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| Page last updated: 15-2-2004 |
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Background
When I started with railway modelling (a very, very long time ago), German R-T-R railway models were easy available in Holland (mainly Fleischmann and Märklin). Dutch modellers had no alternative than to build German-based layouts and most of them still do. In my starting days modelling Austria was something special, that's what I liked about it. Ready-to-Run models (Lilliput HOe) were imported cheaply from Austria and the modelling could begin.
I soon discovered that the points obtained from Lilliput were rather bad. They had no live frog and badly connecting switchblades. The engines had to be pushed over the points by The Big Hand From The Sky unless I gave full throttle, which made my railway look like a TGV on narrow gauge. So I had to build new points that would work properly. I built them and they did their job without failure! Apparently I was not as clumsy as I thought. My morale was given a boost and I started building narrow gauge diesel engines of the ÖBB on more or less appropriate commercial N chassis.
After that I built some standard gauge electric railcars and an engine, all with scratchbuilt chassis, which I did not fancy in HOe. These were free-lance models, mainly because the possibilities were dictated by the parts I had available. I learned a lot, though!
Scratchbuilding rolling stock became addictive. I had severe problems with acquiring the necessary parts like wheels, motors and gears. Most Dutch model shops do not sell any of those articles, they still concentrate on the German RTR-range and in that range there is no room for scratchbuilding, only for big spending. Luckily I discovered the possibilities of the UK-market, where there is a large number of suppliers of bits and bobs. I never liked Austria anyway and I've never been there. After viewing The Sound Of Music I completely lost my appetite for the Austrian scene. In the early seventies I made a trip from London to Falmouth by train. A mouthwatering experience! I was highly impressed by features like Paddington Station, Sonning cutting and (of course) Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge. So when I finally dumped the Austrian layout I did know where to go: modelling the Great Western Railway (what else?).
 Crowcombe Heathfield Signal Box (1994) Now I can build engines as it should be: choose an engine and order the wheels and other parts that you need! After ample consideration I opted for 4 mm. I liked 7 mm very much, but in 7 mm everything is twice as expensive as in 4 mm and it needs a lot of room. But it is attractive, and sometimes I wonder.... Because I do not use RTR-engines I opted for EM gauge. Standard gauge already is narrow gauge for the true Brunel-follower, and to narrow it down further to 16.5 mm goes too far! That 10% extra width is really visible in my view. And the extra space for motor and gears makes life a lot easier for a scratchbuilder.
Another argument for modelling the GWR is that I am a regular visitor to the UK, and I never fail to consume my annual dosis of preserved railway. Nothing can replace the real atmosphere of a steam railway 'in the flesh'. I have a nice collection of books about the GWR, but when you can smell the smoke and oil and hear the hissing and puffing, it becomes really alive. For a modeller that is an incentive to go home to search for a nice piece of brass and a piercing saw. |
