OK, for the sake of a title this is really two items in one post. If you want to skip to the Heretic part click here

Our First Granite Restoration

The first item is news of a Binge Weekend. Before you start worrying about excessive drinking and my health I’d better remind you what BINGE is in this context, Beamish Industrial Narrow Gauge Engineers. We are slowly building up the stock for the narrow gauge railway at Beamish with a mix of new wagons were creating and the restoration of some Granite Wagons on loan from the Festiniog Railway.

The first of the FR waggons we did was 978 which is basically a slate waggon boarded in and with higher sides to allow it to carry stone. That was done over the winter of 2015/16. Continue reading →

Doesn’t time fly! Its been a busy summer with business stuff, garden railways and driving trains in Wales and as a result it hasn’t occurred to me to do anything with this blog so it comes as a shock to find the last post was in May (which also apologised for the infrequency).

Anyway the thing that has prompted me to place pixel to screen now is to post some pictures of an event that took place last Saturday.  The 7mm Narrow Gauge Association fosters area groups which are encouraged to run members open days. Whilst called members days all are welcome in reality.

The general format of these is an informal social meet with a little bit of trade, a few layouts, some demos and am emphasis on hands on and having a go. Food and endless teas and coffees are another incentive to attend,

With my NGtrains hat on I support the Bradford and Derby open days and take a selection of trade stuff and usually something to demo and get people to have a go at things. This year, on message, I built a set of 7mm scale Lynton & Barnstaple Railway bogies but then, off scale, I ran my HOf test track and built a 7/8th scale skip!

Anyway have a look at the photos