The Rev Peter Denny.
It been reported that the Rev Peter Denny has passed was away aged 92. He was one of the first guys to push railway modeling forward after the war. For all of us who saw his layout it made us think about what we had built. Try and look out some old mags and see for yourselfs. We are all better for what Peter did for modeling in the 50s and 60s. RIP
pete waterman
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:07 pm
The Rev Peter Denny bought scenic modelling to the fore in an era when anything outside the 4 foot was generally ignored.
Do any of the great man’s layouts (even in part) still survive?
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I belive so. Someone told me they had part but can think who.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:46 am
As far as I am aware Buckingham Great Central was still intact in his home in Truro. I operated it one evening when he was vicar of Newlyn East. Part of the layout was exhibited at the infamous MRJ show.
The book published by Peco was my bible at the time. I still have it
thank goodness. People have asked me if it worked okay. I can assure everybody that the running was as good if not better than some of the running I see today. One very skillful gentleman who will be sadly missed.
January 25th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Totally agree with your comments Curly. I also visited in the late 70’s and had the pleasure of operating the Buckingham control panel. In terms of a model railway, it was a complete system with a purpose. The trains actually had somewhere to go. It wasn’t just a diorama to watch trains go by. And yes, the running was superb compared to the general standard of the day.
As well as his pioneering work in EM gauge, he also worked outdoors in the garden with narrow gauge. I believe his ‘layout’ was known as the TVLR – The Vicarage Lawn Railway. This was featured in the Railway Modeller somewhere around 1970.