1998 St Helens. My first viewing of Maesog, with my original mark 1 primitive low resolution digital camera. Note the outside framed chassis on the Hunslet loco.

An impressive and exotic looking collection of Welsh narrow gauge 009 locomotives

This orginal 1860 George England loco has a scratchbuilt body running on an Ibertren chassis

An intermediate era England 0-4-0 with a scratchbuilt body in brass, again running on an Ibertren chassis.

Chilterns Narrow Gauge Luton 2002 - and thankfully the final outing of my original lowres camera! In Railway Modeller in 1962, there was an article about an 8mm gauge 4mm scale Manning Wardle 0-4-4T called "Gwen" that inspired Garry Whiting to commission Paul Windle to build him a replica, popularly known as "Gwen Again" - the black loco in this photo. When Garry's tale of "Gwen Again" was published in Railway Modeller, Charlie was also inspired to have one as well, and his own "Gwen Again, Again" met up with Garry's "Gwen Again" at the show! (Incidently there is now a 3rd Gwen (Gwen Again x 3?) which is owned by Lee Bryant of the Wessex NG Modellers!

009 Society 2003 AGM, Birmingham. Charlie's contribution to the display cabinet consisted of this attractive Corris loco and scratchbuilt rolling stock for his Vaenol Tramway.

Charlie also displayed a tiny Simplex diesel built onto an Arnold kof chassis, and an impressive steam railcar built using components from the Meridian Ashover coach kit.

A Drewry railcar at Maesog on the Vaenol Tramway. Although this railcar is commercially handmade by Paul Windle, I believe that this one was scratchbuilt by Charlie.

A very attractive Glyn Valley inspired train at Maesog. The tiny coaches are absolutely outstanding.

Taken during the "silly hour" at Chilterns NG 2003, this photo shows a railcar-jam courtesy of David Burleigh (the blue and green ones) and Charlie (all the others)

NG Southwest Shepton Mallet 2003 - one of the well known and very popular Paul Windle Sharp Stewart tram locos, based on a 2/3 sized Clogher Valley design

A small display of Charlie's Vaenol Tramway stock at NG Southwest 2003. The 2 railcars at the top were built using Dundas Eisteddford coach parts and are known throughout the 009 Society as "Buccabury Railcars" after the original one built for a layout called "Buccabury Town" by David Burleigh.

Chilterns NG 2004 - a first sighting of Charlie and Elizabeth's new layout "Kinwardine Wharf". Some very attractive stock on view, including the fascinating little railcar set on the right.

An 0-4-2 wing tank at Kinwardine Wharf

An article appeared in Railway Modeller describing a proposed loco that the North Eastern Rly might have built for a North Holderness NG branch, if it had ever been built. Charlie promptly built a model of it using an old Brian Clarke chassis that he had available.

We will see more of the blue loco later, in the foreground is a diesel that started as a Roco 6 wheeler, but now has just the chassis and the bonnet sides left of the original.

A familiar diesel loco on 009 layouts is this 1960's vintage Minitrains Plymouth. Although the original was HO scale, it was a large prototype so fits into 009 without alteration quite well.

An ex-Bowaters 0-4-2ST arrives at Kinwardine Wharf with a train of very attractive tram stock.

The blue tram loco glimpsed earlier is a Golden Arrow Southwold body kit with tram skirts hiding the cheap but very reliable Kato 4wh tram chassis.

Charlie turned up at Expong 2005 with 3 locomotive models for me to photograph to support an article he was preparing on loco construction for 009 News. The first one is this attractive little 4-4-0T based on a South African prototype and powered by a Bachman 0-4-0 dock tank chassis.

"Kenelm" is one of my favourites of Charlie's locos. This scratchbuilt Hunslet uses tram skirts to hide nothing more exotic than a £15 Bachman 6 wheel diesel that provides the power. The lining on this model is a wonder to behold!

This is about as basic as a loco can get. A relic of Victorian industrial power, this Neilson Box Tank locomotive is a simple but very effective rebuild of a Bachman 0-4-0 dock tank.

Spotted at the 2005 Northampton MRX, this loco inspired by the Ballymena & Larne 2-6-0ST "The Bruiser" was under construction for that years' 009 Society AGM, which was to feature a "pugbash" competition requiring that the model be constructed using the Dapol 00 pug loco kit.

Northampton 2005 - another attractive train arrives at Kinwardine Wharf. I think the loco is a Chivers "Culverin" but would welcome being corrected!

Most of these photos are of locomotives and railcars but I could not resist including this one showing an innovative use for the old Egger wild west coach.

The Drewry railcar that we saw earlier at Maesog, seen at Kinwardine Wharf.

This tiny Arnold kof powered Simplex has also been seen earlier, but warrants a second showing with this better quality photo.

A more familiar locomotive for most is this ex-War Department Baldwin 4-6-0T beautifully detailed from a base of a Gem kit.

The Southwold loco "Ealhswith" suits this rich blue livery very well.

The result of the partly built loco seen earlier in photo 024. Charlie's essay named "The Thumper" after the prototype "The Bruiser" deservedly romped away with the 1st prize in the 2005 009 Society AGM pugbash competition. Although I was given credit for the original concept in Charlie's caption in the photo, my own effort is still unfinished 3 years later!

The North Holderness 0-6-0T seen earlier now completed in full LNER livery, along with a Manning Wardle that might have come directly from the old 3ft gauge Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway

Here's one that I have not seen since taking this photo! Spotted at Expong 2006, if my memory serves (it frequently doesn't!), this attractive little engine is a Sharp Stewart that saw service on the Indian narrow gauge.

Expong 2006 also had the first sighting of Charlie's Dapol railbus kitbash. See photo 040 following for the final result.

NG South 2006 and Charlie's contribution this time was an American train that he had built using Railway Recollections resin kit parts for Paul Towers

The Railway Recollections resin prairie built for Paul Towers in close-up. The chassis is the well known Bachman 2-6-2.

My first sighting of Charlie and Elizabeth's new layout: Winter Overcotes was at the 009 Society Northampton Group members day in 2007. This is a freelance ex-GWR layout in the 1950's that has a very definite "Welshpool" atmosphere about it. Here is the station shunter, a Sentinel, at work alongside a standard gauge "Flying Banana" railcar.

Drewry railcar at Winter Overcotes. I do not know if this is the same Drewry that we saw earlier at Maesog and Kinwardine Wharf in crimson lake livery, but I must say that a faded GWR chocolate and cream does suit the design very well here!

One of Charlie's "Buccabury Railcars" (named after the layout that David Burleigh's original design for this railcar ran on).

The completed version of the Dapol kitbashed railbus seen earlier in photo 034. Graham Lindley, a member of the Wessex NG Modellers, built a Dapol railbus and lowered the height of the cantrail above the windows. I passed this tip on to Charlie and this is his result. I think it makes the unit look much more attractive. and in better proportion.

A natural and more complex evolvement of the Dapol railbus kitbash idea is this articulated design that Charlie came up with. It runs on the popular and reliable Kato 4wh tram chassis.

Another view of the articulated railbus, which I took for Charlie to support an article he has had published in 009 News describing how he made it.

This very purposeful looking diesel at Winter Overcotes should be easily recognisable as a marriage of 2 Dapol Drewry shunter kits with what I think is a Liliput HOe 2091 1-B-1 (2-4-2) chassis, but I'd be happy to be corrected if I have got the chassis wrong!. Very effective, I must have one for my railway! (but mine won't be black!)

The mainstay of the loco roster at Winter Overcotes is a class of (currently) 5 0-6-0T locos that originated with the Gem Bagnall "Dennis" whitemetal body kit on Grafar chassis, but have been cleverly adapted to bear a very definite affinity with both a Great Western "Swindon" influence and with the two Beyer Peacock locos that formed the original roster for the Welshpool & Llanfair. Very clever and very effective.

No 721, unlike its sister 720 in the previous photo, has recently been overhauled at Swindon and sports a larger copper capped chimney and is resplendent in full British Railway lined green livery.

No 722 has also visited Swindon since Nationalisation, but retained the original chimney and had to put up with an austerity unlined black paintjob.

723 has not yet been overhauled and still wears a Great Western unlined green livery.

No 725 has lost the GW lettering but is otherwise also still in a recognisable Great Western livery. Note that no. 724 has not yet been used, and also the subtle variations to the Egger tram coaches behind the locos - adding to the Welshpool & Llanfair "atmosphere" of the scene.

A very impressive line-up of all 5 of the Winter Overcotes 0-6-0 stud. I would be surprised if I am not the only one who sees this photo who is not inspired to try to emulate something along similar lines!......

A surprise visitor at NG South in April 2008 to Simon Coward's Isle of Mudd layout was this new loco for Winter Overcotes undergoing proving trials. This loco, a 2-6-2T was supplied by Nasmyth Wilson (courtesy of a Roxey Cyprus Government Railways kit and Grafar prairie chassis) is no,. 727 on the roster, so as well as 724, there is also a vacancy for a loco 726 sometime in the future!

Another new loco by Charlie was also brought along to NG South 2008. This anglicised Liliput 0-6-2T is unlettered and has a different livery than the other Winter Overcotes stock, so I imagine it may be destined for another of Charlie's several ongoing projects. The loco conversion to English outline and to 4mm scale from the Liliput HOe original has been described by two other modellers in 009 News in the past year or so.

Bringing us up to date, this and the following photos were taken at Expong, October 2008. This railcar is a standard Paul Windle product, that has been finished in a French style livery - why? See the following photos!......

Charlie has gone "gallic" for his next project and is planning a layout inspired by several of the French 600mm and metre gauge systems. This loco started off as a Roco Feldbahn 0-6-0 (the green version) and with the addition of a new larger cab and new boiler fittings has become a much more attractive and original model masquerading as a Blanc-Misseron loco

This 0-6-0T is a rebuild of the old Liliput G Thommen and has a scratchbuilt body based on a metre gauge prototype, one of the numerous little Corpet-Louvet 0-6-0s which were a staple of many French secondary lines

A second rebuild of the Roco Feldbahn loco has created this green loco is based on a La Meuse or Couillet machine

This Liliput 0-6-2 is based on a metre gauge prototype, built by SACM (Societe Alsacienne) for the Reseau Hermes a Beamont, near Paris. Similar locos ran on the metre gauge systems in the Pas de Calais. The model was inspired by an article by the late Dennis Allenden in Model Railway News over 30 years ago called 'The Cripples of Neuilly'.

The 0-8-0 is a Meridian/Duton kit of the German Feldbahn locos, many of which ended up on the French 60cm railways after the war and several of which are preserved. It uses the Fleischmann BR81 chassis which runs and looks much better than the Bachmann 2-8-0

Cranbrook is a Golden Arrow Southwold kit on a Farish Jinty chassis, with cylinders and con rods from the spares box. It is ultimately destined for Cranbrook, a layout set in the Weald of Kent

Hecate is also based on a Golden Arrow kit, Wenhaston this time, much modified into a freelance tram loco. It has a fully detailed cab interior.

Dr Charles Insley (left) at the 009 Society AGM at NG South 2008 receiving one of many of the well deserved model making awards that he has achieved over the years from retiring Chairman of the 009 Society, David Burleigh.