Does anyone have any tales of celebs into railway modelling? I know about Pete Waterman and have used some of the ideas in his book about scenics - using insulation sheets instead of polystyrene was a very useful one to me, much less messy.
And Neil Young has a vast HO layout in a dedicated building on his ranch.
Quite admire Neil's approach because when he found he was able to communicate with his disabled son via the medium of the model railway he designed and built special control kit that his son could more easily use; then asked one of the US model rail companies if they fancied manufacturing and marketing his ideas. When they turned him down he bought the company, and started getting his designs on the market. A major advantage of being a rich rock-star! Read more about it in a biography of him called "Shaky."
rod stewart is one it is a perfect 1:87 scale model of New York's Grand Central Station in the 1940s. :thumbsup:
He also admits that when he's away touring he likes nothing better than sitting in his hotel room making kit-buildings to put on the layout when he gets home - very Rock 'n' Roll !! :smiley-laughing:
Phil Collins officially retired from Genesis to "build a model railway in my basement for a couple of years" ;)
Others include Peter Snow, Jools Holland, Eric Clapton, Tom Hanks, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Ringo Starr. Hughie Green also when he was alive :)
One more little story (if I remember correctly) courtesy of Dr. Alex Moulton, the inventor of the rubber-sprung Moulton bicycle (who remembers them? ;D ). He also invented the rubber-doughnut springs used on the Mini instead of coil springs, and when he was first invited to meet Alec Issigonis (designer of the Mini), Jack Daniels (the chief engineer behind the Mini) and John Cooper (later of Mini racing fame) he was a little nervous. He arrived at Alec's house and was taken up to the attic where the aforementioned three 'important' men were happily playing with Alec's model railway whilst drinking merrily!! Apparently this was how most major design decisions were made during the Mini's conception :smiley-laughing:
Paul
The story of Neil Young is an almost carbon copy of Pete Waterman's story.
Pet Waterman models O gauge steam in a setting that is from his days before being a record producer.His layout is set at Leamington Spa in steam age and he asked an O gauge manufacturer to produce certain types of stock that would appear around the area and era he models.They refused for whatever reason they did so he either bought the company or set one up to produce what he wanted.Hos company is a prominant O gauge manufacturer these days and you'll find him at all the major exhibitions around the country on the stand promoting his company wares.
I have to say that they are very nice models albeit very expensive,very well detailed as well which befits him well.
Also,Paul Young,he who sang "Where ever I Lay My Hat" and Love of the Common People" and other well known songs from the 80's is also into his model railways,as is Roger Daltry from 'The Who".If at an exhibition tou come across a layout called "The Gresley Beat" you can see some of his handywork.He helped build the scenery and did build some of the buildings on this layout.
Going back to Pete Watrrman for a moment,on a program on Discovery Channel called Garden Railway,the chap who presented this program,Mark Found,who was building an O gauge narrow gauge garden railway went to Pete Waterman's home where he has a barn containing his very expansive layout.They talked about an anonimous rock star who used to enjoy a session of model making whilst on tour and took a small layout with him to while away the long hours spent in hotel suites and tour buses.I've no idwa who this is as he has had a rather big list of stars who he has worked with over the years and no doubt has made a lot of friends as well.
As an aside,Pete Waterman also owns an APT-P which is kept at a railway preservation centre near either Crewe or Derby.It is a static exhibit ajd the story goes that BR wanted shut of it si they let him have it for nothing so long as he kept it covered up and a secret,due to the failure of the train to get running reliably.He also owned the Flying Scotsman around the time of its ill faited US visit,and sold it due to the public uproar of its poor condition at the time.He apparently bought it so it could be run on the railways as opposed to being locked up in a museum to be looked at by visiting enthusiasts and public.
I'd heard the story of Phil Collins but wasn't sure if it was true or not.
Pete
:Class37:
:NGaugersRule:
The APT set is indeed at Crewe Heritage Centre :thumbsup:
He also said on his "Trains with Pete Waterman" series that he got shot of Scotsman because of the fanatics - he got hate-mail and even death threats because he repainted it in BR dark green as he remebered seeing it, not in original Apple Green ;D
Paul
Ben Ando (the man on the BBC news) is another - he's the same Ben Ando who does so much stuff for the N Gauge Society.
Whackipedia has a list here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers)
When he was alive Frank Sinatra was a model railroad nut.
Not really a celeb,more a notoriety but Hermann Goering was also a big fan and had a massive layout in his country estate.
Not entirely sure but I believe Sting is also a model railway nut. (no jokes about tantric modelling please)
Quote from: EtchedPixels on January 20, 2012, 07:02:19 PM
Ben Ando (the man on the BBC news) is another - he's the same Ben Ando who does so much stuff for the N Gauge Society.
Whackipedia has a list here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers)
You learn something everyday.... Quite obvious - now !
Quote from: EtchedPixels on January 20, 2012, 07:02:19 PM
Ben Ando (the man on the BBC news) is another - he's the same Ben Ando who does so much stuff for the N Gauge Society.
Whackipedia has a list here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_transport_modellers)
Seeing the Hoffs' name on that list made me feel quite unwell, Goering I can deal with but the Hoff ::)
What is the fascination with celebrities? Are we so afraid of being considered anoraks that we seek to hide behind the skirts of celebrities?
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Rod Stewart/Elton John/Phil Collins plays with trains too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Celeb X had illicit relations with his wife's sister too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but George Michael also went cottaging, took coke and drove into a shop window.
Funny that, I am a model railroader and in my Wifes eyes I am a bit of a celebrity.
You are right Thos the world has become fascinated by celebrities and I suppose its because we are brainwashed by the media.
From what I have seen of celebrities I wouldn't swap places with them for quids.
Quote from: thos on January 20, 2012, 10:53:03 PM
What is the fascination with celebrities? Are we so afraid of being considered anoraks that we seek to hide behind the skirts of celebrities?
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Rod Stewart/Elton John/Phil Collins plays with trains too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Celeb X had illicit relations with his wife's sister too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but George Michael also went cottaging, took coke and drove into a shop window.
It's funny , but I look at it the other way round! When I hear of a celebrity who likes trains, it just makes them appear more normal in
my eyes, rather than them making MY interest look cool!
Quote from: thos on January 20, 2012, 10:53:03 PM
What is the fascination with celebrities? Are we so afraid of being considered anoraks that we seek to hide behind the skirts of celebrities?
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Rod Stewart/Elton John/Phil Collins plays with trains too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but Celeb X had illicit relations with his wife's sister too.
I know you think I'm wierd, darling, but George Michael also went cottaging, took coke and drove into a shop window.
Funny - i dont remember listing all my other hobbies on the Other Hobbies thread... Who have you been talking to? :smiley-laughing:
Personally i dont care particularly who they are, but some of the better off (and well known) folks have some fabulous layouts that really are worth a look. Though it is interesting when there is someone whose work you admire say Roger Daltrey or David Shepherd, and you also find out that they are a fellow modeller. Cant say its much more than "hah, who knew", but it makes for an interesting thread with some of the old and probably apocryphal anecdotes.
I agre Irish Padre, it does somehow make them seem human... After doing coke and tantric wotsit, a bit of N gauge to get back to the real world, eh!
I wouldnt swap with them either oldrialbug. Mind you David Shepherd has a team of people he has helping build and maintain his layout... which was in Model Rail a while back and it is the wrong scale but the scenery is fabulous.
Quote from: oldrailbug on January 20, 2012, 11:01:27 PM
From what I have seen of celebrities I wouldn't swap places with them for quids.
I'd like to have made my stash so that I could produce the music I'd want to produce - setting up my own record label when my old label dropped me - i.e. Peter Hammil not Vicki Beckham.
Somewhere else on this forum is a thread entitled getting the young involved.Now my point is this,a lot of the famous people who have been spoken about in this thread are around our ages so don't really appeal to todays youngsters,that and the fact that people are too busy with their instant fixes of gaming on consoles and mobile phones and whatever else they use.
In years to come when todays yoof have no musical heritage,this point is very contentious in my opinion and as I'm the uncle of 3 kids,2 being teenagers who love this stuff called gangsta rap,I feel that in five,ten or fifteen years from now there will be nothing they can recall with fondness in this respect.People will try and experiment with things with which their idols are actively interested in.
The thing is,if more people knew how cool the stars who are into model railways are or were,then it might not be viewed as such an anorachy type of hobby.Consider this if you will,thirty years ago if you had a Sinclair ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64 and played games on them,you were a full fat geek.Today it is considered normal to have a video gaming platform of one form or another in a house containing youngsters and not geeky at all.The video games industry has grown to be one of the largest areas of the entertainment industry over the last couple of years,so if it transpires that a few of todays so called popstars or whatever they consider themselves is found to be a secret model railwayist,then thw world might snigger a bit,certainly the more narrow minded ones will,but someone somewhere will take note and have a bash,even if its a rubbish one at first.
What this hobby really does need in my opinion is a leg up from people who are passionate about their interest in model trains,so more peole take it up and allow the industry to flourish.
At the moment that is down to us and sometimes it feels like trying to push water uphill.My nephews,one of which is 7 and the other is 15,the younger one has been to my house and played with my layout with me for hours.His older brother on the other hand thinks I'm sad.And we had a conversation and did a comparison of what skills it takes to build a layout.His hobby is football and video games incidentally,he's crap at football and only an average video gamer so when we made comparisons,have a guess which came out on top for skills count.
But to him,model railways are sad and his opinion reflects the views of a majority of his generation.Until a few stars confess to a model railway interest from their generation this is how it will remain,regrettably.
I know this has moved away from the thread subject a bit and I apologise for this but as I have said,if more famous people came out of the closet with their model railway hobby,we may even be seen as a tiny bit cool,somehow I doubt it though.
Pete
:Class37: :NGaugersRule:
I think David Cameron and Justine Greening must be big fans of model railways because they treat the real UK network like one big 'Thomas the Tank Engine Train set'!
:smiley-laughing:
Quote from: Pete Mc on January 21, 2012, 02:37:19 AM
Somewhere else on this forum is a thread entitled getting the young involved.Now my point is this,a lot of the famous people who have been spoken about in this thread are around our ages so don't really appeal to todays youngsters,that and the fact that people are too busy with their instant fixes of gaming on consoles and mobile phones and whatever else they use.
In years to come when todays yoof have no musical heritage,this point is very contentious in my opinion and as I'm the uncle of 3 kids,2 being teenagers who love this stuff called gangsta rap,I feel that in five,ten or fifteen years from now there will be nothing they can recall with fondness in this respect.People will try and experiment with things with which their idols are actively interested in.
The thing is,if more people knew how cool the stars who are into model railways are or were,then it might not be viewed as such an anorachy type of hobby.Consider this if you will,thirty years ago if you had a Sinclair ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64 and played games on them,you were a full fat geek.Today it is considered normal to have a video gaming platform of one form or another in a house containing youngsters and not geeky at all.The video games industry has grown to be one of the largest areas of the entertainment industry over the last couple of years,so if it transpires that a few of todays so called popstars or whatever they consider themselves is found to be a secret model railwayist,then thw world might snigger a bit,certainly the more narrow minded ones will,but someone somewhere will take note and have a bash,even if its a rubbish one at first.
What this hobby really does need in my opinion is a leg up from people who are passionate about their interest in model trains,so more peole take it up and allow the industry to flourish.
At the moment that is down to us and sometimes it feels like trying to push water uphill.My nephews,one of which is 7 and the other is 15,the younger one has been to my house and played with my layout with me for hours.His older brother on the other hand thinks I'm sad.And we had a conversation and did a comparison of what skills it takes to build a layout.His hobby is football and video games incidentally,he's crap at football and only an average video gamer so when we made comparisons,have a guess which came out on top for skills count.
But to him,model railways are sad and his opinion reflects the views of a majority of his generation.Until a few stars confess to a model railway interest from their generation this is how it will remain,regrettably.
I know this has moved away from the thread subject a bit and I apologise for this but as I have said,if more famous people came out of the closet with their model railway hobby,we may even be seen as a tiny bit cool,somehow I doubt it though.
Pete
:Class37: :NGaugersRule:
Personally speaking, and not having any kids through choice, I'd say it was a complete waste of time trying to get them interested in the first place. Model trains were considered just as weird and geeky when I was a teenager in the 80's as they are now, and probably always will be - it's uncool. That didn't stop me coming back to it at the age of 39, and as we see now on this very forum plenty of people get into it later in life for the first time, and so will a proportion of todays teenagers when they get a bit older.
Why not just face the fact it's a mainly adult's hobby with a sprinkling of younger blood, because that's the way it's been for at least the last 30 years ;)
Paul
I'd have to agree - we've also no kids, but I do have three nephews (aged 20, 10 and 5 (the last one was somewhat of a surprise to my sister in law; not helped that I laughed for almost 2 weeks when I heard she was expecting)).
None of them have ever shown any interest in their uncles various railways at any points in their lives. I reckon this would be about right. They do have interests, the oldest likes to drink a lot, the middle one loves ice hockey, and the youngest currently thinks he is a ninja.
Model railways, or indeed model making of any kind, has always been seen as a bit of a "geek" activity, and probably always will be. There will be some youngsters who will take it up, enjoy it, and keep at it for life, some will try it and not like it, most will have no interest. This seems to apply to most hobbies. Anything that can be done to encourage interest is to be applauded, though.
Rod Stewart claimed that getting his layout in the big US modelling magazines was his biggest moment. So he's a railway modeller who happens to have a day job in the music business 8)
Alan
Quote from: Pete Mc on January 21, 2012, 02:37:19 AM
Consider this if you will,thirty years ago if you had a Sinclair ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64 and played games on them,you were a full fat geek.
Quote from: Sprintex on January 21, 2012, 02:51:43 PM
Model trains were considered just as weird and geeky when I was a teenager in the 80's as they are now, and probably always will be - it's uncool.
Wow! :o
I was the 1st kid at our school to get a Commodore 64
and I was into model railways then, and have been ever since.
I've was a MEGA GEEK all that time and didn't know it! :smiley-laughing:
I noticed on, and according to, the Wickedpedia list that we have a celeb on here, our very own EtchedPixels! :thumbsup:
I had to solder the componants in for my first computer - a ZX81 kit ::) and seem to have spent most of my life surrounded by the damned things and trains to varying degrees, I am a fat, fool geek then :smiley-laughing:
Not sure if too many would have heard of Rudolph Kempe.
He was a German orchestral conductor who lived between 1910 and 1976, most notable for his recordings of great German orchestral works...his Richard Strauss orchestral works are still - in my opinion - their seminal recordings. He died just a year after taking over the BBC Symphony Orchestra, therefore robbing the British public of a greater understanding of this master...
He was, not least, a model railway nut, particularly into German H0 ;D
On a similar theme, Antonin Dvorak was also a railway fiend...but he was a little early for modelling.
Quote from: Claude Dreyfus on January 23, 2012, 01:12:02 PM
Not sure if too many would have heard of Rudolph Kempe.
He was a German orchestral conductor who lived between 1910 and 1976, most notable for his recordings of great German orchestral works...his Richard Strauss orchestral works are still - in my opinion - their seminal recordings. He died just a year after taking over the BBC Symphony Orchestra, therefore robbing the British public of a greater understanding of this master...
He was, not least, a model railway nut, particularly into German H0 ;D
On a similar theme, Antonin Dvorak was also a railway fiend...but he was a little early for modelling.
I have certainly heard of Herr Kempe, and also rate Richard Strauss's Death & Transfiguration one of my favourite classical pieces. Of course, Dvorak created a New World in railway parlance but not in N as it wasn't about then :smiley-laughing:
I was under the impression that Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was an enthusiast. We chatted briefly about it when I collected my DofE gold award from him in 1977 and he certainly sounded like more than a 'Thomas' novice!
I always wondered if Jean-Michel Jarre was a railway enthusiast as a number of his instrumental works include sounds from (presumabvly) SNCF passenger trains and freight yard sounds.
This fact once helped me win a Chiltern Radio competition (the only time I've been moved to phone in to a radio station) but the DJ got me going by challenging listeners that he could answer "any music question" and get it right. You won a bag of radio station goodies if he couldn't answer it!
I asked him "which Jean Michel Jarre work includes the sound of a French passenger train passing at speed" - and he had no idea so I won!
Noel Edmonds is apparantly quite into model railways. He has been a frequent visitor to the model shop on St Davids Hill in Exeter for many years, the owners will never divulge what he buys, even what scale
Quote from: hairygit on January 25, 2012, 02:09:05 PM
Noel Edmonds is apparantly quite into model railways. He has been a frequent visitor to the model shop on St Davids Hill in Exeter for many years, the owners will never divulge what he buys, even what scale
Is his layout called "Crinkly Bottom" :smiley-laughing: