Fairbourne Railway ‘84 - ‘95

I’ve stumbled upon Shôn Ellerton’s website with his memories (including perilous adventures with a nail gun) and photos of the Fairbourne at the time it was owned by his family:
http://shonellerton.com/articles/railways/fairbourne-railway/

(I wasn’t sure whether to post this in Narrow or Miniature, since this period includes the gauge conversion (please report this post if it bothers you)).

 

Shôn Ellerton has announced on Facebook that his father, John Ellerton, has died recently. Many readers will recall that he rebuilt the Fairbourne Railway from 15" gauge to 12-1/4" to accommodate the rolling stock from the line he had built in France, the Reseau Guerledan, and to the form it is largely in now. A controversial figure, in many (??!!most) ways he nevertheless probably ensured the survival of the line at a time when its future looked bleak.

 

Somehow this change of gauge controversy managed to go viral long before we had the internet! It was the age of fanzines and I remember some interesting views being aired!
I used to holiday in the area in the early 1970s and have the fondest of memories of the old 15 inch line with some grand locos. I do agree though that it was all looking life expired by the time JR took over and it only took one trip on the 12 1/4 to convince me that it was actually a very good idea.
I’m really sorry to hear that JR has died, I didn’t know him at all but did say hello to him a few times. A cheerful, friendly chap as I recall.

 

John Ellerton was also known as John de Frayssinet. Here’s his website about his ‘County Gate’, a superbly landscaped 009 model railway based on a never-built extension of the L&B.
http://www.009.cd2.com/

 

Well, well! I knew about County Gate, but had never associated it with John Ellerton. A superb model. Thanks for sharing the link to the website.

Steve B

 

… and aviation record-breaker, with one leg, in (unsurprisingly) a home made aircraft.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/4551965.stm