BGLR : Tram extension begins

The layout board has had a small extension for Phase 3 of the tramway. This will also form the roof of a new tunnel section on this end of the BGLR loop. While evaluating the layout I think a Phase 4 extension may be possible at some stage but we'll concentrate on building this piece for now!

Warwickshire Places (6) : Henley-in-Arden

Henley-in-Arden is a small town near to Wootton Wawen and about half way between Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon. The first mention of Henley-in-Arden dates from the reign of Henry II in the twelfth century. Henley-in-Arden became a market town in the shadow of Beaudesert Castle (which no longer exists) on the hill which overlooks the town.

The church of St Nicholas (officially in Beaudesert though only a few metres from the High Street) dates from 1170 and may be built on earlier Saxon remains. Near to is is the slightly younger church of St John the Baptist on Henley High Street. Next to the church of St John the Baptist on Henley-in-Arden's High Street is the Guild Hall. Like the church the Guild Hall is also of fifteenth century origin [1]. Although some original timbers remain the building has been extensively restored. The Guild Hall is still used for meetings of the ceremonial Court Leet who meet every November.

The Court Leet has been meeting since at least 1333. Nowadays the Court Leet has no legal jurisdiction but administers the Guild Hall Trust which owns the Guild Hall and some other properties in the town.

Nowadays Henley-in-Arden is an affluent little town inhabited mostly by people who are retired or work elsewhere in the nearby larger towns and cities though there are many eating places in the town and it is well known for its ice cream. Henley-in-Arden is served by a railway station on the North Warwickshire Line.

Guild Hall

Henley-in-Arden station

One of the many pubs in town

Henley has many historic buildings

A tractor passes through

Church of St John the Baptist

[1] Nikolaus Pevsner & Alexandra Wedgwood, Warwickshire (Penguin, 1966) p. 310

EVR up to Wirksworth

It is nearly a year since I visited one of my favourite preserved railway lines the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) so I headed up there from Duffield to Wirksworth yesterday. My journey back being hauled by a delightful Victorian steam locomotive. I also had a look around Wirksworth which is a wonderful town in the Derbyshire dales. You can see my EVR photos here.

Under the footbridge

Heading under a footbridge near Hatton.

BGLR : Return of Percy

There has been some more stock rotation at Birches Green. Percy has returned from the reserve fleet to replace Tango was the active shunter / light train loco. Tango in turn has replaced Ruby as the reserve shunter / engineering train loco, Ruby has gone into reserve.

Another change has been the addition of a new local passenger train consisting of a single coach. The reason for this was the arrival of the Rail Car. This has replaced the push-pull coach on commuter services and meant that there were four active locomotives but only three normally scheduled trains (express passenger, light freight and heavy freight) so the BGLR has added another train to the mix so that everyone has something to do!