During the summer months we have seen a plethora of model railway items that stretched back over a long period of railway modelling – in N, HO, OO, EM and P4.
The locomotive that received most attention was an elderly K’s Milestones kit of an ex-Metropolitan Railway 4-4-0T. This was nicely built in EM but its running on our test track reminded us of the enormous improvements in motors and gearboxes in recent years. Modern locomotives are so much quieter and more responsive these days.
As usual we have seen trains and engines which reflect the different interests of our members. For those with a BR(S) interest we have been impressed by a ‘straight out of the box’ Hornby Lord Nelson which ran superbly. We were also able to compare the DJM and Hornby class 71 electric locos. The general consensus was there was little to choose between them other than the demise of DJ Models.
The inexorable change appears to be a decline in kit or scratch building. With a number of us interested in freight wagons we had a challenge to ‘bring a completed kit” next time. This yielded a wide range of vehicles with a number being kit-bashed to produce a model of a less common prototype.
The summer months have seen members disappear for much needed holidays around Europe. As the autumn begins, work will continue on our next layout for which Jeff has built one section of baseboard. But we have a mid-summer memory of tea and cake – and strawberries with real flavour freshly picked from a member’s allotment beside the ex-LSWR Salisbury to Southampton line. May this sustain us in the coming months.
This report – written by Joe Newman – appears in Issue 222 of the EM Gauge Society newsletter.