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PHOTO
GALLERY GROUP 41
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James
May's Toy Stories. On
Monday 24th August 2009, James May – with a very large
team of volunteers from the local community – laid a
model railway track from Barnstaple to Bideford in North Devon
in
an attempt to seize the record for the world's longest model
railway from the Germans. (The German record is 8½ miles.)
While the distance from Barnstaple to Bideford is only 9 miles,
a number
of loops were added at Barnstaple and Fremington to raise
the distance that the model trains would travel to 10 miles.
This
particular
route was chosen because it met the many criteria set by
James, and is now part of Devon County Council's popular 'Tarka
Trail'. As such, the old railway has a tarmac surface which
could accommodate the model train and the film crew's 'rickshaws',
which will
be seen in the following photographs.
Work started
at about 9 a.m., but it was not until after 2 p.m. that the
entire track had been laid. There were 600 volunteers altogether,
organised into about 80 small groups. The 'permanent way' was
supplied
by Hornby, who delivered a huge quantity of their popular OO
or 'dublo' gauge
track in metre lengths. Unfortunately, the resistance of the
rails meant that a single electrical input
could
not power a model train all the way, and there was an appreciable
loss of power within about 250 metres. Therefore, 12 volt
DC batteries were installed at regular intervals along the route
in order to ensure that there was sufficient power all the way.
As reported
in our News section (click here),
James's attempt at the world was beset by vandalism. The idea
had been to set off five model trains from Barnstaple at 10 minute
intervals, but one of the five would not work, and three of the
others failed along the way – at least one, sadly, due
to deliberate vandalism. However, a Hornby model of a Japanese
bullet train made it to Instow by half past midnight on Tuesday
25th August, where we understand that its tiny engine burned
out. This may yet be enough to set a new record for the world's
longest point-to-point model railway. Given the problems that
James and his team had to put up with, this would be a good consolation
prize.
The televsion
programmes based on this and other equally crazy endeavours
(see here)
are due to be broadcast on the BBC on Thursdays from October.
Keep an eye on the Radio Times! |
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Above: The
first indication that most people had of James May's attempt
on the world record was when they arrived to find the bus lane
at Barnstaple station closed. The reason for this will become
apparent below. The event was kept largely under wraps in order
to minimise the crowds who attended. 24 August 2009. (Jeff
Vinter)
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Above: At
the north end of Barnstaple station (which, incidentally, now
enjoys an hourly service from Exeter), the team set up a model
terminus. Unlike the model station at Bideford, this model was
a work of fiction, for Barnstaple Junction never looked like
this.
The
five model trains can be seen waiting to depart: the first
one out was the train in the second road from the left. 24th
August
2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above: Immediately
after leaving the model station, trains ran on to two bowstring
bridges, seen here, which were made by the production team. These
kept the model broadly on a level as it negotiated the platform
ramp and ran out into the station car park, which has been built
over the junction were the lines to Ilfracombe and Bideford diverged.
Despite engineering works like this, the tiny models still had
to negotiate some severe gradients, one of which can be seen
in the distance in this picture. 24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above: Quite
a few camera crews were in evidence on the day.
Apart from the production company, the
local news programme, 'Spotlight', was
represented, while several freelance teams turned up – hoping,
no doubt, to sell their pictures on the open market. The cameraman
here is moving his camera over
a loop in the 'dublo' track. This can just be seen gleaming behind
the traffic cone. 24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above: Laying
track on the bridge over the bus lane at Barnstaple station.
This is the structure which required the bus lane to be closed
for 24 hours. As can be seen, the day started wet and windy,
but the weather forecast proved accurate and, by early afternoon,
it was a beautiful summer's day. That, of course, caused problems
of its own, because the heat began to buckle the track – the
metal and plastic components expand at different rates!
24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above: The
abundance of track gave a young lad ample opportunity to test
the permanent way with his box van. The size of the pieces of
tarmac visible in the background indicate just how small the
models were. 24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Left: The
first train finally set off from Barnstaple station just
before 2:30 p.m. It is seen here at 2:32 p.m. crossing
the bowstring bridge over the bus lane. The three carriages
were Pullmans. As for the locomotive, it could be a model
of a re-built West Country pacific, which would be appropriate
given the location; but help would be appreciated (see
the e-mail link on our Contact page).
By this stage,
there
was quite
a crowd, so our photographer was lucky to get a good
vantage point. 24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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Above: Charlie
from Plum Pictures – the television production company
for 'Toy Stories' – is seen here leaving the car park at
Barnstaple station
in charge of one of the company's two 'rickshaws'. These have
room in the back for both a cameraman and sound engineer. It
was a boon to have the old railway to Bideford converted into
a tarmacced cycle
trail. 24th August 2009. (Jeff Vinter) |
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