Saturday 28 June 2014

Inspirations 7: Simply for pleasure

 I make no apologies for the fact that this is not much more than a train set; that's the whole point. I found Simply for Pleasure in a batch of second-hand RMs, the  June 74 to be precise, but we were already old friends. That date is critical for I would have been exactly 10 years old. A little while later the layout ended up at Pecorama where I saw it probably that or the following summer. Out of all the exhibits there, this was the one that caught me. Looking back with the experience I can understand why: it was the train-set I had, but more so - a train-set on acid. It took what I had and made it real and showed me that the stuff I had could be adapted and altered to fit different surroundings. That of course is the whole thrust of Pecorama, and it must work, because I'm still doing it.
Technically it's a touch unwieldy, at 6'6" long split lengthways it's almost two single beds and moveable rather than portable. There are no fiddle yards - something else which I always lean toward - just the track break with the tunnel.
SFP has now gone, but as far as I know it's been replaced by something similar. People often go on and on about the lack of youngsters entering the hobby (which is bollocks). Maybe we should take a step back and build a few more of these.

5 comments:

  1. Hmm. Exactly ten in 1974. Any birthday celebrations coming up?
    Colin.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy belated birthday Chris.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "A train set on acid"...sums up my student years rather well :-) I found that this article started me thinking of all the things in the RM that have inspired me...a wonderful half-hour of nostalgic indulgence. The "Thorpness Branch", March 1962 RM was a similar theme, I clumsily re-created it in TT...like train set, but as you say, with added appeal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't think that I'll tire of saying that we have to reach back to the 60s and 70s for real inspiration, for that's when the hobby had reached it's full potential without being over commercialised. There was just enough available to make it possible, and little enough to force you to use your imagination and make things for yourself.
    CF

    ReplyDelete