I'm not often in during the day, so it was fortunate I was around today to take custody of an unexpected parcel. Look at what was in it!
Locomotive, coal tender and wind up key
I didn't know Hornby were made by Meccano, but apparently so. It says so on the back of the locomotive.
It comes with a key so you can wind it up! It has two gears: forwards and backwards.
And it sits on a 32mm O Gauge track just so.
Train. Viaduct. Moss.
It is Perfect.
No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat - ONLY A TRAIN
Now, if I hadn't mentioned before the previous owner used the track to run somewhat larger trains and the sight of this one - not being 16mm to the foot scale - may cause CONSTERNATION. Here's why.
My colleague Gill took me aside at work last week and explained carefully, and with heavy overtones of warning, that model railways were a bottomless hole to fall down. Her dad has smaller model railways and goes to events and has recordings of trains and all sorts. I don't need that hassle - you've seen the rest of my website, I have cephalopods to make out of felt. Yes, yes, I said, but I can manage it. I'll be safe. So I wasn't worried when I joined the 16mm Association (https://www.16mm.org.uk) as recommended by my railway's builder and the former house owner.
16mm refers to the scale of the locomotives: 16mm to the foot. This means you get trains which are about the size of a small shoebox, but with narrow little axles. That's nice and one day I may well get one, even though the name of the scale offends me because it mixes units. This smaller train that is NOW MINE (and it IS a train, surely, because there are two things coupled together) is O Gauge and to scale, so the wheels are the size they ought to be compared to the size of the locomotive. Its scale is 7mm to the foot (seriously people) or 1:43.5 (which is somehow just as depressing but is at least better than 1:19.05 which is what 16mm is).
Gill and I caught up again this week and she looked worried. Apparently 16mm people don't talk to smaller scale and O Gauge people and vice versa. This is not a drill. Apparently it's serious. What? Have I nailed my colours to a mast without realising it? Shall I instead choose to Mix Trains? Is this like when my sister plays Ma Jong and decides to collect all of the suits just so she can win despite the inelegance and corresponding low score? Is my railway as UNCLEAN as her dirty hand of bamboos, circles and numbers? Is this like having an opening hand with a hidden Pung of circles and three pairs of bamboos? Do I have to choose my railway affiliation over my train?
I may be in trouble.
However, I am the new Railway Manager Now and I don't need rules so there. I can have both sorts if I want to and LET THE WHOLE RAILWAY WORLD EXPLODE.
Gill and I decided that if you're going to break the rules, you have to break the rules HARD so I'm going to take her suggestion, throw convention off of the viaduct and next time build a locomotive shaped like a dragon out of parts.
For now, I have the One Henbury Train. And it is Mine.
---
All the thanks in the world to my parents, who stealth posted me the train.