Saturday 20 February 2010

1968 Model Railway News

I have been putting together an order for bits and bobs from ABS Models. To work out what I might need in the foreseeable future I've been trying to track down information on wagons that are in my 'to build' box. In a previous clear out of old magazines I'd saved cuttings with articles of anything I thought might be of interest in the future. Remembering I'd saved a few articles on wagons I dug out the files, then by browsing through them I came across this article...........


I remembered these pages in the July 1968 copy of Model Railway News being another article that started to change my concept of what a model railway could be like. I thought 'I might be able do that!' At about the same time as this article appeared I was allowed to take over a small room at the back of my dad's garage (but only being aged twelve it seemed large). It was a spacious 9'6" by 7'6" and had been his office but had declined into a junk/store room. What I would do for that amount of free space today.........

I had to modify the article's track plan slightly to fit it in the room by curving the track through 180 degrees from opposite the signal box, round to the road overbridge and beyond. Curving the layout created space for a better designed engine shed in the resultant corner. Locos ran off the main line on to a spur then back towards the station to access the loco shed and facilities. The loco facilities were also improved by the addition of a turnable in the same corner. Another addition was a parallel siding to the platform at the back which was to be used as a coach siding. The rest of the track plan was basically the same as the article.

This layout kept me occupied for a few years until I eventually found girls interesting. Sadly when I left home the layout was broken up. I've just sold the final three Peco code 100 points from this layout on ebay. This track plan still holds a fascination for me which must show by the fact that I've kept this article for all these years. I wonder if I could use this as a basis for the Mawgan Porth track plan?

The article goes on for a couple of columns to briefly describe the use of Superquick buildings which is probably as still relevant today as it was then. Below is the key to the above track plan, and interestingly, I'd ticked all the Superquick models that were built for the layout but now long gone.


Of interest is a book that is mentioned in the 'Bookshelf' column....... little did I think that nearly 40 years later I would have bought the book by Mr. Roche on the Withered Arm.......

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