Page 16 - September October 2014

Eras and equipment
Today, the serious model railroader usually chooses an era to model. Common eras are: pre-1900 (the earliest days of railroading), 1901– 1930 (steam engines ruled), 1931–1945 (the “golden age” of railroads), 1946–1960 (transition from steam engines to diesels), 1961–1980, and 1980s to the present (modern). For the beginner, don’t worry about era. Enjoy the hobby in all eras before choosing one (or more). You will naturally gravitate to an era as you learn about real railroads. The same goes for choosing a prototype railroad to model. There were many, many railroads in the history of trains.
If you limit your modelling to a single railroad or era too early, you can become blind to other fascinating choices. As you gain experience in model railroading, you will likely find a favourite. Sometimes these are local companies or short lines; some are railroads remembered from youth or from holidays in the USA or Canada; others are because of product availability. That said, if you are committed to a project, take care not to mix eras too much if you want to be accurate. But the first rule of any modeller’s railroad should be: “It’s MY railroad.”
Information station
Once a scale has been chosen, the paths in model railroading become much clearer and more defined. However, there are a number of ways in which information on what you might model can be obtained. In days gone, for many beginners, visits to local hobby shops would have been intertwined with choosing a scale. You would ask the stores their opinions on specific products. But today . . . ?
If you have chosen HO scale, an excellent first purchase is a Walthers catalogue. For years, this publication has listed almost all of the products available in HO. Walthers is a very large manufacturer and distributor of model railroad goods. Latterly, other wholesalers such as Horizon have appeared and their products (Athearn, for example) no longer feature in the Walthers catalogue. In addition, most if not all manufacturers these days only produce limited runs of specific models – in the
past, some of us started out by going into a live ‘catalogue’, the local hobby shop, with the entire range of products before us. Now
it is get it while you can. Walthers also does the catalogue in Z/N scales.
While hobby
stores do still
exist, like Model
Junction at
Slough, most of
today’s trade in
model railroad
equipment is
conducted via
the internet or
at shows, meets
and conventions.
There are a number of suppliers in the UK that trade primarily in this way – Model Junction has a live and complete inventory on-line (see http://www.modeljunction.info/estore/); LSWR Models (http:// www.lswrmodels.co.uk/) and Team Track Trading (http://www. teamtracktrading.co.uk/) list what they have and update that as needed. This is not a complete list, far from it. On the internet, eBay has become a popular place to buy and sell along with some model
railway/railroad websites and forums (eg the British Region website (http://www.nmrabr.org.uk/) and RMWeb (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/ community/)). Secondhand suppliers like Brian’s Trains (http://www. collectakit.co.uk/Pages/Trains.aspx) and Plus Daughters (a specialist
N scale supplier – http://www.plusdaughters.co.uk/) are also good sources of “previously enjoyed” equipment (both often attend British Region events).
Magazines are a great resource for learning and news/reviews. Included in the pages of these magazines are articles for the beginner to the advanced modeller, prototype information and new products. Members of the NMRA can subscribe to the NMRA Magazine (previously called ‘Scale Rails’) each month. The most popular commercial magazine, and good for the beginner, is Model Railroader, published by Kalmbach, which can be obtained direct on subscription. It is available on the shelves of most WH Smiths, albeit about four to six weeks after publication. It can also be obtained on subscription in the UK from Bill Hudson Books of Matlock. Kalmbach offer many of their titles as an electronic download too.
Other magazines include Railroad Model Craftsman, published by Carstens (available at Model Junction) and a free on-line magazine called Model Railroad Hobbyist (see http://model-railroad-hobbyist. com/). N scale magazines are also available: N Scale and N Scale Railroading. Copies of now-ceased publications Rail Model Journal and Model Railroading can be accessed on-line free of charge (see http:// www.trainlife.com/magazines/model-train-magazine-index). The British Region has past copies of Model Railroader on DVD.
Magazines such as Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette and others have a high proportion of prototype information along with modelling articles. Finally, magazines like Trains (Kalmbach) and Railfan & Railroad (Carstens) deal exclusively with the real stuff (see also trainlife.com for Pacific Rail News (1984–1996) and Rail News (1997– 1999).
A word of caution: don't be depressed by the beautiful models and layouts pictured in all these magazines. These are the work of folks that have usually been in the hobby for years and have developed the necessary skills. Use the photos and modelling results as inspiration for your own efforts. You can get these results, too. Just don't be in a rush. Remember, this is a hobby, not a competition.
Another excellent source of information is found in the many soft- cover “How-To” books. There are publications available on just about every aspect of this hobby. Many of these books are compilations of past articles printed in the monthly model railroad magazines. Some are step-by-step construction of small layouts, an excellent way to “get your feet wet” in model railroading. These project layouts are usually geared specifically for the beginner.
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