Western Gazette 1st Jan 1988 – article by John Bissett & pictures by Jim Tampin
Roger, very quickly it seems (was he
tipped-off?),
discovered that I’m a locomotive builder, first and foremost. His persuasive
tongue had me volunteering to build his two ex-Midland 7F 2-8-0 locomotive kits.
He was absolutely adamant that no S & D layout should be without these
particular locomotives as they were unique to the line. The building of these
DJH kits is a whole tale in itself and an abject lesson in “investigate before
volunteering”. Also, as Mike Lloyd and Jimmy Malcolm discovered, they were
trouble with a capital ‘T’ if run on your layout! Both, somewhat
reluctantly, had their curves re-laid to a larger radius, at Roger’s behest,
to accommodate these engines. However, our Evercreech layout sported a 7F in
time for the visit to the clubroom by a reporter from the Western Gazette. A
virtually full-page spread in the 1st January 1988 edition resulted
with no less than five photographs – mind you four were of the “Up”
sidings board!
Western Gazette 1st Jan 1988 – article by
John Bissett & pictures by Jim Tampin
 The busy "Up" sidings area at Evercreech Junction featuring ex-LMS 4F superbly weathered by Mike Lloyd, Phil's re-painted Evening Star and Roger's small-boilered 7F that I hadn't quite finished building. |
 From the left - me, Roger Bartlett and Geoff Youell working on the "Up" sidings |
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