Figure 1.--"The Wonder Book of Things to Do" provided information and suggested activities on a wide range of issues and activities. One of theseasodel railroading. I do not know whi the illustraor was. The boys seem quite well dressed to be working on their model railroad. Image courtesy of the AM collection. |
Railroads were at the center of industrial development in the 19th century. A railroad engine was a large, powerful, and noisy machine--just the kind of vehicle any boy might like. An activity of great interest boys in the first half of the 20th century was model railroading. Most boys had or wanted an electric train. Model railroading was another of the activity covered by the Wonder Books. The image here is from Wonder Book of Things to Do. It features two boys with their comprehensive railway set. As with many of the illustrations, the boys seem quite well dressed to be workig on their model railroad. Younger children might have a wooden pull train, but what most boys wanted was an electric train so that could set up a model railroad. Unfortunately the amoint of space required and the cost limited the number of boys who could set up model railroads. This is another of the activities that boys enjoyed, but were of little interest to girls. Some managed to do this as adults. The interest has declined in recent years, but it has not disappeared. I don't know if this (expensive) hobby is widely practiced today, but I know there are still many clubs around that are run by adults. Indeed, it is also known as a perfect hobby to foster the father and son relationship. Model railroading was not the only railroad activity for boys in England. Another popuklar activity was train spotting. I don't think that this ever caught on in America. It was attractive in that anyone coukld do kit and it cost nothing. A HBC reader advises us, "Model railroading is not dead. In America, anyway. Lionel is still alive and kicking. There are also other O gauge trains like MTH, K-Line and Williams."
Navigate the HBC literary pages' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the main Main English Activities Wonder Book page]
[Return to the main Main children's literary page]
[Return to the main Main literary page]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]