When I were 'lad - Introduction

They say nostalgia ain't what it used to be, and who am I to argue?  Memories of times past, when life was simpler and days were longer, trousers were short and knees were grubby, pockets were for train spotting books and paper railway timetables; those memories can all have a significant influence over us when it comes to our modelling choices.  I wrote in my previous post about the desire to recreate childhood memories.  I'd like to take that thought in a different direction this time.

 

When I was going through my modelling crates to pull together items for a small display at our local 009 Society Group gathering last month, I found myself feeling rather overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I've got (and my collection isn't large).  Having written about the value of 'settling for less' and the benefits of a clear out at the start of this series, I hadn't appreciated just how much I've still  got tucked away in the crates under my modelling tables.

 

For me, that afternoon unpacking and then repacking stuff away wasn't the fun I wanted it to be.  Some of the magic of the hobby: the joy that came with the innocence of fresh discovery when I was still a boy - it just wasn't there.  I'd lost the simplicity, buried it under all the accumulated 'stuff' of middle age.  I even wondered (briefly) about ditching the lot.

 

It's not the same for everyone, but for me it was another significant moment.  It has meant continuing the clear out, not only to fit the space I have for modelling and storage, but enough that I can also create enough space to recover a sense of excitement when I make or buy something new - I don't just want to be wondering where I'm going to put it!

 

From what I read elsewhere on RMweb, many of us have a stash to keep us going for a lifetime and beyond:  I think I've seen it called something like our Stale ("Stash Above Life Expectancy") - quite possible in a piece by @Phil Parker, a reputed expert in the field.  But if when I get something new I guess I want to feel some of the buzz I did when I first got started, and I'd never had one of 'those' before.

 

So I'm trying to limit myself to the next ten structures I genuinely believe I really will build (and enjoy building):

 

 

Freight car kits are more common in American HO that some other modelling genre's, and I've drawn another line for now with the ones I've got queued up - again, all ones I really want to build (and have already been holding on to for some time):

 

 

My list of 'builds in progress' has also come under control - although there's plenty still to do on all of them:

 

 

But, hang on, what are those Walthers' platforms for, and isn't that an OO station kit?  When did I start that?  Do I still need them?

 

No, I don't need them, but one day I still want to finish them.  So they pass the "keep or cull" test - I didn't say it had to be logical.  The platforms were bought cheap as they go with a large HO station I've built, but don't expect to ever put on a layout.  I started the platforms when I was considering a modern Continental Project in H0 earlier this year, but unfortunately glued the key components in place before realising they'd no longer go back in the box once I'd done that.

 

The Ratio OO kit was started in 2020.  In the past I've written extensively about my interest in GW Branch Lines (although this kit is of Castle Cary, which isn't a branch line station).  After getting involved in Narrow Gauge modelling (the subject of my next blog post) and picking up other long-standing interests, I didn't think I'd go back to tension lock couplings or steam locos without working lights any time soon (if at all).  Which means I have quite a few 'bits' with nothing to do:

 

 

 

Why don't I get rid?  I think because this odd collection of pigs, sheep, level crossing gates, signals and signs still evokes that elusive feeling of nostalgia coming alive again that I'm after, even if they're not on a layout.  I just don't want to throw them away.

 

TT:120

The announcement on 6th June 2022 of Peco's TT:120 range came as a genuine surprise across the hobby.  It certainly caught my attention.  I found it exciting to be at the start of something, and it brought back a lot of childhood memories from my earliest days in the hobby in N-Gauge (very different in the 1970s to where it is today).  That connection was perhaps best summed up in a discussion on an early TT:120 thread about what might be produced first in r-t-r that tried to compare the 'green field' opportunity of UK TT:120 with the limited selection we had in 1970s N-Gauge UK outline. 

 

In my case the choice of GWR branch line models for Peco's initial range of affordable laser-cut building kits was another attraction, so it was an easy decision for me to embrace TT:120 and begin a small project:

 

Starting with some second-hand Auhagen kits from the 009 Society Members' online Sales shop, I made a start - and soon confirmed that I did not find the details too small (I now do with N-Scale):

 

 

I scaled back my initial foray into Continental TT (1:120) as I couldn't source the coaches I wanted - wagons and locomotives were easier to get here in the UK - demonstrating the size benefit over H0 (this train is on one yard length of track):

 

 

But why isn't UK outline TT:120 still top of my project list?  I think for me the bubble burst over the amount of debate about the merits or otherwise of TT, in particular after Hornby entered the market (nothing against Hornby, it was the debate I wasn't prepared for).  As someone not used to following Trade announcements, I was simply unaware of all the discussions that would ensue.  I just wanted to play trains.

 

I still intend to complete the "Moorbach" diorama I originally planned, and continue to follow developments in TT:120 modelling with great interest (I still feel it is the ideal scale for today - that logic hasn't changed), but admit I'm no longer so sure when I'll take this interest further.

 

 

As I write this I do feel some of the 'mojo' may be returning, so perhaps there's something cathartic in blogging after all, or maybe it's just the photos of what I have already made - straightforward and simple - that can still connect me to the world I'm looking back in search of?  We shall see.

 

Once again, thank you for reading, Keith.