Tag Archives: Kyle

Site Updates, This Site, Web

Site Update – May 21

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It’s been a rather busy month with the doing and the finding of new work. However, late last week I finally got around to updating and uploading images and new pages. Let’s get into what’s changed and what is new.

Galleries section

In the USA section (that’s been empty for far too long) I’ve added two new subsections, and galleries beneath each one. Of particular note are the Austin TX, and Kyle TX areas.

Kyle, Texas in particular had some great rail served classics from the long gone era of railroading when we first moved there in early 2001. Including a two spot Quonset hut for the local Co-Op. All gone now of course, but forever kept in posterity here.  It would make a great modelling challenge, and something that would work from the post-war (WW2) period through the late 80s to early 1990s period. There are also some other Co-Op related buildings in this new gallery too.

The Austin, TX gallery has two new subsections for review:

East Austin

  • TSE Boxcars – showing a set of detail images for Texas South-Eastern Railroad Company (reporting mark TSE) boxcars parked up near the HEB supermarket off East 7th Street.
  • Historic buildings – East Austin Ice Factory – shows an iconic med 20th century ice factory serving the East of Austin. Not a lot of photos but enough to draw inspiration and make a great model from.
  • Railroad infrastructure – shows a few shots of the area between 5th and 7th Street in the same area as the Ice Factory. And some fascinating track formations in the few photos that I have.

Bergstrom Lead

  • This is all of the photos from the article I wrote sometime ago on modelling the Bergstrom Lead in Austin’s South.
Layouts, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Web, YouTube

Site seeing – May 1

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A month down the track and I am on the mend after discovering the joys and pitfalls (and there are no joys) of kidney stones. Not being in constant pain is allowing me to get back to normal operation; thanks to the skill of the urology team at the Ballarat Base Hospital.

But enough of me, and on to the first of this month’s site seeing.

I grew up with a very Scottish grandfather, very Scottish. I listened in awe as a child to his stories of the highlands. Working for the railways (in Australia) all his working life, it was perhaps fated that I should fall in love with the Scottish highland railway lines. One particularly holds me in awe all these years later – the line out to the Kyle of Localsh.

In the very early 1980s Michael Palin’s Great Railway Journey’s travelled the line, and quite apart from being a fan of Michael Palin this program only made my yearning to travel it greater. It still is on the top of my railway journeys bucket list.

Over the years there’s been a couple of great layouts on the highland lines. Two that come to mind are presented today.

Site 1: Portchullin – a layout by Mark Tatlow

I love the sound of diesel engines working, doing what they are supposed to do; industry, grime and dust. Hearing a diesel notch up, lifting its train, from station, industry or yard reignites my passion for modelling. I don’t know why; it just does.

While ‘tubing recently I came across Portchullin. It ticks all the boxes for me on how a great North of Scotland layout should be built and come to life.

You can watch “A day’s trainspotting at Portchullin” here:

Best of all the creator of the layout has a great website with lots of useful posts (which I’ve just begun to follow) here: (Offsite link)

If you are a signalling buff like I am, you’ll enjoy the excellent working signalling on the layout too. Mark also sells (albeit as a small run manufacturer) parts for signals, which you can also find on his website.

Site 2: Kyle of Tongue – a layout by Steve Flint

Featured in the February 1990 Railway Modellers magazine, this layout was completely immersive. You could feel the cold coming off the highland hills, and leaching into your bones. Unfortunately images are hard to come by on the web. However this image shows Port Pennan also by Steve Flint I believe.

This ought to give you an idea of the layout style that Steve is famous for.

Resources:
Great Railway Journeys – Confessions of a train spotter