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COPYRIGHT: PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH BEFORE CONTINUING!

All photos in this Blogspot and those accessed in Google Images via the links in each report are my Copyright and may be saved for personal use only. They may not be republished elsewhere without the written permission of the Copyright holder.

Hello and welcome to my twice reinstated and updated photo reports of visits to narrow gauge model railway layouts and events! Following the sudden and untimely cessation of Fotopic in March 2011 and with it the loss of my photo galleries, I started this blog in order to try to keep my "Roving Reports" available to those who enjoy viewing them. I have linked this blogsite to the old galleries which I originally rebuilt and posted in albums in Picasaweb. Once all the old reports had been rebuilt, I have continued to add completely new ones to cover my visits to events from April 2011 onwards.

In August 2016 Google blocked access to Picasaweb in order to force everyone to use their "much better" Google Images, so I had to do the whole exercise again. Thanks! .

Meanwhile......Because of the way this Blogspot works, the most recent postings appear first and the oldest ones last. Each report contains a link to the Google photo album plus captions for that report. The link will take you to the front page of the Google Album for this report. Left click on the first photo and it will open into a manually operated slideshow. A panel should open alongside the image on the right showing the number of the photo and the caption text. If it does not appear, click on the small white disk top right of the photo panel and it will open. Move forward or backwards by clicking the right or left arrows on your keyboard. When you have finished viewing, click the back arrow showing top left of the photo panel and this will take you back to the album opening page.

Close it in the normal way by clicking on the "X" top right or click the return arrow top left of the Windows screen to return to the blog, depending on which browser you use. Once back in the blog, any report can be accessed sequentially from the blog by scrolling downwards and if required, click on the "older posts" link at the bottom of the list, or simply go to the Blog Archive on the right of the window and select any report by simply clicking on the title.

Monday 31 March 2014

11 January 2014, SWOONS Members Open Day, Ilton, Somerset

Another extremely wet and windy start to the year as Brian Guilmant and myself loaded flares and lifejackets into the 009 Society Salesmobile and set forth into the waterworld that parts of Somerset had become. Our destination, Ilton, is very near the flooded Somerset Levels and at times the A303 heading west from Yeovil was a bit like a causeway across a giant lake but we navigated a dry route and got there safely, as did a good number of narrow gauge enthusiasts, ready to enjoy the 8th South West Group 009 Society Members Open Day. Once again Matt and Maria Cicquel came up from the Devon Railway Centre and provided 5 star beverages and food including some splendid hot “oggies” whilst everyone enjoyed the usual informal, relaxed and friendly gathering amidst an entertaining variety of models provided by the host group and friends. Well done to all the SWOONS team for an excellent event.



Sunday 30 March 2014

A Visit to Tim Sanderson's Elmgate and Thatcham Light Railway

A long time ago Tim Sanderson invited me to visit his home in Haywards Heath and take some photos of the Elmgate & Thatcham. Eventually the opportunity arose in September 2013 and just 2 weeks after my photo session at Brian Guilmant’s home, I found myself visiting Tim at last. I have been an admirer of Tim’s innovative and imaginative modelling since I first read about his “Jintybash” locomotives in Railway Modeller January 2000 and subsequent articles on converted TT goods vehicles and Meridian Ashover coach modifications in the July 2001 and August 2002 issues respectively.  This is a portable layout built for exhibitions and operation and is a complete contrast to Brian’s Imperial Western in the previous report. As I couldn’t publish results of my photo session at the time, I thought it appropriate to put it in here as a fitting finale to my 2013 outings with the camera. I hope you agree!



Saturday 29 March 2014

A Visit To Brian Guilmant's Imperial Western Railway

I mentioned in the report on the Member’s Morning on 14 December 2014 (the previous report in this blog) that, in addition to organising a mini-exhibition in his local community hall, Brian Guilmant had also invited visitors to see the fantastic narrow gauge empire that he has been building in his 30ft x 14ft converted attic. As can be appreciated I’m sure, taking photos of a home layout visit with a number of people present can be “challenging”, so I thought it entirely appropriate to cheat a little here and insert a record of a special invitation that I had from Brian 3 months earlier, in September, to take a set of photos of the layout which he used some of in his article that was published in 009 News issue for December 2013. Here then is my own guided tour of the world that exists in Brian’s Attic!



Friday 28 March 2014

14 December 2013, 009 Society and Wessex NGM Members Morning, Colehill, Wimborne

Following the success of the Members Morning in Colehill in 2012, Brian Guilmant, hired the Colehill community hall a hundred yards from his home and organised another one for 2013, to the same recipe as the previous year: a selection of invited layouts, complete with the 009 Society sales stand, bacon rolls for breakfast and soup and rolls for lunch, a visit to Brian’s fantastic narrow gauge empire in his attic and for the Wessex NG Modellers members and invited guests, their own Group Christmas Meeting in the afternoon. Another very successful day, if exhausting for the organiser! Lots of people made the journey, some travelling considerable distances. I had to leave at lunchtime, but everyone that I spoke to during the morning told me that they thought it was a splendid little do and a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning!