Real or Model?

A beautiful, fully-restored Great Western Railway large Prairie tank locomotive (click on the picture to get a bigger, better image):

Or is it??? Would you believe this is just a very well done model of it? Find out by clicking here.

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Great Western Society, Bristol Group

A site to visit: Great Western Society, Bristol Group. Excellent source of information about Great Western signaling practices.

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South Hants Model Railway Club

Just discovered another beautiful UK club web site: the South Hants Model Railway Club. The specialize in OO scale, EM gauge, but also make room for a nice O scale layout as well.


A photo club member Peter Bailey's Otterbridge layout

They have five layouts:
1. Cricketer's Green (OO scale, EM gauage)
2. Durbridge (O scale)
3. Hope-Under-Dinmore (OO scale, EM gauge)
4. Meon (OO scale, EM gauge)
5. Odgen Fold (OO scale, S4 gauage)

They also feature pages for club members personal layouts.

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The Signal Box

An excellent web site devoted exclusively to UK railroad signaling standards and rules can be found at The Signal Box.

Excerpt from the site's home page:

This web site is all about railway signalling. Its primary purpose is to describe the principles behind railway signalling in Great Britain, but some coverage of signalling around the world will also be found. The emphasis is on the older, mechanical signalling - that worked by mechanical levers and with semaphore signals. More detailed information on modern and foreign signalling will often be found elsewhere on the web.

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The Modern Diesels of Australia

Here's a beautiful video I found on YouTube showcasing the modern diesel locomotives of Australia. Notice how many of them look and sound very American!



Sadly, I know next to nothing about Australian railroads, but I'm certain that will change in short order...

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The "pope" of investing buys BNSF stock

Big news the Monday after Easter: Warren Buffet, the richest man in the United States, has begun buying large amounts of railroad stocks!!! Well, with a company name like "Berkshire", they should be buying railroad stocks...

Berkshire Investment
Boosts Rail Stocks
By DESIREE J. HANFORD
April 9, 2007 2:05 p.m.

News that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has taken a stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., as well as potentially two other U.S. railroads, sent shares of railroads sharply higher Monday.

The stake by Warren Buffett's company comes at a time when the sector's first-quarter results are expected to be hurt by weak volumes, particularly in the auto and housing sectors, and winter-like storms that cut into coal carloads for some railroads. In recent months, some analysts have trimmed their earnings estimates for major railroads.

"[The investment] probably points to his belief that the fundamental business proposition underlying the railroads remains intact despite near-term projections for volume weakness in 2007," Fitch Ratings analyst Steve Brown said. "He's probably looking at this, still, as a value play."

The stake by Mr. Buffett, considered one of the world's savvier investors, sent shares in the three biggest U.S. railroads by revenue to fresh 52-week highs.

Recently, shares of Burlington Northern were up 8.6% at $89.91, Union Pacific Corp. gained 5.3% to $108.63, and CSX Corp. rose 2.6% to $42.02. Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp., the fourth-largest railroad in the U.S., advanced 4.1% to $53.07.

........

Berkshire Hathaway disclosed Friday in two filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had purchased 39 million shares of Burlington Northern at share prices up to $81.80. That gives Berkshire a 10.9% stake in the railroad, becoming its largest shareholder.

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal: 9 APRIL 2007: Berkshire Investment Boosts Rail Stocks
(Note: only Wall Street Journal subscribers can view articles online.)

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Uckfield Model Railway Club

A GWR "Collet Goods" 0-6-0 on the Kennet turntable.

There are some very nice British model railway clubs on the Internet, and one that I find particularly interesting and well done is the Uckfield Model Railway Club.

The club has three complete layouts, 2 in 'O' scale and one in 'OO' scale, P4 gauge. They also own and maintain a beautiful outdoor, live steam miniature railway.


Notice the very American looking 2-8-0 pulling the train, patterned after a Canadian National locomotive.

I highly encourage you to visit a sample of their modeling efforts online:
1. Uckfield Model Railway Club home page
2. 'O' scale "Buckham Hill" layout (Southern)
3. 'O' scale "Kennet" layout (Great Western)
4. 'OO' scale, P4 gauge "Leysdown" (Southern)
5. Bentley Miniature Railway (7" & 5" gauge)

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