Index | New Stuff | Arne Wharf | Catcott | Combwich | Cement Quay | Contact My new Flickr Collection New Stuff Arne Wharf Catcott Combwich Cement Quay Exhibitions & Events Vintage Photos My Railway Blog! Facebook The S&DJR After Closure Modern Traction Images Steam Traction Images Vintage Traction Images I've been playing on and off with model railways since 1978, though like many people, I get bored from time to time and venture off into other hobbies like messing about with old cars etc (then get fed up because it all costs too much). Railways, whether model making or photographing the real thing, always come bouncing back! So now over 30 years down the line (excuse pun there), I guess this crazy hobby is in the blood? Combwich took far too long to get to the current stage, what you see here started in 1980. Over the years various bits of it have been replaced and modified, I think now it has reached its final stage. The track, baseboards, signalbox and station buildings are the only original bits dating back to the early stages. Most of the other bits like landscape were revamped fully from 2000 onwards after 15 years storage. The wharf and river were recent additions too. Cement Quay & Arne Wharf and now Catcott Burtle have taken far less time, months rather than years. These days I have less patience and get bored quickly, so keeping the layouts small is the way to go if ever they are to get to some stage of completion. However saying this, a large simple roundy roundy does appeal - as I imagine stiing back with a pint of something nice watching a long freight train winding around the room ..... All four layouts are portable, the three most recent being very much so. The odd time I do a show I'm generally a one man band, so things need to be simple with the minimum amount of hassle. Combwich is 'portable' but not in the same sense as the other three. It does make it out onto the road from time to time but needs a van and a posse! By contrast, Cement Quay, Arne Wharf & Catcott Burtle can be simply popped into the back of the car with the rear seat down. Catcott Burtle, a ‘could have been’ scenario is heavily influenced by the BBC TV film Branchline Railway, with the layout’s creator being taken in by the wild open feel of the area much dominated by willow, water and big skies. Many spots where roads crossed the railway utilised manned level crossings rather than bridges, with each crossing having its own crossing keeper and railway cottage. Several of the cottages had no running water or electricity right up to closure in 1966, the water being delivered by train in milk churns! Catcott, one of the many crossings on the line never was a halt or had sidings. In the ‘parallel universe’ world here, imagine if to serve the local peat deposits things had been very different? 'On the Road'.......... Cement Quay - High Wycombe 7 Nov' 09. Catcott Burtle - Astolat Jan '09. Arne Wharf - Railex May 10. Catcott Burtle - High Wycombe Nov' 10. Arne Wharf - High Wycombe Nov' 11. Note to exhibition managers. Sadly due to far too many commitments for my own good, I can only consider shows local to SW London/Surrey Recommended Links Hornby Magazine Forum RMweb Forum Wiveliscombe in Miniature Welcome to SimplyScenery.com, Home of landscape modelling By Tony Hill Eastmoor - Random thoughts and ideas about railways of all sizes. Treneglos: 40 plus years ago on the Atlantic Coast Express Modern Locomotives Illustrated P4 New Street 009 Narrow Gauge - Graham's Images Carl Arendt's Micro Layouts Dorset Reichsbahn Group Enginewood - Tim Maddocks Hornby Magazine Model Rail Forum RailExpo County Gate Rushby's Railways - micro genius! There's More to Model Railways - Ian Holmes Voie Libre PMP's Model Railway Modelling Mark Burgess Building & Operating Your Model Railway Forum All photographic images* on this website are © 1981-2008 Chris Nevard. This Web Site and any of its contents may not be copied, translated or distributed in any manner (electronic, web or printed) without the prior written consent of Chris Nevard. Contact. We actively seek out copyright violations in print and on the Internet and will use full legal force to deal with any Copyright infringements. * Photographic images are defined as GIF & JPEG format image files.