Backscene
Chris Leigh hijacks the ‘Present Your Case’ idea to ask why manufacturers have avoided a unique English narrow gauge railway.
In recent years manufacturers have had to explore new avenues in order to attract buyers. You can only rework the Class 31 or Class 37 so many times and it has been noticeable that each time a newer, more ‘state-of-the-art’ model has been mooted, there has been a small but vociferous group of modellers who have said they are happy with the old Lima model that they super‐detailed years ago.
So, manufacturers have looked elsewhere for things that are different enough to entice new purchasers – Heljan’s ‘OO9’ Lynton & Barnstaple locomotives, Bachmann’s Ffestiniog Fairlies and quarry Hunslets, EFE’s Tube train, Hornby’s Liverpool & Manchester stock, and then revamped ‘TT:120’. The latter might also be seen as Hornby adopting narrow gauge – at least a narrower gauge than ‘OO’!