Class 03 - what a difference 36 years can make...

When I was a youngster, my Dad had a model in his cupboard that I wasn't allowed to use, a Mainline Class 03 - a wonderfully detailed model with separate handrails on the bonnet and lovely smooth slow (albeit noisy) performance... However, by the time I was 12 I remember regularly using his Class 03 on the layout we built together in the garage...

Over the following few years I added the exhauster cabinet (although never the air brake tanks and hoses) and weathered it, and then added red buffer beams and coupling rods to tone down the appearance...

At the time, the Mainline model was a marvel, but 36 years on it doesn't really cut it anymore, enter the revised Bachmann model which has been available for a few years... Now this really does look the part, fine handrails abound, plenty of detail, smooth quiet performance, flush glazing... the only thing I think that lets its down are the screws in the coupling rods!

I was browsing eBay recently and found this model for a very reasonable price and the memory of that childhood model led me to make an offer and I'm now the proud owner of a totally random addition to my collection... however, I can already see a small shunting layout being developed for my entertainment, that may release me from my plans of building a small OO shunting layout for the GWR stock, and focus on building a station on the Bala branch for that, we'll see...

So plenty of day dreaming and a little planning to do, before I can make a start on something physical. In the meantime, reflecting on the progress in our hobby, I'm encouraged and excited about what the future holds. I still enjoy the hobby in so many different ways today, just like I did as a child. I'm sure my children will do the same in the future. For so long we've heard about doom and gloom for the future of the hobby, I'm inclined to feel a lot more positive. More soon...