That Bucolic Silo…

“Adjacent to the station is the goods yard, and my purpose in visiting was to photograph the Blue Circle cement distribution depot there, arranged in advance with the kind permission of the depot manager who seemed mildly bemused at the thought of someone travelling across England in mid-summer, ignoring beaches, banquets and beautiful girls to take photographs of a cement depot...” Martin Pitt, MRJ Compendium 1988.

Not the first time I’ve opened a blog with those words, but probably the last, for whilst I’m not ‘finished’ the layout is complete. I regularly enjoy it here in the workshop, to get lost in a slice of late 1980s / early 1990s, to play trains in its comforting enclosed surroundings. That passage though, from the Compendium ended with a ‘competition’, to send in photos of a completed layout inspired by the article depicting a similar silo in a 1980s setting. A good friend Paul suggested that it might be nice to close the circle and submit a few photos to Model Railway Journal and neither of us could remember a ‘winner’ being announced in the years that have since passed. I printed out a couple of photos and wrote a letter, submissions to MRJ still require good old fashioned pen and paper. I shared a couple of the photos with Chris…

It’s here the work starts to really feel “familiar”

And also a statement on what it’s like when we start from model railways. That a model railway source became inspiration for a model railway work. 

I know Bucolic Silo is a real place and someone’s real experience but your point of contact is to the magazine, the Compendium.

Chris touches on something that is a subconscious thread through the new book. The art of railway modelling. Paxton Road 2 is a blend of nostalgia but the sources are not my own but that of others through the pages of books and old magazines. Painters, sculptors and even musicians have created wonderful pieces through the study of others - but do we feel that only primary inspiration can result in truly great modelling? Fuel for my own fire comes from the relationships I have with other modellers, their enthusiasm and personal passions may not mirror my own but their work and energy infuses my models and layouts and I am grateful for the broad church of model railways.

I can see the original article from the MRJ compendium as well as hundreds of other personal sources, model railways absorbed through books, magazines and exhibitions that inform and educate this small 500mm slice of faux reality, woven with memories both real and secondary from my growing collection of ‘period’ books.

In todays interconnected world it is never easier to share, enjoy and find inspiration for our craft. This is not of secondary value, rather a fuel to create and share again, to pass it forwards and see where mindful study can take both ourselves, our friends and those that only experience the work through their own secondary sources. That’s probably enough for today, I hope you enjoy the weekend, have enjoyed these photos and perhaps consider these words? Until next time, more soon…

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