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The first train set I had was a Hornby clockwork set with a few extra bits of track dad got from a friend of his. I think the loco was a Jinty (but it was so long ago I’m not sure) with 4 goods wagons. From there I went on to a 3 rail Hornby which was the in thing. Trouble was that as we were in Rhodesia at the time, 1950’s and we could only get train sets and a few things like tin stations, signal box, and a bridge. Points were something you ordered from the UK and then waited from 6 to 9 months to get. We were very limited on anything we wanted, and if someone with a name or money wanted the thing you ordered then the shop would sell them your order, then say that the order must have been lost. Many gave up modelling because of this cheating. Others were lucky enough to have family who travelled to the UK and were able to bring bits back. One chap told us that he was going back to the UK for a 3 month training course and would get what we wanted in the UK. Dad gave him some money to get a set of coaches and 4 sets of points. This was not easy for him as it cost a lot more than he could afford. As we had not heard from the guy 5 months later, dad went to his home only to find that it was empty. The chap next door said that we were not the first to come looking for him. Well that was the end of model railways for me in Rhodesia. Dad went on to become a top railway policeman in Botswana years later. One night he was called to a passenger train where a fight had started in the bar and a lot of damage was done. Two men were arrested. One just happened to be someone who was going to get my railway parts for me some years back. 3 years in a Botswana prison helped him to think of the young boy he had upset all those years ago.
Syd
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