colin smith

Or they simply allow every team to go their own way with a scale and gauge of their choice. Given the series' focus on imaginative interpretation of the brief I think that would be easier than trying to get them all to link up. But I would agree they need more variety than roundy-roundy layouts.

Indeed. Bit of a favourite of mine. There's something very appealing about a prototype that you could, with some compression, model in its entirety.

Gordon or Maggie told me the story either at the Wells exhibition or at York. I forget which. Yes, there are other reasons why they chose Brittany. Dungeness Sidings was exhibited at the Camrail show in Bradford on Avon. I'm not used to the multiple quote function yet but will try to use it in future to avoid repeating myself. I only mentioned Dungeness Sidings as an example of something that could be achieved to a high standard in a reasonably short time. I don't expect everyone to be happy with a yard of straight track and a wagon. Many people do enjoy operation and good luck to them.

Irrelevant. There are railways all over the world and many of them are fascinating.

Yes, but it needs to be challenged just as all parochialism and small-mindedness needs to be challenged. There's a whole world put there and two-hundred years of railway history to choose from so why stick to a few decades in a small island off Northern Europe? How would you react to someone who always has pie and chips for supper or always holidays in Blackpool? You'd want to introduce them to curry and the Lake District just to see if they might like it for a change. I'm not asking that GMRC caters to my interests, I'm just saying it would be better if it showcases the range of modelling out there, just as a show about gardening should acknowledge that not everyone wants a 'cottage garden' style. And that would include everything from a 'Thomas' layout to a large scale train around the Christmas tree which so many Americans do.

I'm not predisposed to dislike GMRC. I agree the format doesn't appeal to me but disagree that my interests are esoteric, unless you regard anything not OO British outline or SF as esoteric. As my first post explained, the main problem isn't the competition element, but the daft themes that work against any actual representation of real-world railways, which is what 95% of actual railway modellers try to do. I would suggest in fact that Sci-Fi and movie theme park railways are extremely esoteric and we've seen three of those. As Kathy Millatt has explained on this thread, they are all OO because there was an early idea to link all the layouts together for the final. That idea was scrapped but only after all the teams had begun planning in OO. It's a shame, obviously, but they did not deliberately exclude other scales/gauges. Hopefully if there's a second series we will see a variety of scale/gauge combinations. In fact, given the track is from Peco and contestants supply their own stock, there is no obstacle to any scale and gauge being featured. I have been following your blog for a while and voted in the Cakebox Challenge. My favourite was 'Long Walk Home'. I don't buy any magazines but do treat WH Smith as a browsing library. I also subscribe to several blogs, including yours, and to Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine. It's not about whether one likes or dislikes something but about critiquing it and discussing it, finding out where it succeeds and noting where it fails. Film reviews, book groups, literary prizes, and all manner of things would be very dull if people just said they didn't like one of the entrants so didn't watch or read it. I also add that I am far from always negative. The other night I watched Trains That Changed The World on 'Yesterday' with, I admit, low expectations given the standard of most railway-related TV. On this occasion, however, I was impressed by its breath and analysis and made a positive post on a thread about the programme.

I wasn't referring to the TV show. My comment followed a remark that a favourite model railway of mine is only a diorama and has no operating potential.

If you're referring to kathy Millatt, she very much is a railway modeller, and a member of this forum, and has even posted on this thread!

I always write from my point of view.

I thought it was much better than I feared. I agree that sometimes the images didn't match the words (at one point images of Rocket and Adler got confused) but there was a surprising amount of technical information and a lot of interesting commentary on the social, political, and economic impact of railways. The role of Baldwin in inspiring Ford hadn't occurred to me, nor had the effect of the railways on coal prices and the economic effect that would have. I would have liked more on the challenge early railways posed to the UK class system, how the railways attempted to assuage the ruling classes (hint, stations that looked like castles or grand lodges were part of that), and developments like the Parliamentary Trains to force the railways to convey the lower orders, but hopefully that will be covered in a later episode. Compared to most railway programmes I've seen this was almost 'Open University' in its ambition. The next episode on the role the railways played in the British colonies looks especially interesting.

So a lot more variety would have been possible. As mentioned above there was originally a plan that all the layouts would be connected, hence common scale and gauge but this eventually got shelved. Unfortunately, the teams had already started planning at that point and the scale gauge was fixed. Should they do a second series they will hopefully allow for more variety.

I agree about the chocolate box problem. Too many shiny Fleischmann locos. Also agree that Pempoul is brilliant. Actually, Gordon and Maggie Gravett told me that Pempoul exists precisely because of the average British modeller's parochialism. They had taken their previous layout which (I think) was either in EM or O and British outline to an exhibition and were placed next to a nicely modelled narrow gauge layout. After a bit they noticed that they were drawing all the crowd and the NG layout was being ignored. So rather than appease the 'must be British std gauge' brigade they thought: Right, let's give them French NG in a scale no one's heard of but modelled to such a high standard they have to pay attention.

The enjoyment is in the doing and it requires a far greater range of skills than painting. For me, the modelling IS the playing. Operation is rather dull.

It's railway modelling. I'm not that interested in operation.

Yes, the M40. And every human in a car or lorry. But the answer isn't to put them on a train but to remove the need for travelling at all.

I would much rather it became of forum for organised civil disobedience and protests to halt construction. I would get no pleasure seeing the route carving through the landscape.

Green yes, David Icke, no. Government policy stinks.

I agree the loss to housebuilding is appalling. I am against all green-field development everywhere. To achieve that we need to reassess how we live and how we make use of time, energy, and materials. If that means making travel a luxury (as it once was) sobeit.

That is true. There's a comparison with writing where some 'writers' never have their work read and critiqued. They write purely for pleasure but unfortunately--and I speak from experience--the work is often poor. Those who choose to write for an audience (however niche) and who seek to improve actually get greater satisfaction from writing. Then there are those who are 'writers' but don't actually write because they're waiting for inspiration. If I ever get back into modelling I won't beat Pendon or rival the Gravetts, but I'll do my level best to make something distinctive. Choosing a prototype will be hard though, what with competing attraction to French tramways, Mediterranean islands, and Chilean nitrate haulers. I'd have to resist my temptation to take on more than I can achieve and build small. Something like Steve Cook's Dungeness Sidings should inspire me. This shows the entire 'layout' and it's stunning work.

That is true. In part it's down to the priority of the modeller. I remember seeing a nice looking layout in RM decades ago that was ruined by a green-painted pine cone that was supposed to be a tree. I could only assume the owner had no interest in trees or in making trees look right. For him I suspect it was like the theatre with trains as the actors and the scenery just cardboard cut-outs.

Anything that involves pollution or damage to woodland, heathland, and any natural environment. We need to use less of everything and do less of everything.

Population growth is a huge problem but a 'one child' policy should deal with it. Planting new trees isn't really a solution when it comes to replacing the complex ecosystem of an ancient woodland.

I'm glad there are some. But they are still very much in a minority in English speaking countries and I don't understand why. I do find Continental Modeller a bit of an oasis in a sea of British outline dreariness. I do like some British standard gauge. Admittedly it's always light railway or pre 1914, but I'm not completely prejudiced against the majority.

No, I'm not. I am in favour of reducing the need for travel to anywhere from anywhere. I am in favour of reducing damage to the environment.

Totally against HS2. Environmental disaster and for little gain. I've never ever visited London or Birmingham and wished I'd arrived twenty minutes earlier and can't see any reason to wreck any more of the green bits in between. .