Watch: Emrig hosts another popular swap meet at Northmead Mall
“All Aboard!” to get on the model express.
The Eastern Model Railway Interest Group (Emrig) hosted a swap meet at Northmead Mall on July 28.
The purpose of a swap meet is for individuals of a similar interest to meet, buy, sell and swap model railway items.
Items range from trains and trees to towns and townsfolk.
Terrence Marx, the chairperson of the group, said the meet was like a mini-flea market for individuals to share their passion and love for model railways.
He said some of the model trains ranged from scales H/O, which is 1:87, to G, which is 1:22.5.
Also at the meet was former Benonian Diederick Johannes Jansen van Rensburg.
Jansen van Rensburg took up the hobby of creating nature model scenery after an accident in the workplace over 10 years ago that forced him to leave his job.
He said he had to turn his hobby into his profession in order to survive.
Together with his assistant and apprentice, Paul Rajab, Janse van Rensburg said they go through about one kilometer of wire a year to create model scenery, which is all handcrafted.
Using all sorts of materials, such as ear buds and wire, enables Janse van Rensburg and Rajab to create the scenery.
Some of their work includes the Red Cape Aloe Tree and other garden items.
Janse van Rensburg said to date he has sold over 650 000 trees.
“There’s not a tree in the world we do not make,” he said.
According to Marx, the interest group began in the 1980s and is the biggest railway interest group in South Africa.
https://soundcloud.com/benoni-city-times/chairman-of-the-emrig-terrence-marx-spoke-about-model-trains
Marx argued that the Emrig is probably also the biggest railway interest group in the southern hemisphere and noted that the group hosts swap meets every three months around the school holidays.
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