Railway modelling for many of us is about recreating childhood memories. For me it was the Great Eastern Main Line. Despite the lure of the LMS with their magnificent Pacifics, it wasn't until I moved away from Essex that I realised how much I loved the Great Eastern with its varied EMUs and the resplendent diesels allocated to Stratford depot.

So why Romford? I wanted a location which offered an interesting mix of railway operations and also a busy street scene. Romford offered all of this; an atmospheric coal yard, a branch line to Upminster with its red brick Midland station building unusually situated in LNER territory and a busy four track suburban and main line.

The first step was the research, which I found as interesting as the modelling itself. The internet is a great font of knowledge. I was able to source numerous photographs from websites such as Flickr, to help recreate the virtual scene. However, nothing beats visiting the site and taking photographs and notes of the real thing. The key here is to take as many photographs from as many different angles as possible, as you never know when you will be able to go to site again or if indeed whether the subject will still be there when you go back. While on site, I also took the opportunity to visit the local library and was able to secure an Ordinance Survey map of the area for the era that I wanted to model; the 1970s early 1980s. Through my work as a railway engineer, I was also fortunate to secure copies of the permanent way layout and original LNER drawings of the station. I was however lacking information on the now demolished coal yard and goods shed. I will therefore need at some point, to visit Chelmsford library to view the Great Eastern Society's archive drawings.

As the railway is elevated above the road and the main station building is integral with the western bridge abutment, this is where I needed to start my setting out from. I drew up the elevation using Microsoft Visio drawing software based upon dimensions from the LNER drawings and my extensive library of photographs. Sizing the building was relatively easy as it was possible to count the brick courses from my digital photographs. Once the drawing is complete, the next step is constructing the western station elevation. But that is another story......

To be continued.