....looking to a lost time in our lives.
On the 1st March this year the grim reaper stood at the bottom of my bed beckoning me to take a walk with him. Life was giving me a big slap in the face, and I refused to go, I'm only 47.
I am still off work now.
From the age of leaving school life has been one big blur, working, houses, bills kids etc you know we've all been through it or or going through it, and never really doing anything for myself just snowballing along.
Now...nothing, life for me ground to a halt from that day and sat there twiddling my thumbs. I'm a worker and need to be occupied, I cannot just sit round and do nothing, I need to be doing things with my hands and stretching my mind.
While sitting there one night I watching a programme about the Flying Scotsman, I had a fleeting reminisce about when I was a kid and my OO train set I had and then my mind wandered to the days when you got the air-fix kit out on a rainy day.
Then a voice from the corner of the room said "did you have a train set when you were a kid?" it was SWMBO, "yes dear" I replied "nothing much, it just went round in circles. always wanted to build a layout, never had the time or money" "you have now" she replied "clear that cabin out and do something for you, you're not getting any younger you know" great I thought not only had I got the grim reaper hanging around I'd got SWMBO telling me I was getting old.
I sat and thought and got quite excited, I had never been that excited since my wedding night, I thought it has got to be N Gauge, I always wanted N Gauge.
I started looking into it and found you lot, all hail NGF! and soon realised it wasn't about slinging a few bits of track together, it was about scale and detail and the passion that goes with it, and it was okay to ask a stupid question and that we all start somewhere. Very comforting.
I started to get some bits together and ordered a starter set, a dapol N Steam 2 with the Scotsman, there where a lot of thoughts going through my head, what era?what should I base it on imagination or an actual place.
I remembered that the are that I live had railway line, there was a foot bridge I used to stand on as a kid watching the freighters going under.
I started researching the area, and there was a picture of the bridge I used to stand on. Further research found that there used to be a small station there and was demolished in 1965, the year I was born. I found old pictures of the station taken from the platforms with the bridge in the back ground. But there where no pictures of the front of the station. I then found that there was a newsreel from 1959 of a robbery at the station which showed the front of the building, I am paying to get this converted.
I bought a map showing the area from 1903, it showed all the railway lines, and a huge sidings yard that I remembered from as a kid. It was called Norton Junction, it linked to a mine where my Grandfather worked, and even ran down the back of a house that I owned. What I thought was a service road was the track bed.
I was and still am obsessed with it to every minute detail. I found out that it was owned by the LNWR and then went to LMS, I started researching the locos, livery and rolling stock.
Then it hit me there was nothing there any more; gone forever, it happened in my lifetime, it was there and I ignored it, it was all torn up in 1985. I had a horrible feeling in my gut. Was it because I had not appreciated it when it was there, or was it because life was moving on and I had missed the boat.
I thought that's it! I will build Norton Junction and recreate the station , after mooching around here I realised I was trying to run before I could even crawl. But I had learned so much about my local railway heritage, and so much about model railways thanks to you lot and NGF. You bought me back down earth with "loop and learn".
Looking into this has had profound effect on me, I do not want it to be lost, Norton Junction needs resurrecting. I then got to thinking no matter what we build whether it is an actual place in time, or placing our locos in an era in theoretical location, we/you aim to be accurate to a time in history. Even if you are building a modern day layout with the locos and rolling stock it will soon be part of history, preserved in miniature for the future and forever.
For me, what started out as building a layout and playing trains, soon turned into the regret of a lost time in my youth and life moving on, to research and the historical importance of our railways that must be preserved in miniature, and with the help of NGF I will improve my skills in modelling and getting scales correct.
Its now doing my noodle in :headbutt:
I will post up photos of my first attempt at building my first metcalfe with indoor and street lighting for your perusal and usual good words of wisdom.
So who are we, Historians, modellers or looking to a lost time in our past? I have promised myself that before the grim reaper eventually gets me (hopefully not to soon, I've got a lot to learn, so b***er" off for at least 10 years) I will build Norton Junction and give it to the local history society for future generations.
With this new hobby, and being on here and all of you from NGF, has been very therapeutic for my recovery,(my doc cant believe the progress I have made) I cannot believe I ever found time for work :laugh:
Apologise for the length of this, it has also been very therapeutic.
Your post is very interesting and describing how you have pieced together various facts which has led you to where you are with the planning of your layout made for an enjoyable read.
I hope building your layout helps your recovery even further and hope you will find time to keep us up to date with your progress :thumbsup:
cheers John.
Thank you Scotsoft. I will keep you up to date. I think I will need all the help I can get from you and your learned friends on this this site.
Ian
I am definitely a bit of all three. Building Reading town centre from 1975 when I was and 12 year old trainspotter. I've done research in reading library for photos and maps and have a large collection of photos to base it on.
That's a great story about how you came to realize the old station had been there and was now gone, and wanting to model it.
I look forward to your progress, and your continued recovery.
Great story and a fascinating read Thank you.
In answer to your question, i think we are all modellers who in-advertatently trap history, wether it be our own or featured in books. Either way, we all have a story to tell.... All created in model form. :thumbsup:
Really enjoyed reading your post Ian.
In answer to your question, I think you can add fantasists, artists and maybe futurists (certainly in terms of layout setting, if not the trains)
We are artistic time travellers with the power to recreate that we hold dear in miniature.
We are historians, engineers, innovators. When the mood takes us, we play god in our world where we run what we like because we can.
D
Quote from: dr deltic on April 25, 2013, 10:27:13 AM
We are artistic time travellers with the power to recreate that we hold dear in miniature.
We are historians, engineers, innovators. When the mood takes us, we play god in our world where we run what we like because we can.
Didn't realise Ming the Merciless was into rail modelling. :D
Pengi, Dr Deltic never thought of it that way. Now I can be an artist, futurist that travels in time and play god at will...I like it.
Agrippa... :laugh:
Live long and prosper !
Flash Gordon's alive??!! lol! :laughabovepost:
I think we are artists as its a challenging and complicated task and there's never any money in it even when exhibiting 8)
Alan
Quote from: dr deltic on April 25, 2013, 04:45:08 PM
Flash Gordon's alive??!! lol! :laughabovepost:
Dispatch war rocket Ajax to bring back his body! :laughabovepost:
...ooh, the many and varied reasons as to why we all do this...
For many it is a nostalgia; our version of the past where trains ran how we wanted to remember them, or how we would have liked had we had any influence. "I wanted to remind myself of when trains were interesting...not just an endless procession of trains that, save the unit number, are identicle", or as a way to bring back happy holidays - I would be interested to see what the proportion of Devon/Cornwall layouts there is in comparison with other counties.
My interest is similar...but for me it is bringing over a place as opposed to a time. I want to go back to Japan, but in the meantime I have a tiny section of it in my shed!
The nostalgia may not necessarily be the theme of the model...it might be the train set itself...with you happily sitting there as Flying Scots man does yet another loop. "I remember my train set being like that when I was a kid...only it derailed more, or burned out after a few circuits!"
For others it is the challenge. "I want to build a faithful model of xxx location, or xxx time period". All the research that goes into it can be challenging and a lot of fun, creating a little bit of history when World War/Beeching/Justin Beiber were but an unknown threat to civilisation and how things 'should be done'. For some this research is straight-forward; in easy reach, being one or two generations ago; for others it is a totally different time when Britain ruled half the globe and men wore straw boaters...
For all, it is a varied and engrossing hobby, covering all walks of life.
Your project sounds very interesting...and that's is mainly because whilst pictures and words can give a flavour of a place, a model provides depth and more of a sense of place. I wish you luck.
I have decided that Southern Railway, before nationalisation, is "my time". Being born in 1950, and only having travelled on BR(S), with the odd holiday to Aylesbury, by train, I ought to model BR, but I prefer the older stuff. Perhaps I was born too late.
Some on here don't do kettles, but I am sure even they were influenced by their surroundings, family and the trains they ride/rode in.
Thankfully, we are not all the same.
I guess I am fortunate to have lived through the steam era (late), green diesel, blue diesel and into electrics. Then other interests took over and I just used railways for transport as the worms held no interest for me (and still don't). I am just trying to recreate the period I loved best - late steam/green diesel. It won't be prototypically correct but will remind me of happy days and Ian Allan Combined Volumes etc :)