bmthtrains - David Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 A quite remarkable achievement - I wonder who else can claim to have been at the heart of their profession for half a century! Looking back at when you started Chris, would you say the real railway or the model one (the hobby I mean) has changed more? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 A quite remarkable achievement - I wonder who else can claim to have been at the heart of their profession for half a century! Looking back at when you started Chris, would you say the real railway or the model one (the hobby I mean) has changed more? David What a difficult question! Massive changes in both. I guess most people who have been in work over the past 50 years will have seen massive change in their own job. Certainly magazine production has been revolutionised and railways, real and model, have seen similar changes. I suppose that the biggest changes that I've seen are the rise and fall of, first white metal and then etched kits. In parallel with that the huge leaps forward in ready-to-run. With hindsight you could see things starting to move that way in the 1980s. The revolutionary changes which electronic developments have brought - LEDs and the micro-chip, of course, (but even that goes back a way, to Zero-1 which was before I returned to the Constructor in 1983 and could even have been the late 1970s). I've managed to keep pace with most of what goes on in model railways but I'm afraid the real railway changes too fast for my liking. I can't keep pace with all the different franchises and who's running what until when. I dread returning to Reading (which is where I did my trainspotting as a teenager) because I know there's nothing left there that I will recognise. I think the most worrying thing about the hobby is that, when I go to shows, the audience that I see is largely made up of guys in the 'upper age groups'. Throughout my career, whenever there was a reader survey and the age question was asked, the majority of readers were in whatever age group I was in. Sadly, that still seems to be the case, across the hobby generally. My five-year-old grandson shows little interest in my house full of railways and plays cars on one of the baseboards. Even bigger changes will come, as my age group goes to the great trainshed in the sky, and the market then isn't big enough to sustain Bachmann and Hornby and a dozen new locomotives a year. CHRIS LEIGH 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Grafarman Posted October 14, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 14, 2013 Many congratulations Chris; I've enjoyed your writings for a decade or more now and Backscene has always been a highlight; hopefully you will see fit to publish your memoirs now?! 50 years in your field should prove an interesting and humourous read, as you have already shown by your anecdotes in this forum...! You can put me down for a copy... Regards David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRman Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 50 years down, Chris. Now you have to start the countdown for another 50!! Congratulations on such a long and illustrious career. I certainly remember some of your earlier contributions and also some of your white metal bits and pieces. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Congratulations Chris on a wonderful achievment, and a big 'thankyou' for all that you've done for the hobby. In particular I'd like to to thank you for all those lovely GWR / BR WR books you've given us, mine are all extremely well thumbed now and are much treasured items which are always at the top of the 'to read' pile. You've said before how you wish you'd taken more photographs back in the day, but I for one am grateful that you bothered to lift your camera to record the faded and jaded railway furniture that inhabited the Thames Valley and Oxfordshire before it was too late, when nobody else seemed to give it a second glance. Best wishes chief! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Nevard Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 (edited) Congratulations Chris! And here is the top chap doing what he loves best - caught here chatting at Model Rail Live 3 weeks ago. [edited to make more sence] Edited October 15, 2013 by Chris Nevard 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Nevard Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Chris might not be as keen on this one, but 50 years doesn't come around too often career wise. I have a hunch he'll want me to do some more photo merging for backscenes on his layout, so hopefully will forgive me? The loco is Transatlantic which I know he approves of..... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Congrats on 50 years Chris. I'm sure theres more than just a page or two at the back of MR you could fill with interesting stories with such a career perhaps a supplement for the future? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted October 15, 2013 Author Share Posted October 15, 2013 That smokebox door mugshot looks remarkably like its on Simply Narrow Gauge. I'm not sure Keith would want my mugshot going round his layout too often! There are a few stories coming up in specially enlarged 'Backscene' in the next issue and some different stories and different angles in an issue of Steam World in a month or two. CHRIS LEIGH 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Even bigger changes will come, as my age group goes to the great trainshed in the sky, and the market then isn't big enough to sustain Bachmann and Hornby and a dozen new locomotives a year. I hate to comment on these asides, because they kinda detract from the thread when I do, but you keep hitting on very relevant points. Most of my peer group are in the 40-55 bracket, except for a few notable lads in their twenties. And tellingly, those guys are devotees of the transition era. I can foresee a time when Hornby and Bachmann won't need to produce new locos every year, because everything with a natural market has been done, and contemporary UK prototypes have either dried up altogether or command no interest from modellers. I hope that sufficient numbers of new entrants take the hobby forward, but I really fear that prototype inspiration will have all but evaporated in my lifetime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 (edited) I hate to comment on these asides, because they kinda detract from the thread when I do, but you keep hitting on very relevant points. Most of my peer group are in the 40-55 bracket, except for a few notable lads in their twenties. And tellingly, those guys are devotees of the transition era. I can foresee a time when Hornby and Bachmann won't need to produce new locos every year, because everything with a natural market has been done, and contemporary UK prototypes have either dried up altogether or command no interest from modellers. I hope that sufficient numbers of new entrants take the hobby forward, but I really fear that prototype inspiration will have all but evaporated in my lifetime. A bit of personal philosphy does no harm, now and then. I think you're right and I'm sure the transition era fans will be able to keep things going during their lifetime. I'm just not sure that without the scale of steam era sales (which, we are told by the manufacturers is the biggest segment of their market) the transition subjects alone will constitute enough business to keep RTR manufacturers going. The young will have new and different hobbies (which are entirely alien to us) and I'm coming round to the view that we should just enjoy what we have now, do all the things in the hobby that we enjoy doing and leave the future to take care of itself. I'm not sure that any of us can really influence the future that much. CHRIS LEIGH Edited October 16, 2013 by dibber25 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 (edited) Hi Chris, it was you that got me back into model railways after being given a copy of MR back in 1998 and I came and saw you at your place in 2000 where your family and your late wife Diane were so helpful during the fuel blockade, (remember that?). I was staying in a house at the end of your street, purely by chance. I remember the odd look that your son James gave me when he asked "you know where the Fina petrol station is near the cathedral. To which I answered "no." By the time I found this Fina station it had shut again. But I did get some fuel at Warmington. Not Warmington-on-sea, Captain Mainwarring. It is indeed a remarkable milestone to be in the same profession for 50 years. I well remember of the models that you ran into trouble with in constructing them only for you to be able to finish them for an article in MR. At the time I thought to myself "you crafty bloke, buy a kit and partially construct it in your own time and then finish it and get paid to do it. I think the Jones Goods was one of them. In the early days it was just you and Dave Lowry and once you asked him to have a go at getting the roof off a Mainline GWR Auto coach as you'd been unable to get it off and at the same time put a detailing kit in. Unfortunately you won't be around in another 50 years but here's to you (with a warm Fosters, no not the one that sits next to you) and that you continue to enjoy modelling and real railways for a long time to come. Roy. Edited November 1, 2013 by faulcon1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky W Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Belated congratulations Chris from all of us at BRM. Hopefully catch up with you at Warley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Over here Chris I was watching a program on telly with Stephen Fry called Planet Word and he was in Norwich which apparently was well known for printing in the past. He had something printed out the 'old fashioned way' in which metal blocks with letters on them were placed into a tray. Upper case letters went into the case that was upper on the printer and the same for lower case. The bloke who did it said that's where we get the terms upper and lower case from. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Chris might not be as keen on this one, but 50 years doesn't come around too often career wise. I have a hunch he'll want me to do some more photo merging for backscenes on his layout, so hopefully will forgive me? The loco is Transatlantic which I know he approves of..... Loco_leigh.jpg Oh look!! another Thomas the Tank Engine character. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Over here Chris I was watching a program on telly with Stephen Fry called Planet Word and he was in Norwich which apparently was well known for printing in the past. He had something printed out the 'old fashioned way' in which metal blocks with letters on them were placed into a tray. Upper case letters went into the case that was upper on the printer and the same for lower case. The bloke who did it said that's where we get the terms upper and lower case from. Back in 1970 I did a City & Guilds course in Design for Printing which included a lot of lectures on typeface design, and, yes, upper and lower cases were indeed the 'drawers' in which the type was kept. Subsequently the Linotype machines also separated their characters in the same way and these were, indeed, metal cases in which the brass 'moulds' for the characters found their way back to the right place by an ingenious mechanical system which was fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, in their usual fashion the computer people have muddled all the terminology and we now have 'fonts' where we actually mean typefaces. I'll stop now as we seem to be heading towards the 'train station' controversy again! CHRIS LEIGH 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold JohnR Posted November 4, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 4, 2013 Chris, have you ever thought about writing a book detailing your experiences of 50 years in railway modelling? The article in Model Rail just wasnt enough! 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Chris, have you ever thought about writing a book detailing your experiences of 50 years in railway modelling? The article in Model Rail just wasnt enough! Whilst down south for the Wycrail show on Friday, I called in to visit 'Steve' Stratten. I hadn't seen Steve for best part of 20 years and we had an interesting conversation. Naturally enough, at 91 Steve is not quite as quick as he was, although his sharp wit is still evident. i'd like to hear from anyone in his local clubs - particularly Epsom & Ewell and Wimbledon (and any other clubs in which he may have held an honorary position) - who remembers Steve's time as an active club member, as he tells me he's no longer involved in the hobby at club level. As for doing a book - well, I'm not exactly Sir Alec Ferguson but I would probably upset as many people! CHRIS LEIGH 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markeg Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Well worth a read though Chris. Mark in OZ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linners Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Congratulations Chris, I started railway modelling as a teenager in the early eighties, Model Railway Constructor was one of the magazines that I used to buy. But I first became aware of you as a journalist/writer after purchasing GWR Country Stations (Vol1). It has seen much thumbing through and continues to sit on my (reference) book shelf to this day, accompanied by it's sister GWR Country Stations Vol 2. There is a photo of you at the back of Volume 1 as a young man, and several photos of your late wife poised outside various stations that you include in your photo surveys. Further book purchases include a compendium of coloured steam phgotos (GWR Steam I think, and also a couple of MRC specials on scenery and buildings). All in all you have helped me to develop and improve my knowledge of the real railway and modelling too- I must say a big thanks for this. I did meet you several years ago at Warley where I bought some Chris Leigh models, I recall kicking myself after for not getting some of your autocoach sides, but none the less, I felt that I had just been served by a celebrity! Good luck for the future and thanks for all that you have done for us rail enthusiasts and modellers in the past! Liners Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 You wrote Chris of the impractical designs of the 60's. How about the horrid colours of the 70's and the painted station seats at Kemble. Beautiful GWR seats that had been painted crimson and pink. I think your comment was along the line (no pun intended) of 'This is supposed to be a station waiting room, it looks like a hairdressers salon'. That comment appeared in 'Backscene'. I wonder if the seats are still that colour or if someone with a bit of sense has stripped the paint work and painted a more appropriate colour or varnished them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulcon1 Posted November 24, 2013 Share Posted November 24, 2013 Dibber25 you once told me that the model you made of Savernake Station on the old TTF went into the skip after MR had finished with it. I gather the same happened to the O gauge station of Oakworth that you made or will happen eventually. Why doesn't Bauer put these models on Ebay and sell them and try to recoup some of the money that was used in their construction. The company may not get very much for them but they'll certainly get a lot more than just dumping them in a skip. Perhaps other models that are made for articles in MR whether they be stations, locos, etc could be put on Ebay to be sold when the company has finished with them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted November 24, 2013 Author Share Posted November 24, 2013 The Savernake model was 'lost' when it was left with a freelance studio photographer who subsequently suffered personal and health problems, lost contact, and then moved from the area, so the model probably did go in a skip. However, Oakworth is not a magazine project. It is my own layout - one of arguably four - here at home and is currently in fine fettle. The buildings are removable, so could be salvaged if the family dispose of the layout at some time when I'm past caring about it. CHRIS LEIGH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbohn Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Around about now I chalk up 50 years since I started as a Junior Editorial Assistant on Model Railway Constructor in the Autumn of 1963. Backscene in Model Rail issue 189 is likely to be a bit special as I've been unearthing one or two of my oldest bits and pieces to feature. I shall be at the Warley show as usual, and will be pleased to see as many old friends from the hobby as possible. CHRIS LEIGH Hey Chris, I bought one of the Model Railway Constructor magazines that was published in December 1984 and I have some questions about the pictures you took. I sent you a private message Best regards Niklas Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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