Prairie promise…

I don’t have space for this project. There, I’ve said it, it is in black and white, I do not have space to build the layout these models, these dreams need…

North of Drumheller, August 1999. James Hilton photo.

At the weekend a box of six wonderful dream carriers, sorry grain cars arrived from Vancouver. There are more to come too, but already the excitement of lining them up and seeing my Canadian grain train expand to 400% its original size is almost indescribable.

At the weekend I also began to work out how much space my prairie day dreams require - having accepted that this house and my workshop don’t allow for such extravagance I felt free to dream big. A single, even better double garage converted to a railway room, around the walls and with a peninsula, a complete system branchline. Miles and miles of flat grassland with nothing but the elevators standing sentry along the steel ribbons to give a sense of scale, of distance…

But is that what I would want? Once I’ve built one prairie station wouldn’t they all be the same? What I think I really want is to watch a grain train running through suitable scenery and a small town. That can happen again and again in a round and round scheme… and better, the duplication is deliberate rather than accidental. Only one town to build and many to imagine…

Progress? Lochdubh has its station! A second elevator kit is arriving shortly, I’ve plans to build a few structures from Dad’s slides… the one day will arrive and in the meantime the today will enjoy the journey. Until next time, more soon…

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