Hello again Richard. I guess that it would be possible to use the steaming bay as a coal drop. The rail over the steaming bay is to be mounted on 3"x1" box section steel to provide access to the underside of locos if needed, so it could be used as you suggest. However, it would not be very authentic...

Photographs of the yard itself. The shuttering that can be seen was to enable the links to be made to the sidings from the diagonal feeder line. The concrete was laid on Saturday 17th December, so concrete laying in the yard is complete apart from the base for the turntable which will be to the nort...

Apologies for the long delay in providing an update to the progress being made at ESSMEE. In between helping to run trains for public events throughout the season, we have been pushing on with the groundwork, and currently we are somewhat in advance of the point I anticipated reaching by the end of ...

Since my previous posting relating to this show, our Chairman has learned that it will be possible to camp or caravan on the site for a fee of £8 per night. Anyone interested should contact the show organisers. there is a "contact" button on their website which is http://www.swmee.co.uk" onclick="wi...

Hello again Richard. When are we going to see you again at Shepton? The pillars are indeed similar to those on my own track, although somewhat taller. You may recall that on my own track the adjacent stream is inclined to flood from time to time. The pillars there are to allow the water to enter and...

Hello again, As can be seen from the accompanying pictures, we are making progress at the Bath and West showground. The first picture, looking south from the buffer stop end of the yard, shows six strips of concrete. That on the extreme left will be extended to form the headshunt. The next will be o...

Hello Alan. Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, the show at the end of April,and start of May is organised by a commercial concern. They will only provide a limited number of passes to enable our club members to get in as our track will be in use for the event. They will allow camping/caravans ...

For the benefit of anyone who did not see my earlier posting, the above event will be taking place on 30th April, plus 1st and 2nd May at the Royal Bath and West of England Showground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset. (Satnav BA4 6QN) The showground is home to the East Somerset Society of Model and Exp...

We are back in business at last! With no frost forecast, we poured a further 20 metres of concrete on Wednesday 9th Feb. Today, amongst other things we have removed the shuttering, and hope to re-set the shuttering for the next length of concrete this coming Wednesday. Further updates to follow. Dav...

Thanks for the enquiry Dave. Shortly after my previous posting winter arrived! As a result it has been far too cold for the laying of concrete. Together with Dave Surgey and Chris Ede plus a couple of other helpers, our efforts have been directed towards building a large ticket office to stand on th...

Richard, Thanks for your comments. At present there are only a few of us actively participating, but hopefully, as we make progress others will become involved. In addition, we are hopeful that it will encourage current members of GL5 who live within travelling distance of the Bath and West showgrou...

Marshalling yard update Further to my previous posting, the first concrete was laid on Saturday 20th November - only a short stretch, but it's a start. Hopefully, shuttering for the next length will be completed tomorrow (Wednesday 24th) and more concrete can be laid on the 27th. David Hale. First c...

I constructed a "Charlatan" version of the 08 shunter soon after it became available back in the 1980's. The original design was marketed by a gentleman named Mr. H. Pugh, and used four cooling fan motors readily available from Lucas, the car electrics company. The design was subsequently taken over...

Marshalling yard update. With the passenger carrying season behind us, here at the East Somerset Society, we are now getting into the Autumn/Winter works programme. Having levelled the site of our proposed yard in May, followed by laying and rolling hardcore to form a sound base, we have now started...

Dave, Many thanks for your input. I suspected that laying tracks in pairs might present a problem, and welcome your other advice. If any member of GL5 is passing close by our site at the Bath and West showground en-route to the south west, and would be prepared to drop in to view our proposed yard, ...

Further to Richard's request for advice in designing a marshalling yard at our club site in Somerset, can anyone advise as to the best arrangement for sidings to ensure that operations can be carried out easily. For instance, rather than having sidings equally spaced, although not entirely prototypi...