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  • RMweb Gold

I agree with your reasoning, but did you mean “character” and not “caricature”?

 

Indeed Regularity, poor spelling and not checking the resultant spell checker alteration is to blame (not me of course...........)

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Colour pictures of Garsdale Road! Where did they come from? I still have the Railway Modelleers this appeared in, inherited from my school model railway club. A truly inspirational layout! I’m modelling Great Western ‘cos, of course, all that lining is scary.....

 

 I rather suspect Edwardian is raiding a book called "Model and Miniature Railways" for his pictures.

 

 

 

Indeed!

 

Imagine a boy in the 1970s who liked trains, who had a stack of his father's 1950s Railway Modellers and 4 tickets for the village library, but really nothing else between annual visits to the Dart Valley to inspire him!

 

This book I must have had almost continuously on loan.  I then grew up and forgot about the book, and even its title, and much later returned to a hobby by now bereft of much of the colour and variety it once seemed to have.

 

Recently I have suffered nostalgia pangs and, so, I went in search of this book, discovered its title and found a copy online for a suitably bargain price.  It has just arrived and I am glorying in it!

 

Sheer indulgence? Yes. But I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with these half-forgotten images of some really inspirational models, and, I felt moved to spread the joy!

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  • RMweb Gold

Recently I have suffered nostalgia pangs and, so, I went in search of this book, discovered its title and found a copy online for a suitably bargain price.  It has just arrived and I am glorying in it!

 

Sheer indulgence? Yes. But I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with these half-forgotten images of some really inspirational models, and, I felt moved to spread the joy!

If it inspires you, then why not?

 

I always return to a late 70s “coffee table” book, the “Encyclopaedia of Model Railways”. Mine is under the imprint of Marks and Spencer’s, but I think it was available without “The St. Michael...” prefix to the title. This had input from, inter alia, CJF and David Jenkinson, but has some lovely exploded diagrams showing one how to go about building things. General editor was Terry Allen, and copies are available cheaply on-line.

 

Plus, it introduced me to Robert Hegge’s wonderful 1:48 interurbans, but that is for a different part of the forum...

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  • RMweb Gold

 I rather suspect Edwardian is raiding a book called "Model and Miniature Railways" for his pictures.

 

Indeed!

 

And a quick google search found a copy on Amazon for 50p!!!! So that is now on it's way to me.

 

Many thanks gents!!

 

Gary

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If it inspires you, then why not?

I always return to a late 70s “coffee table” book, the “Encyclopaedia of Model Railways”. Mine is under the imprint of Marks and Spencer’s, but I think it was available without “The St. Michael...” prefix to the title. This had input from, inter alia, CJF and David Jenkinson, but has some lovely exploded diagrams showing one how to go about building things. General editor was Terry Allen, and copies are available cheaply on-line.

Plus, it introduced me to Robert Hegge’s wonderful 1:48 interurbans, but that is for a different part of the forum...

Yes a wonderful book which introduced me as a six or seven year old to Buckingham, the Sherwood section and many others. These have influenced my modelling interests consciously or sub consciously ever since. My original copy fell to pieces through being read so I bought a replacement (for my son) a few years ago and it is a wonderfully nostalgic read.

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If it inspires you, then why not?

 

I always return to a late 70s “coffee table” book, the “Encyclopaedia of Model Railways”. Mine is under the imprint of Marks and Spencer’s, but I think it was available without “The St. Michael...” prefix to the title. This had input from, inter alia, CJF and David Jenkinson, but has some lovely exploded diagrams showing one how to go about building things. General editor was Terry Allen, and copies are available cheaply on-line.

 

Plus, it introduced me to Robert Hegge’s wonderful 1:48 interurbans, but that is for a different part of the forum...

 

Yes a wonderful book which introduced me as a six or seven year old to Buckingham, the Sherwood section and many others. These have influenced my modelling interests consciously or sub consciously ever since. My original copy fell to pieces through being read so I bought a replacement (for my son) a few years ago and it is a wonderfully nostalgic read.

 

Me too!

 

While we're at it, more Midland red ...

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An excellent book, considering that it was clearly aimed at a very broad market, probably as much mums, wives, aunts etc buying presents as directly at potential railway modellers; they secured good authors, who took their commission seriously. I got my copy when I was already quite a long way into the hobby, so I can't say that I learned a great deal from the core text, but there was a lot to be learned by 'reading the pictures'.

 

So why did I get rid of it in one of my periodic library-downsizings? Shelf space, IIRC.

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More from Model and Miniature Railways, recalling a time when most of the great model railways were set in the pre-Grouping or Grouping eras.  Time the Premier Line had a look-in in the form of Aylesbury.  I think this one is still going.  I was pleased to discover that it features houses built in perspective.

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Thanks for reminding me of this book- just ordered one!

If it’s the one I remember from when I was in short trousers does it include a layout called ‘Winton’ (the same layout was in Nov 1972 Railway Modeller, my first model railway magazine, which I still have!). My mother offered to buy this book for me at the time , but I chose something else which is now long forgotten....

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Thanks for reminding me of this book- just ordered one!

If it’s the one I remember from when I was in short trousers does it include a layout called ‘Winton’ (the same layout was in Nov 1972 Railway Modeller, my first model railway magazine, which I still have!). My mother offered to buy this book for me at the time , but I chose something else which is now long forgotten....

 

Yes, it does; LNER, Yorkshire, 1930s

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More from Model and Miniature Railways, recalling a time when most of the great model railways were set in the pre-Grouping or Grouping eras.  Time the Premier Line had a look-in in the form of Aylesbury.  I think this one is still going.  I was pleased to discover that it features houses built in perspective.

 

Indeed - as seen at RailEx in 2016 - with great interest from the local press. I believe it's now in the care of the Risborough and District MRC. It looked every bit as impressive as when I first came across it in a second-hand MRN from c. 1968 that I was given in the late 70s. The perspective street seen from the level crossing has to be the classic shot.

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Model and Miniature Railways contains only a single section on some classic model railways.  It is otherwise taken up with other matters such as the history of commercial models, miniature railways, collectors and, as has been mentioned, a section of select prototypes with drawings.

 

But, the layout section contains some gems, as we have seen, and the volume is perhaps worth acquiring for the Mike Sharman layout feature alone.  I wonder what happened to it?  We rarely see the like nowadays.

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  • RMweb Gold

Please be wary of the drawings: some of them are by Roche. Not sure of the provenance of the J69 drawing, but even my untutored eye can see errors - some simply by comparing to the photo of the prototype (cab entrance “keyhole”).

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I  was  privileged  to  see  Mike  Sharman's  layout  at  New  Lanark  in  2002,  and  it  could  only  be  described  as  mind  boggling,  not  only  for  the  weird  and  wonderful  collection  of  locos  and  stock,  but  also  for  the  absolutely  perfect  running  over  some  of  the  most  complex  (mixed  gauge)  trackwork  I've  ever  seen.  He  even  had  baseboard  joins  running  through  the  middle  of  the  pointwork!  I  believe  Mike  doesn't  exhibit  now,  which  is  a  great  shame.

 

Allan  F

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  • 1 month later...

 

 

I  was  privileged  to  see  Mike  Sharman's  layout  

 

Sorry Allan, but I can trump that!

 

Oxford Publishing Co ran an one off exhibition in maybe about 1980.  Mike had brought his layout for the day but had no one to assist.  As a spotty 14 year old I got roped in to assist and after a while I seemed to prove myself as reliable so I was left to myself for around 3 hours. 

 

It was just as good (and idiosyncratic) to operate as it looked.   It remains one of my highlights of my "playing with trains" experience and I only regret I did not take a camera or have an opportunity to repeat the experience.

 

I hear that Mike is far from well, so I am afraid you are unlikely to see his layout again.

 

 

 

 

Mark 

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I hear that Mike is far from well, so I am afraid you are unlikely to see his layout again.

 

Mike and Hilary must be deep into their late 80's so even if health were good, frailty would make exhibiting difficult and possibly unwise.

I do know Mike has not felt able to answer letters earlier this year.

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Mike and Hilary must be deep into their late 80's so even if health were good, frailty would make exhibiting difficult and possibly unwise.

I do know Mike has not felt able to answer letters earlier this year.

That's sad to hear. Mike was a great inspiration to me - I still use his 'Flexichas' ideas for my P4 locos and I will always remember manning a demo stand at a Scaleforum with him showing a 'Starting in P4' theme.

 

'Little Western' - a layout that spawned a track system.  I've got a quantity of the fibre track bases (including a crossover) in my 'black museum'.

 

'Winton' - isn't that the layout that featured the 'Silver Jubilee' train which was hand held in one fiddle yard while the loco was wound up to full speed then released so that it would pass the station flat out?  If it wasn't then caught properly in the other fiddle yard mayhem ensued!

Edited by 5050
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He's Alive!!! Glad to see that you're well, sir.

 

And what a beautiful layout 'London Road' is - I am slowly being lured into attempting some more LNWR subjects in the future...

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I spent more time watching London Road than anything else at the last exhibition I saw it at - a marvelous variety of LNWR (and other) stock. I hope Jol won't be offended if I say I am a little reminded of the remark made about another superb layout, Kier Hardy's Wibdenshaw, by a friend who was an avid spotter in the 70s - he wished he'd been able to find somewhere with such a variety of locomotives. In short, "not enough 47s". 

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And what a beautiful layout 'London Road' is - I am slowly being lured into attempting some more LNWR subjects in the future...

 

As one who is too familiar with the lure of the dark side, I say: keep struggling to resist! Surround yourself with pictures of red, green, yellow or even blue engines!

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