Bridge to Nowhere!

There has continued to be a lack of posts on this blog and its all to do with lighter evenings and summer weather! Although some may question the summer weather bit, the odds are that I will be outside doing something rather than inside in front of a computer screen as I try to make the most of the light warm (!?!?) evenings. Hence the lack of posts but there are things being done, usually with the garden, which continues to demand attention! 

However this week has seen a few days out which given the past 18 months mainly spent at home in the WMD HQ is something nice to do. For some reason we ended up in north Lincolnshire so Mrs Woody was treated to a fascinating trip across the Humber Bridge at a cost of £1.50 for the toll and a CoOp £3.50 lunch deal of sandwich, crisps and drink - other lunch deals are available! This was consumed on what remains of the Viewing Point car park on the north shore which didn't have any view of the bridge as most of the rest of it has been turned into a Covid Vaccination Centre. Having consumed the gastronomic delight, a further £1.50 secured a return trip south bound across the bridge. The Humber Bridge has always been somewhat controversial and was nick named The Bridge to Nowhere. I am not into the politics of it all, its been built, it serves a purpose but most of all it is a fantastic engineering feat and stunning to look at.

Having crossed back to the south shore we ended up parking at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust car park at Far Lings which is located in an area of ponds that were created by clay being dug out for the local clay tile factory which is now a museum. There is a path along the shore and it all looks very interesting for a longer visit. 

You can do a bit of ship spotting too!

The path passes the back of the tile works which look as though it could be an interesting visit but what really caught my eye was the boundary wall to the site made out of stacked clay tiles.

Meanwhile back at WMD HQ and specifically The Room of Gloom, some progress on My Last Great Project has been made. Slowly track is being sorted as the plans in my mind become a physical reality. However, as many railway modelers will admit, once some track is down the temptation to run some trains is overwhelming and I have to admit to doing that myself. 

A recent purchase was a Hornby Railroad Tornado with TTS sound from Bure Valley Model Railways in Norfolk. £102 bought this and it is a fantastic runner with a smooth slow running capability and a fantastic set of sounds. For the money it is simply stunning!

Something bought some time ago was this Bachmann Class66 with DCC Sound and a set of 10 Hornby Seacow wagons and a Shark break van. I have only got five of the Seacows out but the whole train looks and runs brilliantly.

I am going to have to get my mind set back into track work and you never know the layout may end up with its own Bridge to Nowhere! However, I have to admit that running the trains has been a great deal of fun and that is what a hobby is all about! 

Surprising post!

Normally at WMD HQ the post comes it usually contains a mixture of bills, offers of funeral plans and other assorted junk! However something a bit different arrived the other day from a good friend and fellow modeler. It was a pack of some pencil drawings of a T34 tank and some diesel locos he had done when aged 14 or 15. I was amazed at the detail, finesse and quality of what I saw and those early creative talents have certainly translated and matured into his modelling from what I have seen of his master pieces. Take a bow Mr. Beecham for here are those drawings and just to make it clear he has given his permission for them to go on the WMD Blog as I didn't want any solicitors letters adding to the bills, offers of funeral plans and other assorted junk! As always click on the picture for a larger version and see these drawings in much better detail.