charlielynch

Sure, you can eat for £10, £15 a day, if you have low ambitions and don't go anywhere. Lunch when working? Lunch when travelling? My point was that for most people, buying an expensive model locomotive kits are probably not at the forefront of their financial priorities.

So, I'm quite new to returning to the hobby and thought a few observations on some of the themes that have been raised in this thread... 1) Kits. There's no doubt that they can be charming, rewarding to build (if you know how) and can represent less common prototypes. However. The cost and level of risk involved will put them beyond the abilities of many modellers. As far as I can see, a kit may be more than £300 once wheels and motor are factored in, presuming that a newcomer can fathom out things like 'gearbox of your choice' etc. This is before building and painting, which have every prospect of going wrong. Esoteric extra parts may be required which may need to come from other suppliers. To give this outlay and risk some perspective, plenty of younger people will be aiming to spend £300 on food per person for one to two weeks. 2) Which brings me to my next point - cost of living. Given that many younger people are stuck in insecure employment which effectively excludes them from home ownership, and makes future planning challenging, a hobby which requires a large amount of investment and stability is unlikely to be at the forefront of their minds. Aside - the effective destruction of the 'safety net' of benefits means that any period of unemployment between jobs risks homelessness because benefits have not risen in line with inflation. And a landlord will charge far more for rent than benefits provide. Given this, and much more, it is not surprising if expensive hobbies have been losing popularity. 3) Modellers are older. Yes. I am in my thirties and I have met very few if any people modelling who are under sixty. Helping the future of the hobby would be better communication - Instagram is am ideal medium for promoting the hobby and several extremely adept modellers have realised this. It might also help if kit and part manufactures maintained proper websites with clear images of their products. Having worked for a small manufacturing firm in the past, I understand that this can be expensive and time consuming. The Wizard models website looks like an example of good practice here. 4) RTR models can also be pricey. My thoughts for a response to this is that a layout might have relatively few model locomotives and plenty of rolling stock and scenery.

Thanks everyone, very helpful advice I think.

I'd assumed David Smith's oral material was recorded and then assembled into a narrative, but if as is suggested, it was from memory, that is quite a feat. The Girvan-Stranraer line is quite a sad place today, with an almost abandoned atmosphere. I try to travel on it between Belfast and Glasgow when I can, because I have been using the Citylink Bus for over a decade and am completely fed up with the experience. A nice picnic on the train, while rumbling over moorland, is to be recommended. If not in a hurry. Andrew Swan's book, The Port Road, is a fantastic resource. Where'd the accident reports giving train formations come from, I wonder? @Wheatley I'd wondered about the Bachmann/Mainline period 1 coaches - can these be improved upon or are they best left as is? I see that Comet do kits of period 1 stock - have you experience of these? I am building wagons at the moment, which is a good learning experience.

Thanks to @Buharand @pH for their help. I have Smith's 'Legends of the G&SWR in LMS Days', a very interesting book. A sort of Akenfield with trains, seemingly made up of a cocktail of oral history interviews - if so, I wonder what happened to the tapes? I think the Bachmann 812 and wagons from Mousa, Slaters, Wizard and Trueline will make up a credible goods train and a good starting point.

Hello. This is my first post, so please forgive me if I am not managing to use the forum correctly in some way. I have been investigating building a layout in 00 representing, very loosely, somewhere between Stranraer and Girvan in the 1920s or early 1930s. This remains a scenic piece of railway, although now much neglected. One reason for my modelling scheme is the availability of several suitable LMS types in ready to run, namely, the new Bachmann 812, the Bachmann 'Crab' and, despite its faults, the Hornby 2P. My question for the experts is: What about rolling stock? I can see that there are two GSWR wagons available via Wizard Models, and presumably there would be potential to scratchbuild more in due course. What other freight vehicles could credibly appear? Would LNWR, Midland and or Caledonian wagons have made their way onto this line? What about carriages? As far as I can see, anything GSWR would be more scratchbuilding, but what about early LMS carriages? What kind of kits are out there and what might have been seen? thanks, Charlie