Garden Railway Forum

As was advertised in this months Garden Rail. Atlantic are having a clear out of some of the garden rail books £5 each and free P&P.
I contacted them today only the find most have been sold out so if anyone is thinking of ordering, do so quickly.
The website is still listing two that have already sold out so it might be worth giving them a ring to see what is still left.
Many of us on here will have them or be a bit beyond what they are all about but for anyone new to the hobby they might prove useful.

Thanks Jim, I may give them a call on Monday - I quite fancy the IoM one... If anyone's not got Nicholas Trudgian or Ian Stock's books I'd recommend both - both are well-written and thought-provoking...

Cheers,

Andrew.

Andrew:105351 wrote:If anyone's not got Nicholas Trudgian or Ian Stock's books I'd recommend both - both are well-written and thought-provoking...

I bought Ian Stock's book soon after it was published and each time I read it I glean a little more of what Ian was trying to get across. I don't agree with all he stands for and who does? However, I've not heard or can find very much about him since. Is he still on the 16mm scene or maybe even on this forum using a pseudonym?

I've watched Ian Stock's series of videos on Youtube and enjoyed them all.

I gather he has some slightly "controversial" or "arguable" opinions from comments I've read? What is the story here?

I'm just curious. He seems to be well-known. Sorry to change the subject.

Hello!

Ian came to garden railways from a finescale indoor modelling background, drawn to the greater realism that could be achieved in a larger scale and the open air. He was surprised (and perhaps somewhat alienated) by the prevailing "anything goes" attitude, where (he perceived) those seeking to create detailed models are decried as "rivet-counters".

The book seeks to explore the possibilities of creating and operating realistic models in the garden, using examples from Ian's (excellent) own line and other similarly realistic lines. It's well written and full of interesting ideas and inspirational photos - well worth buying.

The "controversial" bit probably relates to the assertion that the hobby is split into "engineers" and "artists", creating - in my opinion - a black and white version of a reality that encompasses many shades of grey. I don't know where Ian had his fingers burned, but I find that most folk are pretty accepting of each other's efforts - that's one of the things I really like about this forum.

Anyway, after a period of illness Ian's back out in the garden - his indoor and outdoor modelling - and his musical interests - are blogged about here - http://trainsandtrad.wordpress.com/

Cheers,

Andrew

Ah. Thanks for the explanation. I myself am torn about the realism thing. I admire the very realistic trains, and I also admire the more whimsical ones.

I even find there are different definitions of "realism"... a model steam train that is actually steam powered is VERY realistic in a certain way. Sometimes they just don't LOOK very realistic. I have found that if the wagons have more "scale" detail than the locomotive, it begins to make the locomotive look funny.

Considering that my current loco fleet consists of one Roundhouse Billy, I have settled for about a "Brandbright panelled coach" level of detail. It was easy to buy enough little trinkets to make the "Billy" look a little more like a full-sized locomotive, but it will never look exactly like one without a lot of expensive work. So I detail the wagons to suit.

Funny that. You would never see a model train enthusiast in the smaller scales settling for such a coarse level of detail, nor would you be likely to sell many OO scale "freelance" engines. But here we are. I guess I admire guys like Ian Stock, who have the energy and resources to do all the research and labour to achieve realism.

Hello again,

Just wanted to say thanks for pointing out the offer Big Jim - I placed an order today for the Manx Railways book plus a copy of "Garden Railway Adventure" as a present for a friend. I've just looked at my own copy of that and saw it cost me £24 - £5 and free P&P is such a bargain!

Cheers,

Andrew