Sunday, December 03, 2006

(Not) Planning ahead


Armstrong Kit
Originally uploaded by Phil_Parker.
Yesterday I was walking around the largest model railway exhibition in the country.

Today I decided to get out the Armstrong locomotive kit I promised top build for George.

Then I discovered that the box didn’t contain the motor, wheels or gears required to complete the model. Guess who now has to order all the bits he could have bought over the counter 24 hours ago…

The Armstrong will be an interesting project. I’ve always considered anything Great Western to be beneath me. Lets face it, GWR modellers aren’t really all there are they ? Lots of bucolic branch lines and pannier tanks but no proper engines. They take themselves soooo seriously too – some of us still remember the fuss they made when “City of Truro” was painted BR black for an April Fool years ago.

Perhaps I am jaundiced from the early years of my railway modelling life when every second layout was a GWR branch, probably Ashburton, so exhibitions all looked the same. I wanted something different which probably explains my love of little industrial engines. Preferably grimy, ugly ones.

Anyway, George seems to have a knack of picking the good ‘uns. This loco has the outside frames and elegant lines of a true thoroughbred. It has style and beauty and class. This is going to be a good looking model.

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