Hi Folks,

Had a pleasent surprise at Calne model railway exhibition on Saturday.  I wandered in to one of the halls and found a display about the Model Railway Men books by Ray Pope.  These were children's books from the 1970s that detailed the adventures of Mark, his OO model railway and a family of OO size characters - all very charming.

I remember the books well from my childhood and collected the complete set over the years.  The chap on the stand was very welcoming and explained that he hoped to re-release the series over the coming months (assuming the first book sells well).  You can buy book 1 "The Model Railway Men" on Amazon in electronic format and now in softback printed form!  I purchased a copy even though I have an original hardback edition for sentimental reasons.

The reproduction is very good and I can highly recommend the book (if you like that sort of thing)!

Now for the surprise - the man on the stand was none other that "Mark" from the books!  Ray Pope was his Father and all the stories were based on events that took place in his childhood (excluding small people).  The layout described in the book actually exisited!

Sadly, Mark's father (Ray Pope) passed away in 1979.  Personally, I thought the family had moved to the States as the stories featured American themes later on.  However, this was done at the request of the publisher as the books sold well over there.

One final bit of information - apparently there is an unpublished book...

Many thanks

Paddy

Hi Paddy and all readers.
It was nice to meet you and hear your positive comments.
It seems that many were not aware of these books back in the day, which is something I will be attempting to change via all the mediums that did not exist when the books were originally published.

Mark

Quote from: Paddy on January 23, 2017, 05:29:40 PM
You can buy book 1 "The Model Railway Men" on Amazon in electronic format and now in softback printed form!

Any chance of a link to the paperback reissue, folks? I can only find the Kindle version, which is not available to me in the Netherlands.

Does the reissue include the original illustrations?

Coincidentally I read this book last week as it appeared as a "free" book in my Kindle Unlimited account. I, too, found it a humourous and worthwhile read and I've now seen that there are many other books in the series. Something to do while the rain is falling on the lawn!

Steve

Quote from: keithfre on March 08, 2017, 04:30:03 PM

Quote from: Paddy on January 23, 2017, 05:29:40 PM
You can buy book 1 "The Model Railway Men" on Amazon in electronic format and now in softback printed form!

Any chance of a link to the paperback reissue, folks? I can only find the Kindle version, which is not available to me in the Netherlands.

Does the reissue include the original illustrations?

Hopefully Mark can point you to where the printed versions can bought.

Paddy

Uber cool stuff!

And welcome to the NGF, Mark!! 

Hi Guys
Thanks for the welcome and positive comments. The book should be appearing on Amazon first. I have uploaded it today so it will be sometime soon. I've had some other commitments to deal with but its getting there. I had some copies done privately for the show and Paddy bought one.

Mark

Quote from: Eclipse247 on March 10, 2017, 07:10:29 PM
Hi Guys
Thanks for the welcome and positive comments. The book should be appearing on Amazon first. I have uploaded it today so it will be sometime soon. I've had some other commitments to deal with but its getting there. I had some copies done privately for the show and Paddy bought one.

Mark

Indeed I did and I can vouch for the quality of the book.  Apart from having a softback cover it is identical to the original hardback version.  Hopefully Mark will make the rest of the series available in due course plus the "unpublished" book! 

Paddy

Quote from: Paddy on March 11, 2017, 07:23:58 AM

Quote from: Eclipse247 on March 10, 2017, 07:10:29 PM
Hi Guys
Thanks for the welcome and positive comments. The book should be appearing on Amazon first. I have uploaded it today so it will be sometime soon. I've had some other commitments to deal with but its getting there. I had some copies done privately for the show and Paddy bought one.

Mark

Indeed I did and I can vouch for the quality of the book.  Apart from having a softback cover it is identical to the original hardback version.  Hopefully Mark will make the rest of the series available in due course plus the "unpublished" book! 

Paddy

Hi Paddy,
Yes, the rest of the series will be out in due course and eventually the unpublished one I believe I have found by wading through manuscript boxes. I am not sure if its complete and its down the list at the moment. The books should be available via most outlets eventually, not just Amazon.

Mark

What time scale are we looking at here, will it be in the next few weeks/months or will it be next year. I would of thought because they have already been published it wouldn't take much, especially nowadays with all the technology they have to getting back in print pretty quick.

I have read some great reviews about these books and would love to have them.   

Hi All,
After years of head scratching and asking anyone who would listen to me I finally found these books from my youth.I knew they exsisted but just could not remember the name.Im so excited that they will be coming back into print soon.

Hi ,
Books from my formative years and have place on my bookshelves- esp the Ffestiniog holiday book!

good to see the return. Certainly buy paperback versions as presents and preserve my hardback ones.

Robert

I had forgotten about these.  I also read one or two of them as a kid, probably from the library.  Nice to see them being revived for a new generation to hopefully enjoy.

John 

Some updates.
If you have any input as to what you enjoyed in the books I would appreciate it if you could share it here. I have found that some people have said they would make a good film or series and I agree. I have approached a well known film maker and they are concerned that the "core audience" may have moved on. I am now aware that many people still have these books and occassionaly re-read them. I believe the stories contain more depth and meaning than is immediately seen hence the re-reading which is usually the sign of a good book. What did you see in them and what did the characters represent? eg. What did The American Visitor represent and why could he and many others not be trusted with the secret. My interpretation is that this represented the American influence on the UK and a warning that this may not always be a good thing. The 'little guys' in the small world needed to be protected from the 'big, rich powerful guys' in the big world.
Your thoughts?

You can also comment in other places.





You can also watch videos on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0LzlQw5FcU&t=3s

They'd be a pretty good one to do with fairly minimal effects (essentially a model railway and a green screen ). Potential for them to be done as a web series rather and getting a fan base that way. Especially with a bit of re-writing to bring them up to date (the actual model railway men could stay in their own era while Mark is a modern child who's grudgingly introduced to model railways by his grandad).

Or just do a Thomas and do all new stories

Would love to know when the books are on iBooks as they'll be an automatic purchase for me.