‘Model Train’ spotting!

Below you see two photographs taken by me, a depiction of the identical rural scene one looking from afar, the other a black van waiting at the gates of a level crossing. (Please read on if you’d like to know a little more?)

Incidentally my Grandpa owned a bakery van similar to this one

A  ‘Chocolate box’ pretty image of 1950’s Britain long ago disappeared, in other words a hankering for many Brexiteers longing for the ‘good ole days’ that never were?

Yes I’ve been creating videos (below) and uploading onto my YouTube channel again! This time it’s Model Trains, or more specifically photos taken the day I visited Warley Model Railways Exhibition late November 2019.

With a playing time of 1.34 minutes, that’s a long movie for me!

What better way to begin the day than a pipping hot Cornish Pasty purchased at the train station, I might add be impressed with these photos taken on the move because that’s a skill you just cannot learn!

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And the Crowds of people (below)! I’m coming round to thinking there’s just tooo many people living upon this tiny island in 2019, I travelled by train to Birmingham’s NEC and stood for one hour on the return journey home. The station concourse was packed! The Exhibition Hall was ‘heaving’ yet did thin out as the afternoon wore on. Again lol notice these were taken on the move hence the blurred ‘out of focus’ carpet, like I said these are far from easy photos to take.

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Now don’t laugh, yes the majority of paying public visiting that particular November Saturday were 95% older men, and lol most above a certain age but hey as the saying goes.

“Every man needs a hobby… keeps them out of mischief”

Or in my case cheap motels and sex crazed women you can meet off the internet…… incidentally there’s plenty of true tails to read here on this my WordPress.

Ever since I was a young child I’ve had a fascination with model railways, my mother even has photos of me aged 4 standing beside model layouts designed and built by enthusiasts, I have locomotives a little track and controllers in the attic, whether I ever get around to  constructing my own layout God only knows….. but when you wake every weekday morning at 5.50am and return home 6.30pm after a day at work, then after making an evening meal, washing the dishes blah blah blah, that doesn’t leave a great deal of spare time especially when you realise scratch building ONE single tree would take hours days even! 

Model Railways are a true test of patience, they’re a labour of love and similar to all hobbies consume vast amounts of spare time, a luxury most of us just don’t have what with families and occupations, oh and of course hobbies have to be SUPPREMELY FUN or what’s the point?………………. So my plan on retirement, which seems a long way of judging by the precarious state the British economy, is to build my own model railway on a wooden baseboard in the attic lol or where ever.

Hmm but sadly I don’t imagine I ever will, I’m in love with the idea of recreating an idyllic 1950’s branch line, with a steam train winding it’s way through a fanciful rural British landscape that’s long ago disappeared, vast open fields and meadows now consumed by red brick housing estates, but hey in the meantime a man can and gaze into the proverbial ‘sweet shop window’ that is a hobbyists Exhibition!

(Deep down I know I’ll never make one, but day dreaming is nice 🙂 )

A model viaduct many of which can be scene throughout Britain

I do love these railway modellers attention to detail (above), pictured left religious Monks of all people wandering the grounds of a Monastery, to the right a gardener tending his village allotment.

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Above a car accident, again a depiction of idyllic 1950’s Britain with a countryside road accident and obligatory fire engine, ambulance and police in attendance, the modellers true skill is attention to detail and of course depicting realistic scaled scenery…………. and I guess drama helps the interest!

On reflection I think I’m more in love with the Britain of yesteryear than the model trains themselves, blame any nostalgia on Brexit.

You could almost mistake the scene above for a real life photographs, quite literally hours and hours of painstaking work goes into the making of these model railways

A railway modeller pictured alongside his hobby’s hard work, nope Andrew dream on for you’ll never make one of your own 😀

Below the centrepiece steam locomotive also a 1950’s vintage bus.

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So there you are, photos taken by me at the Model Railway Exhibition November 2019, to be more specific Birmingham’s NEC in central England.

A. Shepherdson 2019