How to go Railway Modelling by Norman Simmons

Yesterday, I visted my parents for a barbecue. During the afternoon, I went for a poke around the sheds to see if there was anything interesting there that had arrived since my last visit - I've inherited my dad's magpie tendency and often find myself congratulating him on some new item of junk that he's acquired from a house clearance, auction or whatver, much to the annoyance of both my wife and mother who have to put up with all the stuff hanging around. Anyway, I didn't find anything new yesterday, but in the course of checking a corner of the shed that I hadn't previously investigated closely I found something of mine that had been left behind when I left home - a large box of Railway Modeller magazines, mostly dated around the late 70s and early 80s. My second task, having located them, was to smuggle them out of the shed and into the car without my wife noticing :-)

I'm looking forward to spending a bit of time reading them - a lot of those magazines were where I learned most of the hobby from, and I'm sure they'll be just as enjoyable the second time around.

Mark

I don't keep old issues of Railway Modeller as I find they date very quickly and seldom have any useful information for today.

(kim)

On 19/08/2007 15:31, kim said,

My copies of RM, which date from 1981, will never be thrown away, but recently I chucked out loads of BRM, and MR will shortly be heading towards eBay if I think anyone might be vaguely interested in some loft insulation :-) In fact I think I keep thinking about cancelling my sub to the latter, then along comes something like a photo-feature on Vic Green's absolutely stunning 9F.

I did still keep one specific issue of BRM - the September 1996 issue! "Lofthouse in Nidderdale" is solely responsible for my obsession with light railways :-)

I didn't knew Vic Greene made anything other than GWR types?

I still keep the December '96 issue "Brockholes", the first layout I ever saw which looked like something I might have seen in real life. Been trying to emulate it ever since and failing.

(kim)

On 19/08/2007 17:05, kim said,

The 9F is an honourary GWR loco :-) Beg, steal or read in WH Smiths the September issue of MR for this model. This particular issue of MR will be kept!

I always try and take a 'look see' and occasionally get something worth the visit.

The other day was no exception .... an open top vintage bus by Lledo and a book entitled 'How to go Railway Modelling' by Norman Simmons.

Its 216 pages contain a wealth of information with illustrations and black & white photographs. The book in question was presumably donated by a G.T.E. Eastwood ( or one of the family ) and was awarded as 'The Junior Prize For Pottery' on the schools speech day in 1979 and still had the original price sticker of £4.50 !

The other day members of the forum were advising on scale speeds of looo's, well it's all here. N Gauge plus HO and O and OO / EM ? / Protofour ? all grouped together. So for my sons OO layout his shunter will need to travel at 46 feet per minute for a scale speed to

A detailed list of gauges Z, OOO, N, TT, HO, OO, EM, S, O & 1. Something I had not seen before was a photo of a PECO catch point used for deliberately derailing runaway loco's. It even had a photo of a Austrian Lilliput HO-9 1st / 2nd composite 4- wheel coach which would be an ideal substitute Henrietta for my son's Toby Tram.

At the back it has a list of manufacturers, suppliers, stockists plus loco's kits & models. A quick look shows many of the county listed stockists are no longer in business.

It is a bit of a history book and an ideal '1st step' as many of his points are still valid today !

Chris

SNAP!

Only my copy came from the Swapmeet at Yeovil Junction together with a copy of "Model Railways on a Budget" by Cyril J Freezer.

Railway Modeller, August 1977 (I think, the cover has long since died) with P D Hancocks, Craig and Mertonford Railway.

The older ones are full of scale drawings ideal for basing models on!

The message from "estarriol" contains these words:

Ditto. But a *much* earlier edition of RM.

This was the unveiling of Mark 3, with the return of the harbour, a year or two later we got it in full colour as well, which was even more fun.

The message from "estarriol" contains these words:

The real inspiration for me was Mark 1. ISTR I was into Hornby-Dublo when I read of Mark 2, and the C & M was going to be dismantled because the household authorities decreed that The Room needed decorating. I was most relieved when Mark 3 appeared, but I learned the lesson: when I was planning the latest version of my railway (in 1985!) I was ready for future room decoration - sections of scenery lift out so that I can stand on the baseboard to reach the walls and ceiling above the railway.

:) I only know mk1 and 2 from the book he did for Peco, its main lesson for me was that you could have fun, and that what you wanted was the key.

There's an article in the March 75 edition titled "New Rails to Mertonford" by P D Hancock about the new CMR. That was that edition's "Railway of the month", and the cover photo is the harbour terminus of the CMR.

I haven't got as far yet in my back copy re-reading to catch up with it later!

Mark

">> I don't keep old issues of Railway Modeller as I find they date very quickly

I know. I did some of them!! 1952 -1954 when I was an impecunious student. The five guineas used to feed me for a month.

Alistair Wright

It still does if you shop at Morrison's :o)

(kim)

The message from "estarriol" contains these words:

That, and the idea of the "worked to prototype practice" main line meeting the "run on a shoestring" ng line. I tried to do the same in a very limited space in the 60s, but now I'm back to mainline-, prototype practice-, working timetable-, clock- restrictions. And enjoying it.

True, so very true, his comment that I found so liberating though was the realisation that you didn't need a mainline passenger station if passenger workings were not what you were after. That and his wimsey and bringing it to life, the whole feeling it was a real place, not just railway tracks with other things adding.

The message from "estarriol" contains these words:

I'd forgotten that one of the incarnations of the C&M didn't have a main-line passenger station, although passenger trains still ran on the main line. Thanks for tripping the memory.

I'm beginning to wonder if we're the only ones who can remember the C&M...

On 20/08/2007 20:21, David Jackson said,

The what? :-)