New models almost ready

We should have the latest batch of Excelsiors ready soon.

A Wrightscale 16mm Bagnall Excelsior model from a previous batch

As some customers will have to reach into their wallets, here are a few thoughts about why a Wrightscale model is worth the expense.

Modelling in the virtual world might seem comparatively cheap. With such good computer generated special effects, many people these days go in for virtual modelling. For a society that is so keen on instant gratification, the advantages are obvious. Get in your computer generated cab, twist the virtual controls, listen to the sound effects and set off, admiring the computer generated scenery out of your virtual cab window. There is no need to find a space in your real-world home, no real-life Significant Other complaining about the mess. Planning morphs seamlessly into program which in turn becomes programmed train ride. Why not?

Tipper trucks being pushed along a garden railway route Photo Malcolm Wright

Why not indeed? Yet there are some advantages to remaining in the real world. There is the satisfaction of meeting challenges. The ‘real-world’ modeller can use various means to overcome lack of space. The Japanese led the way in miniaturising models. The smaller the scale, the larger the landscape that will be fitted into the space available.   In the USA, builders typically go down into the basement while in Britain, they remake the attic. Enthusiasts can negotiate a share of the garden and the clubbable can co-operate. Each has his or her own solution when tackling the problems.

'Boracic' and crew Such models of men would never appear in a virtual model  yet they have been given real artistic charm. Photo Malcolm Wright

The next phase is planning. In the virtual world, horizons are unlimited. In the real world, the space available dictates the layout. A club will have to plan a model which can be seen from many angles. For the home modeller, the room or the lack of will dictate the shape of the layout. This, the outsider might observe, actually adds to the fun and the achievement. To take an analogy, the poet’s struggle with language, as well as original intentions, creates the poem. The same goes for the poetry of motion.

Pic Hunslet

The effort put into real-life modelling can have benefits. A garden can be enhanced by its railway. Too often regarded as an outdoor room, a sanitary void between self and the neighbours or simply a competitive place (for smoothest lawn or most strident colour) a garden can be a source of pleasure. DaveChipchase

 It can be ornamental and an outdoor room. It can give the genuine satisfaction of ‘unity’, of purpose and design.

The Wrightscale South Deside Railway sufferedthe ravages of time and had to be extensively remodelled. It is a challenging site and many happy hours went into the planning let alone earthmoving.

There is another subtle challenge. The body as well as the brain is involved in all the pleasure, something not obtained when virtual modelling. All artists and crafters understand this. They aim to externalise something inside and bring it into the visual, audible and tactile world. It imposes a discipline on random thoughts and ideas. It is truly, deeply calming in the way that being glued to a screen is not. Some would describe it as a sort of meditation.

Malcolm Wright in meditative mood. The bridge in the foreground required extensive repairs

Of craft, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi said in a TED talk:  ‘We are living more fully. You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and the sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger’

A Wrightscale 16mm Quarry Hunslet crosses the bridge. Photo taken by MD Wright some years ago

Biologically, the process of making, the mastery of skills and a tangible end-product rewards us with a boost of powerful feel-good chemicals. It is a tool to help us cope with what life throws at us. A real-world craft is a constant in a world full of variables.

Colonel Péchot – it’s personal

Prosper Péchot was first and foremost an artillery office. Before he developed his system of 60cm railways, he invented an automated range-finder for gunnery. It was in fact an analogue computer!

Prosper Péchot 1849-1928 Photo courtesy of Raymond Péchot

The description given to the French Patent Office described it as ‘a device’ which can be added to existing range-finders ‘to find the range automatically’. The device could be fitted to cylindrical rangefinders or ones consisting of steel ribbons. The machine à diviser (range-finder) which Péchot intended to improve was one invented by a M. Guyenot which depended on a steel ribbon. In the field, this proved inflexible as the range could only be found to certain arbitrary measurements. The drawing accompanying Péchot’s patent application shows an impressive array of cogs and levers which attached to the existing range-finder. One thinks of the Babbage Difference Engine. 

Almost programmable. One detail of sketch which accompanied Péchot's patent application

Another detail Péchot's analogue computer. The handle shown above turns the gear. Both pictures courtesy of Raymond Péchot

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if one was to be constructed! The patent refers to discussions held in 1879-80 when Péchot was at Bourges. The reference is

no: 777The patent was lodged on March 7^th 1880 at the Prefecture of Cher.

The full story is in my book ‘Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the Trenches’ chapter Two.

There are parallels between the story of Prosper Péchot and some of my own family.  My great-great grandfather, David Davidson, 1811-1890 invented a related device, a collimating gun sight.

 

He had always been interested in ordnance. As a boy, he invented a crossbow of ‘peculiar and novel construction’ from which he could shoot pellets with precision. His targets were sparrows, needed as food for his pet sparrow-hawk. He used the top of the family’s weather-cock for target practice; the workman sent to repair it looked down on the young shot. He favoured him with a look and a shake of the head but did not tell. He also ‘peppered’ the monkeys of the local travelling circus (Wombwell’s Menagerie). Being used to projectiles, the monkeys were neither hurt nor surprised  but disappointed to find that Davidson’s missiles were not edible.

When he was fourteen, his target was Sandy the gardener. Sandy was seventy yards away and foolishly said to young Davidson ‘I’ll wager you’ll no hit me’ This was a tempting challenge and he ‘hit him in a safe place’ – I assume his bottom. Sandy admitted it was quite sore. Such merry japes continued until he was packed off to India in 1827 to become a servant of the Honourable East India Company.

The Indians he met were a good influence on him. For the rest of his life, he held them in respect. He developed his original ideas, first being a sort of blow-pipe to which he attached his design of telescopic sight and indulged his love of hunting. In those days, the only good tiger or cobra was a dead one – sad but true. 

In 1839, he wrote a paper entitled ‘Rifled Cannon’ which was brought to the attention of the Duke of Wellington. The crusty old war-horse wrote back a lengthy criticism to the effect that rifled cannon were an impossibility. His paper was better received by the Royal Society when it was read in Edinburgh by Professor Piazzi Smyth.

Years later, projectiles were made with copper studs which could engage in the rifling. Sir David claimed that ‘the principle was the same’ and that he had been justified! Pic p215

David Davidson's innovation. At the top is a cross-section of the gun barrel showing grooves in the gun barrel. Below are sketches of the shell shown in crosssection and lengthways. In the system that was subsequently adopted, copper studs rather than continuous bars were used. Picture courtesy of the Davidson family

An early version of a telescopic sight was shown at The Great Exhibition of 1851.

Soon, he and his friend Professor Piazzi Smyth were working on improvements. When the Crimean War was in progress and the British gunners hit a problem with Sebastopol. They could spend a whole day pounding at the defences with their guns. While they rested at night, the Russians went and repaired the damage so that ‘in the morning the assaulting party … instead of a practical breach … were faced by fresh (enemy artillery)’.

Davidson’s idea was to register the British guns so that they could keep up their fire with equal precision at night. His invention was tried out at Woolwich but the siege of Sebastopol was over before they could be used. He had the comfort of being told by Sir J.H. Lefroy of the United Service Institution that ‘if such as siege as Sebastopol were to occur again, (he) had no doubt this instrument would be deployed’

In practice, the recoil of heavy artillery would upset careful calculations but this was not an end to his Collimating Telescope. In 1858, he was invited to fit an improved version of his new Collimator to a Whitworth rifle. He heard nothing more. Later a friend researched the matter and found that 100 Whitworth rifles fitted with his sight ran the blockade and were used by the Confederate side, from Shiloh to Beatonside.

So armed, the Confederate snipers were deadly. They could fire to a range of 2200 yards (1.98 kilometres). The new sight was also used by the other side. A small body of Federal snipers equipped with the new gun-sight kept a Confederate battery silent for twenty days. When the position was taken, they found 50 gunners had been killed, chiefly by head shots, from a distance of 1100 yards (0.99km). The heads of the targets could not be seen with the naked eye.

The new sight was not adopted in Britain. Davidson described the blunders of the testing committee and ended with: ‘Inventors outside the dominant clique have a poor chance of fairplay’.

Davidson’s invention, was based on a device used by astronomers. It needed a small lantern and came in a carrying case. When setting up, the carry-case could be weighted (Davidson recommended the use of lead shot) and was then used as a platform for the device. Where two sets of cross-hairs intersected, as shown in his diagram, the aim was registered.

It could be adapted for field mortars, he commented.

Davidson returned  from India in 1850. He and his wife lived in Edinburgh but later on, they had a summer residence in Aboyne. They raised a family of ten children, five boys, five girls.

In 1880, he published his ‘Memories of a long life’. The book has recently been relaunched in the USA.

Four Bagnall Excelsior models nearly ready

Thank you, everyone, for your enquiries about Malcolm’s batch of 16mm gauge ‘Excelsior’ locomotives. She is a locomotive that Malcolm always loves building. They are proceeding to the ‘paint-shop’ to be primed and we are checking the order book for potential customers.

Four 16mm models of the Bagnall 'Excelsior' wingtank made byWrightscale. They are in the 0-4-0 configuration with spark arresting chimneys - more about the history below.  Photo MD Wright 

This is a locomotive which has always interested and mystified people. It is particularly tiny – only 3 tons 15cwt (3.8 metric tonnes) – in working order. The original maker’s records are sparse. 'Excelsior' was Bagnall Number 970, completed February 1888, 2’ gauge, wheelbase 3’, cylinder size 5” by 7.5” (metric equivalents 60cm, 90cm, 12.5cm, 18.75cm). It was supplied to Christopher Naylor for a tramway on his Kerry Estate, Mid Wales. In 1895, it was sold to J.Nuttall, Manchester, the contractor building the  Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in Devon. When that construction job was completed, it was bought by F.J. Barnes, Isle of Portland, for stone quarrying operations.

For a long time, it was assumed that Excelsior left Bagnall’s in 0-4-2 configuration although this is not implied by the information in the Order Book which just mentions that the wheel-base was 3' - simplest interpretation 'two axles three feet apart'. In fact, it is quite fascinating how many books perpetuated the myth. It shows, firstly, how many authors were interested in the tiny locomotive and secondly how deeply a myth can become entrenched.

The ‘myth’ was finally busted by Phil Copleston and Roy Link. Phil had been asked by Mrs Chadwick, the local landowner, to look through the researches of her late husband. Having traced much of the permanent way of the Kerry Tramway, Phil searched Mr Chadwick’s papers. There was a photo, admittedly a blurred copy of a copy, showing an 0-4-0 with the distinctive ‘Excelsior’ name-plate and general profile – though rather shorter and sporting a balloon-style chimney. The locomotive was surrounded, as Excelsior always was, by affectionate workers in late 19^th century costume. Acting as devil’s advocate, Roy Link scanned the photo and set about checking that it was not a hoax.

THis 'three quarter' left hand side' viewof the 16mm Wrightscale model shows the Bagnall as it appeared in the Chadwick photo which has been dated to around 1890. The locomotive was clearly a compact 0-4-0, with balloon stack chimney.  Photo MD Wright

We can believe our two professionals. Meticulous scanning of the copy showed no sign of tampering.  The photo had provenance. It had been copied from an original in the archive of Severn Press, though it has not been possible to trace where this original went. This photo was genuine.
It gave us some interesting extra information. As before mentioned, it showed the locomotive in 0-4-0 configuration. It has the distinctive profile which is confirmed by later photos, and the spark arrester which appears in one photo taken on the Lynton and Barnstaple. It is running on very light track, laid on rough sleepers, little more than logs. The tramway was short, little more than 3 miles (5 km). The locomotive was tiny, well adapted to such light track. The short duration (small tanks and bunker) were hardly a disadvantage when runs were so short. All in all, it was well adapted to C. Naylor's requirements.

Once it left the Kerry Tramway, Excelsior was photographed several times. One phot, dated 1896-7 (perhaps in early summer) shows her at Barnstaple. She has now been fitted with a back extension – evidence that she now has the trailing wheels – but she still has her American style logging railway chimney. The most celebrated view which must have been taken in winter shows her with a stove-pipe chimney. The back extension is shown quite clearly. In all likelihood, these were fitted when she was sold, probably by Bagnall's.

Excelsior finished her life at the Isle of Portland Quarries. Her job was not glamorous, heading a train of skips taking quarry waste to the edge of the island for disposal. Even then, she featured in a postcard entitled ‘The Quarry Express’. A last photo shows her, in the words of Roy Link, looking weary. (Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review Issue 53 page 197) The smart platework at the rear has been replaced by corrugated iron and even the name plate has lost its lustre. At some time in the 30s, she was taken back to the contractor’s works at Easton, central Isle of Portland, where she stayed until cut up for scrap. We believe that this was well before 1953 when the Isle of Portland Railways were officially wound up. However, even here there is not complete certainty.

16mm Wrightscale Bagnall 'Excelsior' Most photos show the locomive from the right,, though in 0-4-2 configuration and sporting a back extension. This would have accommodated another water tank to extend her duration.

This little locomotive inspired affection in the people who worked with her, always eager to appear in photos. Eight photos survive, a remarkable number as Roy Link comments ( NGI Review page 193). Phil Copleston, Roy Link, B.L Jackson, L.T. Catchpole, J.I.C. Boyd and Lewis Cozens, to name but a few, found her interesting enough to break off their narrative to describe her and her history.

So what, the anthropologist might ask, is her appeal? Clearly, her characteristics and unique profile are important. She also stands out because of a tinge of melancholy. She only worked on the Kerry Tramway for a few years before it was dismantled.  Her next owners went out of business building the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway. She then went to the Isle of Portland. In thirty years, the Isle had gone from medieval, run by Court Leet, to booming provider to the Building Trade. In the 1930s she shared in the slump and the death of the industry. As with her inception, mystery hangs about her end.  

Excelsior in 0-4-2 configuration, showing nameplate. 16mm Wrightscale model (not for sale) photo MD Wright

Her name is important, the Excelsior plates appearing so prominently in right and left views throughout her life. The brief mention in the Bagnall order book does not indicate if the plates were factory-fitted. Clearly, throughout her history, no-one thought to change them or melt them down for scrap. Even when there is a crowd around her, the nameplate stands clear and visible. Her name was, the anthropologist might think, part of her mystique.

Excelsior means ‘Higher’ in Latin; the name has clear links with ‘Excellent’,but for centuries, the term was only of interest to Latin scholars. At the time of the Revolution, New York State took Excelsior as the motto for its official state seal. In the 1860s, the term went mainstream; New York became popularly known as the Excelsior State. It was in due course adopted as a trade name in the USA (for a patent mattress stuffing, since you asked).

Why did the first owner of the locomotive, Christopher Naylor, like the name? Perhaps there was some connection between the family and New York State. Even the idea of a logging railway is American. To a less cynical age, it suggested self improvement and aspiration.Answers on a postcard, please!

The view that never was, TWO Excelsiors! 16mm models by Wrightscale

Russian Sons of Péchot

 Think of the Péchot System and we always think of the Western Front but a version was also used by the Russians in the easty. Photographs show well-engineered prefabricated 60cm gauge track in the Russian sector of the Bukovina Front in the summer of 1917. The British sent their Allies some armoured troops, as is recorded in the newspapers of the time and, clearly also some military railways. This story affected my own family. My grandfather spent some time in Russia as a military transport adviser – more of him later.

The background to the Russian story is as sad as anything during the 1914-18 War. In 1917, the air was heavy with anger and politics. The conscripts had been let down by the politicians and their generals. News from home was terrible; the best hope offered seemed to be Revolution. Allies of the Russians were melting away like snow. How had it come to this?

General Brusilov is on the right. He was the  commander of the southern Russian Army until 1917. The smaller man is General Gorko. Picture from 'Illustration' magazine, courtesy M.D. Wright

All things considered, the Russians did well. In June 1916, their Front stretched from the highland headwaters of the Goryn river, flowing northwards, and the Dneiper, southwards. The main town of this northern sector was Pinsk and the enemy they faced were the Germans. From there, the Front went south-east to the Rumanian border and they faced the Austrians. Brusilov realised that the Austrians had simply garrisoned the line with no strategic reserve. His attack was unsubtle but effective; by August 1916, the Russians had advanced up to 180 kilometres, a handsome rectangle of Austria (now in Slovakia and Poland).

Early 20th century Russian transport was reckoned to be old-fashioned; events were to prove that often the Russians knew better what they were doing than their allies. Photo courtesy Margaret Jean Jackson

On August 27^th, 1916, the Rumanians declared for the Allied side. Their motives were not entirely pure. In the event of victory, they expected to gain the territory of Transylvania (Erdely to the Hungarians, Siebenburgen to the Germans).

The Allied plan was to attack Bulgaria from Greece with a Franco-British force under General Sarrail. Concerted thrusts from Rumania and the Russians to the east would surround Bulgaria and the route to the fourth Central Power, Turkey. Italy, attacking Austria over the Alps, could do with the diversion.

Whatever could go wrong went wrong. In Greece, the French were stopped by the mountains. The British were bogged down in the marshes of the Struma river. For two years, their expedition achieved nothing much except annoying the Greeks. Matters in Rumania were worse. While the Rumanians were attacking Austrian territory (modern Transylvania) to the west, a Bulgarian/German force attacked them from the south-east. They lost their capital, Bucharest, in December 1916 and soon ‘free Rumania’ consisted of nothing more than the north-east of the country. As remarked above, the Russians had done the best.

Which way? On the Galician Front, a motor  transport is being turned around to face the Front. A British officer strides across.At the right can be glimsed some prefabricated track. Picture from Illustration magazine courtesy MD Wright

The Allies put forward a plan for 1917. They would now divert the Germans by new attacks on the Western Front while the Russians under Brusilov would advance over the Dneiper river to hammer the Austrians. In the meantime, the armies of Free Rumania would protect the Russian left flank.

This did not happen. The Allies on the western front were commanded by Nivelle; his offensive ended with French troops in mutiny. British losses were sickening. The Italians were at their last gasp. Until July 19^th, the Russians put up the best fight.   

Kerensky taking the salute. In early summer 1917, he toured the Russian Front, making patriotic speeches. When his troops went over the top on July 1st 1917, he he led the way, revolver in his hand, Illustration magazine reported. Picture courtesy of M.D. Wright from Illustration magazine

Back in April 1917, the Germans had attacked near Pinsk in the northern sector, using poison gas and heavy bombardments. They did not follow up this atack. I believe that they thought a brief show of force would frighten the Russians into suing for peace. Their intelligence had told of near revolution and régime change in Petrograd (modern St Petersburg) the then Russian capital. The offer of an armistice was radioed directly to the Russian people. 

If they believed Russia was near surrender, they were wrong. The Russian Miniister of Defence, Kerensky urged the Army to resist the invaders, to go on the attack for the sake of Mother Russia, to avenge the insult. Brusilov was to attack once more, but with new generals. They picked on the Austrians once more -  what is now south-east Poland – the Galician Front. On July 1^st, the Russian Army attacked. At first, all went well.

We have photographs showing showing prefabricated railways on this part of the Russian Front. These were taken in the period of retreat, with British officers waving their revolvers at the fleeing troops. In the background is prefabricated railway though no sign of rolling stock. In the circumstances, it is likely that it has already been taken to the rear. Thousands of miles of prefabricated rail was made for the Western Front, at first in France, then in British factories and then also in the USA. The route it took was circuitous, probably via the North; the Russians built the Murmansk Railway to get supplies south.

The original Péchot design of prefabricated track, useful for transporting food, ammunition, pretty well everything in the field. Several hundred kilometres of this track was made for the French Army in 1888, many THOUSANDS of kilometres in the 14-18 war by both sides; the Germans copied and  improved the Péchot system. Photo courtesy Jim Hawkesworth

Various styles of prefabricated track photographed by M.D. Wright early this century. Such track was laid and relaid many times in the previous hundred years. The original Péchot design is the neat track with curved edges to the sleepers. It required good quality press tools to make and other designs were tried. Prefabricated track appears in the photo above.

 
For the first week, the Russians advanced, taking thousands of prisoners, but by July 12^th, the Austrians, reinforced by Germans, replied with heavy artillery. By 19^th July, the Germans had rushed in a strategic reserve.  The Russian line was broken in at least three places. Soon it was not so much retreat as rout, on the Front and Home Front simultaneously.

On July 16^th Petrograd was in open revolt.  A few months after came the October Revolution and the new Soviet administration which did indeed sue for peace. Russia descended into civil war with the Soviets on one side, the White Russians on the other.

If you want to know more, Professor Tony Heyward of Aberdeen University has researched Russian transport of the period.

Here is a family recollection. My grandfather, a Captain in the Royal Engineers, went to Russia as a transport adviser. His experiences in Murmansk 1918 must have been broadly similar to the experiences of the officers on the Galician Front.

Captain CVS Jackson of the Royal Engineers, my grandfather. His horse is called Charlie. Jackson spent the First World War  in West Africa, the Somme and Russia.

Here are some reminiscences later written down by my grandmother:

‘The White Russians though outwardly friendly and charming proved disappointing allies, torn as they were with jealousies and intrigues. They soon started plotting against the British who had been sent to help them. Their intrigues were not taken seriously as the plotters discussed their plans in loud voices in public places. At one time a plan was developed to invite all the British officers to a dinner party and blow them up. Everyone was much interested and went to the party to see what would happen. In the middle of the feast, a drunken reveller descending the staircase fell over an empty barrel. This clattered down the stairs bringing a host of other barrels with it, causing a furore in which Russian ladies fainted into the arms of their boy-friends and the meeting broke up in confusion.

Another time when a revolution was planned, two young British officers, driving back to their quarters after a party remarked to each other –

Isn’t this the night of the Revolution?

Let’s start it!

They drove wildly round the town shooting off their revolvers.

Cecil got on well with the Russian peasants and workmen once he had broken through their natural distrust of authority. When the British withdrew, he was ordered to harangue his workmen and persuade them to work for the White Russian authorities. To this they replied that they did not mind working for him or the other British officers but to put themselves under those unmitigated scoundrels their former masters they would not. They then departed to their homes”

It was a harrowing experience for my grandfather, who had a couple of months of sick leave on his return to Britain. What it was like for the ordinary Russian, we can only imagine.

American sons of the Péchot System

 In April 1917, the USA declared war on the Central Powers.

Pic As Rich Dunn records in ‘Narrow Gauge to No Man’s Land’ there was an immediate response to a call for volunteers. From May 1917, recruits with railway experience were drawn to narrow gauge railway regiments. They were given military training. The 12^th Engineers, recruited from the south and mid-west of the United States were in France as early as 18^th August 1917. Between then and October, they took charge of 60cm networks in the Somme valley.

When the advance guard of the AEF crossed the Atlantic, it set up camp at St Nazaire on the west coast of France. Here one of the first soldiers is doing sentry duty. Picture from Illustration' magazine, courtesy Malcolm Wright

From the first, the AEF determined on 60cm gauge for supply in the field. It was interesting that a country which has its own proud history of Narrow Gauge railways, especially 3’ gauge, should go for this foreign one which used the metric system rather than good old feet and inches. 

The 16th infantry were among the first troops to arrive. Here they pose under their flags. The 12th and 14th Engineers were also early arrivers. Both werein France by August.Picture from Illustration' magazine, courtesy Malcolm Wright

General Pershing was put in charge of the AEF but ‘had to deal with a opinionated (US) War Department which jealous of its prerogatives and determined to manage the War from the other side of the Atlantic’ Pershing was ‘willing to stand up to Foch, Haig, Lloyd George and  Clemenceau’. These are the words of John Mosier  - ‘The Myth of The Great War’ page 308. In short, Pershing was powerful, well connected (son in law of a senior Rupublican Senator), quite possibly bloody-minded and in short not pushover.

General Pershing stands on the left, Vice-Admiral Gleaves beside him on the deck of an escort ship bringing in a convoy in June 17.  Picture from Illustration' magazine, courtesy Malcolm Wright

Pershing, though a real sceptic, was convinced of the value of the French porteur militaire, and a version of this system was used by the AEF. The French system in use in 1917 was based on the Péchot system first adopted in 1888, thanks to its tireless promotion by Prsoper Péchot – as I have recounted in Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches’. The Germans adopted and developed this system, starting only a few months after the French. Coincidence? I think not.

The 0-4-4-0 Péchot Bourdon locomotive was designed to run on portable track that had been laid at speed on country paths. Just under 60 were in use before WW!, but several hundred were ordered for use during the War. Photo courtesy Raymond Duton

Because trench warfare threw up problems which were not foreseen in 1888, the system was updated. We can take one example, the fascinating Péchot-Bourdon locomotive, designed to run on prefabricated track. Steam locomotives give off a plume of smoke in day-light and showers of glowing sparks at night. The solution, as the French, Germans and British found, was the internal combustion engine. Petrol and diesel powered locomotives, or loco-tractors as they were called, were used near the front line.

My particular favourite are the Baldwin Gas Mechanicals. These were designed and made at the Baldwin Works in Philadelphia. They were supplied in both 35hp and 50 hp versions to the AEF and the 50hp version was supplied to the French Army. (See my previous blog)

THis 50 hp Baldwin Gas Mechanical locomotive was photographed in the Museum at Froissy in the Valley of the Somme. Courtesy Jim Hawkesworth

The US Expedition to the Western Front was a tremendous achievement. From across the Atlantic, the American Expeditionary Force AEF had to create and run a supply network feeding the Western Front.

Their particular interest was the Argonne, due east (roughly) of Paris, but as Rich Dunn has pointed out, they lent a hand in other places too. The 12^th and 14^th Engineers helped on French and British lines in the Somme sector, at first as assistants and then to run entire sections of the Front themselves. They were caught in the German Spring Offensives of March/April 1918. They retreated in good order, but did something quite valuable. They stopped equipment being used by the advancing German Army. Baldwin Gas Mechanicals, such as the one pictured above, were stripped of their magnetos and carburettors. These vital parts were buried. The men of the 12^th continued their hike to the rear, reformed and helped the Allies build trenches to defend the new Front.

16mm model of the Baldwin Gas Mechanical made by Malcolm Wright

It has often been said that the AEF did not respond to appeals from its Allies when the might of the German Army broke on the Somme Front. Just remember the Engineers!  

Once upon a time on the Talyllyn Railway

Just a reminder; if you wish to email us, please use our gmail address aboyne.workwright@gmail.com

As they say, every picture tells a story. So here is a picture which really has to have a story behind it.

Wrightscale 16mm 0-4-0 Bagnall 'Excelsior' live steam model with model of slate slab truck built from a Wrightscale kit

Once upon a time, a little locomotive started life in Staffordshire. The only air he knew was sooty, but scented of home. He was loaded up on to a big railway wagon and spent a long, bewildering journey. When his wagon was unsheeted, he found himself on the Kerry Tramway among the woods. Although the air was fresh enough, locomotives don’t like trees. They tend to catch fire and blister the paintwork, so he was homesick. He worked hard, but all you get for working hard is to be told one day: ‘Job done. We don’t need you any more’  While he was there, working on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, he met a small wagon. They said to each other … Another long journey later and he woke up in a workshop. They bashed him around until he had a new pair of wheels. Then he was carted off to Devon by the sea.

'I'm lost too! The slab truck was used in North-west Wales for transporting slate from quarry to workshop. These little wagons did  get out of the quarry, mostly to be lost in undergrowth down the line, but some must have travelled a long way. Perhaps it was being taken to the Ayrshire estate of the McConnells (see below) and took a wrong turning.

The slab truck pictured was home-made for the Talyllyn Railway of north west Wales, opened 1866. It was built to serve a slate quarry and the communities which grew up, extracting, working and exporting slate for roofing. The little railway connected the quarries up-country to the harbour and the Great Western Railway system at Towyn, a small town created by the short-lived slate bonanza. The great name of Spooner is attached to the early story, though he is normally associated with 2’ gauge rather than 2’3” (gauge of TR).

On the Talyllyn, finances were always tight. In 1902, the last of the original promoters of the TR, William McConnell died, aged 92, at his Ayrshire home. Though not Welsh, the local newspapers praised him and his manager. Though he had, as the local phrase went ‘come in Wales’ he had public spirit for the railwayand all his employees. He believed that a sound home makes a good worker. The railway needed a new benevolent owner.

Mr Henry Haydn Jones, newly elected as Local MP, bought the enterprise, complete, in 1911. Various other landowners thought they had rights over railway and land – they hmore or less had to hand over their rights in order to keep the railway and quarry running. In those days, the threat of 150 people losing their jobs could make an altruist of even a stingy and self-rightheous soul. Oh! The days of social pressure!

EDWARD THOMAS Kerr Stuart locomotive at Towyn terminus in 1980. Photo Malcolm Wright. The house behind is still recognisable from photos taken in the 1930s

By 1918, the railway was failing. The uniform of the faithful Jacob Rowlands, station-master at Dolgoch, was worn out, but he carried on, now wearing clothes he supplied himself. Dafydd Jones, who for years had tended the garden at the station of Rhydyronen was old and the garden disappearing. 

The 20s were to bring some relief.

The railway sought to attract tourists. ‘Objects of interest in the neighbourhood’ it promised, included, ‘the Bryneglwys Slate quarry, the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pannant, most picturesque in its antiquity, with the celebrated Bird Rock and the ancient Castell-y-Bere close by. Conveyances for Talyllyn Lake can be hired at Abergynolwen’ (Text taken from an undated timetable of the 1920s). This text did not mention the attractive Dolgoch Falls. Photos taken through the 20s and into the 30s prove taht tourists did come, then as now.

It is hard to put precise figures on the decline of the railway. Haydn Jones never made the required returns to the Board of Trade, or to anyone, it seems! JIC Boyd, the faithful historian of the Line remarked (TR p 63) that the best available records were pencilled graffiti on the walls of the workshops. Photos of the period show the sharp decline in maintenance. The state of the trackwork became a byword.

Abergynolwen Station, the official end of the line. Located to the east is the site of the slate quarries. The bogie carriages are painted in authentic colours - vermillion with gold lettering - as used on the original railway. Photo Malcolm Wright

Another valuable record was made when ‘Picture Post’ sent a photographer, the artist ‘Emmett’ and a journalist up the line on a train headed by DOLGOCH (see below). Local worthies who accompanied them included Jones the Bard. The most evocative of the many memorable photos taken that day must be of the locomotive waiting while  ‘Die’ Pugh (undertaker and garage owner) and ‘Gas’ Jones (engine driver and fitter) carry out emergency trackwork. Emmett was looking on, guarding the workers’ jackets.

Modified Kerr Stuart 0-4-2 EDWARD THOMAS in gentle steam. Photo Malcolm Wright

Just before his death in 1950, Haydn Jones was knighted for services to the public. The railway was clearly a large part of his public service. With his death, it looked as though all was up. But Edward Thomas, the Manager, persuaded Sir Haydn’s widow of a new plan. The railway could be run for nothing! Though this was a novel idea, enthusiasts had already been visiting the line, Tom Rolt and Rev W. Awdry among them.

In February 1951 history was made in a solicitor’s office in Machynlleth. W. Trinder, P.J. Garland and Tom Rolt represented what was to become Talyllyn Holdings Ltd, the holding company for the first preserved railway in Wales. Sir Haydn's widow, Lady Barbara Annie Gwendolen Davies Jones, represented the old dispensation with Edward Thomas as go-between.  She handed over the line for a trial period of 3 years.

Ah! This was no fairy tale. It all actually happened. The original lease was extended and Talyllyn Holdings Ltd runs the railway to this day.

The two original locomotives were TALYLLYN 0-4-0 built by Fletcher Jennings of Whitehaven in 1964. Incredibly, it was still running in 1952, as was DOLGOCH built also by Fletcher Jennings in 1866. There were rebuilds and modifications. Both had a cab added and DOLGOCH was changed from 0-4-0 to 0-4-2. For a few years after the Boer war, DOLGOCH was known as PRETORIA. They can still be visited.

In 1951, two locomotives were bought from the Corris Railway. Also 2'3" gauge, it had just closed. Number Three, from the Falcon Works, Loughborough, was named Sir Haydn. Number 4, a modified Kerr Stuart, was name EDWARD THOMAS in honour of the manager who had facilitated the birth of the preserved line.

Other locomotives came too.

DOUGLAS on the TR at Towyn 1980. Photo Malcolm Wright

DOUGLAS, an 0-4-0 Well Tank Andrew Barclay modified E-class, was donated in 1953 by Douglas Abelson. The narrow gauge line at RAF Calshott had just closed.

Go up to the Talyllyn Railway and you can see these and other locomotives, a range of rolling stock and take a ride.

News from the 16mm AGM

We had a good day at the 16mm AGM. We had a chance to display our wares and talk to old friends and new. Most importantly we had a chance for feedback – the information and suggestions which are the life-blood of our partnership. So here is some feedback.

One of our sharp-eyed customers noticed that we gave contradictory emails in our catalogue. Well spotted! There are two emails which will reach us:

aboyne.workwright@gmail.com and aboyne.wright@btinternet.com

The safest one to use is our gmail address. We apologise to anyone who used any other address. Please try again with the aboyne.workwright@gmail.com.

A preserved Péchot bogie wagon. In recent years, these have been released by the French army to preserved railways around France. Malcolm's 16mm models have therefore become very popular. 

 Other feedback concerned our War Department and Péchot (French military) bogies and wagons. These have proved to be very popular and have been the subject of many enquiries. Unfortunately, Adrian Swain who was the source of high quality castings, has definitively retired. We wish him many long and happy years.

Malcolm has been looking for new ways to fulfil demand. There are WD bogie kits available from other manufacturers, though not in white metal. As ever, we heartily recommend Binnie glass-fibre resin wheels for your WD bogies.

Swift Sixteen are producing Péchot wagon bodies in resin.  Malcolm and Mr Bushell of Swift Sixteen are going to collaborate to make Péchot bogies available in a combination of resin and laser-cut parts. We are going to collaborate with South East Finecast to produce bogie parts. Watch this space!

We have released a 16mm scale slab truck kit, based on the ones which were used in the salte quarries above the Talyllyn railway. Price £18 Components are laser cut Perspex, metal and wheels in glass-fibre resin.

New for the show! Slab truck 16mm kit. Photo Malcolm Wright

A number of customers asked us about progress on our 'Wrens' These are going ahead, though there has been a hitch. Our original supplier of etches is moving out of the enthusiasts' market and we have to transfer the phototools to a new supplier and update the technology. Since Malcolm always has something on the go, he is producng a small 'catch-crop' of Bagnall 'Excelsior' locomotives.

A Wrightscale Bagnall 'Excelsior'. Malcolm is producing a small batch of these. Photo Malcolm Wright

We made a new friend, Pauline Hazelwood of Saddletank Books.  Her aim is to introduce a new generation of young people to narrow gauge steam. Rev Awdry with his ‘Thomas’ series still sells well, but Pauline concentrates exclusively on locomotives which have been rescued and appear on preserved railways. She has written about Peter Pan (Kerr Stuart Wren 0-4-0T) and Alice (open cabbed Hunslet  0-4-0T), to name but a few. Perhaps one day, she will write a book about the 'Excelsior' story.

Pauline Hazelwood has written five books for the younger enthusiast. The 'Alice' class quarry Hunslet  features in two of them. By kind permission of the author

In her career, Pauline moved from portraits to commission to book illustration and then to writing and illustrating her own books. www.saddletankbooks.com  Each story in the Saddletank series is based on a narrow gauge locomotive – its original purpose, the rescue once the line closed and its new purpose on a preserved line or as a museum exhibit. There has to be a ‘happy ending’ to attract children. Her aim is to educate as well as to entertain; her motto is ‘if you draw, you see more’. She is particularly keen for girls to get involved. Who knows where a mechanical bent could lead them?

A 16mm Wrightscale cabbed Hunslet pushes a slab truck, as was used in the slate quarries served by the Talyllyn railway. Photo Malcolm Wright

I can’t tell the story of the Talyllyn railway with the charm of Pauline or the Rev Awdry, but it is an interesting one. The railway ran from 1866 until 1951, the purpose being to transport slate out of Bryneglwys quarry down to the port of Tywyn (Towyn as it was then called). It was 6 miles 50.75 chains long (6 5/8 miles/10.4km approx) with heroic gradients and bends. It survived closure several times but at last in 1951, all seemed lost. Then a group of volunteers took it over as the first preserved railway in the British Isles. Its original locomotives, Dolgoch and Talyllyn, were joined by two from the Corris railway, Sir Haydn and Edward Thomas. They can still be seen today.  

"Dolgoch" 0-4-0 T was built in 1866 by Fletcher, Jennings & Co., but to a very different design to that of "Talyllyn". Photo courtesy Talyllyn Railway

The scenic little railway provides a delightful prototype for the 16mm modeller. Alright! I know! Dead-scale models would not, strictly speaking, run on 16mm scale track because the gauge of the Talyllyn is 2’3” rather than 2’.When it comes to modelling, people are happy to stretch a point. (For example 2’ gauge is used almost interchangeably with 60cm though it is ½” wider.) So Malcolm has produced a slab wagon which would be an addition of character to your 32mm gauge railway, especially if it runs through a scenic rockery.

 Edward Thomas, 0-4-2ST, was built in 1921 by Kerr, Stuart & Co. Ltd. for use on the Corris Railway. It was transferred to the Talyllyn when the Corris closed. Photo courtesy Tallllyn Railway.