[Toddington Ted]

I have now added a farmhouse scene to my M&SWJR countryside part of the Andoversford layout. I was tempted to put a small station or halt here but I feel that its too easy to clutter a layout and a farm with open countryside was perhaps more representative anyway. I need to get some more stone walling and finish the backdrop. The old Hornby King Arthur Class 4-6-0 "Sir Dinadan" of 1976 vintage was being test run after a protracted modification. In short, I had this loco repainted and detailed back in 1980 and never ran it. A typical Hornby (Triang) product, it derailed at every Peco finescale turnout until I replaced all the wheels, and motor and wired up the tender (well, an experienced colleague did!) and the end result is also shown, not bad and it now runs well but nothing like as good in appearance as Hornby's 2007 version of the N15 King Arthurs. The Bachmann 45xx is also a fairly new addition and renumbered as 4573, a regular sight in both GWR and BR days on the local Andoversford passenger stopping trains. Shown here at (a much simplified) Andoversford Jct.