The West Somerset Railway

So i really only started writing this as a way of documenting whats going on with my newly acquired model railway, but i was sitting on a train heading down to Somerset on Friday for this past weekend's ATP and i figured i may as well write about REAL railways, and real railway trips, ones where you get to ride on trains, and see trains, and hang out with like minded people. I've made a much bigger effort to actually 'do train stuff' in the last few years, i got to the age when i realised i actually wanted to do it, and if people don't get it, well, fuck 'em.

So ATP then, it was pretty amazing, probably the best one i've been to, but then this isn't about ATP or the fact that i'm regretting getting to be 34 and having never heard a Shellac record, this is about getting up at 8:30 on sunday morning after not nearly enough sleep and far too much vodka the night before. I made it though, grabbed a cuppa and a sandwich, quick shower then out the door. It's always quite surreal wandering around festivals in the morning and seeing it all just so quiet and asleep, and that continued walking up past the beach in Minehead, there were so few people there i managed to decide in my head that they'd cancel the train. I needn't have worried though, the platform was nicely full, including a few people with tell tale red ATP wristbands on, so at least i knew i wasn't the only one stupid enough to do this. I bought my 'day rover' ticket, the clerk in the ticket office told me i could go back and forth as much as i wanted with that, but i only wanted one trip, to the end of the line and back.

We left Minehead on the dot at 10:15, pulled out the station and past the Butlins, it was overcast, but not too bad, for an extra 20p i purchased the guide to the line so i spent the first 10 minutes or so just having a bit of a read and settling in. The journey to Bishops Lydeard took about 1hr 15mins, and before long i found myself in an almost empty carriage, a few people had got off and on along the way. There were a few places i'd like to have seen up close, the diesel shed at Williton, the wonderful looking pub at Washford that you see on the way to Butlins, and Bishops Lydeard itself which houses the Taunton MRC's layout, which from the pictures looked suitably impressive. Unfortunately though, it decided to piss it down just ouside of Bishops Lydeard, and that made the decsion easy enough for me. I had 10 minutes to cross platforms and head on back to Minehead by DMU, in a perfect world i'd have had a leisurely stroll around Bishops Lydeard, a bit of a nose at the layout and headed back also by steam train in time for the afternoon re-awakening of the ATP crowd. Still, it was a nice juxtapostion to travel back by DMU, it was cold on there, it was noisy, the seats were harder, it's a funny thing progress, OK, it should have been quicker (it wasn't, but thats because you just realised how slow you were going, i guess that's what the timetable is for) but there was no soul to it, and for me to say that being of the diesel generation is quite something. My dad would be proud (and surprised!)

All in all, aside from the weather, it was a pretty perfect morning, the railway is exceptionally well run, and the scenery along the coast is pretty special, it's a beautiful part of the country, and going from fields, to the sea, to woods, to hills all in an idyllic setting is just a wonderful way to spend the morning..

..spending the afternoon drinking, dancing and watching bands is also a whole heap of fun, but as i said up there, this isn't the place for that.. Now if only there was somewhere i could go that would combine the two!

I'm on a steaming train..

Ah, it's almost ATP weekend, so i won't be making the trip to Gravesend and all work on Hartland Junction will have to be postponed, and it's Galway next weekend so nothing until the end of May. This is my 4th Minehead ATP, and the first one away from December when you can't go on the West Somerset Railway as it's all kids and Santa Specials.. We booked up for this Breeders weekend late last year, i wondered at the time how i'd break the news to my dad that i'd miss his birthday, i havent liked to do that in the last few years but i figured, well, theres always next year. There isn't a next year anymore though, so i'm going to do what i always planned to down there, and spend Sunday morning on the West Somerset Railway, the trip takes on a extra level of poignancy as i remembered the other day that he spent a happy few months down there training people to drive Steam Trains.. I just hope my inevitable hangover doesn't ruin the trip!

Anyway, theres been a few developments on the layout, i got (not enough) brown paint and almost covered the first hill, the viaduct has been bedded in with an embankment and the castle is almost 'home' I tidied up a lot too, which helps to see what comes next!

The hills are alive...

..apparantly, with the sound of the music.

It was a good day, i spent a whopping (almost) £4 the other week on a pair of ipod speakers from Tesco, they're not the loudest, but they'll do.. So they live out in the train room now and i get something to listen to whilst i 'work'. Albums seem to fly by out there, i guess thats because i'm actually busy doing something that i want to be doing.

Anyway, the hills are indeed alive, as thats what took up most of my afternoon, the first 'window' now has a hill attached, mod-roc is fun, i remember building hills as a kid and really enjoying seeing them come together then, well, not much has changed! I really enjoyed what i did today, theres 2 levels of track, fully laid, a hill between the 2, a tunnel mouth, it's really coming on.. Of course, it's still white, and i still need to ballast the track and do the scenery, but that will come.. 'Window' 2 now has the viaduct across it, although it needs a little attention, and i need to get more mod-roc to form the hills at each end, but that shouldn't be too bad..

I forgot my camera today, so more pictures next week.. Then it gets fun, what do i do with the station/yard area.. Thats going to be the challenge!