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“It’s very good”
- Australian Attorney General Phillip Ruddock
Ahoy all,
I had the pleasure of exhibiting the rejuvinated Point Brique Historic Cable
Railway as a standalone exhibit at the 21st Annual St Lukes Model Railway
Exhibition on the weekend. I’ve been exhibiting non-Lego model railways (HO, N
and 1) there for the past 12 years, so it was quite a change to show a small
LEGO layout instead.
The PBHCR itself had formed a part of the Sydney Lego Train Club (SLTC) layout
at the AMRA Hurstville Exhibition, but had sustained a bit of damage in transit
to and fro, so it was rebuilt slightly. The grander, original vision for the
PBHCR was it be a feature in a seaside family recreation area, and so the St
Lukes Exhibition gave me an opportunity to approach that vision.
As exhibited, PBHCR features the PBHCR itself, an in-and-out 4.5V train (35+
years old and still going strong!), and several carnival rides. The Ferris Wheel
is a modified Creator set, the Ghost Train a smaller version of the one CM Stump
Dunn had as part of the SLTC layout (though mine features a dancing ghost on the
roof), while the Merry-Go-Round (carousel) is of my own design.
As a keen observer of community, I’ve long held that the key to exhibiting
trains is to get the viewers involved. Non-trainphiles are only happy to watch a
train navigating a circle for so long. And kids are prone to get grumpy if
presented with something profoundly interesting (a toy train!) and told sternly
“Don’t touch”.
My approach to dealing with this was many fold. Firstly, no endless circuits. A
zippy out and back, with the train disappearing into the tunnel each time.
Secondly, characters and scenes to get people interested and looking more deeply
- how many Harry Potters or Batmans could they find? Why was Santa Claus being
arrested (he was an imposter, the real one was riding the Ferris Wheel) Was that
really Steve Irwin wrestling the stingray?
Thirdly, though I made the layout interactive. Three switches on long cables
controlled the rides. The kids viewing (and the adults too, if they could get in
front of the kids), could press the buttons and run the rides. Vool. Kids would
arrive at the layout, their parents would intone “Don’t touch” for the umpteenth
time, and I’d say “Actually, you can’t touch the layout, but you can drive
part of it.”
Heaps of kids declared they were going home to build something out of Lego.
Heaps of older people recognised components from sets they’d had as a child. It
was a tour de force to be reckoned with, I reckon.
The St Lukes organisers were impressed, and PBHCR was awarded the prize for the
most entertaining layout. And I got Mr Ruddock’s endorsement. ;-)
More pics, of PBHCR and a couple of the other layouts
here, post moderation.
Cheers
Richie Dulin
(please consider your FUT if replying)
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