(Voice Over) If you go down to the woods today
You're in for a big surprise
For hidden deep within the leaves and the trees
something, unexpected lies
An oasis for those who design and build
without distraction or compromise
For in the forests of Almondell
the home of model engineering lies
Welcome to the Almondell Model Engineering Centre
Built and run by the
Edinburgh Society of Model Engineers
Nestled in a secluded little woodland
It's the perfect place for people from all walks of life
to come and share in the age old past-time
Of model engineering
but what exactly is model engineering?
My name is Andrew Newton
I'm a model engineer
and a member with the Edinburgh Society
of Model Engineers
Model engineering is actually quite easy to describe
Basically taking a full sized machine
Scaling it down
Drawing it out
and then rebuilding it piece by piece
(Voice Over) Model Engineering can take many forms
From building small, stationary engines
To constructing boats
To larger, more sophisticated designs
and everything in between
All carefully hand crafted
down to the most intricate detail
These models are built upon the same principles
as their full sized counterparts
Fully functional
and using the same science and technologies
only on a much smaller scale
Of all the forms that model engineering can take
There is one, that seems to be far more popular
than the others.
Steam locomotives are most popular because
there are lots of different actions within a locomotive
there's rotary actions
there's linear actions
there's heat
there's steam, there's pressures
there's such a wide variety
of different skills required to make a locomotive
and at the end of it you end up with a model
that you can actually do something with
For some model engineers
the thrill of charging along a track
on a machine of their own creation
is intoxicating
But what they enjoy the most
are the rainy days
spent tucked away in their workshops
tinkering with mechanisms and metal
It takes great skill
Craftmanship
Problem solving ability
and engineering know how
to construct one of these marvellous machines
But above all
It requires a great deal of patience
People don't realise just how long it takes
to build a model locomotive
If you start to make a small locomotive
and you just work constantly at it
It'll take you several years
But if you're going to make a
complex model
it might take you most of your life
Many people start them
Not a lot of people finish them
(Voice Over) The effort involved
in bringing these models to life
is extraordinary
But without the rails and infrastructure
to carry them
They're destined to remain
inanimate and still
But for the eager minds of the model engineers
This was simply another problem to be solved
For almost 10 years
The Edinburgh Society of Model Engineers
have been planning and assembling
Transforming this derelict land
into their own miniature railway
A space for them to pursue their passions
without interference from the outside world
Building as they please
Shaping concrete, meta land wood
Bridging the gaps across water
to carry their machines
Burrowing through the earth to create tunnels
Laying kilometres of track through the forest
to guide their wheels straight and true
Each set of points
carefully machine and crafted by club members
Working with partner organisations
to help the local community
To educate
and spread the joys of model engineering
All of this
Designed and built
by volunteers and enthusiasts
Their reward
a place they can call their own
Somewhere to spend time with like minded people
and let off a little steam
Oh bu***r, what was that?
Muffled: So we know that they both work
C'mon then... 🎵 Wheeeeeeeyyyy 🎵!
🎵 Music building to climax 🎵!
The Almondell Model Engineering Centre,
It's a project that will never be finished.
It's something that will evolve
with the generations, people will change things
It'll be going on forever.