Ely,,, what a lovely place and great exhibition.

What a lovely place,,, great exhibition,,, friendly people,,, cracking selection of beer's and picturesque in the extreme,,,, in short we had a wonderful time this weekend.

No major problems except yours truly forgetting to put quite an important piece of track in place before installing the trams,,,, end result,,, a rather pronounced CLUNK when we tried to run from the fiddle yard onto the main layout,,,, more haste less speed and all that.

We knew were in for a good weekend when David read the 2 page "exhibitors guide" on the journey down there,,, of the 2 pages of guidance 75% of it was where the decent hostelry's are,,, now that is what we call useful information,,, and it was used with good effect,,,, a half decent pepper steak with all the trimmings for £9.95 was a real bonus,,,, value for money in the extreme.

We arrived on the Friday afternoon and were surrounded by willing people offering to help carry our goods and chattels into the hall,,, no wonder we were up and running in record time.

Some exhibitions just feel right and Ely is definitely one of them,,, I can also now put a face to the name of Jonathan Weallens from the LNER forums,,, we have exchanged notes on several occasions but it is much nicer to chat in person,, he also graced the pastures with a lovely Sentinel steam railcar which ran beautifully,,, now there's another job on the hit list,,, rebuild the sentinel!!!! In comparison mine is rough in the extreme.

Have checked the stats page again and we are still attracting "all sorts" of followers from Russia,,, I curiously returned the compliment to see what the downtown Moscow clubrooms look like and got a bit of a shock,,,, they had some lovely blonde models who were in very relaxed mode,,, in fact most of them were horizontal,,, and to be honest I'm surprised they get time to do any modelling what with polishing all that leather and oiling all those chains etc etc.

Another bunch of likely looking lads about to visit Ely

Now here's a bunch of likely looking lads,,, it's the Salmon Pastures Industrial Tiddleywinks Team,, [ if you click on the pic you'll get a much better view] known as "The SPITT" locally and they are just about to have a quick flick up and practice before the forthcoming semi-final against the Ely Cathedral Deathwatch Beetlers,,, come on you all knew there'd be a bit of an advert involved somewhere along the line,,, by the way we are at Ely & District Model Railway Club exhibition on May 16th,,, which is about 3 weeks this coming weekend.

That guy second from the right kneeling on the front row with the industrial thumbscrew is a bit of a poor loser,, and he carry's that around with him at away matches to "motivate" the lads a bit and it seems to have worked as they haven't lost an away match this season.

Have you also noticed there is only one person not wearing a hat,, and she's right at the back standing under the arch,,, she's just finished slicing the oranges for half time,,, and she's about to go back to the candy floss machine which is connected to that belt driven thing wizzing round at amazing speed ,,, it must be motoring as it's vibrated most of the grout out of those bricks,,, those were the day's no Elf & Safety,,, and nobody cared two hoots if you wanted 350HP motor driving your candy floss machine.

I had a run in last week with our Elf & Safety chappy,,, he was claiming the chisels were a bit too sharp to be given to kids,,, it's not often I'm speechless but this one caught me unawares,,, I told him not to worry co's our kids will soon knock the sharpness out of them,,, like they always do,,, we've got some chisels that have more handle than blade they have been sharpened that often,,, he seemed happy enough with my explanation and went back to teach French,,,,

Anyway if you fancy a laugh come and join in the fun down here on the pastures,,, did I mention we were at the City of Ely Community College on Saturday 16th May 2016.

The railway is back on it's own legs and I've even plumbed it all back in before we take it all down again for the next bash.

I'll post the result of the tiddlewinks later,, but to say we are confident of a win is an understatement.

And here's a quick NewsFlash,,, I've just checked the stats for the last 24 hours and of the 10 people who viewed the Salmon Pastures Blog,,, 6 of them were from Russia!!! Oh ho,,, keep your eye's out for the bears flying past,,, I dread to think that I've upset good old Vladimir himself,, perhaps he'll ride down here on his horse and take a look himself at some genuine imperialist modelling,, I can lend him a shirt as it's still pretty cold in the shed where the pastures lives!!
Bye bye and have a nice day.

Trainwest Melksham Exhibition

What a wonderful time we all had at Trainwest,,, as this picture very clearly shows.

May I introduce Achilles Davis,,the latest member of our operating team.
Within a period of around 30 minutes he managed to:
1, streamline the afternoons operating schedule,
2, sail through his operators theory exam,
3, go from apprentice to fully fledged Top Link exhibition operator.

His enthusiasm was infectious and his knowledge of Messr's Bachman and Hornby's products was not just impressive,,, for a 4 year old it was simply staggering.
There is obviously a risk letting untrained people anywhere near a controller,, especially at an exhibition,, but not on this occasion, he not only shunted in and out of the engine shed but onto and off the turntable,,, which is something we all struggle with,,especially later on in the afternoons!!!!
Now I am a strong believer in parental guidance and it is plain to see that Achilles is receiving some pretty solid guidance from somewhere,,, well done to all concerned,,, he is welcome to join us at any future exhibitions,,, and I have to wonder if he can solder as well as he can control a train, please advise.

Another highlight relates to this,,, the actual Salmon Pastures Blog.
I have long been of the opinion,, and have expressed my concerns through various previous posts,,, that nobody actually reads this concentrated codswallop,, well that was until this weekend at Trainwest.

I am delighted to announce that I have now actually met 2 people who not only read it but also announce in public that they enjoy reading this rubbish.
What a bonus,, so this is paradise,,,I am quite simply over the moon,, never has my boo been so tickety.

To Mr & Mrs "Stephen" [pity about the Swinedon jumper,, but never mind] I offer a heart felt warm and cuddly thankyou,, my life is now complete,, and as discussed I will return to more regular posts,, some of which may even mention progress on the railway,, but one never knows what may take my fancy and be perceived as a justified cause for a quick rant.

Try this for size,,,I know I'm already sick to the back teeth with all the bovine manure coming out of various political protagonists, and apparently we are not even half way through the glorious campaign yet!!!
Well jolly-dee and GOOD OH.
I'd rather watch repeats of Wilfred Pickles Gardeners World than this current HooHaa.
Give it a rest will yer.
Doubtless by the time our election is finally over we will all be invited by the BBC to become enraptured, enthralled, involved, whatever by the forthcoming American Presidential Election,, in fact they've already started by getting excited this morning about Mrs Clinton nominating herself as the US's head honcho, sorry but I can't get excited about UK politics,, never mind our cousins over the water.
Auntie B,,,, we've got very nearly 18 months before all this colonial stuff this becomes boringly significant.
Stop,, Cut,, Edit,, Stanley knife needed RIGHT NOW.

Now as "informed editors" should offer a "balanced view" then here is a small progress report on the latest technical developments down here on the pastures.

The new cottages appear to have been very well received,,, they certainly stopped people peering into the fiddle yard,, the new tram,,, mmmm,,, not a roaring success,,, it looks wonderful but ran like roaring inflation,, in that it was wonderful going uphill but absolutely hopeless coming down again.
Having watched it I wouldn't want to be a passenger on it coming down Fiddle hill,,, the diecast body is obviously far too heavy for the length of the wheelbase so for the second day it was back to the lightweight plastic original as bodged together by yours truly,, compared with the diecast model it looks pretty naff but it offers a much smoother ride,, so it's back to the drawing board with the ways to improve the tram.  

Now I know I have also mentioned this before,,, but once again we got far more questions about the tram than the railway,,, can I repeat,,, I know "NUFFINK" about trams it is only there to support the railway.

Their just ain't no justice,,, and to make matters worse the tram was outvoted by a mile by Lizzie Ward the Elephant,,, again I know even less about elephants than trams!!
We had 1 tram & 1 elephant on view,,, and approx 25>30 engines,,, and what do people want to talk about,,, the tram or the elephant.

After helping us last year at a show, Andy an old RAF pal, sent us a bicycle bell which we could ring just before the tram sets off from the stop. Just like the real thing. Thanks Mr B.
So at Trainwest we plumbed it in and tried it,,, and so we are proud to announce we have a new award:

"The Broadfield Bell",,, an award for the psychologically challenged, disadvantaged, unhinged, and completely tone deaf & I qualify on all counts,,,and so does Andy,, it was a roaring success,, it made us, and more importantly, the paying public smile a LOT.
By the afternoon of the second day all 3 of us were ringing the bell even if people weren't watching us,,, now that is scary,, [visualise a quick hunched Charles Laughton type character,,,"The Bells the bells,,, {slobber} Esmeralda,,, the Bells"
Sheer madness but pretty typical of exhibition life down here on the pastures.

Crickey Stephen,,, what am I going to waffle on about next time!!!!

Oh and he's another "westerner cracker" of the new bits,, I'll post some more when I've caught up on sleep!!
If it ran as well as it looked I'd be the happiest bunny in the Kingdom,,, one day SAD,, one day.
And new photo's are always good at finding what needs attending to,,,, & after looking at this one I've already found a couple of days work before we tread the boards again on the 16th of May at Ely!!
Keep watching and you can even pass comments if you like!!

Oh ye of little faith!!!

Well we finally got there,,, The New Entrance,,, it first got a mention in an October 2013 post and today I have actually finished settling it into it's new home,,,, as you can see it was a bit of a rush getting it down before the spring shower,, but we made it.

Have also added to the flavour of the scene by giving it a couple of gas lamps,,,, which I have to say I am absolutely delighted with,,,, I have a picture of a GCR street lamp which had a particularly large glass bowl and I'm sure the lads at the Ying Sin Egg Noodle and Miniature Lamp Company have copied it just for me.

How our oriental friends manage to churn 3 of these out for under £10 is a complete mystery to me but please continue,, they are absolutely spot on.

Cleverly you can use them in 4mm and 7mm,,, for us 4mm types you have a street lamp with a large glass bowl,,,,just what I want,,,  for 7mm you get some post extensions and yours are taller but with a smaller bowl,,,, clever,,, clever clever,,, but compared against the pic I have they look spot on.

Nobody can miss the new entrance now,,, it looks like Blackpool down there in the half light,,, we are having the official opening of the new entrance at Trainwest Melksham this weekend.

Please come along,,, I still need someone with a sharp pair of scissors to cut the ribbon.

If you do make it please say hello.

SAD and the Pasteurized Gang.

Pictorial Update

Hello reader,
If you now move your eyeball about 6" to the left you will see the "gateway to Flickr Oblivion button"
Please press it,,, just for once,,, I have spent the past couple of evenings [it's too damn cold in the shed] sorting out many of the pictures and have surpassed myself by setting up a couple of new albums.

Please have a browse through and you can even leave a comment or 2 if you are that way inclined.

It has also been suggested that I have an album of all the different locomotives with a bit of a description,,,, if this is of interest then please leave a comment or 2.

Just so there is no confusion I can confirm I have a C12 tank [[there must be at least 20 pics of it!!!!]]

Hello,,, Goodbye,,, and perhaps thanks for taking a little peek at life behind the scene's down here at the pastures,,, Oh and by the way,,, less than 4 weeks to go before Trainwest,,,, April 11th & 12th,,,,
Don't panic Mr Mannering don't panic,,,, we will be more than prepared.

Hope you like the new initial picture,,, how can you fail to like yet another pic from "The Westerner" and nothing at all to do with the subject on view!!!!!    Wonderful,,,, thanks again Alan.

PS:
By the way Alan,,, what have you done with that the row of shops which are Mafeking Terrace,,, have they gone on holiday??

The Wild West

As Trainwest Melksham approaches at ever increasing speed I thought it necessary to do a bit of research into what we are likely to find on our first visit to the West Country and so I took myself off to the "Pastures Library",,,and found various little nuggets of information hidden within those dusty shelves.

Now I know the show is dangerously close to Swinedon but I never would have believed I would find within just 5 minutes of starting  a picture of the world famous locomotive design team.

The chap on the left is Mr Collett,,, coincidentally the one in the middle is also Mr Collett and would you believe so is the one on the right as well,,, now I've seen this photo it answers various long standing questions I have had about the appearance of the vast majority of their locomotives.

Then I found a Wiltshire dictionary and that revealed all manner of words I had not come across before,,,

and to cap it all off I also discovered that I am not alone in spending considerable amounts of time trying to streamline & re-organise my workspaces in both the shed and garage!!!

For me this little gem just about sums up the organised chaos which is commonplace down on the pastures,,,, and I am sick to the back teeth with spending endless hours looking for things I know I have but cannot quite remember which strategic location they were last left in which would be handy at some point in the future.

We really are looking forward to Trainwest, which just in case you forgot is on April 11th & 12th and if you can't afford an exhibition guide then just look for the stand that has very little on top and spends most of it's time giggling,,, but,,, it has to be said we are all very aware of how seriously Wiltshire takes it's railways and therefore rest assured it will be very meaningful giggling,,, well at least in the morning sessions.

Why not come along and join in the fun.

Lizzie Ward,,, or a severe case of elephantitus!!!

Now I'm sure some of you will remember an ealier post highlighting "Lizzie Ward",,, as seen above,,,she used to do delivery's from the steel works around the turn of the last century,,,, now,,, you may wonder what an elephant was doing working in a steel works,,,, well most of the heavy horses had been loaned to the Army and as the same people were ordering copious quantities of weapons and munitions the demand for heavy haulage was at an all time high so some brainwave decided if they can't use horses he knew a man with a circus who had an elephant and perhaps that would be a suitable replacement.

It was more than suitable it was ideal and Lizzie became a bit of a celebrity in Sheffield,,, and it is also rumoured that the local rose growers won just about everything when Lizzie was in town.

Well it's just too good an opportunity to miss here at the Pastures so we have decided to honour her achievements in model form and here she is.   

Now a long time ago I was gainfully employed by the good old motor trade and I thought I had come across most of the bad jobs in the motor industry but thankfully I was never asked to service an elephant!!!

On a more serious note if you'd like to meet Lizzie then come and meet her at Trainwest Melksham on the 11th and 12th of April,,,, which is 6 weeks this weekend.