PART 1 OF 3
My introduction to model railways began one Christmas Day in the 1950’s. I was given my first ‘train set’. It was a Tri-ang American outline passenger set. Prior to Christmas Eve, my Stepfather and Grandfather had screwed the oval of track, together with additional track and points, to a baseboard, to create a double oval. The baseboard was painted gloss green. I was a very lucky boy as money was tight and a great deal of effort and love had gone into the construction. I must confess to a pang of disappointment as American outline was not to my taste and I longed for a British outline loco. At the time I was given sixpence (2 1/2p) a week to buy a National Savings stamp at school. I saved my stamps until I had enough to buy my first British loco. It was such a tremendous sense of achievement. It was a Tri-ang 4F 0-6-0 tender loco, in BR black livery. It cost me the colossal sum of 32/6 (£1.62.5p). Although subsequent Christmas and Birthday presents provided additional locos, some far more exotic, the 4F was always my favourite. More about it later. As I grew I discovered racing cycles, girls, cars, girls, beer, more girls, a wife. I lost interest in model railways.
In 1975, my wife and I, moved to Abingdon when I joined Thames Valley Police. My wife’s new job brought her into contact with a keen railway modeler. She had mentioned to him that I collected and painted miniature military figures and he suggested that I should visit the local model railway club with him. I went, I saw, I liked, I joined. Most of the members modeled GWR in OO so it was natural that my first purchase was a GWR steam loco. It was a Hornby 57xxx Pannier tank. Being quite a basic model, with nothing like the level of detail applied to such items, these days, I just had to set about detailing it. Moulded handrails, etc were scraped off and replaced with turned brass handrail knobs and wire, lamp irons and fire iron hooks were made up from flattened fuse wire, a balance pipe was added below the pannier tanks, real coal in the bunker, a turned brass dome was added, plus all the usual extras. Of course a complete repaint completed the project. Although I say it myself, it was a fine effort and I received much praise from my fellow club members. I have recently completed the task of scanning and digitising my collection of 35mm negatives (6,500) and transparencies (1,500), but I find that I do not have a photograph of this model.
You have to remember this was some years before the advent of digital control and all the advances that came with that. One thing that did seem incongruous was to see a beautifully modeled steam loco, with an electric motor, growling along the track. One evening a member turned up with a diesel model. To see that growling along the track was a revelation. It actually sounded not unlike a diesel. That was it, I was hooked. The pannier was sold to another member at an auction night and my love affair with OO diesels began.
Again, this was a time when the detailing of propriety models was not as extensive of sophisticated as today’s offerings. Also the explosion in commercial detailing kits and parts for OO diesels had not started. Any detailing had to be done from scratch. I built up a collection of various locos of different classes. This was the era of blue diesels, so my models reflected what was seen in the day. I modified them and weathered them with reference to photographs of the prototype. Handrails, pipes etc were added using wire. Horns were dressmaking pins glued into handrail knobs. The biggest difference to appearance was the flush glazing of windows. Every individual window pane had to be cut, filed and glued in, a real labour of love. All models were repainted and weathered. Of all the models I had, I only seem to have photographs of a Deltic.
The finished Deltic
An enlargement of the above photograph
Continued......
