Section Members
Paul 'Sparks' Joel
Paul has been with the section from the start, and has the somewhat dubious honour of being the first Junior member of AMRG. Paul has two American interests currently - HO, with a Colorado/Logging bent, and On30 (also Colorado and Logging) and is currently designing an On30 exhibition layout. Paul is currently the Treasurer and the WebMaster of AMRG.
My first 'trainset' was a circle of track, some British diesel (I remember it was blue) and a couple of BR coaches - I don't actually remember getting them, just having them and that the wires for the controller stuck in the carpet.
My first real memory was at the start of the Alton Model Railway Group, then the Alton Model Club: Railway Group, when my father Roger Joel and Steve Cook begun playing with what at the time appeared to be a large table-like construction, which would eventually become the Groups first layout, Welles (called Wellow at the time). My father and Steve took the unusual course of building the layout at exhibitions as a demonstration piece, gaining quite a reputation in the process, and taking me along sometimes.
As I got somewhat older I began attending exhibitions to operate the layout (which I still do on occasion). Being short enough on money not to be able to buy locos, I begun building models of trucks for the layout, most of which were never finished. I also spent time building model aircraft, again most of were never finished.
At this point, Tony Rogers appeared with an American layout, Black Frog Creek, which he let me operate at exhibitions. Having now discovered American, and having some money to buy some bits, I rapidly became hooked. It was not long after this that the American minded of us in the Group got together to start a new section of the Group, and to plan and build a new modular layout - Pine Bluffs Depot.
As construction was properly begun however, University beckoned. Being stuck in North Wales you would think would lead to more modelling, but with a lack of American stock to work on I became interested in the Games Workshop wargamming figures instead (most of which were never finished - there appears to be a theme developing!).
By the time I had finished Uni, Pine Bluffs was finished and Yu-Bend was well underway. Being back around the Group got my interest in American moving again, and we regularly went out with Pine Bluffs to exhibitions.
Having been content with modelling HO however some bright spark at Bachmann decided to start releasing On30 stuff which I thought was absolutely brilliant - I'm now building up a good selection of stock in On30, both ready-to-run and kits (some of which are nearly finished!), and am even planning a layout which hopefully I'll be starting soon. I'm still modelling in HO of course - when you are operating and building layouts in HO its difficult not to still model in it!
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Section Members
Meet the men behind the legend - the members of the AMRG American section
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Danger: Men at Work
The section work on many things at once - find out whats going on at the moment
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Alton Limited
The section runs an all american meet in july every year
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