fighting procrastination fifteen minutes at a time

Category: Days Out

Looping Levisham

Walking it off

Ok I am the worlds worst blogger! A bit like the rural branch lines of yesteryear. Where I train may come by and then nothing for hours maybe days. Which nicely segues into the topic of todays post. This Saturday gone I went for a walk along the North Yorks Moors Railway line. Following the route from Pickering to Levisham Station.

This is something I had been thinking about doing for such a long time. I even brought a leaflet about walks along the railway. But never followed through on them. hmm maybe a pattern there?! But now with the help of the OS Maps app and the relevant maps for the area, I could plan a route with no friction. I have long loved maps and can happily spend hours pouring over them to see the changing terrain and the funny place names.

I have started collecting maps for some walks I have always wanted to do. Not necessarily walks by railways. But the more I think about it there are loads of walks that I could do along railway lines that are not too far from me. But I get side tracked.

So Saturday.. I had been thinking about doing a walk that took in the whole route of the NYMR and at 21.85 miles I thought that might just be too far for me in one go. So I decided to split the walk up into smaller chunks. With maybe a ride back down the Dale on a steam train. However looking at the map I could see that I could do a route to Levisham that was about 6 miles and the around another 6 miles home to Pickering. Being a bank holiday weekend, I knew that I needed to get there early if there was any chance to park reasonably. I also want to park in the Station car park as then the money would go to them. So setting off at some ungodly hour was required. It was bliss sailing up the roads with little or no traffic to a Sun drenched Pickering. The first order of business was to watch the first train (09:20 ) set off. It is early in the season and although it was a bank holiday the station was pretty quiet. I had expected more activity, but it was nice not having to be jostled around in order to get some imagery. I am not a proper photographer and on the whole more interested in the moving picture. But I think we have all been places where shall we say the more involved enthusiasts seem will stop at nothing to get “their” shot or footage. As the last coach rolled out of view thoughts turned to breakfast. So we pottered into town. It’s been a long time since I have been in Pickering and forgotten pretty much everything about it. However after a few moments we scoped out an open cafe that did some really good bacon sarnies and good coffee. Fuelled up there was nothing left to do than to set off walking.

The Journey

Leaving Pickering we followed the road out to New Bridge level crossing. From there you dive off through a quarry. I wasn’t sure if it was active. Further on an M.O.D approved firing range marked the start of a pretty steep climb along a ridge. I must admit that I’m not good at heights and had to employ ninja breathing habits to reach safer ground. But once at the top, the track opened out into a very big field and wide open skies. Some typical NYM terrain followed, with rolling hills and 360deg views.

Arriving at the picturesque village of Arncliffe on Newton where everything seemed to be asleep from the previous nights revelry, well at least in my head it was. We followed through to the far end where the path started to fall away. What I hadn’t picked up from the map was the compacted contour lines. Reaching the point where I had happily traced the route, I was now confronted with what felt like a shear drop of a couple of hundred feet. There was no way that was going to be an option so out came the map and with a sigh of relief, an alternative route found to arrive at the same point some hundred feet below. Looking up I’m not overly sure that I would have climbed up it. I am better at going up than down! With a short walk down to level ground although in wet conditions would have been “interesting”.

We arrived into Levisham Station with a couple of minutes to spare for the impending northbound train. I hadn’t really planned it to be that way but in the back of my mind, if we did arrive at 12:20 then we would get to see two trains if we took an hours lunch break. So once the quietness returned we sat down to a fine cuppa tea and our sandwiches. The kiosk at Levisham does some pretty fine cakes. Just like the ones I remembered from childhood village fetes/events where the village halls were decked out with a grand spread! Once fed and watered we were ready for the journey home. After an initial climb up the side of the valley, it was a gently amble down to around half way back. At which point we came across some adept chickens. When they saw us they set off with purpose and got to the footbridge that had a gate on it but nimbly hopped around it and then headed for the local farm yard. I complimented Farmer on his ninja chickens. Crossing over the line and before another climb up I took some pics of a railway cottage that oozed so much NER character and the sight of a station that disappeared not long after the line opened. 

I’ll go on a bit of a digression. There were so many modelling dioramas that I could have recorded. From the buildings at Levisham, to signals out in the countryside. The little bridges the line crosses and the becks that flow the water off the moors. There’s just so much. Then my mind wanders and there is a bit of a battle between what I am seeing now and what it would have been like when the line was active. Yes I know the two things couldn’t be further apart, but in my mind there is a link there. The fact that the purpose has changed for the line, life still goes on around it. The fact it was saved doesn’t lessen the purpose of the railway. I want to return to document some of the things that interest me. But that will have to wait for another day.

Whilst near Farwath, heard a train chuff by but couldn’t see it so it was noted that there were a couple of suitable places to view either side of where we were. So up we went and pretty much away from the line and out into open country again. It was pretty much all downhill back to New Bridge Signal Box where we had cross about 4 hours before. Again unplanned! As we crossed the line the buzzers went off and signalman prepared to swap line tokens. There was train booked out of Pickering at 4pm and we waited around to see if it would turn up. But both being tired and thirsty we decided to leave our last glimpse of trains to another day. Coasting back into Pickering with the sense of a wonderful day and walk, but happy for it to be over. We arrived back at the car thinking “Right, lets look at the next section.

I know there has been no modelling harmed in the making of this post. But it sparked off the mojo that for far to long has been missing. It was just the tonic I needed. I also realise that my interest is not the model, or the trains, it’s actually the whole picture and that I can’t experience it as it was is what drives me and I guess every railway modeller to do what we do.

Until next time..

Showing up

Ebor  Group Of Railway Modellers Show 2020

Every now and then will need to push oneself to do things that one may not necessarily think about I want to do. This Sunday just gone, I decided to go to a model railway show in York. It is a small show has been running for nine years now and which I have been to a couple of times before around about the time it first started. As exhibitions go it is probably one of the closest ones to me but certainly not the largest. The main show at York is the Easter one which is situated at the racecourse in the Easter weekend. However I have been itching to get some provisions and also some inspiration. I always find going to a show usually triggers of ideas. This was no exception and there were three layouts that gave me a lot of food for thought. Talking to the owners the highlight of the show.

Much of what gives me inspiration is not the size of the layout for the number of trains, although there are some pretty stupendous large layouts; Copenhagen fields, Gresley beat, and Apethorne Junction. It may be just a quirky idea that the owner has had, or maybe some constructional solution that I haven’t seen before. In fact there was a number of these at the show.

Not for me the main line expresses thundering by, but a lone local shunting wagons around a small yard is far more interesting to me. I know this is not everybody’s cup of (insert beverage of choice) but I have long been fascinated by these bucolic scenes. I didn’t grow at the time when this was part of the living history but with the wonders of the Internet I can easily recreate these visual memories.

When one goes to a show there will always be a number of layouts that grab you and the majority that you may not find necessarily interesting to your interests and scale or scales. However I am trying to teach myself keeping an open mind is far more beneficial in the long run. One can learn from just about any body standing behind the layout as they have achieved something that I surely haven’t, yet. Whether that be an interesting take on creating scenery or a particular method of Electricals, there is some nugget to be teased out of a conversation. For far too long I have said and thought to myself “oh I don’t like that because… “However that was limiting my learning experiences that I could’ve been picking up from.

It is really all about the story. Whether that be the layout that you see in front of you or the person behind that layout. Both have interesting stories to tell and hopefully you can hear them. This weekend was very much all about this conversation. Thinking that I would pop in and have a look round take some pictures and video and then lead to meet up with family was far from the reality. Time flew by and in what seemed like a moment my phone was buzzing in my pocket with messages asking “where was I?“

For about three hours I had three conversations that were way beyond the value of the admission which was a poultry £4. I would’ve paid 10 times that for the inspiration and advice that I received from the very knowledgeable and gracious layout owners. I’ve always found that the best conversations I’ve had at railway shows have been with small layouts. I don’t know whether it’s something to do with the physical connection to their audience or whether it is that they have more time to be able to talk to people in front of the layout.

So what did I bring away with me from the show, well apart from some Rocket glue for my card building models that I’m working at the moment, I had an affirmation that my small space, shelf layout space, was going to be more than adequate for my needs. I think that I will be able to pretty much get everything including the kitchen sink in if I so wish. I also came away with some ideas for layout operation like point and signal operation, and ideas for transporting layouts around if I was ever to be invited to a show. I was once again reminded that for myself “Playing is important“ and having a layout to be able to do this with his key. Even if I switch a couple of trucks around for an hour that is really what I’m looking for. Don’t get me wrong building things he is just as important as playing with things as after all we are just playing trains.

You can check out my visit to the show over on my YouTube channel. Unfortunately you never get the real experience of having been there but I have caught a bit of the essence of the show.

EGRM Heworth, 2020 – Full Video – MODEL RAILWAY https://youtu.be/12lciSo994A

Warley 2018

It’s late and I wanted to get something up for today and today I went to Warley. That’s the biggest model railway train show in the ??

Wow what a day! I really didn’t get to see anywhere near the layouts I wanted to see but I met many friends old and new that made that all worth while. I had planned on taking loads of pics and maybe even some video but I failed in my duties. The thing about the Warley show is that you really need two days to see it properly but that ends up being pretty expensive. One year I’ll do that, maybe. There was a wide mix and it amazes me that they manage to find enough variety to keep people coming back year after year. There seemed to be an emphasis on small layouts with many amazing examples of what could be attained in in some cases very small spaces.

Along with all of this were talks about 3D modelling and the level of detail that can be achieved in this case N scale. Pretty mind boggling. Then white metal soldering. This has always been a dark art in my books but 20 minutes of show and tell I am now ready to unleash my 18W iron on a 009 kit I promised a friend.

To top it all off there was the main attraction, with was discussing Nm9 modules for the Swiss stuff. I’ll go into more detail in another post but suffice to say this is the way forward.

Until next time..

Awayday plus three

It is still some what of a frantic time with much dashing around but not much actually physical progress at the moment. I am however getting a lot done behind the scenes, setting myself up for what I really want to and need to be doing. In fact I’m not sure if it’s because I am being way laid from the hands on work or whether the gods are smiling on me at the moment but I am really fired up with all the projects I have whizzing around my mind. Maybe it is because the winter nights are drawing in and traditionally thats when more work gets done just need to find the time to do it.

One of those diversions was a weekend away in Wales that I referred to in my last post. I seem to be making the trip down to see my friends in North East Wales about twice a year which usually consists of a day of trains and a day of walking. This time however with an appointment on the Tuesday I spent an extra day there and as it was a school day we had the opportunity to slope off and take in an event that both my friend and I wanted to see, it being the last opportunity to do so. The event was a sister loco to the Snowdon Mountain Railway steam locos over from the Rothorn in Switzerland.

The first day was spent at Crewe Railway Heritage Centre, nestled right between four lines in and out of Crewe. It was once one of the epicentres of the railways but now is a shadow of its former glory. There is the one remaining train manufacturer left in town though not a resident rather a transient visitor. There is also the rather sad figure of the Brits efforts at an Advanced Passenger Train and like many of the ground breaking projects money was whisked away before the the project was allowed to mature. Even today with a new coat of paint and a spruced up interior it would cut the mustard, pass muster and any other phrase you car to think of. As can be seen from the pics though time has not treated it well left to its own devices and the elements. I wonder if one day some preservation group may come along and attempt to save a deteriorating piece of our past like others have, ATP-E, HST-P, H-BEL amongst others.

The second day was spent at the Seven Valley Gala and the weather gods shone on us! There was a lot going on even at the passing halt Hampton Loade. There were some pretty big celebs of the loco world there with Britannia and Royal Scot being the ones we managed to catch. I also finally managed to catch up with the NELG J27 Loco that had been on my local line for a month and somehow I had managed to miss it before it headed off down to Bewdley. No doubt it will be back next year on its more natural stomping grounds.

I have managed to piece together some video from the camera which seems to have decided to go mute at certain sections and introduce a certain amount of image stutter also. Maybe its trying to tell me something, but at the moment I have more pressing needs for the hard won pennies so I hope that the limping duo of camera and phone can carry on till point where they can be decommissioned.

I have also started learning a bit more about taking video and I can see that my efforts lag way behind my visions of what I should be creating. But then I don’t have large chunks of cash invested I’m my equipment unlike my friend. But  as the saying goes the best camera is the one you have in your hand and it’s also more about the shots being taken. I would however like to sharpen up my skills a bit. I week of watching some beautifully shot European railways has certainly given pause for thought.

I was going to post my first video but it would seem that the ducks are not in a row and it’s still uploading and on the basis that I post every Sunday I’ll add it tomorrow when the old laptop should have done its thing!!

Until next time..

Days Out – 2018 Seven Valley Railway Gala

It has been over a year since I visited the SVR for it’s annual autumn steam gala with my friends and again we took the walk through the xx country park ending up at Hampton Loade where we watched trains and ate cake. The was a star studded cast of locos with Britannia in the leading roll. There was also Royal Scott and the recently rebuilt J22 amongst others.

It was a beautiful autumnal day with distant whistles and the exhaust bark that could be heard up and down the Seven Valley.

Many photos were taken for reference such as tress and the general landscape in wonderful autumn colours. As I’m away from home I am absolving myself from 15minutes as I’m doing prototype reseach. I’ll post a short video once I’m home of locos going past!

Until next time..

Swag mags

Whilst away visiting my friend Andy in Wales we had a day out to the mixed traction gala at the Seven Valley Railway. Having walked down through the Seven Valley Country Park, a lovely shaded path next to the railway and the river Seven with some great places to stop and take pictures of passing trains, we arrived at Hampton Loade for tea and cakes. After a flurry of activity of passing trains my attention turned to the bay platform where there’s a few wagons on display and one of which has a little shop inside it. In there I found a stack of MRJ mags way bigger than I could either afford or more importantly carry back to the car. So I selected out around a dozen and handed over the princely sum of a fiver. On talking to the man in the shop he said that lots of people come with lists of what they want. Doh! Why didn’t I think of that! Oh well better armed for next time.

I love the old MRJ’s and although it seems aimed at the larger scales there is so much to take from the content even if it’s not my cup of tea. Anyway some nice bedtime reading to keep me going and until I can return with my list I will take inspiration from some great modellers. So until the next one.. when I promise to have some modelling to show.

An experiment

I have been thinking about doing this for some time and never have gotten around to it until now, this being using YouTube as a form of journalling. I’m not sure where I will go with this but I think that if a picture says a thousand words then a video must be ten fold of that. Now I am not naturally an extrovert and see many pitfalls in exploring this medium but I have learnt so much of the hours spent watching all sorts of things that I can see much benefit to posting actually progress rather than written. I am also aware of production value and can see from my first effort it need a lot of thought an planning to get quality footage. Then there’s the editing and that’s an art in it’s self but I hope to be able to improve with time and loads of research on, er, Youtube.

So without further ado here is my first effort taken at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway at there 40’s Gala weekend. There is some rather poor footage due to white balance set completely wrongly on a secondary camera and with hindsight I would have do a lot differently.

Here begins a journey so lets see where it goes