Hi all,

Firstly, I'm new to this blogging 'thingy' so there may well be some basic mishtakes (sorry!) but let's just see how this goes. I don't really have any idea how this is going to turn out, what I am really doing is simply using the blogging system to get some of my ideas down in writing and through the medium of RMweb, maybe 'converse' with others who can either say "what a load of rubbish" or, give me pointers on how to go about putting my ideas into practice.

Also, I am not in any way a 'skilled' modeller, at best I am merely a 'tinkerer' and always have been! When I was a little kid, I once found an old fashioned pocket watch and took it to pieces to see how it worked, only I couldn't get it back together - springs everywhere! Thankfully, I have improved slightly since then.

Now, before I lose anyone, I WILL get to the topic title, shortly!

By the time I was about 15 or 16 and living in France, I had grown fed up of running on 'narrow gauge' track so joined the EMGS (I didn't know about the societies supporting 18.83mm gauge then) and started buying various P4 components and converting a handful of my then 4mm stock (a Hornby Hymek, Western and Lima DMU) and laid a rough oval of track. Running quality was poor and I had no idea how to build a point.

Come the age of 18, I moved back to the UK, joined the local club where no-one I knew then was running P4, I lived in a bedsit anyway so I went N gauge!

Fast forward 30 years and I'm back in P4 again and have now joined the guys at Manchester, so am finally learning how to build trackwork at last. Converting diesels is all well and good and I can have good fun with all the pretty lights and sounds but, having modelled in H0 for many years, eventually ending up with a load of 'German pre-group' (Bavarian!), I find myself only really being excited by earlier steam locos in fancy colour schemes.

Which company though?

I spent too long in Derby, so most things in red (Crimson Lake!) are not really to my taste, the 'other' railway in Derby was the Great Northern which certainly was impressive but now, I needed something quite different!

Great Eastern blue, perhaps? Nice, but . . . . .

Brighton . . . . . ? Also very nice but many people have already trodden this road.

M&GN . . . ? Very nice indeed, some actual route knowledge too but..... (gawd, I'm picky!).

Many railways certainly painted their engines in some smart greens and there was nothing wrong in that, I certainly prefer my diesels green but most English railways, well . . . I was moderately familiar with them.

However, I have been viewing various threads on here about Scottish railways and finding myself warming to them considerably. It's strange as I've only been to Scotland three times and am certainly not well travelled there at all but I do like it, a lot!

Finally, I was reading Mark Tatlow's 'Portchullin' http://www.rmweb.co....79-portchullin/ and saw his various pre-group locos - WOW!!! Talk about blown away!

Nearly hooked now!

So, Scotland eh?

Next thing to do was to check out the various line societies and I am really impressed, all round.

As of yet, I don't know which of the Scottish companies I like best - they're all good but the Caley is probably winning due to it's fantastic livery, the Highland is a close second simply because of where it ran and the other railways? Well, I just need to do more research really.

Although I already have more projects going on than I can realistically manage, I think one more is now a must!

It will fairly evidently be Scottish pre-group, P4 and because everything will have to be (at least) kit built, it will be pretty small too. It may even have to be goods only, not a problem as I am a self confessed wagon freak!

Now, back to studying websites and hatching ideas!

TTFN,

John E.