Andrew Coward
The Isle of Westland Railway exists in my mind ...........................and in 16mm scale within a small garden in Kent running on 32mm gauge track. It is a small garden railway, trying to look like a big garden railway, within a small garden ! Plot size is about 25 X 30 feet.
It represents part of a 2 foot narrow gauge railway system on an imaginary island off the south coast of England. For inspiration I look to the real Isle of Man railways (although these are 3 foot gauge) and also memories I have of holidays on the Isle of Wight when I got to ride on the standard gauge steam trains there before electrification took place.
The 'self contained' atmosphere of an island railway system appeals to me. I also have agreat liking for the USA Maine 2 foot gauge lines which served similar needs to the Welsh lines but several grew to much greater trackage totals. My railway 'system' has to cope with summer tourist visitors, plus supply the needs of the island population by way of goods traffic. I place the line in the time frame of late 1950's/early 1960's and it is begining to feel the effect of the growth of road competition. The island suffers from a poor road system meaning a greater reliance still on rail services for goods items.
Having been in the hobby for over 20 years, my line has seen several rebuilds resulting from mistakes made and lessons learned. Plus the fact that the hobby has evolved and expanded meaning that many more and better quality models are now available.
While I do build some items myself, I am perfectly happy to use what is available through the trade as long as it fits within scale and suitability criteria. Why reinvent the wheel? There is just so much to do and so little time if you are going to build a railway! I do like to make models look like the real world 'appearance' wise and have gained a reputation as a 'mad weatherer', in that I tend to get to work with paint to reflect the effect of life outdoors for the full sized prototypes.
Although I admire those who limit themselves to an attempt at recreating a particular prototype..........this is not for me as I find it too restricting. Put me down as a 'modeller seeking realism in the way my line looks and operates ' rather than accurate representation of a real specific prototype.
This is a great hobby and I am learning more all the time. Each project I undertake, I try to improve on what has gone before. I don't always succeed but its fun trying !
My line has also had to use 'foliage' to conceal the small area available. This is mainly by the use of small Fir trees and plants such as Hebe to create 'backdrop' screens between adjoining tracks. The aim is to recreate the sort of scenery here in the south and for my line to be part of a landscape.
Further details can be found at my line's web site at ..................http://isleofwestland.webs.com/
Andrew Coward , Kent
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