21D

I was an avid but impoverished childhood player with ‘train sets’, Hornby Dublo, Playcraft, Triang, Hornby O gauge tinplate much of which came second-hand from Lens of Sutton. Anyone remember Mr Smith and his beret in the shop perched over the chalk pit?

I’ve always been a London Midland man thanks to long journeys between Euston and Stoke-on-Trent to visit my grandparents. To me railways were a few passenger trains interspersed with long lines of grubby 16 tonners laden with coal, tipplers full of limestone or ore. The empties always made that strange creaking, growling noise. Then the crash of buffers and clank of couplings when the train came to a halt.

I had a long modelling hiatus between 1992 and last summer due to various other temptations, upheavals etc but rediscovered railway modelling during covid lock-down.

I'm modelling the Ex-Stratford and Midland Junction section 1955-60 as where else could you see a 9F pulling a long 30 wagon goods train crossing a Midland 3F on a pick up freight at a loop on single track. I have the locos and stock, now all I have to do now is build the layout!