Calm words of encouragement…

I was almost 9 when I stepped foot on Canadian soil. The railways; the interest, the emotion hasn’t left me… it isn’t for everyone but for me it’s personal… 

Harris, Saskatchewan, August 1989. Keith Hilton photo.

I honestly had every intention of focusing on a OO gauge urban project, somewhere to provide a home for the Accurascale Pacer that is on pre-order. 

But here we are, back Prairie day dreaming. 

It was conversation with Will Lloyd that perhaps crystallised this sense of course correction, the wind changed and I’m back there, scouring my memory for scraps of reality - but really, I think I’m searching for a sense of connection with my Dad, gone now for some 16 years…

It was Dad who loved Canada. His passion and my interest in railways coalesced in the ‘great last project’ and the reason I have such fond memories of lying on my back under baseboards soldering up point motor wiring all around the double garage (as well as later, going to the pub afterwards). I was lucky to have the opportunity to travel with him in my late teens and early twenties, exploring together as I became a man. I wasn’t ready for him to pass when his health deteriorated so quickly.

I find plenty of challenges in my life today and I miss the man who helped ground me, who always had time for my energetic ideas and a kind, calm word of encouragement. I suspect the proximity of Father’s Day has me longing for that connection once more - a common theme here over the years.

‘Almost 9’ means I celebrated my birthday somewhere between Calgary and Vancouver - and I chose a zebra striped Bachmann F7 from the model shop before we came home… now, with a moment of meloncholy, an N gauge example has joined the collection and thoughts turn once more to how to represent these feelings and experiences; the vastness of the Prairies and the close embrace of a parent, in a cameo composition… perhaps an entry in the ‘not a competition’ with the re-launch of Iain’s cameo layouts book… or perhaps a passing emotion. Perhaps indeed that urban OO project is a safer bet as we all know where my previous emotion fuelled projects have led (Bear Creek, Gerald Road).

Thank you for indulging me this morning. I’m tired, the dogs are good company and it is warm in the partial sun in the lounge. I consider you all here with me. A safe place to remember, to reflect and to reconnect. Until next time, more soon…

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