More Old Magazines

My latest acquisition: sixteen vintage editions of Railway Modeller magazine, a selection of issues covering 1959 to 1965.  Having spent most of the evening perusing them, I have to say that railway modelling was a lot more fun back then.  At least, that's the way it seems to me.  The availability of ready-to-run equipment, from locos and rolling stock to accessories like buildings and scenic  materials was much more limited than it is today, meaning that you had to come up with a lot of stuff yourself, be it by building kits, modifying proprietary items or by scratch-building, which was half the enjoyment of the hobby.  Moreover, this meant that most of the layouts you saw in the magazine didn't have that sheen of realism and professionalism that they all have now - you felt that they were made by people with your skill level.  Nowadays, a lot of the layouts you see in the magazines seem to set standards that, for the majority of us, are impossible to achieve.  The same applies to the rolling stock on display - nowadays there is a vast array of (often prohibitively expensive for most of use) super-detailed models of even the most obscure prototypes available, which look fabulous.  But back in the era of these magazines, both ready-to-run and kit-built stock has that pleasing (to me), slightly chunky and coarse appearance.  Of course, it is important to bear in mind that back then, most of the commercially based model railways were considered, primarily, to be toys, whereas now they are marketed as scale models.

The type of layouts seen in the magazines has also changed over the decades.  I was pleased to see that the majority of layouts seen in the pages of these old magazines placed an emphasis upon operation rather than detailed realism.  Scenics were often basic, track plans based around getting the maximum of running into the available space, often with multiple stations so that trains went to and from places.  This is in contrast to the modern trend of simpler track layouts, usually with a single station and an emphasis upon scenery.  These layouts look fabulous and obviously involve incredible effort and skill on the part of their constructors, but look to me as if they might well be a bit boring to operate for any length of time.  As a proviso, I should add that nowadays model railway magazines do seem to focus upon exhibition layouts which are designed to be displayed publicly rather than the sort of layout that lives permanently in the spare room or attic.  Undoubtedly, the fact that I started looking at model railway magazines in the seventies, (often older back issues in my local library) has influenced my particular preferences model railway-wise: most of my rolling stock is from the sixties, seventies or eighties and my ultimate aim is to build a layout on which I can carry out vaguely realistic train operations, (but with the facility to just run trains around if I feel like it).  Just like those layouts in these old Railway Modellers.  Don't get me wrong - I've nothing against those modern super-detailed models and fantastically detailed layouts.  I really admire the people who build those layouts and run those models on them and enjoy seeing them at exhibitions.  It is just that I like the robustness, simplicity and reliability of the models of my childhood.

As an interesting footnote, the span of these magazines effectively chart the rise and fall of Tri-ang's version of TT gauge: TT3.  This was an attempt to launch a new, smaller model railway system, 3mm to the foot running on 12mm gauge track, alongside their established 00 system (which used 4mm to the foot models and 16.5mm track).  As can be seen from the early issues, there was a lot of interest, with lots of articles on converting and modifying models and lots of track plans and layouts featured.  But Tri-ang abandoned TT3 in the mid-sixties as interest waned, something reflected in the gradual decline of TT3 related articles in the Railway Modeller.  Fast forward to the present and we have Hornby, (who, despite the name, are the direct descendant of Tri-ang, the latter's owners, Lines Brothers, having bought Hornby Dublo from Meccano in the mid-sixties), currently in the middle of launching a new version of TT, TT 120.  It will be interesting to see whether, this time, they stick with it and succeed in establishing the gauge in the UK, (it has always had a following and commercial support on the continent).