Model Railways

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04300640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#CC0000" FACE="Elephant" ><B>Welcome To My Den</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    |  </B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome To My Den"><U><B>home</B></U></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Me"><U><B>About Me</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id183.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Search Site"><U><B>Search Site</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Interests"><U><B>My Interests</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id130.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Software"><U><B>My Software</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Jokes"><U><B>Jokes</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id347.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id177.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Guest Book"><U><B> Guest Book</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id149.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Column"><U><B>My Column</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id116.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Diary"><U><B>Diary</B></U></A><B>   |   </B><A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Me"><U><B>Contact Me</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=140 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tropical Fish"><U><B>Tropical Fish</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id87.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gardening"><U><B>Gardening</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id101.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Walking"><U><B>Walking</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mice 1"><U><B>Mice 1</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id115.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mice 2"><U><B>Mice 2</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id75.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cats"><U><B>Cats</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id293.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stamps"><U><B>Stamps</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Model Railways</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id362.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><U><B>Music</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reading"><U><B>Reading</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=355 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="1c654483.gif"> <div> <I>Model Railways</I></div> <bR> <div>                                            <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="id340.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Railway Links"><U><I><B>Click Here For Model Railway Links.</B></I></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>I had the usual bits and pieces of trains as a child, not a complete set but an O gauge engine, clockwork, with 2 coaches and I think it was four or five trucks. The track was very course and just went round in a circle. There weren't any turnouts but it didn't seem to matter as I filled the trucks with sand, soil, lead soldiers, cowboys, in fact anything that a child's lively imagination needed to complete the adventure of the moment. There was never a replacement of that old engine when it finally gave up the ghost and model trains and I parted company for a few years. I did spend quite a bit of time train spotting from an old railway bridge near where we lived in those years. There was something magical about the sheer scale and power of those trains as they thundered towards you with bits of brass all shining and the steam laying back along the tops of the carriages as the train sped on. Then there was the smell as the train passed under the bridge and for a few seconds you were enveloped in that steam and thunderous sound. Magic days.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Anyhow it was a good few years later when I was in the RAF and helping a new padre on the station to move in. He had somehow managed to snaffle an old hut for his own use and was busily assembling a huge gauge 'O' railway when I arrived. This one was electric with trains 10 and 12 coaches long and that sound of the wheels clicking over the rail joints. Well, I was entranced and taken straight back in memory to those days on the family rug with my own bits of train equipment. I was well and truly bitten with the bug and began making enquiries about the state of the hobby at that time. This was when I met the stamp chap who had the model railway literature he wanted to part with.</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I><B> (Read the Stamps page to see what happened). </B></I></FONT></div> <div> <I><B>So, several weeks later, a lot of stamps poorer but much richer in knowledge of the model railway world I made a start. Things had changed dramatically since I was a child and this was the era of accurate scale modelling in 'oo', not just the track and trains but also in the scenery and buildings and I quickly discovered that this was where my forte lay. Unfortunately it is not possible to build a model railway on the lounge rug and then take it apart again at the end of the day. Due to our circumstances space was at a premium so plans had to be shelved for the time being. That 'time being' turned out to be much longer rather than shorter.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>For several years I continued to make buildings and railway kit plus buying the odd coach and engine when I could afford it. This was the waiting game, waiting for our own house where I could find the space I needed.</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>As they say, 'everything comes to he who waits' and sure enough I was rewarded with a very nice loft space in our new house. I boarded the floor out, insulated the roof as well as the floor space built my baseboards all the way round at waist height and I was ready to go.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>To be continued:</B></I></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=25 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id291_m.htm" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="Model Railways"><U><B>Back to Top</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>