About Vintage Stuff

The aim of Vintage Stuff is to display some of the ephemera that I have collected, often inadvertently, over the years. I am now deliberately seeking out interesting old adverts, screen shots, leaflets, obscure record covers, picture postcards and illustrations; anything that catches my eye, in fact. They will be mainly, but not exclusively of UK origin (so many vintage blogs appear to be American) and almost always a scan from something that I actually have in my collection, rather than off the net. If you do re-blog, please acknowledge the source. Further stuff, mainly photographs, can be found on my Flickr pages, via the Benny Hill record cover.

Sunday 18 March 2012

The Far Tottering & Oystercreek Railway

Roland Emett's whimsical railway creations, first seen, I believe, in the pages of Punch magazine before the war, were bought to life at the Festival of Britain at Battersea Pleasure Gardens in 1951. The 15in gauge railway saw Nellie, Neptune and Wild Goose each in the form of a 4.6.2 built by Barlow of Southport, with a diesel engine mounted what would have been the tender. After the festival, they were returned to Barlow and rebuilt as conventional miniature locomotives. The photographs were taken on 20 September by the late Mervyn Mason, the negatives of which are now in my collection.


Wild Goose at Far Tottering

Neptune arriving at Oystercreek station

Nellie 'on shed' at Oystercreek

7 comments:

  1. Wonderful photos of a brilliant creation. Emmett is one of my favourite artists...next to Searle (your previous post was noted with considerable satisfaction...) he has to be one of the great British artists in the Heath Robinson tradition. The impermanent nature of the engine shed puts me in mind of today's retail park architecture.

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  2. Thanks Ian; somewhere I have a copy of Emetts 'Early Morning Milk Train' and I will do something on that if I can find it. I am planning a little piece on Heath Robinson's 'Railway Ribaldry', pages of which have found their way onto my scanner.........

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  3. I'm always delighted to find new pictures of the Far Tottering to add to my collection. Any more due to appear?

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  4. Hello Joppy, I have one more view, which appears on my Flickr stream here: [http://www.flickr.com/photos/28083135@N06/6993246957/in/photostream/] If the link does not appear, click on the Benny Hill record cover above and it will get you to my Flickr pictures, the FT&O view was posted on 18 March.

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  5. Hi

    We are starting a Rowland Emett Society (www.rowlandemett.moonfruit.com). Would it be OK to use your Emett related photographs on our site with acknowledgement?

    Tim

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    1. Hello Tim,

      Yes, no problem; please credit and provide a link. You will also find another view of the railway on my Flickr site.

      Kevin

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  6. Hi - another request - I am compiling a catalogue of all Rowland Emett's work in connection with the Rowland Emett Society and I would like to purchase professional prints of your negatives of the FT&OCR - can this be arranged?
    Michael
    telephone 01594 834991

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