Heritage Section
Welcome to the Heritage Section of our Website
This section is produced by the combined efforts of the
Association Heritage team and many friends. It does not claim to be
definitive, and relies heavily on the individual views of many
contributors. If you can to add to it, or have any comment on its
contents, then please feel free to contact the Heritage Team on
The Alderbrook Valley Railway - David Rowlands
THE ORIGINS OF OUR ASSOCIATION
The idea of using 16mm to the foot on '0' gauge track has
been around for a very long time. Around 1939 Model Railway News
carried a photograph of a Festiniog 0-4-0 tender loco with bug
boxes, electrically propelled and built by James Boyd, whose seminal
book 'Narrow Gauge Rails to Portmadoc' had still to appear in print.
The Ambledown Valley Railway - David Pinniger
Don Boreham feels that the embryo Merioneth Society in the
persons of Roger Marsh, David Newham and Tony Jenkins probably
introduced the scale to the public at the 1962 Model Railway Club
exhibition.
The Border Counties railway Archangel Brick 'Sir Humphrey' &
Train
- Jack Wheldon -
Unquestionably, however, the article which had most impact
and delineated the scale, outlined the motive power ( steam,
clockwork and electric ), and put it into a garden setting ( where
it belongs! ), was that by Brian Rogers and Allan Pratt in Model
Railway News, January 1959. A member of the Pratt-Rogers group, who
beat them into print, was R.M. Sinclair who briefly described his
'Peachley Valley Light Railway' in Model Railway Constructor for
March 1958. Interestingly, he mentions of knowing only 7 people
using the scale at that time!
The Clwyd & Dee - John Wenlock
We move on now to August 1973. Railway Modeller printed an
article by Jack Wheldon, entitled 'Raising the Pressure' on the
subject of modelling in 16mm. It lifted the profile of the hobby to
astronomical new heights, filled the order books of Stewart Browne
(Archangel) and established Jack as one of the foremost authors and
authorities of the time. It is worth recording, for anyone reading
this who is not currently an Association member, that the February
2009 issue of our quarterly magazine 16mm Today (SMT) carried a
reprint of this article. Most future SMT's will have a heritage
section with many more reprints, so why not join?
Stewart Browns line at Cock Lane showing a coal fired Jack in
full cry
The formation of our Association goes back to 1976, when
Graham Lamb, who was an active member of the local group of the
Welsh Highland Railway (1964), was visited by Barry Sumsion. Graham
was running his newly acquired Archangel Rheidol on some '0' gauge
track in the garden, and rapidly infected Barry with the idea of
modelling narrow gauge in 16mm to the foot. As they both thought
that they were not the only ones with this interest, adverts were
placed in Railway Modeller and the Welsh Highland magazine for
like-minded souls to get in touch. At this early stage, Graham had
been in touch with Jack Wheldon, following on from his
groundbreaking articles in the model railway press - though he was
not to join directly until later. He did however, by dint of living
close by, come and run trains on Graham's Tournament Road line.
The Compton Down Railway - Peter Jones
John Wenlock was also modelling out in the garden at his
parents home, and he soon arrived at Graham's to run his trains.
Soon after, a display was mounted at the Salisbury model railway
society exhibition, to much interest. It was decided to advertise
the formation of a 16mm club in the national press, and through Rose
Webb, who went on to become the first treasurer, the Freemantle
Church Hall in Southampton was booked. 36 people turned up for this,
from all parts, the furthest being John Foulds from Colne in
Lancashire. The enthusiasm of these pioneers was sufficient to
warrant a meeting at the home of Norman Bryant in Southampton in
early 1977 where, with his sons Jonathon and Roger, Rose and Andrew
Webb, Barry and Graham the Association as we know it today was born.
North Herts NG Railway - Peter Dobson
Graham Lamb was a larger than life character, with a very
irreverent outlook on life and no sufferer of fools. His boundless
enthusiasm was highly infectious, and there is no disputing the fact
that the Association would not have started, let alone flourished
without his personal drive. Barry Sumsion backed this by creating
and producing SMT and Exchange - the mere fact of them still being
in existence proving the worth of the concept.
The Penderford Valley Railway Archangel tender Rheidol & Brick
- Jeff Cooper -
Graham's own railway was called for a time the Phurcombe
Hall and Stonehenge Tramway, and on it ran a Gosling Glyn Valley
Tramway loco, called Phurcombe Hall. This loco appears to be the
prototype of the model, and is not only still in existence and
running, but made an appearance at the Association Stoneleigh
Exhibition in 2008.
HERITAGE LAYOUT AND DISPLAY
After an exploratory letter in Exchange suggesting a layout
at the Association AGM solely for running heritage trains, we
received very positive feedback. Three people therefore decided to
build a demonstration layout typical of those of the early days, and
associated display racking prior to the 2008 Show. Using a book
produced in 1985 by Peter Dobson ( referred to later ), 94 locos
were assembled for showing, and 36 ran on the day. Three of Graham's
original locos were present, and two ran.
The Phurcombe Hall & Stonehenge Tramway
'Sylvia' & 'Snowdon Ranger' at Tournament Road - Graham Lamb
The 2009 AGM saw the display increase to 126 locos, with a
Mamod feature, and over 70 items of rolling stock.
The Teranden Valley Railway - Stan Jones
Within the display, we would like to also have examples of
the varied range of accessories available in those early days. Apart
from the obvious locos and rolling stock, we use only period
trackwork on the layout, and are increasing the collection of
vintage buildings, figures and add-ons of the time. Literature and
photos will form a backbone part of this display, and any
contributions in this area would be appreciated.
SMT AND EXCHANGE
With the blessing of the Board of Directors and respective editors, there will be a dedicated heritage section in both Association publications. SMT will carry reprints of early articles, biographies of the early personalities, period photos and descriptions of heritage locos etc. Exchange will have a page which we intend to use as a 'where are they now?', can anyone identify this? and does anyone know the whereabouts of... and more. Contact us at heritage@16mm.org.uk if you have anything you want included
PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILM
Peter Dobson has kindly made his negative collection
available for eventual scanning. Many others have kindly supplied
original and copy prints to help build the archive. Thanks to Pat
Brewer we now have original footage from Graham Lamb's Tyn-y-Coed
project. Keith Skillicorn has been furiously filming heritage locos
running on his line, as well as recreating many iconic scenes in
miniature. We would welcome any additional material, static or
moving - we can never hope to have it all!
SOME RECOMMENDED READING
Garden Railways by Ray Tustin. Try your local library?
ABC of Narrow Gauge Railways by Ian Allan. Usually on eBay,
a small red covered book. Cheap but good early information.
Peter Jones and Model Railway Constructor produced a Garden
Railway Special in the early '80s.
16mm Live Steam Model Locomotives Vol 1 by Peter Dobson.
This book was the Bible for our first display at Stoneleigh.
Thoroughly recommended, it contains excellent b & w photos and
technical descriptions of some 70 odd locos of the time ( 1985 ),
and is often available on eBay for £15 to £20. Peter signed a large
number of the originals, to the point where it is suggested that an
unsigned copy is worth more!!
Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling by Don Boreham. The new
revised edition is recommended as having a higher 16mm content. Well
worth a read - I got my copy from Andrew Neale. We hope to have
Don's collection and working layout at a future AGM.
Dave Rowlands books on the Tralee & Dingle.
A Passion for Steam: Marc Horovitz . This may be a new
publication from Atlantic, but contains a wealth of heritage
information and pictures. A highly recommended read ( usual
disclaimers ).
Anything by J.I.C Boyd
The above does not take into account the absolute raft of
articles that appear in the then contemporary model railway press,
copies of many of which we are amassing and archiving. See above.
A FEW NOTABLE EARLY GARDEN RAILWAYS
- The Border Counties Railway - Jack Wheldon
- The Clwyd & Dee - John Wenlock
- The Phurcombe Hall & Stonehenge Tramway - Graham Lamb
- The Ambledown Valley Railway - David Pinniger
- The Alderbrook Valley Railway - David Rowlands
- The Compton Down Railway - Peter Jones
- The Penderfordd Valley Railway - Jeff Cooper
- The Teranden Valley Railway - Stan Jones
- North Herts NG Railway - Peter Dobson
- Cock Lane - Stewart Browne
