[clive hayward]

Hello,
I'm fairly new to the forum and was completely unaware that there is now a "Hornby magazine" devoted to the hobby. Reading posts on the forum this magazine seems to be the best of the bunch at the moment and the content looks very interesting. Further posts reveal dissatisfaction with both Model Rail and Railway Modeller, both of which I'm familiar with, and I must agree with most of the comments. Indeed one member commented that Scale Model Rail (a late 1970s production) was the best ever and again I must agree with him. Although following the hobby for 40 odd years now, I still classify myself as a "well below average modeller". When I buy a magazine I am always impressed by the efforts of others in producing beautiful layouts (and I classify the ones illustrated on this forum amongst that category) and they are always an inspiration to me, but what articles I seek are the ones classified "How to do......"

The subject of my post is nostalgia and I well remember that Railway modeller of the 1970s was stuffed with articles of "how to do..." including plans of goods sheds, stations; track plans, weathering etc. Four years ago I threw out my back issues of RM but I'm seriously reconsidering repurchasing them off Ebay and the like because I haven't found a magazine that gives me so much inspiration for a long time. Any recent magazine seems to devote a lot of time talking about decoders and DCC. Whilst this is an important part of the hobby, I'm afraid I am an absolute luddite as far as electrics are concerned, and the problems and cost of DCC do not endear me to that at all (I have 102 locos the cost to convert them would be horrendous). Indeed I consider myself fortunate to be able to solder wires to the track!

I fully remember the RM Railway of the Month for April 1970 (Peter Jenkinson's "Garsdale Road") and the June 1972's Railway of the Month (Peter Samuel's "Bude") and if ever 2 articles have inspired and reinvigorated me it has to be these. The same year in the junior modeller section there was a layout by Robert Barton on a 5' x3' board. I can't remember it's name but it was beautiful, composed entirely of Triang and accessable, cheap items, and I remember it well, again it inspired me.

The point is we all have a fondness for nostalgia, and although these layouts would not stand up to modern models, I've never had the same sense of inspiration since then. In the 70s I was a kid learning things, I'm still learning things now, but if I could produce a layout to make me proud it would be "Garsdale Road" or "Bude", they have left a lasting impression on me.

I will continue to purchase magazines seeking inspiration, and I will be interested to look at Hornby magazine, but if anybody wants to sell RM 1970-1975 let me know!

regards,
Clive

 

[pedromorgan]

i remember a copy of model railway constructor from the late 70's or early 80's. it had an LNER layout. there was no ballast, there were trainset curves evrywhere and by serious model railway standards it was pretty poor.

but i was fixated with a layout that was full of streaks and A3's and even striling singles. it looked sleek!

i think the builder was planning to do a better job but when he had a friend over he thought it was great and they spend a happy evening running trains so the builder just didnt bother.

this layout would never be featured in a mag these days. but back then it was fine.

i also rememeber layouts that were based on GWR branch line terminuses but just happened to have a big boy or a garrett!!

Peter

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (clive hayward @ 1 Nov 2008, 21:22) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Four years ago I threw out my back issues of RM but I'm seriously reconsidering repurchasing them off Ebay

A good source of old magazines are Model Railway Exhibitions or Preservation Groups - normally you can get them for just pennies a copy.

 

[steam-driven boy]

Hi, "nostalgia ain't what it used to be" (sorry, couldn't help myself

).
I went through my 'first phase' of model railways in the late '60s-early 70s, from this distance in time one of the first articles in Railway Modeller that often pops back into my minds-eye was an article - possibly a 'railway of the month' - with Pen Tor Road station from the Dartmoor scene at Pendon as the opening photo.
I was interested in lots of the other usual early teen stuff so although I did have my train set in the attic (we were too poor for a loft...) my buying of RM's and MRC's was intermittent and inevitably I was lured away, my only excuse is the standard "I was young and didn't know any better" (!).
I have since re-acquired some of those earlier magazines and indeed the emphasis then was very much on the 'how to' aspect, even in the layout articles, there was a depth to them that doesn't sit right with modern publishing concepts perhaps.
If you can get to some of the shows you can usually rummage through piles of older mags and not spend too much on them, I have seen some copies of MRJ's (just as one example) going for what seem to me very silly prices on ebay when, when I was last able to get to the NEC Warley show about three years ago, the Wild Swan stand was selling what seemed to be freshly reprinted early editions for the original cover price!
I don't know if it's down to the recent-ish changes in editors, but both RM and MR (to be fair Model Rail at least was doing a regular simple step-by-step thing, but lacking any great depth) do now seem to be doing more extensive 'back to basics' articles recently rather than the 'this is what I did, but not how I did it' type that were frustrating for me to read when I started looking at railway modelling again only a few years back.
Some of the technology has changed radically in the last decade, but many of the basics are exactly the same and the encouragement to really 'have a go' does seem to have been lacking until recently comparing the different eras. Perhaps the reality of forums like this one and how 'hands-on' a lot of the topics are has permeated through to those editors?

Sorry for all the waffle

Regards.

 

[Brian Considine]

QUOTE (steam-driven boy @ 2 Nov 2008, 09:04) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>"nostalgia ain't what it used to be"
Regards.

I was going to quote that but restrained !

 

[Brian Considine]

The way I see it HM have really made the others (to an extent) pull their socks up & look to see what the reader (who is of course the buyer) of the magazines wants to see.

 

[7113]

As the Euroscale librarian (AKA you've got a spare couple of rooms - let's fill them up) I have a large number of mags, mind you I dread sorting them out as I usually end up reading them. I've even got a couple of old Airfix ones.

Regards

 

[Ozzie21]

I remember MRC and RM from the late sixties and early seventies. Two items which forever stick in my mind were article in MRC by David Jenkinson entitled the Little?Long Drag, and from RM Allan Downes "In Search of Realism" series. Both these modellers encouraged me to join a club and see how others do it. I was twelve at the time and joing a club was big thing especially as the club in question, Ayr MRC, had never had "Junior" members. There were a couple of others I used to get "Airfix magazine" and 'Finescale Modeller"? but that was more of an eighties magazine I think.

Charles Emerson
Queensland
Australia

 

[Purley Oaks]

For some reason I remember an article about a track-side worker who moved away from the track when a train was approaching, then went back to work when it had passed. By back to work I mean he was really in the same position leaning on his spade.
mal

 

[7113]

QUOTE (Purley Oaks @ 4 Nov 2008, 16:37) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>For some reason I remember an article about a track-side worker who moved away from the track when a train was approaching, then went back to work when it had passed. By back to work I mean he was really in the same position leaning on his spade.

Don't express models do something like this - or is that the "railway rabbit". Oh no - i've just reintroduced the subject of rabbits into an MRF thread.................

regards

 

[rb277170]

QUOTE i remember a copy of model railway constructor from the late 70's or early 80's. it had an LNER layout. there was no ballast, there were trainset curves evrywhere and by serious model railway standards it was pretty poor.

but i was fixated with a layout that was full of streaks and A3's and even striling singles. it looked sleek!Per Pedromorgan

I remember similar types of layout . From memory around November 77 Railway Modeller, a modern image layout with lots of MTK locos and mus. I think there was a sense of "fun" then which is lacking in the modern railway press. Nowadays layouts seem to have to be works of art to get into the mags. There is little attention given to the more basic layouts. Don't get me wrong, not suggesting a "dumbing down" approach- but just that there should be a range of layout types of all abilities.

I remember RM fro April 82 , I think. The layout was called Hanbury . It was the railway of the month. There was much Hornby-Dublo, Hornby overall roof and Superquick buildings ,all easily identifiable, but the layout was an inspiration as to what could be done without going to the nth degree. The author went into great detail as to the operation of the layout, which again is something you don't often see these days. But , above all, it was just great fun!The layout proved an inspiration for me, and for several years afterwards I experimented to get a similar track layout.

It would be nice if we could get back to "fun". Life is far too serious these days

Russell

 

[clive hayward]

Russell,
absolutley, I remember those two layout well, I think the second was called Sudbury, but whatever. These were fun layouts and inspirational. I've always been far more interested in operations than being correct to the nth degree. My own layout now is analogue, with basic sections, and without any point motors, all points thrown by hand. The purists may well throw their hands up in horror; but to me I have fun operating it, and the money I've saved not buying point motors has been put to good use buying additional locos! It will never be exhibited, never appear in the modelling press, but so what, I enjoy it. A recent post on the Forum by perthor "A small layout for the kids" showing a layout designed especially for his children. This actually gave me far more pleasure in reading it than any recent magazine article.

What we do should be "fun".

Regards

Clive