The ‘unpopularity’ of N…

I can hear this photo. The ‘tractor’ idling, the distinctive lolloping burble. This model is tiny, yet in my imagination she’s huge, full size even. I’ve always thought the 37s and 50s looked ‘heavy’ with their low tapered body, hugging the figure like a pencil skirt…

I love this model. I love N gauge.

Heavy too, a real heavyweight, the 37/7. Not bought but built, modified and crafted with a love of the hobby, the prototype and for telling stories. The power of these little toys isn’t in how many wagons they can pull but instead, how far they can transport us through remembered or imagined stories and time travel.

Yes she is N too…

N gauge. Perhaps forgotten? Written off as a curiosity at best, unworkable at worst - yet when discovered by those looking for answers, those maybe following their own version of my journey, it becomes everything. The ‘why didn’t I come here sooner’. 

I’ve always liked being on ‘the edge’, looking forwards, working on what is possible and shining a light to guide others… be that in music, mountain biking or my previous career as a Chartered Engineer. Today I’m in the comforting world of my first real love, model railways, here again too at the edge. N gauge isn’t all chunky Peco track, Farish Poole flanges and massive couplings… it’s capable of a finesse, of serious story telling, of feeling larger than it really is… but a little more too… of feeling magical. I build models from the heart and for myself. However I hold a hope that by sharing my stories and their humble beginnings, that others may see there is a world beyond the bulk of O or the hype of TT:120. One with even greater potential. Welcome to modern N gauge.

With a commission modellers hat on, I am happy to bring your OO gauge and larger models to life, The finish you see here is my love of the hobby, my love of the prototype - and when we work together I ask you about your memories and help weave those stories into the result. Let me bring your dreams to life, get in touch for a personal proposal - the modelling commissions page has more details.

Until next time, more soon…

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