Childhood pin-up: Split headcode tractors…

Above my childhood bed was a favourite poster. Not of Kylie or Natalie Imbruglia* but of a pair of Class 37 on a rail tour, overshadowed by some magnificent mountain scenery…

A pair of split headcode, steam heat, large logo Class 37 to be exact. I loved it. Its shadow lies long on my life and early exposure through the poster combined with books from the library and articles in Railway Modeller have informed my life long love of Scottish railways. Indeed, much of this led to the Lochdubh branch moving from casual day dream to reality, a reality that now includes 4 locomotives, 7 carriages and 6 wagons to date…

I’ve owned a Large Logo 37 earlier in this project, a ready to run example straight from the masters in the Chinese factory. Lowered and weathered she graced early photos of Lochdubh and set the tone of a late 80s period. Dreams of moving beyond the small HiFi cameo to another section of the fictional branch led to further research and a decision to turn the clock back to the late spring of 1984, allowing Class 26 and 37 to rub shoulders and for large logo to have crept in, months before things would change forever with the installation of RETB signalling and the removal of signals and boxes… but that’s another story. With this back dating 37418 found a new home and my Scottish stable lacked a large logo model. 

Those split headcode 37s on that poster… 

I picked up another ‘dutch’  liveried split headcode 37 before they became unavailable and stored it away for the future! Research showed 37035 was a good candidate; but I’d already modelled her in plain blue. Further research showed 37025 was also an early large logo recipient and Inverness based to boot, my only slight reticence the fact that people would assume I’d backdated the Farish model! A full strip and repaint allowed me to remove the central headlight on the sealed door, fill the panels and recessed grab handles on the body side and modulate the finish in a way that’s not possible when modifying or renumbering an out of the box machine. Lowered too, adding mass and further realism. The paint using the same shades and colours make her feel part of the fleet, the weathering bringing the otherwise quite bright livery down a few notches. Perfect. Car headlights a finishing touch and I’m happy, I handle her and feel the same excitement as memories of that poster conjure in my mind, perhaps my heart…

 

Through this journey I’ve not just created a miniature, I’ve exercised some deep and entirely positive memories and experienced new warm feelings… the mindful pursuit of craft; the process itself a chance to disconnect from the worries, the stress of real life. Railway Modelling is not an escape, but the process of creation is a soothing balm, and more, the connection through childhood nostalgia certainly seems part of the story for many of us… however the results of our endeavours transcend the plastic and metal parts only when we share their story. Not of the creative processes, but the fuel for the creation itself, our memories, our reasons… helping others understand what it is we’re exploring and sharing in this form. Until next time, more soon…

*Natalie was on my bedroom door though!

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