Back in Grizzly's Workshop

Ay up, everyone!  It's Hanley Bear again, with another look at Grizzly's model railway and more match reports.  

Stoke have a tough game against Leeds tonight, away, and I have my paws and claws crossed for a good result, so it is tricky trying to type as well.

First, I'll give you the answer to the question in my last post.  Here's a closer look at that big ceramic thing - which is a 'conductor pot' for insulating the 'third rail' on railway lines where the electric power reaches the engines that way, rather than with overhead wires.   

Grizzly lived and worked in the south of England for many years, so he is used to seeing trains using the third rail.  His old railway layout was all third rail and he and Polar had to thread hundreds of tiny little conductor pots onto the third rail for that.  He just has a little section in one corner of the workshop now, where he can display his Southern stock on a fantastic fly-over bridge.

The main layout is based on Stoke-on-Trent in the 1950s, so it doesn't have any electric wires or third rail, because the engines were almost all steam engines back then.

Here are a few more pictures of it.  I like this view of the station, which has the local train to Leek about to leave.  Grizzly says there are plans to reopen the line from Stoke to Leek, but Polar says we shouldn't get too excited because there were plans to do that several years ago, and some of the line got cleared of vegetation, but then nothing happened.

And here's an aerial view of the canal and the deep lock, just outside the station.  It is my favourite part of the layout.

After Grizzly had made the fly-over for his Southern multiple units, he had some board left over, which he has turned into a seat for us to sit on when we listen to the match.

 It is just the right size for the three of us!  Polar is painting it with canal roses and is going to make us a cushion for it too, so it will be very comfortable.

Two Saturdays ago, we all settled down, with Grizzly, to listen to Stoke v Middlesborough, a game that all the experts on the radio thought we ought to win.  Middlesborough had just appointed a new manager and, although he isn't a bear, he does seem to know his stuff and has made a big difference to how they are playing.

About half an hour into the game, Middlesborough scored the first goal and I went 'Boooo!' and gave the radio a hard stare, but I was sure we would soon strike back.

I thought Mr James McClean would equalise for us, as he was working very hard.  Although he came close several times, he just couldn't score, and nor could anyone else playing for our team.  But Middlesborough could and they scored again in the second half.

Some other teams doing about as badly as us won their games and, on Tuesday of last week we lost 3 - 0 to Wigan.  This moved Stoke into the 'relegation zone', which made me very sad.  I didn't like it when we were relegated from the Premiership and I will be even sadder if we end up in League One.  Polar says we have to make sure we beat Portsmouth if that happens.

But there was another game at the weekend, when we played Barnsley, who are also in trouble.  Polar was painting our seat so we sat around the radio like we used to, and soon the game was underway.

And what a difference - we scored two goals in the first ten minutes!  I told the other bears that I thought Mr Michael O'Neill, our manager, must have given the players some of Mrs Kay's oatcakes for their lunch. 

 Polar came in to listen after half-time.  I didn't think we would get any more goals but we did - Mr Tyrese Campbell scored his second one just before the end of the game.

We had won, and it had been almost as exciting a game as the last one we had watched live at the football ground. 

But I do not think we are going to win tonight, as we have already let in three goals without scoring any.  I am glad I have my pals to cheer me up and our first boat journey in ages to look forward to tomorrow. 

Yay!