Greetings from Northeast England!

[Andy_847]

Hi everyone, 

 

Thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Andy and I currently reside just outside of Darlington, a stones throw away (quite literally!) from what remains of the trackbed of the old Darlington & Stockton railway. Not much more than a distant memory and public footpath nowadays, although an old block-type sleeper did resurface not long ago, just to keep us reminded!

 

I've had an interest in railways for quite some time now. As far back as I can remember as a very small child riding countless journeys back and forth on the NYMR, or the Ravenglass & Eskdale line was another firm favourite. In terms of the hobby, I had your typical Hornby double track oval with a few sidings here and there. This layout gave me many years of enjoyment, watching loco's and stock go round and round in every configuration possible. Sadly after a good 5-6 years of running, a water leak in the roof brought and end to this layout. I never really got over the loss I had suffered (I may joke now, but there were tears!) and thus quite tragically lost contact and interest in the hobby. Probably in the teenage years at a guess, around the time I discovered girls and occasional underage drinking behind the cricket pavilion...

 

I guess you could say I'm all grown up now. I live with my partner Charlotte and we have a little dog called Poppy. No children, so some may say now is a good time than ever to get back into the hobby.. while the cash is still in my pocket! 

 

In terms of my more recent experience with the hobby, I picked up a few bits of track and a loco with some stock about a year ago. I haven't ventured into too much. I've had a few basic ovals with some sidings set up. I'd hoped to have gotten deeper into the hobby by now, though work and life as we all know has a say in this. Only recently have I found the time to pick it up in more doses. I'm no stranger to modelling and scenery, being a keen 1/35th scale modeller of various contraptions.. mostly armour and war time vehicles, so that side of things should be no problem at all. The only area that may prove a good challenge is wiring and electrics. I Have acquired a few books and Brian Lambert's website is proving very informative and interesting so far.

 

Other than that, I don't think there is anything else to add? 

 

I look forward to making acquaintances with you. If any of you are attending the Redcar & Cleveland show this weekend I may see you.. not that I know what any of you look like!

 

Andy

[dhjgreen]

Welcome aboard

[MarkC]

Welcome aboard - plenty of us from NE England on here 😎

[BoD]

Welcome from the Costa del Durham

[43110andyb]

Welcome from another Andy living in Darlington!

    (I’m near to the former Barton/Merrybent branch but that’s less obvious now unfortunately as it’s under the A1[M]). 
   

 PS- When your not RM-webbing Pop along to the Darlington MRC at the Head of Steam! 
 

[Darlington_Shed]

Greetings from another Darlington lad, although I've been exiled dahn sarf for more than 40 years.

[Andy_847]

1 hour ago, 43110andyb said:

Welcome from another Andy living in Darlington!

    (I’m near to the former Barton/Merrybent branch but that’s less obvious now unfortunately as it’s under the A1[M]). 
   

 PS- When your not RM-webbing Pop along to the Darlington MRC at the Head of Steam! 
 

Hi Andy! 
 

I was planning on visiting the show that’s coming up, but now that I know there is a club in Darlington, I might just pop along!