace style) drop link couplings ❖ For 2- or 3-rail use (including raised centre 3rd) ❖ Includes ON/OFF isolating switch ❖ 12 – 14 Volts DC ❖ Super smooth drive mechanism with clutch ❖ Minimum radius 24” Here are a couple more shots of the production loco

Please note we will be producing the LSWR version with 2 different running numbers – No.488 manufactured by Neilson of Glasgow in 1885 (as preserved at the Bluebell Railway), and No.479, which was also manufactured by Neilson in 1885. If you have a preference, please specify when ordering. I will check with all those that have pre-ordered prior to dispatch.

Price for all versions will be £450.00 each plus P&P. Please get in touch to buy/reserve yours.

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New Six-Wheel Milk Tankers

As announced last month, a further series of new Six-Wheel Milk Tank Wagons is also planned for later this summer.

These will be a series of United Dairies liveries in four different variants and each with two different running numbers, for those that may wish to order a pair to run together.

Orders have been coming in steadily over the last month, but I still have all variants available. However, please be aware the Great Western version is now 2/3rds sold so don’t leave it too long to confirm your order.

The Photos of SR and LNER variants give an indication of the proposed liveries. Actual Artwork may vary and will be published as soon as possible.

Technical Details: • Precision engineered, (7mm to the foot) O gauge models • Tinplate body construction with cast, spoked wheels • Beautifully tampo-printed bodies • Fitted with standard Bassett-Lowke/Ace style droplink couplings • Insulated wheels for 2- or 3-rail use • Suitable for minimum 24” radius curves • Two running numbers per livery (whilst stocks last) Quantities of each livery will be extremely limited, and demand is likely to be high so do please place your orders early to avoid disappointment.

Below is the full list of livery variants.

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United Dairies Six-Wheel Milk Tankers WJV01089 WJV01090 WJV01091 WJV01092

United Dairies GWR United Dairies LMS United Dairies SR United Dairies LNER

The price for these will be £55.00 each plus P&P and the current plan is to commence shipments during August.

See us at Shows

If it’s convenient and you’d like to save the postage, why not come and see us at one of the regular shows we attend in the Midlands and East of England or (I can now say) occasionally in Mainland Europe, and you can buy on the day.

We always like to meet our customers face to face – it makes a pleasant change from the virtual world we seem to live in these days!

Below are our forthcoming shows: Saturday August 4th - TCS 20th Annual Summer Exhibition, Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Guttmann Rd, Aylesbury Bucks HP21 9PP – 10:30am to 5:00pm Monday August 6th - Cotswolds Area HRCA Meeting, Rye Hill Golf Club, Milcombe, Banbury, OX15 4RU – 4:00pm to 9:00pm Tuesday August 7th - HRCA Merseyside Area Meeting Preston Brook Village Hall, Preston Brook, Cheshire WA7 3AW - 4.00pm to 9.00pm Monday August 20th – NAROGG (Northants & Rutland O Gauge Group) Harringworth Village Hall, Gretton Road, Harringworth, Northants, NN17 3AD – 4:00pm to 8:30pm Everyone and all O Gauge welcome, £3.00 entry

Ordering from WJVintage is Easy

Online Please use the new website as a shop window and then place you order by using the dropdown menu on each product page to select and submit the item you wish to purchase. This automatically sends me your details and I will be in touch to confirm your requirements and take payment.

Alternatively select what you want and then give me a call or email me.

Whichever method you use I will get back to you asap and I can confirm stock, particularly for highly limited items, and postage options. Please see below for full contact details.

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Credit Card We have a credit/debit card facility, so you can telephone and place your order with us by calling 07711 092497 – please have your card to hand when calling.

Cheque If you would prefer to pay by cheque, that is no problem either. Just download the order form from our website and complete your requirements. Then make a cheque out for the total and post both order form and cheque to us at the address shown. Please make cheques payable to WJVintage.

Email Alternatively, you can place your order by email and payment can then be made either by card, PayPal or cheque. Please note our email address is: wjvintage@outlook.com Shows We also take the credit/debit card machine to all our shows.

All the best

Paul *********

WJVintage

Tel: 07711 092497

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