Are model railways going mainstream?

Oz7mm

Western Thunderer
On the BBC News website today is a story "How to build the prefect model railway". The hobby is getting a lot of exposure these days, and not of the usual jokey type of the past. Maybe the skill and artistry of modern railway modellers is generating a degree of respect. The high profile of enthusiasts like Rod Stewart and Jools Holland can surely do no harm.

Is this the beginning of a golden age for the hobby?

John
 

JimG

Western Thunderer
I think I recognise "Friday before the Glasgow exhibition" publicity. :) Back at the start of the Glasgow exhibition in the late 1960s onward, a certain BBC news film cameraman, who was a keen model railway modeller, used to wangle filming a story at the McClellan Galleries on the Friday afternoon, and most times that story went out at the end of the early evening news in Scotland on that Friday. This was probably the best publicity that the exhibition could get. I do remember us getting crowds of over 20,000 over the weekend at the time. Another plus factor was that the McClellan Galleries was in the middle of Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow's main shopping street, so the exhibition provided a refuge for fathers and sons dragged up to the city for shopping with mother on the Saturday. :)

Jim.
 

Ian@StEnochs

Western Thunderer
I remember those days in McLellan galleries well. Unfortunately the intimate atmosphere of the venue no longer fits with current H&S legislation and the show is now held in the much bigger Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. Sauchihall Street too has fallen on hard times and is no longer the premier shopping destination it once was.

The show too has changed and while there will still be some excellent modelling on show the trade support comes almost exclusively from the big box shifters. If you are looking to buy a set of wheels, a loco kit or just some castings you are unlikely to be satisfied.

Ian
 

allegheny1600

Western Thunderer
Let's hope that the "mainstream" does appreciate that modellers are not a bunch of weirdos, we actually use numerous skill sets in order to create a decent, working model railway - certainly way beyond the kind of 'skills' that most folk can comprehend.
Folding, soldering and painting sheet metal, manipulating plastics into strange shapes, sawing wood and making frames/boards, electrical wiring, writing operating diagrams, historical research - all these are a bit more 'useful' than downing numerous pints on a Friday night or kicking a ball around a muddy field.
I used to be a keen cyclist but gave that up just before it became fashionable, even IF model railways follows, I shan't be giving up though!
 

GrahamMc

Western Thunderer
'we actually use numerous skill sets in order to create a decent, working model railway','Folding, soldering and painting sheet metal, manipulating plastics into strange shapes, sawing wood and making frames/boards, electrical wiring, writing operating diagrams, historical research'
That's what was described in the article, and just what is needed.
 

Tim Watson

Western Thunderer
It was an excellent little piece and might yet lead to others: the news does seem to go round in circles. We get a lot of TV filming requests at the MRC and they seem to be getting better focused to what the hobby is really about, rather than pre-conceived ideas. Love it or hate it, the Great Model Railway Challenge has helped to raise positive awareness.

Tim
 

Neil

Western Thunderer
Maybe there's some truth in the characterisation of us poor fools?

'All the world is queer save thee and me and even thou art a little queer'.
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Patience sir! The Hornby saga is a cautionary tale for many, but if it can bring the subject to a wider audience and create debate, surely that is no bad thing?

Maybe there's some truth in the characterisation of us poor fools?

'All the world is queer save thee and me and even thou art a little queer'.

Hi Gents,

If my partner's look of consternation and mild amusement at the collection of basically harmless and well-intentioned chaps (of which I readily count myself in that cohort) doing their thing is anything to go by, there's still a long way to go :D

By the by, I thought the Hellcat build was very interesting, and the chap was a total legend of unassuming humanity and goodness (not to mention talent). He seemed to be an outlier in the kit hoarding stakes, though!

Cheers

Jan
 
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