Within a month of my arrival back in the homeland, the town of Wells played host to an exhibition which included not one, but two Proto:87 layouts. The first was Brian Harrap's "ZOB", which is based on an Austrian town and features jacquard-like tripple-gauge track all running beneath equally complicated overhead wire. Brian tells me that he was forced to pioneer in P:87 over ten years ago when he realized that standard HO practices would not allow some of the features he had planned. In some cases, he would have needed a rail and a flangeway in the same place!
The second layout at RailWells belonged to the well-known author and editor, Iain Rice. Iain's layout is of Dutch prototype, which enables him to swap rolling stock and locomotives with a very active group of P:87 modellers in the Netherlands. As Iain says, it is the stock that takes all the time, so being able to share is an important consideration in these early days.
As I say, the P:87 community in the Old World is thriving, at least at the exhibitions. Across the Atlantic, we have once again managed to provide a small, display at the NMRA National convention. This year's annual meet took place in Madison, Wisconsin. This was unfortunately the same display I brought last year. Hopefully it will be improved by the time it makes its next appearance.
Apart from a couple of truly major exhibitions, like the NMRA National convention, the exhibitions in North America have a very regional draw. Consequently the North American Proto:87 boosters have been concentrating on getting Proto:87 articles into the popular press. So far we have seen a couple by Gil Stratton in Railroad Model Craftsman and the Narrow Gauge and ShortLine Gazette. I have also published a general article in the NMRA Bulletin; this article marks the first stage in amending the relevant recommended practices. As well, I have submitted an article to Model Railroad Planning which describes my thoughts about designing a layout meant to demonstrate Proto:87.
This "showcase" is already under way. As I mentioned in my last editorial, I started it in January. By June, with the flight date rapidly approaching, it was at a point where a couple of carefully framed photographs could be taken and submitted for publication. This layout is based very closely on its prototype, and it is amazing how, even with many unfinished areas and a lot of track missing, the photographs have an almost unconscious sincerity - they simply feel right, although it's difficult to pinpoint why. Unfortunately, the town of Pembroke would not fit into one of my three suitcases no matter how I folded it. So, my time here in the UK will be devoted to building buildings, rolling stock and locomotives to populate the village.
