Trainwest Melksham Exhibition

What a wonderful time we all had at Trainwest,,, as this picture very clearly shows.

May I introduce Achilles Davis,,the latest member of our operating team.
Within a period of around 30 minutes he managed to:
1, streamline the afternoons operating schedule,
2, sail through his operators theory exam,
3, go from apprentice to fully fledged Top Link exhibition operator.

His enthusiasm was infectious and his knowledge of Messr's Bachman and Hornby's products was not just impressive,,, for a 4 year old it was simply staggering.
There is obviously a risk letting untrained people anywhere near a controller,, especially at an exhibition,, but not on this occasion, he not only shunted in and out of the engine shed but onto and off the turntable,,, which is something we all struggle with,,especially later on in the afternoons!!!!
Now I am a strong believer in parental guidance and it is plain to see that Achilles is receiving some pretty solid guidance from somewhere,,, well done to all concerned,,, he is welcome to join us at any future exhibitions,,, and I have to wonder if he can solder as well as he can control a train, please advise.

Another highlight relates to this,,, the actual Salmon Pastures Blog.
I have long been of the opinion,, and have expressed my concerns through various previous posts,,, that nobody actually reads this concentrated codswallop,, well that was until this weekend at Trainwest.

I am delighted to announce that I have now actually met 2 people who not only read it but also announce in public that they enjoy reading this rubbish.
What a bonus,, so this is paradise,,,I am quite simply over the moon,, never has my boo been so tickety.

To Mr & Mrs "Stephen" [pity about the Swinedon jumper,, but never mind] I offer a heart felt warm and cuddly thankyou,, my life is now complete,, and as discussed I will return to more regular posts,, some of which may even mention progress on the railway,, but one never knows what may take my fancy and be perceived as a justified cause for a quick rant.

Try this for size,,,I know I'm already sick to the back teeth with all the bovine manure coming out of various political protagonists, and apparently we are not even half way through the glorious campaign yet!!!
Well jolly-dee and GOOD OH.
I'd rather watch repeats of Wilfred Pickles Gardeners World than this current HooHaa.
Give it a rest will yer.
Doubtless by the time our election is finally over we will all be invited by the BBC to become enraptured, enthralled, involved, whatever by the forthcoming American Presidential Election,, in fact they've already started by getting excited this morning about Mrs Clinton nominating herself as the US's head honcho, sorry but I can't get excited about UK politics,, never mind our cousins over the water.
Auntie B,,,, we've got very nearly 18 months before all this colonial stuff this becomes boringly significant.
Stop,, Cut,, Edit,, Stanley knife needed RIGHT NOW.

Now as "informed editors" should offer a "balanced view" then here is a small progress report on the latest technical developments down here on the pastures.

The new cottages appear to have been very well received,,, they certainly stopped people peering into the fiddle yard,, the new tram,,, mmmm,,, not a roaring success,,, it looks wonderful but ran like roaring inflation,, in that it was wonderful going uphill but absolutely hopeless coming down again.
Having watched it I wouldn't want to be a passenger on it coming down Fiddle hill,,, the diecast body is obviously far too heavy for the length of the wheelbase so for the second day it was back to the lightweight plastic original as bodged together by yours truly,, compared with the diecast model it looks pretty naff but it offers a much smoother ride,, so it's back to the drawing board with the ways to improve the tram.  

Now I know I have also mentioned this before,,, but once again we got far more questions about the tram than the railway,,, can I repeat,,, I know "NUFFINK" about trams it is only there to support the railway.

Their just ain't no justice,,, and to make matters worse the tram was outvoted by a mile by Lizzie Ward the Elephant,,, again I know even less about elephants than trams!!
We had 1 tram & 1 elephant on view,,, and approx 25>30 engines,,, and what do people want to talk about,,, the tram or the elephant.

After helping us last year at a show, Andy an old RAF pal, sent us a bicycle bell which we could ring just before the tram sets off from the stop. Just like the real thing. Thanks Mr B.
So at Trainwest we plumbed it in and tried it,,, and so we are proud to announce we have a new award:

"The Broadfield Bell",,, an award for the psychologically challenged, disadvantaged, unhinged, and completely tone deaf & I qualify on all counts,,,and so does Andy,, it was a roaring success,, it made us, and more importantly, the paying public smile a LOT.
By the afternoon of the second day all 3 of us were ringing the bell even if people weren't watching us,,, now that is scary,, [visualise a quick hunched Charles Laughton type character,,,"The Bells the bells,,, {slobber} Esmeralda,,, the Bells"
Sheer madness but pretty typical of exhibition life down here on the pastures.

Crickey Stephen,,, what am I going to waffle on about next time!!!!

Oh and he's another "westerner cracker" of the new bits,, I'll post some more when I've caught up on sleep!!
If it ran as well as it looked I'd be the happiest bunny in the Kingdom,,, one day SAD,, one day.
And new photo's are always good at finding what needs attending to,,,, & after looking at this one I've already found a couple of days work before we tread the boards again on the 16th of May at Ely!!
Keep watching and you can even pass comments if you like!!