Sunday 24 May 2015

Modelling Narrow Gauge Railways in Small Scales

I got home from a rather wet day gricing Listers and their like at Lamport Hall  to discover my Amazon pre-order of Chris Ford's new book had arrived.


That's quite impressive considering Amazon aren't even showing it as being released yet.

So far I've only had a chance to skim through it but first impressions are of an excellent guide that takes you through pretty much everything you need to know to build your first OO9 layout, or, for that matter, your first layout in most scales, I particularly liked how balanced the content seemed with no undue emphasis on any one aspect. and also how it dives straight in to projects that presume the reader is going to build things for themselves.

I could see a definite opening for a similar approach to a book on finescale standard gauge modelling.

Well worth a more detailed read..











6 comments:

  1. That's annoying. Amazon have the release date down as the 25th and my copy was apparently dispatched yesterday for delivery on the 26th. Why I pay for Amazon Prime I don't know. Looking forward to giving it a proper read when it does eventually arrive though.

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    1. I must have got my "out for delivery" notification at the same time as you, I suspect actual delivery date depends on the courier and area you live in. It only seems to have been the last few months that Sunday delivery has become a norm here. I find Prime membership worthwhile if you exploit it to the fill, which includes backing up my photos - though I wish they would automatically filter out file types not included in the "free because you've already paid for it" subscription . And the Fire TV stick http://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-W87CUN-Fire-TV-Stick/dp/B00KAKUN3E

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  2. I'd be interested to have a look at that book. Everyone and their dog seems to have written a modelling book in recent years, with rather mixed results (I can't believe some of the rubbish published...), yet few offer something new. Perhaps this one will.

    Listers, should I confess to a pair of Ds sitting unloved in my mother's garden?

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    1. Paul, I hope Chris won't take this the wrong way but it reminded me of a long lost Michael Andress book in terms of coverage, updated very successfully to the present day. If I was starting out in narrow gauge modelling, or returning to it after a gap of several years I think it would quickly become well thumbed. Does it have something new? I suspect not compared to when I first read Barry Norman's Landscape Modelling. But as an approach I think it brings together what in my working life I would describe as best achievable practice for that elusive "Average Modeller"

      If you have a spare Lister D then the only humane thing to do with it is turn it into a 7 1/4" gauge loco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgeclLHarf4

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    2. If the publisher is Crowood then don't be surprised. They are chasing all sort of people to produce a massive range of model railway books. The writers don't really make any money but you do get your name on a book, although it's a heck of a lot of work.

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    3. Phil, sounds rather like my professional life.

      Yes it is a Crowood book, but that doesn't take anything away from what Chris has wriiten which is an excellent introduction to the subject.

      Perhaps it does raise the issue that some very good modellers aren't getting the mainstream exposure that they could/should. ?

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