In the spotlight

Getting withdrawal symptoms. Its two weeks since the last Cooper Hire MRC layout photo session when the BBC filmed Dduallt for a spring TV programme on the history of railway preservation. However, the wait was over when Trevor and Mrs Jones from the HORNBY magazine arrived on Friday to photograph our New Mills layout for an issue in early 2013. This is ahead of next years Hornby Model Rail Show in July when we exhibit the layout in its current 1960s guise at the Hartlepool venue...taking a bit of the West Coast main line up the east coast !

The session included some video sequences that may appear on the HORNBY magazine website. The new Bachmann AL5 in its initial electric blue livery featured, a super model but it will never possess the character and personality of our fleet of reworked Trix / Lilliput versions of the early LMR electrics, created by Phill Hutchings and the Artistic Director and nearly as old as the real thing!

While we wait for the HORNBY magazine feature here is another super shot of New Mills by Chris 'Fisheye' Nevard..

Chiltern RHTT

Its not all Chiltern DMUs with the occasional bin liners on our local line. We do have our moments and last Wednesday was one of them.

A Network Rail RHTT arrived northbound at lunchtime and was held in the centre road, firstly within the station and then north of the Summerleys Road bridge, to permit the passage of up and down service trains

Topped and tailed by rather grubby Class 66s , it was delayed further to allow a Ruislip - Calvert rubbish to wend its way across to the Aylesbury branch, its signature aroma of West London effluent drifting over the platforms..

Finally, 30 minutes after its arrival, the RHTT train was released south, itself adding to the local pollution levels as its spray jets burst into action!

And then normal service was resumed!