With the arrival of winter and the departure of my eldest daughter to university what began as a joke – replacing Eloise with my old train set from the loft – became the winter project for Abigail and I. The task of building a bedroom model railway. Like any railway, it will be a journey – it will begin slowly, with brainstorming, introductory stuff and the baseboard, before picking up speed with the build, landscaping and scenery diorama before cruising along into operation and, well, general play! My first train set was a Christmas present in 1980 or 1981. The OO Gauge Hornby R535 GWR Freight Set from God’s Wonderful Railway, the Great Western Railway, was a small layout with a GWR 101 0-4-0 locomotive and a few trucks played with on the carpet or a table then put away. It was great fun! Later, the addition of an R052 LMS Fowler 3F Jinty 0-6-0T 16440 Tank Engine which was faster and noisier (bought for a fiver!) led to a bit more track and a permanent layout on chipboard that was stored under the bed and also allowed me to put my airfix model aeroplanes on too! These would regularly attack the trains with marble bombs or provide air support for toy soldiers which also attacked with the aim of causing derailments, crashes etc. Fun times! Then, a wonderful christmas present was received. It looked so beautiful in the catalogue and my parents hunted high and low as it was out of stock or discontinued – the Hornby R305 LMS 8P No.6234 Duchess of Abercorn, 4-6-2 (Pacific) Princess Coronation (Duchess) Class was unwrapped from under the tree, my main present for the year. Gorgeous it was and it’s still my favourite. Then I discovered girls and everything was boxed up and put away until I wanted to do something with my own daughters and set up a few boards in the loft and bought a bunch more LMS locomotives, carriages, trucks and coaches, scenic bits and buildings and built a large two layer, seven track circuit in the loft at my first house which I never landscaped but ran from time to time before moving house to somewhere with no suitable space. By this time I had added the LMS R859 Princess Royal 4-6-2 6201 Princess Elizabeth, R066 4-6-2 Duchess of Sutherland 6233, R357 4-6-0 Patriot 5541 Duke of Sutherland, R055 Class 4P 2-6-4 Fowler Tank 2300, a Jinty in better condition (less crashed and abused!) R376 4-4-0 4P Compound 1000 and Hornby R859 4-6-0 Stanier Class 5 4657. These have been in a display cabinet on the wall of my lounge for five years without moving…but theirs is the resurrection and the life! So, Toot Toot! Choo Choo! The train departing from Platform Bedroom will be departing shortly – all aboard for this wonderful journey back in time to childhood and nostalgia! Updated List:Hornby R1031 LMS 0-4-0T Robson Class D Industrial Built 1907 Shunting
Hornby R152 LMS 0-4-0ST Drummond Class 0F No.16037 Pug Built 1895-1908 Shunting
Hornby R301 LMS 0-6-0T Fowler Class 3f No.16440 Jinty Built 1924-1931 Shunting
Hornby R376 LMS 4-4-0 Compound 1000 Class 4P No.1000 Built 1902-1909 Passenger
Hornby R055 LMS 2-6-4 Fowler Class 4P Tank No.2300 Built 1927-1934 Mixed Traffic
Hornby R311 LMS 4-6-0 Patriot Class 5XP No.5541 Baby Scot ‘Duke Of Sutherland’ Built 1934-1951 Passenger
Hornby R842 LMS 4-6-0 Stanier Class 5 No. 4657 Black 5 Built 1934-1951 Mixed Traffic
Hornby R050 LMS 4-6-2 Stanier Princess Royal Class 8P No.6200 Lizzie ‘Princess Royal’ Built 1933-1935 Passenger
Hornby R2179 LMS 4-6-2 Stanier Princess Coronation Class 8P No.6225 ‘Duchess Of Gloucester’ Built 1937-1948 Passenger
Hornby R066 LMS 4-6-2 Stanier Princess Coronation Class 8P No.6233 ‘Duchess Of Sutherland’ Built 1937-1948 Passenger
Hornby R305 LMS 4-6-2 Stanier Princess Coronation Class 8P No.6234 ‘Duchess Of Abercorn’ Built 1937-1948 Passenger