At the time of writing this article there, is hidden in one of the many units at the Arcade a model railway platform (with a shelter) which confesses to being part of Liverpool Railway Station. As anybody who has visited this great city knows there is not a railway station which is just called Liverpool.
There are three stations (to my latest calculations) which have Liverpool in their title.
These are Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Central and Liverpool South Parkway.
Obviously this small model station is not meant to be any of these railway stations but to the child who received this little station (which has an uncanny resemblance to the down platform at Bedwyn) this is indeed Liverpool Railway Station.
The model appears to be about eighty years old (if not older) and is likely to have been an accessory or part of a train set produced at the time. It will have belonged to a boy who in his mind, supplied the most punctual service into and out of Liverpool.
This is the fantasy of train sets, one can run a railway network in their own home whether it be as an oval on the dining room table or a complicated network in the attic.
Most boys (and a few girls) have had a train set given to them at a certain stage of their life. It is part of the fabric of their childhood.
Some of these boys (and girls) grow up and continue their interest whilst others consign their once prized train set to the garage or elsewhere. That is until their mother has a clear out once young Robert (now engaged to Lucy) leaves home. It is likely that is how the platform (and not forgetting the shelter) of the Liverpool Railway Station made it into the Arcade.
Most boys no matter their age love trains. I still get a shiver of excitement when an express thunders through Hungerford and if this is hauled by a steam engine then my day is complete. Watching trains is free and is one of the most cherished of liberties that we have. Whole families watch trains pass and normally the smaller children wave to the train. This is built into our DNA.
When a train passes you it is a special occasion an event for the whole family. Some of us dream about running a railway with sleepy line side stations inheriting their hourly trains. Mr Perks who is in charge of one of these stations meets the trains sometimes aided by Roberta and her brother and sister. Nothing much happens apart from the odd landslip and a lost paper-chase runner injuring himself inside a tunnel. It is a long lost view of an England that John Betjeman would have enjoyed.
Some of us are rich enough to own railway stations or even locomotives but it is usually down to the enthusiasts (of which there are many) to run these heritage lines which are there for us all to enjoy. Steam trains often pass through Hungerford in all their glory as we are lucky to be on a main-line route to the West Country. As the steam clears I often think of the train sets I have owned from the early shunting set to my later Inter-City 125 train set.
Once I had bridges and stations, trees and passengers and all my stations were properly staffed. My trains never ran late or were cancelled because of the weather. They ran when I wanted them to run whether it be day or night. I was the owner of the railway and the chief union official all rolled into one. It was a perfect world. But now some of the rolling stock and a few stations just gather dust in my shed. I have mothballed my childhood which is sad, although it happens to us all.
Given power, these trains could run tomorrow but they will not as I am so busy. One day when Harry pops around I will reopen my railway and services between London and Bath will start up again. The train will stop at Catsbridge and other mythical stations as they did during my childhood years. Perhaps Harry or one of my grand girls will become the master of operations. Time will tell, but for now the 06.28 from Paddington to Bath is cancelled as it has been on each day since the last train ran in January 1978.
But what of train sets?
What is their history and when were they invented?
We are all aware trains made their initial appearance in the first half of the nineteenth century. Taking this into account, I was a little surprised to find out that the first train set did not arrive until 1891. Before then obviously, there had been models of locomotives (some of these might have been constructed as promotional items).
Enterprising Victorian fathers might have asked a craftsman to fashion a working replica of a steam engine and its carriages plus all the accessories for young Albert and his even younger brother George but these models have most likely faded into the folds of time.
Although a fancy on my part, I would guess that I am somewhere near the truth, although I have never seen any of these items for sale in antique shops or at auctions. There were many replica models produced in the second half of the nineteenth century and these would have been made of tinplate or cast iron, both of which are very workable materials although cast iron can be rather brittle.
As with everything Victorian, the ideas were simple although the UK did not have the monopoly on production. Steam engines were produced mainly in Britain and France but these were fine models and quite expensive and were exclusive to the wealthy. Germany made cheaper models but there was no real continuity as to what was available. In Birmingham less exclusive models were constructed for a lower market (these were known by the lovely nickname of The Birmingham Dribblers). There were pull along trains, tin toys costing a penny and as the century progressed, clockwork engines. I suppose the latter were supposed to run along the floor or on a bespoke track constructed by the owner.
But everything was a little confused and there was no real sense of a system That was until 1891 when a German company called Marklin produced what would now be recognised as the first train set. The company introduced ready to use track to a set of standard gauges and the rolling stock and accessories to fit. The modern train set was born. One could start off with the basics and then just add to them until the expansion was complete. That said, most enthusiasts just carried on until they ran out of room.
Obviously other companies copied this but Marklin were the main movers and this toy company had very strong markets in both the UK and France.
Although active, both the UK and France did not have any indigenous toymakers strong enough to complete with their German friends. But Britain was holding an ace card.
Model railways which differed from train sets (no matter how big) was a pastime that originated in the UK during the early Edwardian period. The difference was that a great number of the model railway enthusiasts were grown men. There were I believe, active clubs and societies, (this said I have not really been able to locate any in my researches) but logic tells me that that these men must have formed themselves into groups to share knowledge and indulge in their passion for model railways. Such men would have been railway enthusiasts and would have followed the rapid expansion of the late Victorian and early Edwardian railways with great interest. An early supplier was W.J. Bassett-Lowe who were based in Northampton. Bassett-Low spotted the potential of using the German models in tandem with their own designs. This was not for a children’s market but for the adult enthusiasts.
One of his early designers was the now forgotten Henry Greenly. Henry was something of a polymath who had worked on full sized railways as well as models. He introduced a system of scales (do you remember them from your Hornby days?) in line with the Markin gauges. Henry also founded the first periodical on the subject. Trains sets were making rapid strides. In the initial decade of the twentieth century electricity was beginning to come into the picture especially in the USA.
Believe it or not, there was also a call for live steam from the model locomotives. But things were going to change as World War One changed many things with the Germans unable to export after 1914.
After the war, anti German feeling was running high and it was then that Hornby Trains (developed by Frank Hornby of Meccano fame) and the French company JEP became major players in the field. The Germans were also inhibited by the start of protectionism and Hornby and the others were never really threatened again. Hornby is a very familiar name to any boy who liked trains sets. The name dominated our childhood years. The company also has a very interesting history.
Frank Hornby (1863-1936) was one of these people who, although not having a formal education in a subject, rose to the surface and becomes a leader in his field. Not just satisfied in bringing us Hornby Model Railways, Frank was also responsible for both Meccano (1908) and Dinky Toys (1934) both of which are still household names.
But it was in 1920 that Frank started producing his 0 Gauge tinplate trains (which were bigger than the plastic models that we see today).
At first they were clockwork only, but electric sets followed soon after. These sets represented the big four main-line groups and obviously accessories followed quite quickly. The rough timeline for some of Hornby’s main innovations are as follows:
Hornby O-gauge clockwork and electric railways (1920-1965)
Hornby Dublo 3-rail clockwork and electric railways (1938-1965)
Hornby Dublo 2-rail electric railways (1959-1965)
It is the latter one that we are most familiar with and a great number of layouts originated from the Dublo 2 range. The locomotives and the rolling stock were almost exact replicas of the real things only on a miniature scale. Famous steam engines were replicated as well as the less glamorous diesels and electrical units. The steam engines produced steam and the carriages were illuminated. The aspect and semaphore signalling functioned as it did on a real railway. The detail that the company were able to provide was outstanding. From the little people on the railway platforms to the livestock in the fields. Nothing was forgotten down to the milk churns that could be found on the country stations.
Obviously the rolling stock and accessories from the Dublo 2 range are easier to find and one does not have to look far to find these items. Only this weekend when I popped into the Arcade, I found a footbridge that had once been part of a larger station for sale. A few weeks ago, I saw a green carriage from an EMU set gathering dust with other railway artefacts in a shabby cardboard box. It is not only within the antiques trade that you find items connected with the Hornby Dublo 2 range.
If one goes to a boot sale, it is likely that you will find an unloved pile of accessories and maybe some carriages without really looking for them. Steam locomotives, DMUs and EMUs are easily found as well as examples of shunting engines and the like. Even jumble sales are a good source and are sometimes considerably cheaper than the boot sales where the prices requested can be a little cute.
But going back to the world of antiques, it is not just the Hornby series that you will find.
Many companies in many countries have manufactured model railways. I can remember seeing a very functional train set from East Germany not so long ago. There was little or no superfluous decoration added and the model reflected the bleakness of its former country. One almost expected to see Erich Honecker travelling in one of the carriages.
A Czechoslovakian train set produced at about the time of the Prague Spring did not differ much.
On the flip side of this, one could find the brash American railroad sets with the huge locomotives and carriages which had almost stepped out of a John Wayne movie. Then returning to good old Blighty, there were the many vintage train sets to be found. From the old wide rail clockwork train sets to the smaller plastic ones. You will find train sets of various descriptions everywhere some are complete some are in parts. They are an integral part of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
I often wander around the Arcade and other places of interest with Caron and am still surprised at how many railway related items there are for sale. It must be a wonderland for children as for some reason, both boys and girls love trains.
A few years ago, I saw a child of about five pick up a vintage grain wagon and say that it was the same as the one he saw at our railway station even though it must have been the best part of sixty years since a wagon of that description had passed through Hungerford Station.
I love trains, but after all these years have really not discovered why. It might be the journey that I look forward to but then again I get just as much pleasure watching trains pass through our town.
On a hot summers day in 1977, my wife and I spent over six hours on Paddock Wood station in Kent just watching the trains and people go by. We did not plan this adventure it just happened on the spur of the moment. For some reason the time passed slowly yet very rapidly, but when we finally caught our train home we felt we had learnt something.
What it was I do not know it was just a shared feeling.
I love Russian literature and often think of Tolstoy passing away at the then little known Astapovo Railway Station. He had been travelling on a train but fell ill and was brought to this obscure rural railway station to die.
What were Anton Chekhov’s thoughts as he undertook partially by train his memorable journey to Sakhalin Island? It is known that this arduous trip took a serious toll on his delicate health. If the Trans-Siberian Railway had been in existence in 1890 would his journey have been more comfortable and would the great man have lived longer?
These are all personal train related thoughts but this is possibly the reason that I find model trains so appealing.
I am unlikely to visit Astapovo or travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway but if I wanted to, I could create Astapovo Railway Station using a model railway. I could recreate very small parts of the Trans-Siberian Railway. From the wilds of Argentina to the deserts of Australia I could recreate anything. All that is required is the necessary rolling stock and the correct accessories. I could implement a public railway network in Iceland or reopen the much missed Somerset and Dorset. The only limitation I would have apart from my pocket was the depth of my vision. That is why model railways are so fulfilling.
Recently when my grandchildren visited Hungerford, I purchased a very cheap clockwork train set. The children were captivated by this simple yet complex model and apart from the odd act of sabotage and pets crossing the track, the demonstration was a complete success. As they grow up they (even if they do not admit it to themselves) will secretly love trains and at certain times during their formative (or not so formative years), they will experience the joy of either playing with or owning a model train set.
The next time you are in an antique shop or the like and discover a model train set, buy it if you can. I am not saying it will change your life, but at the very least, it will be fun.
At the time of writing this article there, is hidden in one of the many units at the Arcade a model railway platform (with a shelter) which confesses to being part of Liverpool Railway Station. As anybody who has visited this great city knows there is not a railway station which is just called Liverpool.
The model appears to be about eighty years old (if not older) and is likely to have been an accessory or part of a train set produced at the time. It will have belonged to a boy who in his mind, supplied the most punctual service into and out of Liverpool.
Given power, these trains could run tomorrow but they will not as I am so busy. One day when Harry pops around I will reopen my railway and services between London and Bath will start up again. The train will stop at Catsbridge and other mythical stations as they did during my childhood years. Perhaps Harry or one of my grand girls will become the master of operations. Time will tell, but for now the 06.28 from Paddington to Bath is cancelled as it has been on each day since the last train ran in January 1978.
As with everything Victorian, the ideas were simple although the UK did not have the monopoly on production. Steam engines were produced mainly in Britain and France but these were fine models and quite expensive and were exclusive to the wealthy. Germany made cheaper models but there was no real continuity as to what was available. In Birmingham less exclusive models were constructed for a lower market (these were known by the lovely nickname of The Birmingham Dribblers). There were pull along trains, tin toys costing a penny and as the century progressed, clockwork engines. I suppose the latter were supposed to run along the floor or on a bespoke track constructed by the owner.
Although active, both the UK and France did not have any indigenous toymakers strong enough to complete with their German friends. But Britain was holding an ace card.
One of his early designers was the now forgotten Henry Greenly. Henry was something of a polymath who had worked on full sized railways as well as models. He introduced a system of scales (do you remember them from your Hornby days?) in line with the Markin gauges. Henry also founded the first periodical on the subject. Trains sets were making rapid strides. In the initial decade of the twentieth century electricity was beginning to come into the picture especially in the USA.
Frank Hornby (1863-1936) was one of these people who, although not having a formal education in a subject, rose to the surface and becomes a leader in his field. Not just satisfied in bringing us Hornby Model Railways, Frank was also responsible for both Meccano (1908) and Dinky Toys (1934) both of which are still household names.
It is the latter one that we are most familiar with and a great number of layouts originated from the Dublo 2 range. The locomotives and the rolling stock were almost exact replicas of the real things only on a miniature scale. Famous steam engines were replicated as well as the less glamorous diesels and electrical units. The steam engines produced steam and the carriages were illuminated. The aspect and semaphore signalling functioned as it did on a real railway. The detail that the company were able to provide was outstanding. From the little people on the railway platforms to the livestock in the fields. Nothing was forgotten down to the milk churns that could be found on the country stations.
If one goes to a boot sale, it is likely that you will find an unloved pile of accessories and maybe some carriages without really looking for them. Steam locomotives, DMUs and EMUs are easily found as well as examples of shunting engines and the like. Even jumble sales are a good source and are sometimes considerably cheaper than the boot sales where the prices requested can be a little cute.
On the flip side of this, one could find the brash American railroad sets with the huge locomotives and carriages which had almost stepped out of a John Wayne movie. Then returning to good old Blighty, there were the many vintage train sets to be found. From the old wide rail clockwork train sets to the smaller plastic ones. You will find train sets of various descriptions everywhere some are complete some are in parts. They are an integral part of our lives whether we recognise it or not.
I often wander around the Arcade and other places of interest with Caron and am still surprised at how many railway related items there are for sale. It must be a wonderland for children as for some reason, both boys and girls love trains.
I love trains, but after all these years have really not discovered why. It might be the journey that I look forward to but then again I get just as much pleasure watching trains pass through our town.
to this obscure rural railway station to die.
Recently when my grandchildren visited Hungerford, I purchased a very cheap clockwork train set. The children were captivated by this simple yet complex model and apart from the odd act of sabotage and pets crossing the track, the demonstration was a complete success. As they grow up they (even if they do not admit it to themselves) will secretly love trains and at certain times during their formative (or not so formative years), they will experience the joy of either playing with or owning a model train set.
The next time you are in an antique shop or the like and discover a model train set, buy it if you can. I am not saying it will change your life, but at the very least, it will be fun.