The
Train Collectors Society
‘Any make, Any gauge, Any age’
|
‘Any make, Any gauge, Any age’
|
|
The hobby of toy trains covers a wide spectrum. At one end it merges with model railways where you are building a layout that tries to represent a real railway system but using the products or standards of a commercial manufacturer rather than a general modeler's standard (for example, a German outline layout with Marklin standards) - what in the US is called hi-rail modeling. At the other end is the collector, not interested in running but determined to own every variation of a particular range or locomotive or whatever. Most of us are somewhere in between. We enjoy operating, but we also are not averse to the thrill of the collecting chase. The historical aspect is also important to many of us, we want to know what was made, by whom and possibly why, without necessarily owning or running. This desire to know feeds many of the articles in the TCS News, and of course there is now a wide range of literature about toy trains - but there are still many gaps in our knowledge to await fresh minds. Of course, there is an aspect of nostalgia about it all, many of us had train sets when we were children and are now recreating the dreams we could never realise when small. But we try to encourage younger enthusiasts, and plenty of the membership indulge in models that have little or no connection with their childhood. Whatever an individual's interests, it is an inclusive hobby. In the TCS we positively enjoy our different interests and the guy who builds a 2 1/2" live steamer happily exchanges ideas with the collector of Japanese tinplate. And while most of the membership is male, we do not believe that trains are just a boy's hobby, some girls always did play trains and probably more wanted to. You can now. More informationA (very) short history of toy trains New Cavendish - The Hornby Companion Series - a short history of this key series of books by Peter Gurd Other pages |
|
|
