What better way to spend a damp and breezy February Saturday than a stroll around a country estate. Despite being very local and literally passing it on my way to work most days, I had never really stepped foot on the Thoresby estate, but there was good reason to over the weekend on 22nd/23rd February, and it wasn't just for the 'Fairy Trail' for the kids. But I'll come back to that point later...
As with Belton there were a few things that caught my eye from a modelling point of view. I quite liked this view down the back of the Hall (now a hotel), I'm not sure if the rollercoaster floor levels are original but imagine it flat with a Heywood locomotive coming towards you.
We've seen Skaledale cricket pavilions being used on narrow gauge layouts as station buildings. Here, the cricket pavilion is doing its best impression of being a long abandoned narrow gauge station.
If you've ever seen the Iain Rice sketch of the Wills tea kiosk used as the scorer's hut, here it is, in reality!
A couple of decades ago there was a railway here, literally yards away from the pavilion was the 10 1/4" gauge Thoresby Miniature Railway, operated by Bill Kirkland using his model of 'Sir Nigel Gresley, which I remember from its period operating on the Stapleford Miniature Railway prior to Bill's passing.
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Amazingly, it is possible to trace most of the course of the railway, there are many sleepers still embedded in the grass along it's gently curving route. It must be at least 30 years ago that it closed but here is some genuine miniature railway archaeology.
As much as finding these remains made my day, the real reason for visiting was to see a welcome return of steam to Thoresby. I had missed this visiting before Christmas but made a note of the return dates, as the 'There & Back Light Railway' was set up and running on a 7 1/4" portable line for the weekend using the Bagnall saddle tank 'Nomi'. The proprietor tells me that they are booked for all sorts of events in all sorts of places over the coming year so do keep an eye out for them!
I've sometimes wondered if a portable line could be a subject for a model, I suppose it is a case of making it look convincing without it looking as if you just couldn't be bothered to ballast!
Colin
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