People love pictures and quite right too. Cameras come out at Missenden from time to time to record what goes on and some images will be seen in the publicity material and elsewhere on this web site. Sometimes, people send in pictures of finished work that was started or worked on at a gathering. Then there are the experts . . .
Electronics Courses
Electronics can help greatly inthe operation of a layout. For those who don’t know one end of a battery from another, there is an excellent beginners’ course for ‘The Beildered’. From there, your imagination and skill are the limit. There is help here for working with DCC and the control of signals, points and similar with CBUS.
The Larger Scales
Anything above 4mm is thought of as ‘heavy engineering’. Though most is 7mm, from time to time, people do work on Gauge 1 and live steam.
The Smaller Scales
4mm and below in this section, covering many different standards – OO, EM, P4, other finescales through 3mm and 2mm to as small as Z Gauge. If you want to learn how to make a free running chassis, with or withou compensation or suspension, or build other rolling stock, then this is the place to learn.
Weathering
Weathering adds that final touch which can transport you somewhere else and make your model really credible. Here, you can learn a wide range of techniques involving airbrushes, paint brushes and even no brushes at all. Get a masterclass from Tim Shackleton.
Trackwork
The foundation of a good layout, if the track isn’t right, then you will always have problems with running. Learn how to do the job properly from a master – Norman Solomon. Avoid the pitfalls and build great, reliable track.
Scenery
Scenery can make or break a layout, so learning the skills and tricks is important. Everything from baseboards to backscenes, buildings to embankments.
The Social Side
The Gatherings are primarily for modelling, but everyone wants to stretch the legs and give the eyes a rest from time to time. These are the times to chat, catch up with old friends, make new ones and ask questions of people working in other areas.
Lydham Heath
Lydham Heath is a well-known S-gauge model railway by Barry Norman. It’s a model of the station of that name on the Bishop’s Castle Railway, a minor branch line in Shropshire which remained independent until its closure in 1935.
The model is now in the museum of the Bishop’s Castle Railway Society.
Pendon Museum
The Summer Retreat in 2012 had exclusive access on one evening to this inspirational museum. John Ahern’s ‘Madder Valley Railway’, the Dartmoor scene with its timber viaduct and 100 wagon train, then the Vale Scene with stunning buildings and scenery.
Find out more on the Pendon Museum website.