A new Canadian adventure?

Over the past few days I've been mulling over re-visiting another childhood passion, one very much shared with my Dad, Canadian HO scale railroading...

A Canadian National GP38, switching grain cars in Drumheller, Alberta, August 1989 (photo: James Hilton)

It started with a bored afternoon and a thought about the old Model Railroader magazines I had stashed, this led to buying one of Ian Rice's Kalmbach books, this led to me digging some models out and you've probably noticed all of this unravelling here on the blog - as often, writing about things and thinking about how to talk about a subject helps straighten out the mind.

My intention is to take things slow, research thoroughly, all the choices from day 1. The only two things that are relatively firm are scale, HO 1:87, period (circa 2000) and Canada. Why? Well I've got a lot of Intermountain grain cars, and fond memories of visits in 1989, 1999 and 2001. I'd like to re-live a little of this through model making... and despite N scale looking interesting, I'm just worried about model making in the smaller scale, and achieving the neatness of finish scenically that I want to work towards.

So how far have things got? I've been sketching out ideas, and brain storming concepts... so not very far... I just don't have the space really for the lifelong project layout... I do have the space East Works currently resides within... so we'll see how this pans out...

I've pondering about locomotives, but I don't want a huge roster. I don't think, having checked over a few of my older models, that they will cut it - mechanically or detail wise, so I need something new. I also don't mind a modelling challenge, but because of the DC/DCC question, plus the poor availability of models in the UK it's a question that's not easy to answer. A GP35 is a good size, but perhaps modelled as a GP38-3, probably no dynamic brakes either... alternatively I've always fancied a GP15 and they seem to be used more in Canada these days... or do I go back in time, out of my timeframe and use a RSC-14 from Rapido, and do a branch line based around Halifax and the Chester sub... I haven't worked out when they were retired yet...

The two ideas are floating around something based in Nova Scotia, or something in Saskatchewan. That's about all so far, but Google Earth is helping with some research, although sadly, the Chester sub in Halifax is long gone...

In the meantime, I have been working on an old Walthers box car that I'd never weathered. I've worked from photos (the internet is a real boon for this, and the period I'm modelling means there are more photos online) and tried to capture the feel of this, this is new territory for me, yes things weather in the same way, but the colours and patterns are not familiar to me, so I've found it a challenge, but an enjoyable one.

So where will this 'adventure' end up, who knows... I've got lots of ideas at the moment for different projects in different scales. I'm planning to focus my narrow gauge interests in 7/8ths and sell a lot of the rest of the 009 and 006.5, I've got Industrial for OO, so the GWR may go... the 'light railway' is still something I'm keen to look at, so for now, the Hornby Terriers are safe... the BR dock shunters are already on eBay and some of the layouts are moving on to new homes. I find that if I have too many 'distractions' I actually find myself creatively stifled, it's hard to explain. A good clear out helps focus the mind, as well as funding new adventures. Wherever the journey takes me it will be good fun, and continue to blend all the aspects of railway / railroad modelling that I love. More soon...

(PS happy to consider North American modelling commissions - get in touch).