C
OUNTRYSIDE MODELS(What you can expect for a budget of between £20,000 and £80,000)
If you've never seen a real model railway before. . .
If you have never seen a proper model railway before and you think all it involves is laying down loads of tracks and adding a bit of scenery here and there, then just think about it for a minute...
Fact. Toy trains run round and round in circles.
That's all. Sidings are so you can swap one train for another when you get
bored. Sooner or later you will get bored with that too - what then, more sidings
for more trains, and then more trains and more sidings, and more still?
Fact. Real trains carry something from "A" to "B".
Unless you can reproduce that you will soon get bored with your
"trainset". Allowing us to design and build you a model railway that has a
purpose is one of the best reasons for employing us. The fact that
we also have the skills to make it look realistic is helpful but if the model does not
reflect the way real railways were used then it can never be satisfying to
use. Even automatic layouts (for example, for public exhibition use or for some
other kind of display), should reflect reality if they are to be convincing as models.
indent Remember also that if you buy something built for a purpose you will need to learn how to use it. We can teach you how real railways work - if you are willing to learn. Of course, just because you've bought a "proper model railway" nobody says you can't just "play" with it as well when you want to! |
How do you make a model railway with purpose?
You find some way of taking goods or people from "A" to "B". At
its simplest this involves hiding part of the track "offstage" and modelling
only the "on-stage" part. First you arrange a representative selection of
trains in the hidden part. This represents the "rest" of the railway
system. Then you bring them on one at a time and operate them on the
"on-stage" part so representing part (or on smaller layouts, all), of the actual
"Working Time Table". That's all there is to it. (What's a Working Time Table?)
"Supposing I want scenery right around the layout, like
the ones in your Gallery?"
Then we put the hidden sidings underneath the scenery, just as we did on Tupdale
and Westbury. This certainly makes it more difficult to clean the tracks but there
are ways and means of combatting rail dirt. It can - for a price - be eliminated
more or less entirely. We know; we've done it.
"What else does a "model railway" involve - as
opposed to a "toy train set"?
It's an "attitude" thing. With a trainset you buy whatever trains you
like, put them on the track and watch them go round; and round; and round... With a
model railway you buy the right trains, put them in your hidden sidings, bring
them out in the right order and run a service. Of course you will have
preferences - that's what our questionnaire is all about - but even if you don't we are
here to help with appropriate suggestions. Again; there's no reason you cannot buy
anything you like and put it on the track - it will be your railway! The
point is that with a proper model railway you can either "play trains" (which is
fun) or run a real railway (which is satisfying) !
v Need I go on? (If so, buy a few model railway magazines from Smiths and see how others do it!)
indentModel railways at this price are
generally large. They are often best fitted into a room indoors dedicated to the
purpose for two excellent reasons; a) rooms in the house are warm and b) they are easily
accesible at any time - which means you will get to use it more often!
indentOther options are a specially built room outside but
there can be problems since they are usually far less secure than a room in the
house. Worth considering if you are spending this kind of money, don't you
think? (And before you ask, yes; specialist insurance is available from one or two
companies.)
This experience and these skills are what we offer.v Can we use them on your behalf?