One of those strange things that I tend to find with some of the model railway fraternity is the fact that their activities seem to be solely designed with the adult in mind, whereas at least half of an exhibition audience would consist of children under eleven years of age.
So you haven't noticed it before ?
Just go to your local exhibition and analyse the crowds - the vast majority will be around the big tail-chasing layout in the middle, and speaking from experience (two small children - see picture for details !) I find that the little ones have a better appreciation of the hobby than the adult visitors.
The same guidelines appear to apply to model-railway clubs in general, and I have found problems with taking my own children to assist me in the building of the club layout because I have taken the 'ankle-biters' with me ..... is this reverse-ageist descrimination ? (Note that the 3mm Herts group members have all welcomed me with my children without exception - this spirit is commendable.)
I'm beginning to ramble here, so back to the subject in hand - layout design.
Most layouts on the exhibition scene average about 1m in eye-level height, which is eye-level to the average 5 year old and about 20cm too high for the average 2 year old.(Tip for modellers with young children - buy a kneeling stool from your DIY shop, as it saves you holding them up all the time, and the better ones have a compartment for those drinks and biscuits !)
The problem we have is that half of our children (or one quarter of the audience) can't see the action, and make such a fuss that it ruins it for everyone - now you can understand why the modelling fraternity is not children-friendly !
So here's what I think - why can't we build our layouts split level so that one part is visible at the 80cm level, and the rest at 1m !
Or trackwork at 1m, but an embankment dropping to 80cm so that the view upwards is possible - just think how impressive that arched-bridge spanning the river would look from a lower-level rather than from above.
With these thoughts in mind, I'm thinking of modifying the design of Burrafield Junction such that the main crossings are replaced by bridges, and the pointwork is merely to change from fast to slow lines, so that I can just sit and watch trains rather than work myself to death ...... I might even build this completely from plain track and add it to the layouts list with building before Burrafield so that I have some time to build a few more points !
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June 1999
