I don't remember exactly when my passion for American railroading first developed. I was probably well aware of both the prototype and models for a long time before I actually took the plunge, as UK model railway magazines weren't as insular back then - both 'Model Railway Constructor' and 'Model Trains' regularly carrying overseas content. But a significant watershed was certainly a chance encounter with the American 'Model Railroader' magazine via a Baltimore & Ohio modelling manager at work. I started to dabble in things US, as many modellers do.
At some point in the 1980s, US HO derailed my UK P4 modelling completely. Although I'd had great success modelling LNWR and MR steam in P4, my heart had always belonged to diesels. It was difficult to keep the faith with UK D&E products when they were sitting next to cheaper, more reliable and more prototypical equipment from across the pond. Try as I might, I couldn't delude myself that a crude Lima blob with some chunky whitemetal lumps stuck onto it was in any way 'finescale' just because it had 18.83mm gauged wheelsets and was jerking along some GWR bullhead track. On top of this, the emphasis on modelling railway systems rather than stock seemed to capture the romance of the iron horse far better than anything home-grown.
Some time later in the 1980s, however, my interest faltered. This was nothing to do with the prototype or it's modelling appeal, just that I became fed up with Atlas limited production runs selling out before I could afford them. As a young adult with limited financial resources and a taste for up-market hi-fi, there was only so far I could stretch. I didn't have the purchasing flexibility of multiple credit cards that I now enjoy. I never lost my fascination with US modelling, but my inability to sustain it at the 'main layout project' level relegated it to a sideline interest.
I returned again in the mid 1990s after being tempted by the Victors stand at Warley. To this day the market is still plagued by the limited production run concept, but I've got more credit cards now so I can just about keep up. The silky smooth running of a Kato SD45 or the fine detailing on a Proto 2000 GP30 are rewarding indeed and this is where my modelling interests mainly lie. I still potter in P4, build wagons in 7mm and, since early 2001, have tried to build a large UK mainline layout in OO, foolishly believing that better quality products were on their way in sufficient quantities to support such a venture. But throughout that period there's never been a time when the US trains didn't roll...
