Hilton and Mears: Last man standing…

Hilton-Mears, the logging giant, absorbed a number of smaller firms in the 1950s, one of which was the ‘QN’. Their Shay was restricted to being the standby by the end of the 1950s, the FMs had taken pretty much all of their work. Trucks were bringing timber down to re-loads and the lightly laid, steep and heavily graded spurs, the Shay's stomping ground had all but vanished...

QN Shay, the old 3 spot, with the Dartmouth and Dee Valley Combine.

However, it was that magical time in railway history when groups of enthusiasts tried to document as much of what remained as possible. Going a stage further a group of 'preservation pioneers' had saved the old Dartmouth and Dee Valley combine, another of the lines absorbed by HM, this rare photo documents a fan trip of that period... 

I can see that same scene. It’s a beautiful coincidence that I was reading an article about that same era in an old magazine...

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Hilton-Mears, as a timber conglomerate? Where did that come from - and where will it go? Logging and the search for a theme, scale and type/location for a layout have been floating around for some time and exploring these ideas and 'feeding off each other' (excuse the absolutely terrible 2000s mountain biking quote, it always made me laugh when Matt Hunter took the mick out of it on one of the Collective DVDs) has led me down a number of interesting experiments. From the last logger in N scale, to more recently light weight track and the appeal of Fairbanks Morse first generation road switchers in bright yellow... each is not just a solo experience. I share these with Chris, I share these with you all - and your input and enthusiasm, encouragement and input all shapes this journey. More soon...