Cheshire Railway Modellers

Rhiannon is not actually a member of Cheshire Railway Modellers. The forum rules, as set out by the host network Proboards, do not permit members under 13 years of age. We do, however, welcome joint parent and child memberships for the benefit of juniors interested in the hobby.

Everybody has to start somewhere and the circle of track on the living room carpet is usually where that somewhere is.

It is well recognised that this is not the ideal place for a toy train though, the resulting collection of fluff on all moving parts does not do the engine any good so the railway did not stay here for long. A 3ft square sheet of plywood was on the shopping list for the next visit to B&Q.

Thomas was kindly donated by Footplate Models of Kidderminster when their trade stall was next to the CRM modular layout at Hagley Railfest and the little blue tank engine really deserves a continuous run so that he can achieve his true potential as a children's entertainer.

A 3ft square of plywood has been painted green and the track pinned down, lifting the railway off the floor and offering some better protection for the track pieces. Toy train track is designed to be put down and taken up repeatedly but such use does tend to loosen the fishplates. Being off the floor is also much better for the locos as they are less likely to bung up with carpet fluff.

The railway has a dedicated set of coaches so that Rhiannon does not have to borrow Dad's trains, which is nice.

The baseboard is home to an ever changing selection of buildings, depending upon what is currently in favour, but there is no fixed scenery other than the level crossings. This enables the layout to be stood on one side and hidden behind the settee when not in use.