I am fortunate to know wonderful people in the railway modelling hobby. This is a story about one such person.
Through unforeseen circumstances, in late 2023 I was introduced to John – a fellow enthusiast for British railways and modelling them in 7mm scale. We’ve never met – he’s in southern Ontario and I’m in Saskatchewan, and although I’ve been back to Toronto a couple of times this year we were, unfortunately, not able to get together.
But our email exchanges have been delightful.
We started by discussing the railways of the UK in the age of steam but the friendship has blossomed into notes about our lives in general. I also share updates about what I’m working on for Bydemill – my 7mm scale layout depicting the Great Western Railway in the Edwardian Era. John, in turn, shares photos of his beautiful collection of 7mm locomotives and other projects.
A couple of months ago, I mentioned in an email to John that I was frustrated by a laser kit I was building for a goods shed. It just wasn’t working for me and I was going to explore alternatives.
To paraphrase John’s reply, “I have three structures that I realize I’m not going to use and I’d love to see them put to good use on Bydemill.” I offered to purchase the structures – or at least pay for the shipping – but he wouldn’t hear of it.
John acquired these structures several years ago from a well-known, masterful modeller in the UK, who was disposing of the layout on which they resided. I’ve included his notes about each structure, below.
The structures were still in the UK, in the care of John’s brother, Jeff.
Until this week, when a big box arrived:
As yesterday’s teaser suggested, the structures include a station, a goods shed, and a signal cabin. Each is a beautiful example of craftsmanship and finish. What’s more, they fit the physical space on my layout like they were tailor-made for it. I’ll let the photos do the talking, because I’m still kind of speechless…
The station is a solid brick structure with an impressive GWR awning:
The builder notes: The station is a Timber Tracks laser cut wooden kit based on Tetbury. It was already on a layout that the builder acquired from another modeller. He removed the structure, modified it, and painted it in more accurate colours for the period that interested him: The BR Western Region in the 1950s. He added fairly heavy weathering and distressing to suggest the line that about to be taken out of service.
The goods shed fits perfectly on the siding, and can accommodate two wagons. Note the ledgers on the window sill in the office:
The builder notes: This structure is scratch built. It’s based on a similar shed at Wallingford, but is smaller. It’s entirely made from Slaters Plasticard, with a white metal chimney pot.
The signal cabin has a fully detailed interior with levers and other appliances:
The builder notes: This was built from a PECO kit, painted in similar colours to the station building. It may not be a specific Great Western Railway prototype but is similar to known examples. The interior furnishings and point levers are from Springside Models.
This is a beautiful, generous gift. I’m grateful for our friendship, John, and I’m honoured you have trusted me to put these to good use and do them justice. I look forward to many more discussions with you! And thanks also to Jeff for taking such good care of these models – including the expert packing job that enabled them to survive their journey of some 4,000 miles to their new home!
I’m going to go run some trains now, and plan the scenery to integrate these into the layout properly. I may never stop smiling…
The Model Railway Show 