They are all planned - we are looking for decent reference pics of the Class 314 underframes to get the "MacPEP" ready. 

Even my elderly mother is really impressed with the clean, pretty-coloured new trains

She remembers only too well what the steam era was really like 

I don't mind steam being in a minority or that N gauge is a smaller market than 00. The availability matches my wallet nicely. I do also think the diversity of the big 4 companies in the 30s in terms of colour and type of engine make steam more appealing. It is also was a source of pride for the provincial towns like Swindon , Crewe and Doncaster that  we cannot replicate in our football teams.

I have chosen to loosely model the grouping era SR & GWR which makes me a steam fan. When I go to exhibitions I thoroughly enjoy layouts in all gauges and eras any well executed modelling gets my vote although I do have a preference for tracks through the countryside rather than the heavily built up and industrial ones. For me one of the advantages of the steam era is that in those days there was a far greater variety of freight in evidence, a mixed goods offers all sorts of operational interest.

I have always enjoyed travelling by train and still do, particularly handy for going on cultural tours .

 
I am 65 so I still remember steam,so I suppose I still prefer steam to diesel,I can remember steam trains at Hounslow my Grandparents house backed onto the Hounslow Loop oposite the coal sidings at Inwood Rd.
It was shunted  by a ancient 0395 or a 700,freight trains also ran past going from Feltham to the North London Line or Nine Elms,the only other trains were 4 SUB's both types.

Mind you if you have limited space a modern image diesel layout would be ideal,a straight piece of track with a platform and bus shelter one end,a tunnel the other end to hide the other end,and a either a Dapol 122 or a class 153 shuttling back wards and forwards,no signals needed,or a 1400 and Autocoach.

I really lost interest in railways after 1967,when steam on the Southern finally finished,mind you I started taking a interest in aircraft then,as I started to work for B.O.A.C IN 1965 as a General Apprentice.

B.O.A.C at that time were still operating Bristol Britannia's both 302 and 312,and Douglas DC7C's they were called Argonought's,and of coarse the Comet 4,I can remember the first Boeing 707 arriving.
  if I have bored every one

Michael H

I was born in Newport Pagnell (hence the Newport Nobby) in 1953 and raised in Wolverton so was of an age to see the last throes of steam on the LMR, along with diesels and thence to the electric era. As my Dad worked in Wolverton Carriage & Wagon Works I used to get 6 x Free Passes per year and 1/4 fare travel on the railways so travelled hugely as a trainspotter (although strangely no further north than Crewe ). Oxford was my favourite spotting centre purely because of the range of stock to be seen - Western region, Southern region, London Midland region over from Bletchley, and Eastern region from the Cambridge to Oxford line via Bletchley flyover.
My age has decreed I model what I remember, so my layout is based loosely in the Oxford area and I can run either late steam or green/maroon diesels or both (my loco stock is about 50/50).
I'm not sure diesel does dominate on the forum but if it does I am convinced that, like me, the majority model what they remember so it's mainly age orientated I guess.

Hi Michael!  As another aircraft man here I'll only say that the DC4Ms were the Argonauts, not the Seven Seas, and I'm sure it will have been the latter you saw.  I'd better now talk about railways...

I suspect I'm unusual in being 66 but not interested in trains when I was young, probably due to not living near any line, other than briefly in Hartlepool.  I grew interested when my very young son looked out of his bedroom window at the trains on the Blackpool-Preston line, and I realised that I'd better swot up quickly in order to stay a properly informed Dad!  His first powered train was the Pacer.  Sorry about the scale, but I think it worked better for him.  I then decided I'd do a proper layout one day - I'm still working on plans for it.  Luckily I found the railway modellers I knew at work were NER enthusiasts, for from an early stage I realised that whatever else it did, it would have to have long coal trains with those short fat J27s on the front.  You can take the man out of the North East but you can't take the North East out of the man.

Realistic layout planning suggests those coal trains aren't going to be that long.

The reason I prefer to model steam era is that the whole period is much richer, it holds more of modelling interest - there's just a lot more going on and a lot more "furniture".  How much this is influenced by the toys of my childhood I really can't say, but it probably is to a large extent.  I'd sooner travel by more modern traction, if it's just a question of getting from A to B.

If you think there's a shortage of steam as opposed to diesel, think of the problems of finding any carriages pre-BR, and/or not mainline express.  Now there's a subject worthy of a whinge of three.

Quote from: Michael Hendle on September 21, 2013, 02:04:12 PM

I am 65 so I still remember steam,so I suppose I still prefer steam to diesel

Hmmm, you don't sound too sure about that. 

Quote from: newportnobby on September 21, 2013, 02:22:57 PM

an age to see the last throes of steam on the LMR, along with diesels and thence to the electric era.

Hmm, electric trains have been around in the UK for a lot longer than diesels. They go back to 1881 when Britain’s first electric passenger train was demonstrated at Crystal Palace. Looks like they've significantly outlasted steam.

H.

Steam is alive and well.. diesel still can't handle some mountain narrow gauge well. Its also making a quiet experimental comeback in heat scavenging systems for trains.

Electric locos are way lighter and usually simpler. Just need Network Rail to get on with replacing that inefficient dangerous 3rd rail for overhead as is long term planned.

Alan

Quote from: H on September 22, 2013, 10:01:23 AM

Hmm, electric trains have been around in the UK for a lot longer than diesels. They go back to 1881 when Britain’s first electric passenger train was demonstrated at Crystal Palace. Looks like they've significantly outlasted steam.

H.

Old I may be, but I'm not that old, Grahame
Of course, as I was referring to the LMR region I was thinking of the AL series of locos and the AM10 EMU's, of which I saw every one.

Steam disappeared just before I was born, so the diesel era was mine as a child train spotter. Despite that, I'm modelling steam of 1930, and steam is still the main reason for my watching any railway-related programmes. I'm not sure if this is because I prefer steam, it's better looking, more varied, and more colourful, or because I'm also an historian, so modern isn't that interesting to me anyway.

I note that he forum header has mostly diesel, and that the only steam locos are American outline, no UK steam, could that not be construed as a diesel bias?? Also the additional "smileys" have only one steamer and that somewhat generic although it purports to be Tornado (a modern imitation ).

 

Just a thought  :idea:maybe the best thing to do would be a banner that shows a DMU,EMU,Diesel loco and a Steam loco,I have just seen another banner and it has 3 British Items a class 14,a DMU and what looks like a Jubilee Class, and a American switcher.

If anything I think there is more of a bias towards American loco's than steam v diesel,because the other banner has 2 American diesels and 2 American steam loco's.

Also possibly there could be another steam loco smiley besides the Tornado

I hope I'm not being to controversial as I'm a new member to the forumn

Michael H

I think one way to answer this is to ask another question: do people have more steam engine models or more diesel or electric models.

For my part, the steam engines are definitely in the minority. The steam locomotives I've owned -- with the exception of a Union Mills model -- are more likely to derail than the diesels and electrics. I think the light weight of pony trucks is to blame here, and compared to the solid weight on top of a diesel bogie (or for that matter the lack of pony trucks on the 0-6-0 Union Mills tender engine) makes those designs more reliable runners over less than perfect track-laying. Put another way, I'm happy to let a Bo-Bo diesel run around a layout for half an hour, but when running a 2-10-0 steam engine, I tend to keep a close eye on things and rarely have the train running about half its full speed.

Also, while some of the modern steam models look really good, but it is, perhaps, easier to manufacturer a well-detailed diesel or electric than it is a steam engine; steam engines tend to have more pipes and other bits that are either coarsely built or left off altogether.

Cheers, NeMo

 
:
A bit I find the things that are more likely to derail are bogie coaches and trucks,they are far to light the least little bump in the track ( or tap from cats paw) and they come off the track.

Mikael H  :A1Tornado