DLR Garden Rail Update - January 2009
By Mark Thatcher
Well, its that time of year again for frozen points, frozen fingers and for me to turn my attention to modelling matters of an indoors nature. Thankfully I have had a lot to catch up with as I am so far behind with writing many articles for Garden Rail Magazine that are long overdue!
"where next... Hollywood perhaps..."
It’s an important job – brought home to me on last weekends visit to Glendale Junction, when I met a gentleman called Lindsay (hope I’ve spelt it right) who, with his family and neighbours, in a sort of infectious disease way, decided to build a railway, and was busy steaming his first live steam purchase a Roundhouse Silver Lady.
Now, when I am introduced to a stranger I am just plain old Mark, but it soon was mentioned by others in the conversation that I write for Garden Rail. I have to say I was quite humbled as I was asked to sign one of my articles for his family – where next… Hollywood perhaps… more likely Holyhead!
"A sneak preview"
Still - it was a nice moment in time and set my mind on the thought that actually people do sometimes read my inane ramblings. So this, combined with the many questions I have been asked over the years about my involvement in Garden Rail (the hobby and the magazine) prompted this short discourse.
I have a few articles in the pipeline by the way, and here is a sneak preview!
Our Own Line...
Our own line, the DLR will be featured as the line of the month in the spring. I hope the centre page spread paginates OK as it is a colour 150-photo montage of our entire line from a six-foot perspective. It took me 7 hours to stitch all the photos together.
Also coming up is a feature on a superb modular concrete viaduct, made by Cain Howley Structures, who will be rolling his products out this year. At £100 for a 3 span, 6 feet viaduct they are great value for money.
Jackson's Miniatures
Also a review on Jackson’s Miniatures is due out soon. Steve Jackson makes doll’s house kits but rather cleverly has adapted this technique to embrace the garden railway scene. I really enjoyed building his engine shed kit and writing about it.
Credit Crunching
Finally, in these credit crunching times, I thought I might have a bit of fun so wrote “Credit crunching for under a ton” during which I attempt to build a working loco and three wagons for under a hundred quid. And did I succeed? Well you’ll just have to buy the magazine and find out for yourself.
So, below is a sample of the many questions I have been asked over the years. The list is certainly not exhaustive and if you have any others, then join our forum and you can ask me them there!
FAQs
What qualifies you to be Garden Rail’s regular “Buildings, Structures and Kits” columnist?
Nothing at all really! Like most people, I started from the ground and worked up. I suppose I have built 50 or so buildings for our railway since 1996 and the more I build, the braver I get. I don’t just accept because it’s written down on the instruction sheet it will be right and I am constantly challenging my own and others’ building techniques.
How did you get started?
Purely by accident really – as a TV scriptwriter I suppose I had a head start in the literary department, but other than that I write about my passion and I hope that comes across in my articles – plus possibly I can pass on some useful hints and tips I have learnt over the years.
How can you remain impartial?
That’s sometimes difficult as we all have our favourites. I am into British Outline Buildings (the company and the style) but hot on their heels there is some stiff competition. I think there is room for all in this relatively small market and I try to extol the virtues of everything I review, whilst mentioning any pitfalls in a fair and balanced way that, I hope, allows me to remain independent from any one supplier.
Have you ever taken stick from a bad review?
Of course, that’s part of the business as naturally each company thinks their products are the best. They are rightly proud of them and have sunk a good deal of time, R&D and money in to their product, and don’t like to see it criticised – but I try to do so in an objective way… that’s my job! Sometimes kits are modified as a result of my input as often I will receive a pre-production sample to review.
Do you get freebies?
Yes, occasionally but not as often as you might think! The suppliers in this business actually work on very tight margins – they are not selling to a mass-market. The downside of getting freebies to review, is that I might not actually choose to build and review the item for myself – so end up being lumbered building something I really have no use for. Thankfully that is rare though.
Do you get paid?
Yes, a very small amount per page – it really is a get-rich-slow-scheme! After all, I have to build the building before I can write about it, then spend money on the glue and paint, then photograph it, organise the article, then finally send the completed article off to Tag Gorton, the editor. So factoring that lot in, I certainly don’t make money, but I write because I enjoy writing – hence this article for the club’s website!
What is your best article to date?
I have two favourites, both featuring our own railway. The first is an article called “The Long Way Round” which appeared in GRM issue 150 and extolled the virtues of having a semi-permanent layout, on our patio, which transmogrified every year into a different layout. The second is the story of how Flo and I built the “new and improved DLR” in just 7 weeks. I understand this will be going to press in the spring.
Can you choose what you review?
Largely yes, I review the stuff I build and I build the stuff I want. I try to build things that are relevant to railway modelling today and keep the stories as varied as I can. I am probably less of a rivet counter than some and sometimes come across as too flippant, but that’s me all over really. After all – its got to be fun.
Will you carry on writing for Garden Rail?
No, not forever. It is a time-consuming pastime and I often find at this time of year I am playing catch-up, with some review samples being a year old. I enjoy it presently, but when I get bored, or there is nothing new or exciting to review, I will probably slow down a bit, but that time is not now.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Firstly, KISS – keep-it-simple-stupid! Secondly, don’t indulge in too much technical bafflegaff, it will alienate your readership – you are not showing off by doing this, just making yourself less accessible. Thirdly - structure your story, it needs a beginning, middle and an end. You would be surprised how many people forget this. Finally write with fire in your belly… if you are not passionate about this hobby why should your reader be?
Tell us a secret!
I am dyslexic, and rely on a spell-checker and my wife, Flo, to correct my articles. (By the way why is dyslexia such a hard word to spell correctly anyway!) She hass note done this won, so apologgies in advancce!
Back Issues
If you would like to read Marks favourite article then back issues are still available. To order please contact
Atlantic Editions
West Street
Bourne
Lincolnshire PE10 9PH
Tel: (0)1778 392032
E: colletted@warnersgroup.co.uk
UK £3.85 plus £1 p&p per issue
Europe £3.85 plus £1.50 p&p per issue
Rest of World £3.85 plus £2.50 p&p per issue
Prices correct at time of publication.