Thornycroft in print

Our Thornycroft Sidings model railway is featured in Railway Modeller magazine February issue. On Sale Now.

If you visited this Blog having read our article in Railway Modeller and want to know more then the best way to navigate this Blog is to select a topic of interest from the word cloud (titled Labels) shown in the left hand column.

Or start with these links:
Background to Thornycroft
Thornycroft Posts
Thornycroft Factory Buildings

This Blog covers the modelling of Cliddesden Station and Thornycroft Sidings in N gauge.

Feel free to leave us a comment, thanks.

Ed and David

Yet another outing for Thornycroft Sidings

Farnham and District MRC Exhibition 2019

Thornycroft Sidings will be on show at Farnham and District MRC Exhibition 2019 on Saturday October 12th and Sunday October 13th at:

Alderwood Leisure Centre, 

Tongham Road, 

Aldershot, 

GU12 4AS 

(formerly called the Connaught Leisure Centre)

Ed

Transport Festival thanks

Thanks again to the Thornycroft Society for inviting us along on the 12th May 2019, to the annual transport festival, this time being organised by the Rotary Club of Basingstoke & Deane. The weather managed to hold out, to make it an enjoyable busy day.

We had many passing visitors. With the usual ex thornycroft workers, and local residents always keen to take an interest in the layout, along with the young wanting to see the trains go round and round.

This year I managed to get my face (and the layout) in the Basingstoke Observer newspaper (at the time dad (aka David) was looking around the vehicles and stalls):

Article in Basingstoke Observer

Ed

Another Outing for our Thornycroft Sidings Layout

The Basingstoke Festival of Transport

War Memorial Park,

Crossborough Hill,

Basingstoke,

Hampshire,

RG21 4AG

Sunday 12th May 2019: 11 am - 4 pm

Posted by David.

Will Hay Day 5 - The Return to Buggleskelly

Back in July 2018 we were invited to show our Cliddesden model railway at an event staged by 'The Will Hay Appreciation Society' in Clidddesden village on October 14th 2018. The connection of course is Will Hays film 'Oh Mr. Porter' that in 1937 used Cliddesden Station for its fictitious location Buggleskelly.

Cliddesden Village Hall Decorated For The Event
Since building our model of Cliddesden Station in 2011 we had a hunch that one day we would be showing the model at some event in Cliddesden itself but did not think it would be such a specialised event as this. Open to members and public by advanced ticket purchase the event was fully subscribed. About 180 people attended. Notable attendees were members of the film stars families and special guest Peter Waterman (well known personality, avid Will Hay fan and railway modeler) who kindly agreed to a photo with our model.

Pete Waterman & David Smith Next To Our N Gauge Cliddesden Model Railway 

On arrival we were surprised to see another model of Cliddesden Station already set up. Was this a competition? Apparently, this 00 gauge model set in the 1930s, was an unexpected late addition to the programme brought in by a local resident.

OO Gauge Cliddesden Layout From Local Resident

The Basingstoke Silver Band gave a performance and two Will Hay feature films were shown together with documentaries about the Film Stars. A memorial bench funded from donations was unveiled at the village hall. Further funds are being raised to restore Will Hays grave memorials.

Will Hay Memorial Bench

To some people our model provided context to the filming location of Oh Mr Porter. Several people commented on knowing about our model. Tom Marshall, founder of the Society was one. He is also a follower of our Blog and was inspired to make his own model of Cliddesden Station but as the film set Buggleskelly.

David & Ed


Links
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Will Hay Appreciation Society

Pete Waterman's Leamington Spa

Tom Mashall's Model Dioramas

Wheat Field Conundrum Solved

One thing that puzzled me about wheat field harvesting with horse and reaper in the early 1900s was how the sides of the field were worked? Was a strip left unplanted or did the horses just walk through the wheat? With no answer to hand I simply planted the wheat to the fence line. No one who has read this blog or seen the layout at exhibition queried it.

Unexpectedly and recently, the answer came to me from reading Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. In support of the story line Hardy described in great detail the landscape and working practice.

Whilst being a work of fiction I believe what he described in this respect is true. He described a wheat field that had been 'opened', meaning the wheat at the fence line was hand-cut a few feet wide for the horses to walk unhindered by the wheat (at the time the wheat variety would have been between 3 and 5 feet high).


Armed with a pair of sharp scissors, I cut the lanes and coloured the cleared ground appropriately with acrylic paints.

Conundrum solved!

David

Not your usual model railway show...

On the 30th June we were invited by the Brookvale Community Association, to attend their Thornycroft day. A small event remembering and highlighting the importance the Thornycroft Motor Works was in the history of Basingstoke. Brookvale was the area where most of the factory workers lived, and the factory once stood. The association was also raising money to build and place a replica clock on the village hall, that once stood on top of the Thornycroft factory, something they have been trying to do for a few years.

The event had many interesting Thornycroft memorabilia on display including; unseen photos, work magazines, and registers. Also 3 vintage Thornycroft vehicles were on display parked out the front for all to see. There were also some hands on "engineering"tasks using Meccano and clock-work train emphasizing the ethos of the factory, and an interactive show put on in the afternoon by the Thornycroft Girls.

Thornycroft Vehicles

 We were there with our model railway, which accurately represents 1/3rd of the Thornycroft factory, to give visitors an idea of what the factory would have been like in the 1930's, which once stood on the now supermarket site. Obviously this was not your normal model railway show, but an opportunity to learn more about the company and factory and bring a bit of history to life!

Thornycroft Sidings N gauge model railway  

It was a beautiful sunny day, and with a few other events on around the town as part of the Basingstoke Summer Festival, the attendance here was lower than we were hoping. However it did give the opportunity to reminisce with some of the ex-workers, who brought the model to life by telling us some stories about the factory, such as a fire that broke out onsite. Apprentice's sun-bathing on the roof of the factory and taking vehicles on test drives.

The local newspaper sent along a photographer to the event, and the following week there we were in the local press...

Article in the "Basingstoke Gazette" about the event

Thanks to the Brookvale Community Association and all those that attended, with many visitors providing nice comments about our layout.

Ed