By Simon Cox

Withywindle Mill is a run down and decrepit Fulling Mill. Fulling cloth involved two processes - scouring and milling (thickening). These are followed by stretching the cloth on great frames known as tenters, as can be seen to the right of the mill, and held onto those frames by tenterhooks. It is from this process that we derive the phrase "being on tenterhooks" as meaning "to be held in suspense."

The 009 narrow gauge railway that passes Withywindle Mill ambles past at the same rate as the stream wanders past the mill. Occasionally the locomotive stops so the driver can have a chat with the miller or drop something off for him.

By Chris O'Donoghue

My 009 pizza layout, Black Dyke Mill, uses the Dapol/Airfix windmill, painted black with white sails, as its central feature. Although this model is often seen on Thomas the Tank "layouts" it is in fact a faithful reproduction of Rolvenden Mill, not five miles from where I live.

On my layout, the mill is approached on a rutted, weedy track [path] from the village, via a narrow brick bridge over the railway line. This track then drops down, passes in front of a corrugated iron-roofed pole barn, then curving to the left, meets a level crossing that takes it over the narrow gauge line, into the field beyond.

By Robin Winter

My 009 Lancey Brook is based on the Lynton and Barnstaple line in SR [Southern Railway] days around prototype closure and beyond. There was no station at Lancey on the prototype.

The photos: (Above) Lew and mixed train at Lancey. (Left) Modern Traction! Sentinel railcar based on the Devils Dyke standard gauge version, crosses the viaduct.

By Richard Glover

Starbottom Lane represents part of a narrow gauge roadside tramway somewhere in the Yorkshire dales. The front part of the 009 model shows the line running along the verge of a road. The back shows a reserved section of track, where the line leaves the road and enters its own right of way through a rock cutting. A small halt with shelter has been provided, taking its name from the lane on which it stands.

As an economy measure the tramway management is trying out a Sentinel geared locomotive, instead of the usual tram engines. As an additional benefit the Sentinel can be driven and fired by only one man. The locomotive model was supplied by Paul Windle from the U.K. The drystone walls, so typical of the area, come from the Hornby Skaledale range, a product I can fully recommend.