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| Marc at Ally Pally watching his favourite exhibit: an N-gauge Dutch railway station under an airport. |  |
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Where it all Began
My son, Marc and I were visiting the Annual Model Railway Club exhibition at Alexandra Palace in North London, a trip we make every year. We had just laid the track and wired up his British 4mm OO gauge layout in his bedroom. I was getting a wee bit jealous as he now had a railway to play with and I didn't.
At the Ally Pally show, there was a trade stand selling railway DVDs. As we were passing, they were playing a DVD of American prototypes. We both stood watching in awe as huge trains were thundering through beautiful scenery.
We immediately went to a couple of trade stands to check out the American ware. It quickly became apparent that the only way to model the type of scene we had witnessed in the video, was in N-gauge - at least in our house.
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| Marc getting stuck in at the children's kit making stand. | |
A Trip to Slough
"Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough
It isn't fit for humans now, ..."
In England, Slough is generally regarded as a place to avoid, not because of a crime wave but simply because it is dull, boring and ugly. The poet John Betjeman wrote a poem about Slough; the opening (quoted above) says it all really.
Slough is where the BBC TV series, The Office was set (click here for the US adaptation - what is the American equivalent of Slough I wonder). The character David Brent actually discusses Betjeman's poem in one of the episodes.
The best things about Slough are that my best friend used to manage a bar in the town centre and Gerry Anderson filmed Thunderbirds there. Oh and Slough Grammar School is one of the best secondary schools in the country.
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A trip to Legoland or just an excuse to visit Model Junction? |
These are the only good things about Slough - or so I thought until I learnt about Model Junction, a model shop here in the UK that specialises in American Railroads. In fact it only sells American outline. One visit there and that was it, I was hooked. Following advice and recommendations from Stuart, the prop., I bought a stack of books and some N-gauge rolling stock. Even on my first visit I could not resist purchasing a loco and 28 Bethgon Coalporters, quite forgetting that I had nothing to run them on. A great shop, always full of friendly faces, particularly on a Saturday and a very fast, personal and efficient service. The personal aspect is particularly welcome in the call-centre culture that we live in now-a-days - at least in this country.
The other thing about Model Junction is that it is conveniently located just off the M4 motorway close to Windsor and on the way to Legoland. So, every time I treat my son to a day out at Legoland (which is quite often as we have annual passes), I can treat myself too!