Buckinghamshire Places (2) : Monks Risborough

Monks Risborough is a small village at the foot of the Chilterns near to the much larger Princes Risborough. Monks Risborough's origins lie in Saxon times where the estate where the village now lies was granted by the King of Mercia. The name of the village comes from the monks at Christ Church Priory in Canterbury who took over the estate in the late Saxon period.

The estate remained the property of the priory until Henry VIII's dissolution of the monastries when it was sold. Eventually it became the property of the Earl of Buckinghamshire.

Notable buildings in Monks Risborough include the fourteenth century Church of St Dunstan and the sixteenth century Pigeon House. There are also a number of cottages from the same time period. The village is served by a railway station.

BGLR : Two new wagons

Two new wagons have arrived on the BGLR. They are both Roco made, both also are variants of wagons already in the fleet but in grey which will help with the variety of freight trains!

Down in Denham

Yesterday I visited Denham in Buckinghamshire. I had a walk along the Grand Union Canal which flows through the edge of Denham Green and took some photos of the station which is a typically nice old ex-GWR one. I wasn't able to visit the old village of Denham and the church but i'm sure there will be another visit one day where that can be done. You can see my canal photos here and the station photos plus some of the surrounding environs here.

Through Lea Hall

A Virgin Pendolino powers through Lea Hall.

BGLR : Loco update

With the layout being a bit quiet at the moment we thought it would be a good time to survey the BGLR locomotive fleet. The fleet is split into the Active Pool which are the locomotives currently on the layout and the Reserve Pool which are the locomotives in storage or out of service. Every few months there is a stock rotation swapping an active for a reserve loco. The idea being that every loco should get some months of layout time per year (well thats the idea anyway!)

Active Pool

Growler D13 - Fully operational
Maggie 010 - Fully operational (see below)
Jam 013 - Fully operational
Tango - Fully operational
Railcar - Fully operational
Percy N2 - Suspended due to motor issues
Motorwagon - Operational though possible motor issues
Plymouth - Testing after overhaul and repainting

Reserve Pool

Falcon D16 - Fully operational
Black Beauty D15 - Fully operational
The Bear E10 - Fully operational
Ruby V13 - Fully operational
Maria W5 - Out of action