SWING

Swing, an acronym for "St Wilfrid's Industrial and Narrow Gauge", is the Annual Exhibition held by the South Downs Area Group of the 7mm Narrow Gauge Association.

Our first exhibition was held on Saturday 25th April from 10:00 to 16:30 at St Wilfrid's Church Hall in Bognor Regis

Although a couple of layouts were unable to attend we nevertheless felt that the show went very well.

We raised £300 for charity and this was divided equally between the local branch of L'arche and the Barnham "Save our Signal Box" appeal. Click here for more information about these.

We have received a number of complementary remarks particularly in regard of the quality of the layouts. Visitors enjoyed the show often finding it surpassed their expectations. There was a good trade presence and they also found the day worth their while. Similarly, the all important visitors were appreciative of our efforts.

We would like to thank everyone who attended, whether as visitor, trader or exhibitor for their contribution.

List of layouts, traders and associations at the exhibition:-

LAYOUTS

Ashley Danville & Deanstown railroad (HO std gauge)
Exhibited by Cliff SouthA model of a "short line" (a kind of American light railway) set in the early part of the last century.
The Ashley danville & Deanstown is a fictional railroad set in the early part of the C20th when steam power was the predominate form of transport. It is a representation of a short line (kind of light railway) that connects to two larger mainline concerns. Ashley being at one end, Deanstown at the other and Danville somewhere in the middle and the part modelled.
There are several real settlements called Danville in the US but this does not represent any of them ! The layout is 16' x 18".

Barsnac (Industrial HO)
Exhibited by Mike Denwood
Barsnac is a fictional town somewhere in France. This layout represents part of a "Zone industrielle" served by a "embranchement particulier" (private siding) typical of what could once be found all over France. There are a number of industrial premises, such as Vins Gough, wine wholesaler; Fromage Bleus, cheese merchant and Deuxaquatre Emballage, maker of cardboard boxes. Traffic is mostly bifoudres bringing in wine, refrigerator vans and covered vans.

Eldon's Sidings (7mm scale, 3'9" gauge prototype)
Exhibited by Peter Hollins
Situated approx 1/2 mile north of Corfe Castle Station, Eldon's sidings was the point where ball clay from Benjamin Fayles mines was transhipped from the companies own 3'9" gauge tramway, to the standard gauge Swanage branch of the LSWR.
Eldon's Siding together with Fayle's tramways and its connection to the Swanage branch are modelled in 7mm scale in the Edwardian period. The layout featured in the April 2007 Railway Modeller.

Evalight (OO9)
Exhibited by Sussex OO9
Part of a modular layout featuring harbour, small junction station, and a clay pit for "off scene" brick works.

Gideon Postlethwaite & Sons. (O9)
Exhibited by by Steve Green
This layout represents a fictional medium/heavy engineers company in the North West of England circa 1952 and served by a light narrow gauge railway. The railway was founded in 1893 by Joshua Postlethwaite who, in 1896 introduced had the idea to replace horse drawn transport which was struggling to cope with the heavier loads. The two secondhand tram locos purchased then are still in use today.
As can be seen, the company is still owned and run by the family, even though the works has been considerably extended over the years.

Glyn Valley (OO9)
Exhibited by Peter Binns & Nigel Smith
This Glyn Valley layout was built and first exhibited by Tim Tincknel and is now presented by Peter Binns & Nigel Smith. It is a compressed model of Glynceriog Station (the passenger terminal) on the quarry line between the interchange wharf on the Shropshire Union canal at Chirk, North Wales, and numerous granite quarries 9 miles away. The line opened in 1873 and closed in 1935.

HIGH WEALD LIGHT RAILWAY - CRANBROOK TOWN (O16.5)
Exhibited by Brian Daly of the Surrey Area Group 7mm NGA
A lovely layout representing a "twig off a branch" of a Kentish narrow gauge line rebuilt to serve primarily the tourist industry.

Hurlstone Manor (O standard gauge)
Exhibited by John Hayward
Amid the rolling hills of Sussex there are many large Country Estates. Over the years, as the owners struggled to keep up the expense running a large house, some were turned into Country Hotels, hospitals or Private Sanitorium. Some of these came to be serviced by a private railway system, such as the Hellingly Hospital railway near Eastbourne. The principle traffic was coal for the boilers but they often transported Patients and staff or customers for a mainline railway link as well as general stores.

The model described represents an imaginary estate line linking Hurlstone Manor to the mainline. It is modelled to the scale of 7mm to the foot Gauge O standard gauge and is an attempt to show how this "senior scale" can be modelled in a small space. The line is operated by a small tank engine carrying passengers in a fixed wheeled coach with a variety of goods wagons for the transport of coal and goods to the Manor house and to convey agricultural products of the estate to the mainline. The scenic area is 48" x 20" - the track is a mixture of custom made pointwork by Marcway and Peco bullhead rail flexi track. Control is conventional 12volt DC analogue.

Those with an interest in the exploits of Sherlock Holmes may recognise Hurlstone Manor as the setting for the Musgrave Ritual.

Marshdamp and Quills Creek (O9)
A lovely little layout.

Picture this (O16.5)
Exhibited by Brian Wilson
Brian wanted to come up with a new way of presenting layouts so being a professional picture framer it had to be a picture.
The track plan is based on Devils Bridge in mid Wales. Brian has used "modellers licence" to adapt it to his own requirements. The station serves a village about a mile away and it also has a lot of summer visitors. The front siding serves a local timber firm.

SECCIOLA SALINA (Gn15)
Exhibited by Gerry Bullock (Basildon MRC)
A popular and fascinating layout in G scale, 16.5mm gauge model built around salt extraction in Slovenia.

Temark Valley (OO/OO9)
Exhibited by Mark Holland (Sussex OO9 )
A mixed gauge layout layout with standard gauge branch and NG interchange. The narrow gauge line climbs via an amazing route to a small quarry.

TRADERS

Falcon Figures
Martin Hill, who produces a range of superb 4 and 7mm scale figures in lead-free pewter, and which can be provided unpainted or painted attended with his full range.

KBScale (http://www.kbscale.com/)
KBscale are manufacturers of 7mm scale Narrow Gauge products. Specialising in true 2' scale industrial (14mm) they nevertheless produce for 12 and 16.5mm gauge as well. They brought most of their range

Kytes Lights & Model Enhancements (http://www.kyteslights.com/)
Kytes Lights produce an extensive range of good value lighting and ancillaries for both 4mm and 2mm scale. Some of their products would also be usable in the larger scales. They brought a full display with them.

Railroad Trading (http://www.railroadtrading.co.uk)
Railroad Trading brought an assortment of Books and DVDs etc. including some that relate to narrow gauge( US and UK) plus a selection of British Railway titles- mostly Southern but more appropriate to the area.

Trains Boats and Planes (http://www.trainsandboatsandplanes.co.uk/)
Attended with a Range of UK and US Related Modelling Items.

ASSOCIATIONS

Association of 16mm Narrow Gauge Modellers (http://www.16mm.org.uk/)
The West Sussex Area Group of the Association had a small display at which Simon King was happy to discuss the Association and what it does.

7mm Narrow Gauge Association (http://www.7mmnga.org.uk/)
Cranbrook Town was exhibited by the Surrey Group of the Association who also represented the Association.