Page 3 - September October 2015
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Well, it has been a very unusual period since the last issue, with me having the dubious pleasure of a nine day visit to the local hospital to have a major ticker service! We were able to time it so as not to have too much effect on the Round house schedule though.
During the recovery period, tinkering about (with brass locos mainly!), reading railroad and model railroad magazines and watching similar odds and ends on the TV have all contributed to a relaxed recovery – so far!
This kind of thing and, sadly, the numerous recent obituaries, bring home to you the importance of simple enjoy ments such as our hobby offers. Okay, some are not that simple, but at whatever level we take the hobby that is fine, so long as it suits the individual.
A lot of discussion has been going back and forth about the “Back to Basics” series of pullout articles. Some of this discussion revolves around at what level the information should be pitched. This raised its head for example over discus sion of track. These days there is a bigger variety of set track, which years ago to a large extent was looked on as rather “train set”, being then only available in small radii and with rather crude turnouts and clunky moulded ballast, if any. Nowadays there is a much bigger range and quite a nice layout can be made.
But, for US outline at least, most estab lished modellers tend to think first of
flex track such as Peco 83 or Shinohara (for HO). In effect, this is using (unbal lasted) set track turnouts connected by flex track! Going up the scale we get into highlydetailed handlaid ranges. Perhaps one of the useful aspects of “Back to Basics” is not just to describe literally the very basic starting point but to indicate the range available in any given subject, and this applies to almost every aspect of our hobby. You can buy a readymade building, plonk it down alongside the track and you have, well, a readymade building. Or you can build a depot practically brick by brick.
The point is, there is no particular right way or wrong way (well, I suppose there IS a wrong way if, for example, you decide to fit an LMS signal box alongside an ATSF mainline!). As your interest, skills and knowledge progress, most modellers work their way up to their own field of satisfaction, and that really is all you need to do.
And of course it goes without saying that what satisfies you after a couple of years in the hobby may well be junked and replaced with a much higher level after 5 or 10 years in the hobby. It is your hobby, and the only person you have to please is you!
The “Back to Basics” series has been put on hold for this issue but should return soon.
Martin Boyask
CUPOLA
...FROM THE EDITOR
ROUNDHOUSE OCTOBER 2015
CONSIST...
CUPOLA 3
PRESIDENT’S CAR 4
REGION CALENDAR 5
DIVISION DIARY 6 UNCOUPLED CARS 8 MILEPOST 70 – PART 5 Mike Hughes 8 CREATING RUST ON BUILDINGS AND
RAILROAD STOCK Ron Gager 9 TEXAS PACIFIC LINES – A SLICE OF SOUTH
WESTERN USA IN HO Mike Arnold 10 NARROW GAUGE IN THE MIDLANDS
Martin Ford 13 HONEY, I SHRUNK THE RAILROADER!
David McLaughlin 13 MILEPOST 70 PROFILE FROM CONTINENTAL
MODELLER Mike Hughes 14 FLASH FLOOD NEWS FLASH Nick Prior 18 BR ACCOUNTS 2014/2015 Paul Evans 20 CONVENTION MARKETING MATTERS
Mike Hughes 24 LINDSAY AND TOM’S RAILFAN GUIDE #4
Lindsay Beare and Tom Watson 26 REGISTRAR NEWS 27
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