East London FineScale Group 

The Elfs are these days far from being young, spritely and few now live in East London.  Our past members or associates included: 

• Alan Browning (1947-1987) 
• Alan Garden (1950-1990) 
• Derek Brown (??-199?) 
• Bob Barratt (1930-1996) 
• Clary Edwards (1924-1999) 
• Phil Chopin (??) 
• Cyril Key (??-2017)
• John Sneyd (194?-2019)

We were a very loosely formed group of railway modellers. Very lose, as there was no meeting place, no regular meetings, formal constitution or membership fees. The layouts in our possession are kept in private houses or sheds and may from time to time may make a public appearance. 

By no means all members model in one gauge or standard but our original meeting point was a single layout - Eastwell.  This was (and still is) a 4mm scale EM gauge layout. In its wake followed Eastwell Ironstone Company, Eastwell Station and then Coleorton No.2 and then Newton Gate. 

The surviving members are pursuing their own projects as the group gradually faded away although the survivors are still friends we meet occasionally usually at exhibitions. Privately owned layouts of members include:- 

"Prospect Wharf" appeared in British Railway Modelling May 2010
"Paston Ridings" appears in many photographs in British Railway Modelling from March 1997 

These are also EM gauge layouts. 

Paul James in Hereford is now part of the EMGauge70s group.

Following the death of Alan Browning pressures, including work, made it impossible to meet all requests for public appearances. 

Alan Austin is now primarily pursuing his own long term model layout project in a village in Norfolk. This was introduced as "Plan of the Month" in Railway Modeller January 2019.

Membership 

It may not be possible to resurrect the ELFs with new blood reviving the layouts.  Although new associate members would be a useful we cannot offer a great deal other than our experiences, and commaradery. It helps to be a bit looney and be interested in the LMSR and or quarry railways. But it is by no means essential as our blue era diesel followers will vouch, the common bond is more the will to produce closer to prototype models including working steam engines and a railway like service than any particular prototype. 

Due to our advancing years and declining eyesight an interest in a scale of less than 4mm to 1 foot models cannot be properly appreciated without the aid of microscopes and thus these modellers would not be easily accepted into the fold.