C
OUNTRYSIDE MODELSModel Railways are great fun!
'How can a model railway be "Great Fun"? I mean, don't you just switch the thing on and "play trains" until you get bored?'
Well no, not exactly. . .
An Interactive medium.
trainsThose who have never had the luxury of seeing a proper model railway seldom realise that the operation of it is a vital part of its enjoyment. This is because a model railway is an interactive pastime: you, as operator, cannot just watch it, you need to drive the thing to make it work properly. Put simply you are in charge of your very own miniature world where you control everything that happens (unless you prefer automation, of course - which is not only possible but to a certain extent advisable on larger layouts!(Note) In fact operating a model railway can in some respects be allied to the fun you can have with a computer game(Note) but with the wonderful improvement that you are controlling ACTUAL not virtual reality !
trainsWith a model, the action is not confined to a small screen in front of you because a model can be any size from a shelf along one side of a room or garage to a large roomful which completely surrounds (and thus totally involves), the operator. A model railway is in fact, a tactile adult version of the child's "secret door in the wardrobe" because a model can be anything you want it to be - we can create, quite literally, a world of your own for you!
How do I go about this "operating"?
'All this is a bit serious; is there a lighter side to model railways?'
trainsEmphatically yes! There are many models based on the Rev. Awdry’s famous "Thomas" series of stories for example, while Dave Rowe has featured some delightful dioramas based on Roland Emmett’s famous cartoons of engines. There are many other avenues as yet unexplored, although we must mention our very own "Forest of Boland Light Railway" (see right) based on the children's book of the same name by "B.B." with which our proprietor, Andy McMillan, toured the Exhibition halls of the U.K. for many years.