VIEW FROM THE END OF THE PLATFORM

BRING ON THE NEWBIES

Irecently found myself in conversation with someone senior at Hornby. He was explaining how he sees the challenges of bringing people into the hobby, and then retaining them. Yes, you can hand over a train set, but what happens next? How do you explain the wonderful range of possibilities from building scenery to electronics, making buildings, learning to operate realistically – the list goes on?

In the larger scale, we have things a little easier. You can start with an easy-to-assemble laser-cut kit, such as the contractors loco on page 12 of this issue. £60 isn’t chicken feed, but it’s a lot less than buying ready-to-run in OO gauge, and the finished model comes with a good dose of ‘I built that’ feeling.

This might eventually lead you to build a steam engine, as seen on page 18, where we find that by using commercial parts, this apex of model making isn’t quite as difficult as you might think. Or, you can head to Product News, and drool over the new models on offer from our trade. OK, they aren’t cheap, but tell the family it’s a real steam engine, and let them feel the weight of your purchase. It will be easier to explain than five Class 37s with sound, but the price is the same...

Talking of building things, you may have noticed recently that we have re-jigged the magazine to fit more editorial in. This means my stock of articles is being eaten away, so if anyone has a project they are proud of, and it can appeal to all levels, drop me a line to discuss seeing your models on these pages. We pay for contributions too, helping with the railway budget.

Found in an old box of prints, a picture of my first garden railway project. Very much at the bottom of the learning curve, we all have to start somewhere, and always be proud of anything you make, no matter how good.