I live in Brisbane Australia and like a lot of boys in the 1970's I received a Hornby train set for Christmas one year. I am the eldest of four boys so my mother used to discourage me from setting it up so as to avoid younger brothers damaging it. That defeated the whole purpose of having a train set if you ask me. My late grandmother (Doris) was far more accommodating and used to let me set it up in her lounge room every school holidays even though it got bigger and bigger every holiday.
University studies, marriage and career meant the train set got packed up in boxes and put away but not entirely forgotten or hidden. A few years back my then six year old son got a glimpse and subsequently wrote a letter to Santa asking for a train set like dad's. Santa delivered on the request and provided the Hornby diesel shunter set. The next thing you know dad says lets get out some of his old train stuff and the whole thing spiralled out of control from there. I took over the spare bedroom and my son's engine never got another look in - it was too modern and only seemed to know full throttle! I quickly filled the room and made an adjoining room useless. That would not have been so bad if my son and I did not also share a passion for Lego. A Lego medieval village had taken over the dining room.
My wife - not as hostile to trains as my mother - decided the boys had to put all their toys in the one room and opted to build an extension to the house. I would have been happy with the back of the garage but once an architect got involved I ended up with another storey above the garage with great views and plenty of natural light. The extension was completed in January this year and I have slowly been assembling Doriston - a fictional layout set just before nationalisation so I can run GWR, LMS and LNER.
In no way does this layout purport to be authentic. Although I have travelled to the UK I simply do not have the feel for UK railways to presume to model a real location
I have no illusions about being a modeller either - my attempts at landscapes look childish and my buildings never look like the photos. As Dirty Harry once observed "a man's got to know his limitations." I am in awe of some of the efforts on this site - especially the bridges.
The constant assembling and dismantling of my train set each holiday has made me a bit of a plonk it and see type. That means the layout looks a bit cluttered - engine sheds, signal boxes and water towers seem to be a recurring theme. I can't seem to embrace the less is more philosophy. The layout is also very neat and that reflects my personality more then a real town or railway.
The track layout is two outside loops and three internal loops. Simple - but I just like to sit and watch trains go by.
Every now and then I move stuff around. It still needs a lot of work with the scenery. There are dozens of Doriston citizens lying around in little containers not to mention a forest of trees. I know nothing about wiring, engineering, timetables, yard operations but I like what I like.
Apart from one wagon from the 1970's everything of my childhood set has been replaced. However, every now and then like some streaker at the football a naughty Class 37 goes for a frolic.
It would be fair to say that this layout demonstrates what happens if you let someone with a flexible (my wife would say non-existent) budget buy anything he likes on line without any great forward plan.
But what a great hobby though!!
