I like to think that when I am writing articles for my blog  I am among friends; friends in whom I can confide, to whom I can bare my soul.  It is in this spirit that I have decided to make my confession. 

To put today’s disgrace into context, I will first confess to something that happened in 1973.  School was difficult for me for many reasons and, because other parents felt sorry for me, I was frequently required to go and play with girls from school who I did not like, one of whom was Rebecca, who never stopped telling me that her house had formerly belonged to Dicky Valentine (a well known British entertainer in the 60’s and 70’s).  She was bossy, girly and patronising, even at age 8, and we had nothing in common.  

But going to her house had one utterly, heart-stoppingly redeeming aspect.  In her attic, she had a 1950’s Hornby “00″ gauge train set.  As soon as I discovered this, I was happy to go to her house as often as I could; she played with her wretched dolls downstairs or galloped about the house pretending to be a Palomino and I sat alone in the attic, laying out track, inventing villages and station names, timetables, de-railings, running the beautiful GWR locomotives and carriages round and round in total bliss.

Rebecca had absolutely no interest in the railway.  She thought I was weird for wanting to play with it and made sure that she made my life even more miserable at school by telling everyone that not only was I an oddball, but that I was sad and weird and played with boys toys.  I couldn’t have cared less, but one afternoon in the attic I exacted my revenge.   Before I left her house, I picked up the metal level crossing with perfectly hinged gates and slipped it into my schoolbag.  At home, I only had a red plastic train set, so it was no earthly use to me, I just wanted it.  I wanted some part of that beautiful thing to belong to me, to belong to someone who really loved it. 

I saw one just like it at the Harborough Antique Fair recently, and the whole sordid story came flooding back.  I almost certainly still have it, probably in some deep cupboard at the Aged Parent’s house.  I’m ashamed to admit that my only guilt is that the level crossing should have stayed with the set.

My second confession is as different as can be.  I have had a bit of ‘challenging’ weekend, followed by a morning where everything I did went wrong or couldn’t be finished, concluding with my dropping a glass jar full of baking beans from a high cupboard, which sent shards of glass into the main course and pudding I was preparing in advance for dinner, into the toaster, the butter dish, the kettle, the floor and my hands.  It took me two hours to clear it all up and I was forced to go into Harborough to buy more food.  I was tired, cross, hungry and miserable.  I saw something on a shelf that I have not eaten in 20 years, picked it up, took it home and added the 300ml of boiling water required for its preparation.

Ladies and gentlemen.  This lunchtime I ate, without undue influence, a pot of Tiger Tiger Cup Noodles, Thai Spice Satay Style (less than 5% fat!).  Apparently it was exciting and had an authentic Thai taste.  I don’t have the words to describe the glutinous, malodorous, repellent mass which I chose to eat with the foldaway fork included in the pack. 

I am so very, very sorry.  I have let you all down, after all my brave talk of home cooking and locally sourced food.  Most of all I have let myself down.  And I can tell you that my guilt about The Great Train Set Robbery pales into insignificance in comparison.

TRIANG HORNBY
AUTORAIL TWO CAR UNIT
ONE POWERED AND ONE NON POWERED UNIT
BOTH WITH INTERIORS
IN RED AND CREAM LIVERY
THIS IS A SUPER TRAIN
IN EXCELLENT CONDITION
VERY SMOOTH RUNNER IN BOTH DIRECTIONS
WITH WORKING HEADLIGHTS
FROM THE SIXTIES PERIOD
UNBOXED
THIS IS A VERY UNIQUE TRAIN FROM
QUEBEC CANADA
IDEAL FOR THE SERIOUS TRIANG COLLECTOR
MADE IN THE TRIANG FACTORY IN FRANCE

This very rare and unique train in excellent condition came from the Calais factory, it is stamped on the underside triang, hornby, meccano. And would make a wonderful addition to any collectors set. This is online at triang trains superstore of vintage model railway.

Triang Hornby AutoRail Loco

HORNBY

MECCANO DOUBLE DOME TANK LOCOMOTIVE

This is a super locomotive available to buy from triang trains massive collection of vintage model railway. We have a vast selection of trains to suit everyone,these trains are high quality orignal trains at low-cost.

Hornby Meccano Double Dome Tank Loco

Toymaker Hornby hopes the world championship success of Jenson Button will boost Christmas sales of its Scalextric racing sets…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: going shopping. The blog is also related to: local shopping.

Alta fedeltà

di Nick Hornby – Ediz.  Guanda – Pagg.  253 – € 8,50

Trama: Storia dell’amore di un trentacinquenne appassionato di musica e proprietario di un negozio di dischi. La musica ha un ruolo fondamentale nella narrazione della vita di una persona sempre in bilico tra l’essere un ragazzino e diventare un adulto.

Letto da: Ele da Siena

Opinione: Non mi interessava affatto questo libro. L’ho letto solo perchè me lo aveva prestato la mia amica che è morta. Lo avevo lasciato lì. Poi mi è presa la voglia di leggere le righe che aveva letto lei. Debbo dire che pur non essendo “il mio genere”, mi è piaciuto abbastanza.

An Education is the latest film being touted as ‘Film of the year‘ and having seen it last night I really wouldn’t disagree. It’s definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year. In a nutshell it’s a coming-of-age story set in 1960’s suburban London – Twickenham to be precise. The film is based on the memoirs of journalist Lynn Barber and actress of the moment  Carey Mulligan plays Jenny; the lead character. With a screenplay by Nick Hornby it’s an easygoing and enjoyable film to watch. Look out for Alfred Molina who has some brilliant one-liners as Jenny’s Dad and also Emma Thompson who is, as always, a class-act playing the part of the headmistress. My only real gripe with the film would be that the American actor Peter Sarsgaard plays the lead male role ‘David’. I’ve got no problem with his acting, but did the part of a English man really need to be played by an American when there are numerous British actors who could of played the role equally as well, if not better.

One last thing about the film. The car that ‘David’ drives is sublime. They mention it’s a Bristol but never which particular model. Now for a car-nut like myself it’s all about the details. I want to know what model, engine and most importantly how many sterling pounds I’d need to hypothetically own one. As we live in the glorious year of 2009 everything is but a mere Google away. So for anyone who cares, the car is a Bristol 405. Although it turns out I’m in good company as a fan of the beautiful 405. Non other than Nottingham’s finest designer Paul Smith is an owner.

HORNBY DUBLO

1215 CANADIAN PACIFIC LOCOMOTIVE AND TENDER

This is a very rare locomotive which was made in the fifties period, at the binns road factory in liverpool. Meccano Ltd decided to launch their own oo scale system, in 1938 and Hornby Dublo was born.

Hornby Dublo canadian pacific locomotive, from triang trains

“Mas não era por isso que eu estava chorando. Estava chorando porque tudo o que eu queria no mundo, a única coisa que me faria viver, era que Matty morresse. E me deu mais vontade de chorar porque eu sabia por que estava chorando”

Maureen: uma mulher que não suporta mais cuidar do filho em coma; Jess: adolescente com todos os problemas de uma adolescente, só que elevado à quarta potencia; Martin: apresentador de televisão que se envolveu em um escândalo com uma menina de quinze anos e que todos acham um escroto; JJ: garotão músico americano, cuja banda acabou e a namorada mandou passear. Todos estão perdidos. Mas não de um jeito vago, como quem não sabe aonde ir. Eles sabem bem qual é o caminho final: no solo abaixo dos trinta andares do prédio em que acabam se conhecendo.

Uma Longa Queda (A Long Way Down) - Nick Hornby

O livro em questão é o The Long Way Down, do Nick Hornby. Comprei a pouco (chegaram ontem) dois livros do autor do Alta Fidelidade: o citado anteriormente, com título brasileiro Uma Longa Queda e o Um Grande Garoto, que foi adaptado pro cinema com o papel principal pro Hugh Grant.

Estou achando ótimo como a história de cada personagem acaba sendo contada de uma forma clara, objetiva, demonstrando que cada um tem seu real motivo para tomar a decisão de, enfim, acabar com tudo. Alguns trechos são tão bem escritos e desenvolvidos, muitas vezes de uma sinceridade tão grande que causa espanto. Mas agora, o mais impressionante de se ver é como o Nick Hornby, conseguiu em uma década e pouco, escrever livros tão excelentes e tão distantes uns dos outros.

Decidi dar uma encostada no Quincas Borba do Machado de Assis. Não li o bastante do Uma Longa Queda para citar uma opinião formada por uma visão global, mas posso falar um pouco sobre o Alta Fidelidade, talvez o livro com o qual eu mais me identifiquei.

Alta Fidelidade (High Fidelity) - Nick Hornby

Eu disse a uma amiga que me emprestou O Diário de Bridget Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary), da Helen Fielding, que ele está para as mulheres por volta dos trinta da mesma forma que o Alta Fidelidade (High Fidelity), do Hornby está para os garotos da mesma faixa. Se você leu o livro das garotas, mas ainda não leu o dos garotos, mas quer entender porque somos tão complicados às vezes, até mais do que as mulheres, dá uma folheada no Alta Fidelidade, que muitas coisas passarão a ter outro sentido.

Eu até poderia dizer que as neuras e as atitudes egoístas, imaturas e inseguras do Rob Fleming, personagem principal, são basicamente uma representação de como me vejo. Porém, observando as pessoas por aí, e lendo também as opiniões de quem leu o livro, o personagem está muito mais para uma representação universal.

Daqui para frente, farei alguns comentários sobre pontos específicos, então, se não gosta de perder a surpresa…

Uma das partes que mais gosto é aquela logo depois de se despedir da La Salle, após eles terem passado à noite juntos. Enquanto se despedem, ele é todo momento, mas é só dizer ela dizer tchau e virar as costas que a Laura lhe vem à cabeça. Eles tinham um relacionamento que tinha acabado havia pouco tempo. Talvez seja como dizer que a La Salle era um band-aid, que após cair, deixou a ferida aberta. Não sei se isso explica bem o porquê dessa parte em si ser tão significante para mim. Lendo o livro, talvez você entenda.

Outras partes são de uma realidade que qualquer homem fica pensando “poxa, é desse jeito”, como no momento em que ele descobre que a Laura está morando junto com seu antigo vizinho de cima, um cara que ele sempre odiou. A primeira coisa que ele pergunta é “vocês já transaram?”. Sempre que um relacionamento termina, a última coisa que alguém quer saber é se a pessoa que foi embora superou tudo e está transando feliz da vida por aí, tendo um milhão de orgasmo enquanto estamos em casa disfarçando uma tristeza indisfarçável. Quando ela diz que não, ele sente uma felicidade extrema. Mas, em outro momento, ele pede para se encontrarem em um pub, algo assim, e a primeira coisa que lhe pergunta é “cadê, vocês já transaram?”. Quando ela responde que sim, ele não diz nada, apenas se levanta irado e vai embora. Perfeito.

Incrível também quando Laura liga dizendo que o pai morreu. Ela pede para ele ir ao enterro, já que a família dela ainda não sabe que eles romperam. Ele pergunta se o Ian (ex-vizinho odiado) vai e ela diz que não, mas ele dá um jeito de brigar com ela e fazer com que ela se sinta mais mal do que já se sente pela morte do pai. Ele apenas diz “eu não perderia uma chance de magoá-la da mesma forma que ela me magoou”.

Apesar de que até o momento ele esteja parecendo mais um cretino do que um cara com quem você gostaria de se envolver, existem muitas partes que demonstram o seu melhor lado, e, por sinal, um lado nada piegas, principalmente quando o livro está terminando. Mas essa indagação sobre ser piegas ou não, no final, nem importa tanto, afinal, como pessoas normais, pelo menos as interessantes, ele é apenas uma pessoa complicada que muitas vezes age sem pensar. Hornby conseguiu descrever esse nosso lado de uma maneira impressionante. Pessoalmente, para mim, o livro está em um nível de identificação da mesma forma que as músicas da The Smiths. Quem me conhece bem sabe o que isso significa.

Durante los últimos días me he dado un verdadero festín literario , o sea he leído como 8 libros en dos semanas ,11 en tres , etc. , aclaro sí que ha sido un festín de biblioteca pública , por consiguiente he leído de todo , cosas muy buenas , otras más que regulares , regulares , menos que … y malas … Así es el mundo de la literatura , se encuentran abigarradas multiplicidades , cada texto es un pequeño mundo y una experiencia ; enumeraré lo que he leído , comentando algo cuando ello esté justificado , sea en un sentido positivo o negativo .
Una aclaración importante , yo no leo mucha poesía , salvo la que haya escrito yo mismo ( algo que nunca me cansa pero me produce sensaciones contradictorias , alegría , frustración , dudas , impotencia ,etc. soberbia también , por supuesto …) u otra universalmente reconocida , algún autor predilecto y muy de repente ( en nombre de la democracia y la libre creatividad ) lo que me caiga en las manos , para dar un ejemplo , me gusta aproxidamente un 5% de lo que he leído de Neruda , un 7% de lo de la Mistral , un 10% de lo de Oscar Castro ; un 30% en Kavafis , 15% en Machado ,A. , es decir soy regodeón en esta materia .
Retornando al tema de esta entrada debo decir que entre lo bueno que leí está :”El corazón de la tinieblas” de Joseph Conrad ,un clásico muy mencionado y elogiado pero no tan leído , dado que es difícil de leer , mucha reflexión , descripción , análisis , critica y sugerencias , ese libro que trata sobre la experiencia belga en la colonización del Congo es muy interesante , yo lo recomiendo , aunque Conrad no está exento de prejuicios y eso hay que tenerlo presente , en una escala de 1 a 7 le pondría un 5,5 ,considerando la época en que fue escrito ; cuando uno puede llevar varios libros a la casa siempre conviene incluir un clásico para ir a la segura , ya que puede resultar dífícil de leer pero , al menos , algo se podrá encontrar allí … Otro libro que leí y me gustó mucho fue “Planeta Champú” de Douglas Coupland el mismo de “Generación X” , buen relato que muestra un poco el mundo de los jóvenes de los 90 ( en el primer mundo no en el tercero) y presenta algunas claves experienciales y valóricas de lo que esa juventud fue , y algo de lo que han llegado a ser los malditos tipos entre 25 y 35 hoy , pura mierda concentrada ( pienso cómo serán los de los ochenta) … le pondría un 6,0 en la misma escala anterior ; de Claudio Magris leí dos libros “Otro mar” ,5,5 en mi escala, breve ,poético y bello aunque excesivamente enrollado para mi gusto y también “El infinito viajar” 3.0 en la misma escala , una lata mayúscula , pedante , lento , muy especializado en zonas y temas que a uno no le llegan ni por si acaso , para no ensartarse , ojo con Magris es medio facho ; también leí tres libros de autores ingleses los tres de regular hacia abajo “Mañana” de Graham Swift ,3.5 ,sorry ; “Antes de conocernos” de Julian Barnes , 2,8 , y “Amsterdam” de Ian Mc Ewan 3,2 , no tengo idea por qué lo títuló así ,como no haya sido para vender más libros , pero es una lesera , varios de estos autores critican a la generación de los sesenta por lo que llegaron a ser después , como se adaptaron al sistema ,se aburguesaron , etc. no sé como no pueden entender que los niños de las flores como les gusta denominarlos despectivamente fueron derrotados por el sistema , o sea no les quedó otra … la impresión que a mi queda es que estos autores , salvo Swift, pero incluyendo a M. Amis y al norteamericano Auster ( en menor medida) buscan justificar su propio mercantilismo y falta de valores , su crisis existencial llena de palabrería culpando a una generación a la que pertenecieron pero tal vez no supieron conocer o que no les permitió disfrutar en el sentido que ellos tienen de esa experiencia ; por último esto me lleva a decir que leí la obra de teatro “Un tranvía llamado deseo”, 5.6 ,de Tennesse Williams y bien así como el cerdo de Stanley( cobarde , pelador ,violento , egoísta )en esa obra derrota y destruye a la no del todo despreciable Blanche, una crítica a Williams , pese a que el teatro exige concisión y acción no era necesario esquematizar tanto a Blanche , eso le quita peso a la obra ; el hombre medio de los sesenta , el cavernícola con el cerebro del tamaño de una arveja, derrota también al idealista y buena onda de esa época , en fin espero seguir comentando , todos estos libros se encuentran disponibles en la biblioteca de Santiago .Dos que se me olvidaron ; de Nick Hornby “Alta fidelidad” una verdadera lata , el tema supera al escritor y el protagonista es un latero que no le gusta la mùsica sino los discos , 2.3 en mi escala ; otro muy bueno de Hanif Kureishi “Siempre es medianoche” relatos muy entretenidos e interesantes , la única observación que le haría es que resulta aburridor que siempre cuenten historias de minas ricas y elegantes , cultas , inteligentes,y sobre todod llenas de guita y gallos buenomozos , etc. la Corín tellado murió hace tiempo … y un adelanto leí recien “Secretos de alcoba de los grandes chefs” de Irvine Welsh , el mismo de “Trainspotting”,bueno estos secretos son un poco obesos , como los cocineros mismos y el título no refleja el contenido de la obra , en las primeras páginas el autor se refiere reiteradamente a una marca de cerveza , la famosa Stella Artois , hasta el punto que uno llega a pensar ¿será alguna puta de buen polvo que este gil conoció en Edimburgo? …

Review, courtesy of Amazon: It has been said often enough that baby boomers are a television generation, but the very funny novel High Fidelity reminds that in a way they are the record-album generation as well. This funny novel is obsessed with music; Hornby’s narrator is an early-thirtysomething English guy who runs a London record store. He sells albums recorded the old-fashioned way–on vinyl–and is having a tough time making other transitions as well, specifically adulthood. The book is in one sense a love story, both sweet and interesting; most entertaining, though, are the hilarious arguments over arcane matters of pop music.

I love Nick Hornby’s books, and so, it seems, does everyone else, as they tend to be made into movies. This is another of my Penguin Classics, which, if you’ve not heard of them, are fantastic books, handpicked for their general awesomeness (On the Road is also one, and I also have The Beach and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). They’re sold cheap, at $12.95 in New Zealand, but I’ve become sneaky and with my 10% student discount I can pick one up for $11.70 at University Books.

But yes. Nick Hornby also did About A Boy and Fever Bitch – About A Boy being the one that was made into a  [great] movie starring Hugh Grant and the kid from Skins. Now that I google it, Fever Pitch was also made into a movie, and so was High Fidelity. Must watch that. Before I read the book? After? I can never decide which order it’s best to do it in.

Well, the docklands layout now has a locomotive. I don’t normally buy locomotives specifically for layouts, more the other way round – I build layouts in order to give locomotives somewhere to run.

But, well, I rather like the London, Brighton and South Coast ‘Terriers’, and I saw a second-hand one going cheap on a stall at a jumble sale, so policy be damned.

The use of a Terrier (or A1X, if we’re going to be pedantic) is, of course, entirely justified on an East London layout – the LBSC actually built these delightful engines to work passenger trains on their lines in South East London. They were nippy little engines, and more than capable of the work they were given to do. They were equally capable of goods and shunting work, and their small size and light weight made them perfect for branch and light railway work. So good at their jobs were they that they lasted in service from the 1870s through to the 1960s, often passing through more than one owner – where the LBSC or Southern Railway didn’t want them, someone else generally did. Some even ended up back with the Southern after the lines they had been sold to were taken over.

The engine in the photo is Brighton, an engine that had something of an adventurous life. It was a showtrain of sorts, winning a gold medal at the 1878 Exposision Universelle in Paris and, in a moment to gladden the heart of any red-blooded Englishman, set a speed record of 50mph on the Chemins de Fer de l’Ouest. It went to the Isle of Wight Central Railway in 1902. On withdrawal, it was a seaside attraction at Butlin’s holiday camp at Pwllheli, which frankly sounds like a fate worse than death. Fortunately, the engine was saved by the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and now lives there under its Wight identity of Newport, number W11.

All of which rather suggests that it shouldn’t be in the East End during BR days. Fortunately, there’s a little phrase we modellers like to use, which is “might have been”. J E Connor, in his book Stepney’s Own Railway, notes that there was at one time a plan to build a link between the East London Railway and the London and Blackwall Railway at Shadwell. The East London Railway used Marc Brunel’s tunnel under the Thames to provide a link between the North and South sides of the docks in East London. It was operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway, the Metropolitan Railway, the Metropolitan District Railway, the South Eastern Railway, the Great Eastern Railway – and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Connor suggests that enthusiasm for this project was the reason for Terriers being built with the names Stepney, Fenchurch, Minories, Shadwell, Millwall, Poplar and Blackwall. The Terriers were named after places on or near LBSC lines (which apparently caused Victorian travellers a lot of confusion, as they mistook the name of the engine for the destination of the train), but those seven places were all along the London and Blackwall Railway.

So I’m gonna go right ahead and say that, in the universe where my railway is set, that link actually was built. The Terriers would have been ideal motive power for the dock lines, as the swing bridges carried a severe weight restriction. They already worked through the Thames Tunnel, that’s why they were fitted with condensing equipment, so it’s no stretch to suggest that they would have been regular performers on such a link.

The docks give me an excuse for all sorts of (small) motive power, justifying the use of engines from the London Midland, Eastern and Southern Regions, although I don’t intend to restrict myself to BR days. I could also bring in the Port of London Authority’s locos and stock, as well as any number of industrial shunters.

Yes, I think this is going to work out just fine.

Why “Terriers?”

Ever wondered how these engines got their nicknames? The most popular suggestions are that they’re very small compared to most locomotives, and they have a distinctive exhaust “bark” when working hard (apparently due to their Westinghouse brake pumps). J E Connor adds another suggestion – because the A1 class worked through the Thames tunnel, they spent much of their time underground. Like, yes, a terrier hunting rats.

Further Reading

http://www.terriertrust.org.uk/ - The Terrier Trust. An informative and informal site with lots of interesting articles.

http://www.semgonline.com/steam/a1x_01.html - The Southern E-Group is, to my mind, the best online resource for enthusiasts of the Southern Railway, its constituents and successors. They have no less than twelve lavishly-illustrated pages on Stroudley’s little friends.

Correva l’anno 1992, o forse era già il 93, di preciso non ricordo.

Era una domenica come tante altre, passata a casa di mia nonna con tutta la famiglia,  in televisione scorreva un programma che, fino a quel momento, non aveva mai attirato la mia attenzione, d’altronde come avrebbe potuto, su un bambino di 5-6 anni.

comunque, per la prima volta mi misi a seguir la trasmissione, incentrata sulla giornata calcistica appena conclusa.

i servizi scorrevano veloci, con riassunti di pochi minuti e, com’era buona norma, le grandi squadre vennero tenute per ultime.

non mi colpì il bel gioco espresso dalla squadra che in quegli anni, dilagava esprimendo forse il miglior calcio di cui era capace, ovviamente parlo del Milan, il Milan di Capello, del giovane Maldini, dello storico Capitano Baresi, di Boban, Sávićević, Papin, Massaro e i tre olandesi Van Bastern, Gullit e Rijkaard.

no, non mi colpirono le loro eleganti giocate, il gioco collettivo e fantasioso che erano in grado d’esprimere, piuttosto mi colpì un altra squadra.

Una squadra che di certo non faceva del calcio champagne la propria ragione di vita, ma che in campo metteva una grinta impressionante, quel team era la Juventus…

La Juve di Trapattoni, Peruzzi in porta, Torricelli, Kohler e Carrera  in difesa, Dino Baggio Antonio Conte Di Canio e Möller a Centrocampo [anche se non bisogna dimenticare Platt, Marocchi e Galìa] e in attacco alcuni dei giocatori che, per me, più rappresentano la recente storia bianconera, la coppia Vialli Ravanelli e Roberto Baggio, uno dei migliori calciatori che l’Italia abbia mai sfornato…

Quell’anno la Juventus non espresse un buon calcio, difatti arrivò quarta, ma riuscì a portarsi a casa la Coppa Uefa, battendo il Borussia Dortmund all’andata per 3 a 1, giocando in Germania. Al ritorno, al Delle Alpi, imponendosi con un secco 3 a 0. inutile dire che, per un bambino di sette anni, quelle furono due serate immense, indimenticabili.

Da allora la Juve si è presa un pezzetto del mio cuore, imponendosi su molti impegni come la peggiore delle malattie, racconterò qualche altro aneddoto, magari più avanti, per ora mi limito a ricordare il momento in cui sono diventato un malato di calcio e, ancor più, un drogato della Vecchia Signora.

citando un libro che ho finito di [ri]leggere di recente:

“Mi innamorai del calcio come poi mi sarei innamorato delle donne: improvvisamente, inesplicabilmente, acriticamente.”
Questo scrive Nick Hornby nel suo libro Febbre a 90° e, diavolo, ha maledettamente ragione.

See You Soon

WARNING: This entry takes a while to get to the point. You may want to scroll down to where there are pictures. I know I would.

As you may have gathered from previous entries, I’m not exactly what you’d call a rivet counter. I’m more of the Impressionist school of modeller, in that I’d rather create something that feels right than something that’s precisely accurate. Put it this way – Hornby Dublo, to me, often seems more “real” than finescale stuff because it has a real weight and momentum to it, despite the fact that the detail is often laughable by modern standards.

Similarly, my favourite layouts are often the ones where there’s less attention to detail, where the builder has shunned conventional accuracy to create something genuinely different. Quite often, these are created by people who are new to the hobby. I recall British Railway Modelling published articles on Midge Grassing’s Sancliffe Junction some years back, a layout created using some unconventional scenic techniques which, as a result, really stood out. See http://www.ngrail.co.uk/2_sand.htm for some photos. I also enjoyed Model Rail’s recent article on artist David Shepherd’s home layout, built according to the philosophy that “‘it’s my railway and I can do what I bloody well want with it’” (to quote the article). Even Allan Downes, who has been wowing us with his buildings and scenery for decades, admits that he doesn’t worry about getting things dead on, provided they look like what they’re supposed to.

However, this philosophy doesn’t necessarily mean that you can get away with anything at all, as I discovered while researching my current project My layout is set in the East End of London, and one of the things I wanted to include was track on more than one level – a characteristic of railways in East London is that they are carried on viaducts. My initial thought was that I could just get away with weathering Hornby’s standard single-arch road bridge, which is already brick red.

I mean, bricks is bricks, right? It turns out not. See, my research, which largely consisted of wandering around the East End with a camera looking suspicious, showed that brick viaducts in the East End are yellow.

This, according to people who know these things, is because the bricks were made in Kent, where the clay is low in iron. Anyway, what this meant in practical terms was that I was completely wrong. I could still use red brick – there are red buildings in East London – but yellow would be better for creating the feel of the area.

Yellow brick viaduct, East London, apparently in the middle of an atomic explosion.

And so I set to work with various shades of brown and yellow. In addition to the fact that the colour was wrong, it was also clear that I was going to have to do quite a lot of weathering.

For the base coat, I used Games Workshop’s ‘Bubonic Brown’  (are buboes yellowy-brown?). Then I went over with several layers of ink and thin, grey-brown paint. This adds depth to the basecoat, as well as bringing the colour closer to what I was aiming for.

One technique I used was to apply slightly darker paint to areas such as the underside of the arch and below ledges – areas that, on the real thing, are in shadow. This is because, with the best will in the world, you can’t scale the actions of light and shade down. Therefore, in this scale, shadows look a bit feeble unless you give them a helping hand.

Here’s the result, as compared with an unpainted bridge.

It’s not perfect, I’ll admit. It’ll need several more layers of paint before it achieves the old-and-dirty look I’m aiming for. But it’s a massive improvement over the out-of-the-box road bridge, and now looks like it might actually be made of bricks.

Incidentally, I took several close-up photos of brick and concrete, which I will bore you with in a future entry.

Com o tempo, essa sessão ficará mais frequente e talvez mais enxuta, mas como estamos começando agora os trabalhos, os livros citados aqui não são apenas desta semana, mas um apanhadão do mês (mês de aniversário, sabe como é, daqueles que a gente se dá alguns luxos). Mas então, vamos à lista dos livros que chegaram até aqui em agosto:

The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, de Nick Hornby

Antes que você fale alguma coisa, este blog é sim inspirado nas colunas que o Nick Hornby escrevia para a revista The Believer, e algumas estão na internet e conseguem ser lidas por aí. Com a idéia deste projeto amadurecendo, resolvi comprar esta edição que traz todas as colunas – tinha lido apenas algumas, agora estou lendo uma a uma, na ordem cronológica.

Os textos falam sobre como tudo o que está acontecendo conosco influencia na leitura de um livro, tudo isso com o jeito simples de Hornby escrever, às vezes até sendo meio rude (coisas de inglês), o que dá uma graça especial ao livro.Mais do que recomendado para quem, como eu, é fã de Nick Hornby e gosta de ler.

Aconteceu em Woodstock, de Elliot Tiber

Esse me venceu pelo marketing e pela capa colorida. Vi pela primeira vez este livro com o jornalista Edu Graça, que estava com uma cópia em inglês após ter entrevistado o autor. Aí, durante uma visita à Livraria Cultura, o preço e a superexposição acabaram me fazendo arriscar. Só sei que serviu de inpiração para o filme que o Ang Lee está fazendo sobre o festival. Vai para a fila de “um dia pego esse para ler”.

O Ponto da Virada, de Malcolm Gladwell

Mais um que venceu pelo preço baixo (sabe aquelas tias que não podem ver promoção de sapato? Então…) Depois de ler SOBRE Gladwell, toda a polêmica entre fazer sucesso/ser respeitado, resolvi dar uma chance, ciente de que na primeira vacilada abandono sem volta. Auto Ajuda para executivos, como dizem, mas adoro essas histórias de nego que se deu bem com uma idéia boa.

Diary of a Bad Year, J.M. Coetzee

Um dos autores vivos que mais admiro. O livro estava na listinha de compras, mas foi antecipado depois das boas recomendações do amigo Flávio A., que leu e se encantou. À primeira vista, o modo como é formatado (três narrativas paralelas, as três na mesma página, que é dividida) já pareceu interessante. Aliado à elegância do autor de Juventude, Desonra, entre outros, é tiro quase certo.

O Clube do Filme, de David Gilmour

Esse caiu quase que por acaso. Um dia desses, matando tempo na Saraiva do D&D antes de ir trabalhar, vi o livro e resolvi dar uma folheada. A história me pareceu interessante: um pai, desesperado com um filho vagabundo que vai de mal a pior na escola, propões que eles criem um clubinho para assistir a filmes e tentar retomar a relação quase perdida. A lista de filmes também é bem respeitável, pareceu uma diversão bacana para um fim de semana. Está aqui na fila. (Tenho quase certeza que o autor não é o David Gilmour do Pink Floyd. Mas a dúvida dá um gostinho especial. Ou não, só estraga.)

O Habitante das Falhas Subterrâneas, de Ana Paula Maia

Esse chegou por meio de um sistema de troca de livros que participo (e que trato com mais calma depois). Li há um tempo o segundo romance dela, A Guerra dos Bastardos, e me pareceu que – apesar de ainda ter muito o que melhorar – ela está bem acima da média do mar de autores que escrevem sobre violência urbana no Brasil. Não é um Edyr Augusto, mas merece um crédito. Também vai para a fila.

O Grande Deserto, de James Ellroy

Mestre, mestre, mestre. Também veio pelo sistema de trocas e entrou na estante para ser guardado para um momento especial: Três dos quatro livros que eu li de Ellroy (Tablóide Americano, Dália Negra e Meus Lugares Escuros) foram lidos durante o Natal, para dar uma chacoalhada naquele clima babaca de família unida e pança cheia. No último ano não li nada especial na data, hábito qe pretendo retomar este ano com este livro.

Coleção Tolkien, de J. R. R. Tolkien

Por 10 reais cada livro, deu vontade de ter a coleção do autor de Senhor dos Anéis. Foi direto para a Estante e é capaz que não saia de lá por um bom tempo. Mas é do tipo de livro que um dia você ou alguém vai querer ler na vida, e aí estará aqui.

]]> http://angrymodeller.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/the-first-amendment-does-not-apply/ Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:41:33 +0000 angrymodeller http://angrymodeller.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/the-first-amendment-does-not-apply/

As a quick search will show you, there are a huge number of model railway forums on the web.  Some are all-encompassing, while others focus on niche aspects of the hobby.  Many of them are commercially sponsored, being attached to either a magazine or manufacturer, but the most popular British focussed forums are independent.

On the face of it, independent forums would seem to host a free exchange of ideas and opinions.  Really, this isn’t so, for a vast number of reasons.  Firstly, the forum is the property of whoever spent the time setting it up and whose name is on the hosting bills.  This person’s view is therefore final, and if you’re daft enough to antagonise him, expect yourself to be moderated or banned.  In some cases this can be for something as simple as saying you’d like to see a ready to run model of a given train.  Secondly, the owners are scared of litigation- ill advised comments from muppets in the past and the subsequent threat of legal action from the criticised party has seen the robust criticism which used to be a characteristic of egroups and newsgroups all but disappear- rants against products are swiftly stemmed.  Strange then, that magazines can still make such criticisms, where the writer is much easier for the legal eagles to identify.

Some forums don’t seem to need such moderation.  This isn’t because they allow such postings, it’s simply that they have over time attracted a different membership.  Perhaps it’s bright colours, and the magpie-like collectors who don’t give a fig for accuracy are attracted to that.  Instead, you get a mixture of sycophantic posts heaping praise on the latest shiny toy, complaints that the models are too expensive (and therefore the collector can’t buy so many), to the odd plea for help when someone tries to do some actual modelling or something advanced like plugging a DCC decoder in.  Any complaints about product are usually so laughable that the manufacturers wouldn’t call a lawyer, they’d post it round the office.

There is also an unwritten rule on the larger forums- don’t mention one another.  It’s quite often possible to read near-identical discussions on two different fora, with many protagonists in common, yet on neither forum do they mention that they’re having a similar exchange elsewhere.  Likewise, there are a few modellers who feel the need to post their latest work everywhere, such is their thirst for praise and self-promotion.  In some cases, the modelling is excellent, and perhaps can be said to deserve such wide exposure, but in many it’s decidedly average stuff.  Of course, no one will say this, because the number one rule on all forums is do not criticise other people’s models. It might have been painted with a toothbrush, slept on by a cat while still wet and then buried in the garden for a week, but other than offering guidance with a friendly tone, you can’t say anything bad about it.  The number of times I’ve wanted to say “Jesus Christ pal, that’s fucking terrible!” is beyond counting, but instead the strongest action you can take is reading another thread instead.  On a few occasions this unwritten rule is  broken, and the result is always the same- the ham-fisted troglodyte goes crying to the administrators, the criticising poster is swiftly moderated and the offending posts removed.

So yeah.  Forums.  A free exchange of ideas and opinions?  No way.  But still, extremely useful.  Where does that leave us to exchange ideas freely though?  In person it would seem.  And perhaps I can offer my ideas here, but this is no exchange.

I think one of the most controversial models in Hornby’s range must surely be their four-wheeled coaches. If you don’t know the ones I mean, I’m talking about these:

They’ve been in the range since the 1970s and have been produced in countless variations, from Somerset and Dorset livery to Departmental yellow, from Southern malachite to Annie and Clarabel. A heck of a lot of railways have at least one, and quite possibly several (Yr. Humble Chronicler has lost count of his own).

The thing is, in their own quiet way, these things seem to spark quite a lot of debate. Many modellers, obviously, have no problem with them. Some would like them better if Hornby also produced a brake coach to go with them. And then there are those who hate them with a passion. The problem is that they’re freelance. As far as anyone can tell, there are no coaches like this out in the real world. These must surely be the last freelance models in the main Hornby range. The critics say that they would prefer it if Hornby produced four-wheelers based on real prototypes.

The question I’d then ask is, which prototypes? Lots of the pre-Grouping railways had coaches similar to this. The difficulty faced by Hornby if they decided to tool up for a more realistic four-wheeler is finding one that would sell in sufficient quantities to justify the expense.

For me, the four-wheeler is just fine. They may not be perfect, but on the other hand, they’re cheap and they at least look like a typical branch line/light railway coach, even if it’s not a specific one. There are alternatives if you don’t like them – a few companies make etched kits of specific four-wheelers. Ratio have for a long time produced a range of Great Western coaches and Smallbrook Studio have recently introduced London, Brighton and South Coast Railway coaches. Smallbrook specialise in Isle of Wight stock in their 4mm/foot range, and due to loading gauge restrictions, the Isle of Wight was using Victorian stock long after it had been retired elsewhere on the Southern Railway.

All this is a rambling precursor to the main point of this post, which is the thing I found at Upminster Depot, which is having an open weekend.

I call it "Clarabel".

This is a four-wheeled coach of the Metropolitan District Railway, predecessor of the modern District Line. It has to be said, it does bear a fair resemblance to the Hornby four-wheeler. There are a few differences, true, but otherwise I’d say it’s not a bad likeness.

Unfortunately, the chances of Hornby doing this in District livery are slim to nil. Still, a boy can dream…

Well, I didn’t think I’d be posting again quite so quicky.  Perhaps I should become a Twit(terer) instead.  On second thoughts, fuck that.  Blogging makes me look like enough of a cunt as it is.

Rail Express like to think of themselves as a bastion of high standard modern image diesel and electric modelling.  They infamously once declared that modellers who buy inaccurate models have “blood on their hands” as the effect of buying such models keeps ready to run standards low.

Well, where does that leave someone who knowingly sells an inaccurate model?  Rail Express commissioned 37/5s from Bachmann with exclusive toolings.  All is not well however… 37510 should a smooth roof, but has been produced with a ribbed one.  For her pleasure?  Still, inaccurate is inaccurate!

We are well aware [of 37510's inaccuracy] and have already mentioned it here and also on places like the DEMU forum. We were originally going to produce 37515 but just a few weeks before we were due to announce the models this loco was involved in a severe accident, thus we decided to change the number to 37510. Unfortunately, due to the way the Bachmann moulding is designed the smooth roof would have meant a whole brand new insert which was prohibitively expensive.

Gareth Bayer, July 5, 2009.  OK, old news perhaps.  But what a shining beacon of hypocrisy this hentai manga freak is.  Everyone who buys this model has blood on their hands, and the Rail Express team must be the slaughtermen.

For all I’m ripping the piss here, I find it interesting how the attitudes have changed in 15 years or so.  I used to read ModelRail when it was a supplement to Rail magazine (and in many respects the predecessor of Rail Express- same staff, same interests), and exclusively modern image (as was still the acceptable term then).   The focus was upon improving the RTR available into some great models.  Now, with RTR better than ever, there is instead a focus upon fault finding which borders upon being a crusade by some journos.  There are still good articles about detailing and improving models, but they carry bitter overtones, with an underlying implication that the modeller shouldn’t have to be carrying out such work.  I don’t think they have to anyway.  There is only one applicable standard in railway modelling, and that’s the one the individual modeller is happy with.

Welcome, dear modellers, to this ranting, spittle-flecked journal.  If you don’t agree with me, you can fuck off.  Really.

It might seem strange that a mere pastime can polarise opinion, but that’s human nature.  Just watch what happens when you put Cardiff City fans in the same pub as Swansea’s supporters.  Yet our hobby has an image of quiet men fiddling about in a garden shed or attic, without a care but for their god-like influence over some miniature realm, somehow isolated from the conflicts of the wider world.

If you’re a railway modeller, you’ll know this isn’t true.  For almost as long as there have been model trains, there have been model railway clubs, magazine and exhibitions.  Each is one a platform for every opinionated bore who believes that his approach to playing with toy trains is the only right way.  I say he, because the vast majority are male.  The women you see are either long suffering wives or transexuals, with very few exceptions.  God knows, this is a mercy, as the arguments are bad enough already.

Arguments.  Endless, tedious, inconsequential  arguments pervade through the railway modelling world, from club rooms to the letters pages of the magazines via the modern soapbox that is the internet forum.  DCC vs DC.  EM vs P4.  Marklin vs the rest.  Every fuckwit thinks he’s right, and often he is, it’s just that the other wanker is also right, but only when you view the matter in question through their tunnel vision.  I don’t need some perennial bachelor to tell me that I should be doing something another way when I’ve asked how I can make something happen, I want to know how to make my toys work so that I can enjoy the time playing with them before I spend valuable time enjoying other aspects of life, such as showering or shagging.

Bah.  For now, if you’ve found yourself reading this, you’ll know where I’m coming from.  Next time: a look at internet forums.  Or something.

Recém recuperado de uma cirurgia no tendão de Aquiles (fraturado quando ainda jogava pelo Perpignan, na França), Dan Carter será titular na primeira partida do Canterbury válido pela Air New Zeland Cup, contra a equipe de North Harbour.

 É o primeiro jogo do astro dos All Blacks pelo Canterbury desde outubro do ano passado.

Mesmo assim, ele não esteve parado esse tempo todo. Há uma semana, ele jogou pela equipe do Southbridge contra a equipe de Hornby, marcando um try e 2 conversões na partida.

O jogador mal retornou aos campos e a já existem boatos quanto à volta de Carter à seleção da Nova Zelândia, levantada durante uma entrevista com o treinador de linha dos homens de preto, às vésperas do jogo contra os Springboks nesse fim de semana.

I have just returned from spending two days (one night) back home in Manchester  – and am feeling much better for it!

I decided to go up on a whim as a hotel room in a Travelodge was £19 for the night, and train fare was only £5.30 each way, so for those kind of prices, I thought I’d be silly not to!

A larger photoset of my journey exists on Facebook for those who have access to it.

Although Manchester was forecast heavy rain for the duration of my stay, I am VERY relieved to report that not once did a single drop of rain hit my pretty little head heh. Most of the rain came whilst I was sleeping I think.

The only thing that I didn’t like was the amount of roadworks that are going on at the moment(!). I know a lot of it is due to the Metrolink upgrade, however Deansgate was also very messy, and I can only imagine how hard it is to get around Manchester by bike/public transport at the moment. Didn’t see too many roads in the city centre that were wholly open for business heh.

As an aside, I really liked the DVD machines at Piccadilly Station – very clever idea, especially if they can get them into smaller stations with decent footfall such as Stoke-On-Trent, where they don’t (to my knowledge) have a HMV already there etc.

When I got to Manchester, I met up with the chap who now does my old job at work and had lunch at the Soup Kitchen – they were doing a lovely lemon/lime chicken, rice and salad (all for a reasonable £4.50-ish). The hotel that I was staying at is next to our Manchester office, but even still, I wasn’t expecting to be able to see my old desk from the chuffin’ window of my room!!! heh.

I’m going to a wedding on Sunday, so went out to Next to purchase a shirt and tie, which took me ages. I can’t shop, simple as. If I go out looking for something specific, then I fail miserably to get anything. After about an hour and a half, I decided on one, and then promptly, and unexpectedly, nipped into HMV and bought 4 DVDs without question LOL!

In the evening, I met up with a fellow whom I know through twitter, Joseph, and we went for a few drinks in the Village. Fun to meet Joseph as he was one of the people who I find that I have quite a few twitter (and ‘real-life’) friends in common with, so he was like adding-in a missing link in a way. It’s a bit like Pokemon – gotta collect ‘em all heh! We stayed in Via for around 2 hours, popped into Spirit which was absolutely deserted and then finished up in Tribeca with a pitcher of Cosmopolitans – yum! Ended up with the traditional kebab on the way home, in bed for 2am and no hangover – bish-bash-bosh, job’s a good’un.

Incidentally, and speaking of twitter, I did use the service an awful lot whilst away… looking back, I think it shows just how much I was missing Greg as I was reaching out and connecting with people constantly. Didn’t know I was that high-maintenance heh!!!

Next morning I was up early to go see my family in Stretford. The Metrolink was especially efficient for once, taking only 8 minutes to cover the distance. Had to catch from St. Peter’s Square due to the engineering works. Very well managed I thought, and I liked the wit of the ’sorry for the inconvenience’ posters – made me giggle.

Unfortunately Stretford seems to have gone down hill quite a lot these days, and it has also garnered some bad national press in recent months due to a failing grammar school and a stabbing. I must say, when I lived there, it was a lovely place and is somewhere that I still hold dear, though walking through the re-branded Stretford Mall and seeing that around 80% of shops were unoccupied and had closed down when previously they’d had 100% occupancy, it did really hit something home.

Great to see my family, especially my niece and nephew who seem to shoot up tremendously between visits! I asked if we still had some of the old home videos of my sisters and I as kids and we managed to find some grainy old VHS copies (from 1992 and 1994) which I’ve taken back with me and will get onto DVD shortly for everyone! Some were slightly embarrassing, not least the one where our Mum forces my sister and I to perform ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ in our backyard heh. And they sometimes wonder why …?

After my visit, I dashed back into Manchester to meet Marc for lunch in Strada at Spinningfields. Back when I lived in Manchester (i.e. any time before I was 22 heh), Spinningfields was just being built, and, as Marc worked at the main office building that exists in Spinningfields, I really did get to see it grow around me. I must say, I am very impressed with the development now, it’s even bigger than I thought it would be! I think it needs (an unknown) something else too add to the attraction of the nightlife it wants, but not a cinema as there are already too many screens in Manchester I think.

I had a few hours to kill, so headed off to perhaps my favourite place in Manchester; the Museum of Science and Industry! A very pleasant 90 minutes was spent poking around the trains and planes and whatnot that they have there.

So all in all, I had a rather hectic, but marvellous time back home. Can’t wait until Manchester Pride in a few weeks as I’ll be in the city for five days with plenty of my London friends too (and Mister Greg!) – hurrah!!

(I love the contrast of old/new - Manchester does this very well imo).

I note that Hornby’s Devon Belle observation car is finally out. I might have to get myself one of those. Possibly a little hard to justify, as I have no suitable layout for it, precious little that I can run with it and the almost £50 price tag is a little much on my budget.

I feel some materialism coming on.

But on the other hand, it’s a model that has a certain amount of sentimental value for me. Actually, there are quite a few models in my collection that I own purely for sentimental value – Hornby’s Clan Line commemorates the fact that, living as I used to in West London, any steam specials passing through would like as not be hauled by this engine. I have Whiston, a Hunslet ‘Austerity’ tank in NCB livery because when visiting relatives in Staffordshire, we’d often stop at the Foxfield Railway where that engine is based.

Hercules rests at Paignton

The Devon Belle Observation Car actually took on special significance fairly recently. I was in Devon with some friends, in Dartmouth. Across the River Dart is Kingswear, the end of the Paignton and Dartmouth Railway. The Paignton and Dartmouth is an interesting one – it seems to aim to provide a ride for the tourists rather than a heritage experience in itself. For example, we rode behind Hercules, a 2-8-0 tank engine of the 42xx class originally designed for the unglamorous job of hauling coal in South Wales. It wouldn’t have been named, nor would it have worn the lined-out Brunswick Green livery it now carries.

The coaches, too, are named – our return journey was in a BR Mark I named Zoe, painted in a pseudo-Western Region livery. I also noted a ‘Shark’ brake van named Jaws…

But the surprise (for me, my friends aren’t exactly railway nuts) was seeing the Devon Belle Observation Car. We decided it was very worth the £1 extra fare to travel in Pullman luxury. The huge, panoramic windows give you a splendid view of the River Dart and the coast near Paignton, and the swivelling, well-upholstered bucket seats beat the heck out of the dusty BR seating on the way back (sorry, Zoe).

The Devon Belle. Not the woman in the coach, although I'm sure she's lovely.

All in all, it’s a pleasant journey through a pleasant part of the world. It doesn’t really offer you the opportunity to poke around engine sheds, and as I say, historical recreation is not the line’s strong suit, but if you’re in the area it’s worth a look. The only problem is that at one time or another you’re going to end up in Paignton, for which I am sorry.

2. The detail is so superb that people are afraid to modify their models in case they ruin their pride and joy.

3. They’re really expensive.

I suspect this is a case of the manufacturers being “damned if they do, damned if they don’t.” If they start producing less detailed models now, they’ll be condemned for being behind the times. Obviously, the people complaining are in a minority, and I very much doubt that Hornby, Bachmann et al will start taking steps back now.

The question I’d raise, though, is how much detail do you actually need? Obviously what you want to do with your own models is your own choice, and far be it from me to tell you otherwise. But there are two points I’d like to make.

Firstly, there’s the question of whether such detail is necessary. As has been observed elsewhere, beyond a certain point the detail becomes invisible. The pride of my fleet is a Hornby Clan Line. The detail is fantastic, no doubt about it, but at high speed, from a distance, I can’t even see half that detail. Allan Downes has admitted that he often uses his imagination when it comes to complex subjects, because what is important is creating an overall impression. That’s what I aim for myself.

Secondly, there’s the Sore Thumb Problem, which is a term I’ve just invented which has nothing to do with accidents involving pliers. That is, if you have one superbly detailed model, it will stand out like a sore thumb unless everything is to the same level. So if you’ve got your lovely locomotive, you’ll need similarly lovely rolling stock. What about the buildings? It’s no good having a fantastic train if you’re still using a rubbishy old 1970s Hornby station. Okay, what about the track? Looks a little clean, doesn’t it? And so forth.

There are plenty who’ll disagree with me, and hey – I have no objection to the manufacturers continuing along the super-detail path. But it’s not really for me. I’m clearly not the only one who thinks this, my evidence being the Hornby Railroad range. Initially marketed as something of a “kiddie” range, I’ll be honest, I expected it to go the way of Playtrains or the Stationmaster range (two earlier attempts to sell starter sets to children, the Stationmaster range being exceptionally garish). Except that this time, it wasn’t just for kids. As well as the predictable 0-4-0s and the long-overdue-for-retirement 0-6-0s, there was an A3 and a Class 47. The next year brought A4s, the 9F and the Class 37 – perfectly good models, but superseded by better ones. This year will see the Deltic and the Black 5 added to the range. As well as this, some of the more toylike stock from the Hornby and former Lima range is now offered, plus the now-slightly-dated Gresley, Stanier and Pullman stock that until recently sat proudly in the main range.

Last year, the Railroad version of Evening Star was even nominated for a “Best Locomotive” award. Bachmann’s response is not recorded. Opinion on modelling forums seems to be favourable. Evidently, quite a lot of people are happy to settle with a pretty good model rather than pay fifty pounds more for an excellent model. I think Hornby have been pretty shrewd with this, because it means they now cater for both the pro- and anti-super detail markets. I for one would like to see more additions to the range – how about the old Schools, Castles, Duchesses or B12s? And aren’t the Kings getting a bit long in the tooth? And hey, do you still have the tooling for the Lima J50, because if so [400 other suggestions cut for the sake of sanity]

This year's Hornby Black 5

This year's other Hornby Black 5. See if you can guess which one is the super-detailed one! (Clue: It's exactly the one you think it is)