Catching the Vibe in Voie Libre

Stories about outhouse construction (shades of ELM's outhouses), building miniature affordable carriages (shades of ELM's Slim Gauge Carriage), scratch-built flatcars (shades of Easy-To-Build Model Railroad Freight Cars), kitbashing a gasoline driven railcar (shades of ELM's Rolliam aka Spumoni Club Coach), and on and on. What was going on over there in France? Was an ELM cult alive-and-well across the Atlantic? Here was a magazine with a vibe I feel only in those '60s and '70s MRs and RMCs, but with up-to-date methods and technology and photography (not to mention a plan sheet of excellent drawings for the covered projects stapled in the middle - a nice and practical touch) all presented in an attractive package. Who knows? All I can say is that Voie Libre seems like an excellent quarterly magazine, and after reading two issues I bought a subscription. Well, I bought a subscription to Voie Libre International, the English language edition.

I stumbled across it during my summer internet travels. Voie Libre means Free Way. Excellent title. And it's sub-title is 'Campaigning for a Different Kind of Railway Modelling'. Excellent sub-title. Based on the title and sub-title alone I couldn't resist buying a couple of issues to see what was up. It seems to be focused on narrow gauge in France, but appears to cover aspects of narrow gauge throughout Europe. Yes, I'm a North American streetcar guy, but I like to think I'll follow the vibe wherever and in whatever form it takes. Vibe Libre? Hopefully time - and my subscription - will tell.