Model Railway Heaven
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sat 15 Sep 2018 22:57
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Model Railway Heaven at Pendon
Museum
   We breakfasted, packed and left our Winchester digs ready to
meet Margaret and Roger at the South Park and Ride for a wonderful day out.
After parking and hugs, Roger drove us to the Pendon
Museum in Didcot. The museum as the first information
board told us, was the baby of a young Australian called Roye England 1906 – 1995 (pictured with the first model he
made for the museum, a public house), he went out and about on his push bike
measuring exactly local houses, farms and public houses. Armed with audio
equipment and a cup of tea behind us we entered the first display.
 Some would look at this display and
think model railway with decent scenery. The Madder
Valley Railway is completely fictitious although although many of the
buildings and vehicles are based on real ones that John Ahern found attractive
or had special memories for him. It is not a precise, dimensionally accurate
replica of a real railway. (our kind of modelling) For example, it
features models of narrow gauge locomotives from the Isle of Man, Wales and
Devon running alongside models of standard gauge stock. The journey along the Madder Valley Railway starts from Gammon
Magna with Madderport as the eventual destination.
   This model is on permanent
display at Pendon, preserved as a tribute to the modeller’s art. It was built
entirely by John Ahern and dates from the 1930s and 40s. It is a piece of
history from the early days of scenic railway modelling and a pioneer in the
field of scenic craftsmanship. It showed what could be done with the techniques
and materials available at that time, and many light railway and branch line
layouts built in the last 50 years are its descendants. For its age and
what materials were available to use in those days, the attention to detail is
truly remarkable.
  The drawing of the
layout and John Ahern.
   We entered the next room to find
Dartmoor, complete with viaduct (wow), a real man-boy
control set-up and again, such attention to detail.
   Pendon’s Dartmoor Scene portrays a typical but imaginary
Great Western branch line, turning from the real South Devon main line at the
fictional Pen Tor Road junction to run north-westwards across the tors and into
Cornwall. The services in the scene reflect traffic and operations of the area
during the period between the Railway Grouping of 1923 and the outbreak of the Second World
War in 1939 – considered by many to be the heyday of Britain’s steam
railways.
The buildings are
all accurate representations of long-lost structures that once stood at
Launceston, Ivybridge and Yelverton, on the edge of the moors of Devon and
Cornwall. The branch terminates at the fictitious holiday town and fishing port
of Porthkerrick, on the north Cornish coast. An imaginary line can show a wide
range of stock and operations and demonstrate the changes that took place on the
railways between the beginning and end of the Pendon period. It also provides an
opportunity to contrast the traditional railway operation shown with that of
today – for example, in all likelihood the station yard would now be a small
industrial estate.
 We happily stood and watched a goods train trundle up hill.
 Upstairs to the main display. Huge, accurate and so detailed.
   Straightaway we see a mistake but no
one is sure if this is on purpose or not – the water
collector would draw water upstream of the horse, not down in case it
pooped. We watched a goods train trundle past and
were really taken aback at the realistic thatching on
the exquisite house.
      One of the volunteers stopped for a
chat and told us that this part of the layout was perfectly accurate, so much so
that people buying these houses over the years have
come to the museum to take photographs when restoration projects need to be
carried out, just as see on the model. We fell in love with The Carpenter’s Arms, the weathering, brickwork and signage
so rustic. We were told that some of these models took up to fifteen months to
make such is the level of accuracy.
    On the board behind us, what you can
do with plumbers hemp – various coloured grasses and
hedges. Wire becomes weeds and
flower tips and balsa wood for bridge
building. Nowadays people buy this scenery in bags and boxes, quite
expensive but less time consuming than this type of purism.
 We got to the far end of the display
and looked back just as a passenger train went by.
This view represents exactly a one mile run of track.
         Along the far end of the
display rural life swings along with
different houses, conversations, workers and on the stable door -
“Doosn’t Disturb Zippy” a nag well-known in the village for owning a bad temper.
You really have to look hard to spot all the tiny attention to detail. I would
look and go back a few feet, each time I did I spotted more.
   Taking in these beauties one of the volunteers asked if we had seen the
tiniest details on the display – a robin and a cabbage white butterfly. Back to
the beginning to find all the cauliflowers and cabbages. The very first
allotment and there it was – apparently under a strong eyeglass each wing and
each antennae are perfect. I needed help to find the robin. He was sitting on
the handle of a shovel in a back garden, impossible to get either on a
photograph.
 If I should die and leave you here
awhile,
Be not like others-sore undone-who
keep
Long vigils by the silent dust and
weep.
For my sake turn again to life and
smile
Nerving thy heart and trembling
hands to do
Something to comfort weaker hearts
than thine.
Complete those dear unfinished
tasks of mine
And I perchance may therein
comfort you. Anon
This passage was a favourite of Roye’s and was read at his
memorial service. It hung next to a picture of Roye,
lovely that he is looking over his life’s work and so many people come to enjoy
the thousands of hours it has taken to get this far and those putting heart and
soul into continuing the project.
  Just then, the lights were turned off and we were treated to a nightscape.
   The GP
makes a house call, a mother’s
meeting and a customer at the hardware
shop.
     The final display as we headed for the
stairs was a collection cross-sections of models. The
tiny rooms so complete in every way.
  The outcome and brilliant result of
The Chequers Inn, a firm favourite.
After our smashing time at the museum we went to a local for a very late lunch,
Roger drove us back to our car and we followed happily to Newtown. After a good
catch up of several cups of tea we went went out for supper. Such a good
day.
ALL IN ALL SUCH OVERWHELMING
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
QUITE
INCREDIBLE |