The Shankly and Gdynia Railway

[Chops]

Hopefully, I'll get back there to see it for myself. The last two years have been hopelessly shipwrecked, and the coming year doesn't look too stellar, either.

[IanAlan]

Hi Chops,
I wonder if the coming year will be any better than the last two. Covid doesn't seem to want to go away. The so-called Spanish flu pandemic of a hundred years ago came in at least four waves and possibly six. The First World War made data collection difficult, so nobody really knows. My fifteen year old son wants to go travelling abroad during the summer as he will have taken his GCSEs, but I fear it may be another holiday in the UK. He's missed so much at such an important time of his life. It's such a shame.

At least we oldies have the delightful distraction of our model railways.

Trains Glorious Trains

[bulleidboy]

Hi Ian
That last picture is great - the blue livery and the buildings with a few blue touches look very good - a nice picture. Barry

[IanAlan]

Thank you BB for your kind comment. Yours is an especially satisfying compliment because, for once, the effect was what I was aiming at. The last five locomotives that I've bought have all been blue (in various shades admittedly) to keep to the SGR blue (and white) colour scheme even though they are in various different railway companies' liveries. Somewhere in this thread several years ago, I told the story of how the SGR ended up blue. Basically, back in the 1970s my dad gave me some red (gloss) paint to use on the brickwork of my Airfix engine sheds (gloss brickwork!), so to provide contrast he gave me some blue for the window frames, doors, guttering and drainpipes etc. I also used the same blue on my Airfix signal boxes. My memory tells me that at the time I would have chosen red as the company colour - inspired no doubt by the quintessential bright red steam locomotive of boyhood dreams. The red, however, that would have looked too samey next to the red bricks. When I started again with model railways five years ago, the easiest thing to do was not change the blue on the railway buildings, so it stayed blue by default. My favourite colour is actually green and I do think that the Flying Scotsman looks very fine in this colour.

I've largely used up my stock of recent photos, so here are some from August that I never uploaded.

Sweet Memories of August on the SGR















The sky doesn't look particularly summery in the photos, but it's an English summer.

You may have noticed that the fourth photo was taken before I added the long thin extension to the edge. It certainly looks better now with the added landscaping.

[Hound Dog]

Hi Ian,

Nice pictures and as always a hive of activity...... I agree that the Flying Scotsman looks great in green, but then again it never seems to look out of place regardless the layout or era.

Have a great Christmas - cheers Richard

[IanAlan]

Happy Christmas to all members and viewers on MRF. Have a happy and healthy holiday season, Ian Alan

[IanAlan]

Belated Happy New Year to you all
and
Happy 5th Birthday to the Shankly and Gdynia Railway



I'll upload some more photos and news in the next few days.

[IanAlan]

Hi Everyone,
Because of the pre-Christmas rush, I didn't wish Hound Dog, AKA Richard, a Happy Christmas, but I hope that you had a good one and thank you for your kind comments. 'Hive of activity' is exactly the effect that I'm aiming for although it's not too difficult to achieve - I just put a lot of stuff (track, figures and scenic features) in a small space. Regarding, the Flying Scotsman, it is indeed a true classic - I couldn't agree more.

I had hoped to get that other classic locomotive model as a Christmas present - the A4 Mallard, but sadly, stocks were out, so I had to settle for a Dapol Class 121/122 Diesel Railcar instead. This was a present from my mum which I chose and ordered on her behalf. She just passed me the cash and was happy to tick a present off her Christmas shopping list. What swayed me (aside from the lack of availability of much else) was the working lights, both inside and out. Dapol must have overestimated its popularity as it was reduced from £130 to £89. Actually, now that I think about it, it was the price drop that swayed me.

It looks very fine in a most agreeable shade of blue, so it fits in nicely with most of my modern era locomotives, provided you don't notice the names of different companies printed on their sides.

As the lights only come on when it's moving (my layout is DC), I've included a moving shot. Apologises to those who don't like blurry photos, but I think this one is rather good. I've also included a focused shot, so as to keep everyone happy, including myself.

Clear Day in Shankly


Zroom!

[IanS]

I agree, it is rather a good movement shot.

[Walkingthedog]

Good shot, if I’d have taken it the train would have gone before I pressed the button.