Steeple Grange Light Railway

A new one for us, the Steeple Grange Light Railway, Derbyshire. This was partly a fun day out sort of a trip, partly a visit to see family nearby, and and partly a research trip for some possible articles in Garden Rail magazine.

We ended up parking (and having brunch) at the National Stone Centre, then walked down the trackbed of the famed, long-closed Cromford and High Peak railway line to the preserved railway.

Opened in the mid-80's on the trackbed of a quarry branchline, this 18-inch narrow gauge preserved railway is an interesting, quirky one.

The main line is about a kilometre long, but ridiculously steep.

Trains are formed of open-sided ex-National Coal Board coaches, propelled up the line (which means if you sit in the end you get an excellent view up the railway).

I (Ben) don't mean to sound insulting when I say this, but the railway has a charmingly ramshackle appearance comparted to our usual narrow gauge haunts in Snowdonia. But this is a rural-based, industrial tramway, and no doubt captures the atmosphere of the real thing nicely. I've a bit of a thing for overgrown railway lines that are blending back into their surroundings, and this one ticks that box.

The end of the line; a little underwhelming arriving in an industrial estate perhaps, but this line is more about the journey than the destination. Plus, with my railway modellers hat on, so to speak, this is screaming out to be replicated in miniature form.

The trains are short, and it's a fun experience, journeying up the line propelled in the 'Manrider' wagons. Open-sided and sat low-down, a world away from what they were designed for, being crammed with a load of miners in some deep underground tunnel.

There's lots of industrial artefacts scattered around the place.

This is what I was really wanting to see- ZM32 "Horwich". Ex-British Rail, this little Ruston is gorgeous and again, begging to be modelled. The stock here is a mix of internal combustion and battery-electric, all ex-industry and small. It's great that this railway has gone to the trouble to preserve and celebrate these machines, keeping them running into the 2020's.

There's also a short branchline to a quarry (which has been repurposed as an adventure centre), the short route run with a pair of open wagons.

Anything else? Well, the volunteers were welcoming and friendly, the atmosphere fun (there were lots of family groups riding the trains- the adventurous ride and small stock seems perfect for kids), the cost was very good value for money. Plenty of inspiration for model-making and article fodder for the miniatures work, especially the two terminal stations, and all in all, a lovely couple of hours on a sunny Sunday.

 

Mini post- Blue Pullman through Saltaire.

Not much to this one... we went out the other week into the village, partly for the walk, partly to see the Blue Pullman come through. Lighting was a bit dull, but this is always a striking train, and it stood out nicely against the greenery and millstone.

Hopefully get the chance to ride on this one day.

 

BRM; a holiday cottage in TT:120

The next of the articles I wrote for British Railway Modelling has just dropped- this time, modifying a TT:120 cottage by Hornby.

This was both the first project I modelled in this new-to-me scale, and the first actually that I did for BRM in this series.

My only TT:120 loco; I had been planning on selling this, but the project has convinced me to do something else in this scale and hang onto it.

I have to say, I'm properly happy with this project, it turned out looking just as I wanted.

As usual with these builds, there's much more on the model-making blog, link on the right.

And in the mag. Once again, the BRM team made it look fantastic on the page.

 

The tunnel at Treborth

A little bonus post tonight; whilst we were at Treborth, I (Ben) stumbled on this culvert, and thought I'd try a few shots. Might have to try this again, with some creative lighting.

 

Treborth Botanic Gardens

We've been visiting North Wales for decades, so it's nice when we end up somewhere new. The Treborth Botanic Gardens, near Bangor, were somewhere Ben's parents regularly visit, and they took us along for a stroll one afternoon.

Interesting and vivid colours.

Trying for some creative angles; because the Uni were working in them, the glass-houses weren't open, barring the one near the plant sales table.

Definitely going to be coming back here again.

 

BRM Magazine; Holiday Cottage in TT:120

Another piece in the British Railway Modelling magazine for me (Ben), this time on personalising a Hornby resin ready to plant building into a holiday cottage.

It involved building a little diorama to shoot the cottage on,

This was back in the early Spring, so I was making the most of the sunny weather one weekend, to shoot in the garden at the in-laws.

There's plenty more over on the model-making blog, link on the bar on the right.

...and in the September issue of BRM, on sale now.

 

Cemaes by evening; sunsets and silhouettes.

As mentioned in the last post, we did a lot of walking around Cemaes, and especially after tea. You get some stunning sunsets off the beach here, so this post is a selection of shots taken on some of the evenings.

The atomic power station looming in the distance.