Your Childhood Train Set

FFS.

Looks like a few of you lot go strictly Virgin.

Exiled_Addick said:

Simonsen said:

For all you model railway people; get yourself to Hamburg (watch HSV while u are there) and go to Minitur Wunderland. Train sets on an unbelievable scale.

Even better go to St. Pauli and order a snack off the sausage train.

I had that engine in my train set but it was light blue. It was a good runner - my favourite one!

PragueAddick said:

FiveGoalSummers said:

I did think of buying one of my grandkids a model train set, but they all appear too attached to their electronic games and other similar distractions. The term 'model railways' is evocative of a childhood, when on our weekly visits to Bexleyheath Broadway there were two attractions - watching the trolleybuses on routes 696 and 698 and peering into Jennings window. Now that was a toy and model shop. Only to be outdone by the annual pilgrimage to Gamages in Holborn. They had a great layout. And then there were the TWO national model railway exhibitions in London. One was held in the Central Hall, Westminster. About a bob (5p) to get in.
In the mid 1950s my weekend was complete with the Addicks winning at home and a copy of the Railway Modeller being put through our letter box. If only life was that simple nowadays!

Ah yes. When I would visit my Mum and she asked me to pick up her Daily Mail, I would hide it inside a copy of Railway Modeller, in order to avoid the embarassment.

Early, unappreciated post of the year contender.

PragueAddick said:

One of the things I have learnt out here is that only the British think this hobby is weird. Maybe the Czechs, like the Germans are more technically minded, but nobody thinks it's weird, its just another hobby like hunting or mushroom picking. It's really quite odd when you realise that and then reflect that we invented the railways. I wonder where this attitude came from.

It's possible that those who consider the hobby as weird, associate it loosely or otherwise with those who stand at the end of platforms with a notebook and pencil (or as they do nowadays speak into their smart phones) taking numbers of trains. I've never fully understood as to what the objective of this is. If somebody could enlighten me I'd be pleased.

I will, however, own up to having taken pictures of all 28 HS1 trains bearing the names of the Olympians. Purely from a sporting perspective you'll understand.

happyvalley said:

RedChaser said:

Here you go @blackpool72 look at these lovely old boys;

Possibly built in Greenwich.

These were probably what Blackpool was using when he first started his career in the fire service.

bbob said:

.

Yep, this reminds of Ricky_Otto, totally round the bend.