By this point the question is a person rather than a product. Somebody who chases preserved steam and somebody who has spent nine years building a layout in a spare room want different things, even though both would be described in a shop as into trains. These pages start from the person and work back to the photograph, which is the opposite of how most gift guides are written.
The reading, in order
7 pages sit in this stage, and they are meant to be read in this order rather than picked over: Railway gifts, the argument, What personalised means here, For a spotter, For a steam enthusiast, For a model railway builder, For dads and granddads, and The card that goes with it.
Photograph already perfect? Print it as it is
What these pages keep concluding
Read all seven and they keep landing in the same place. The thing an enthusiast doesn't already own is their own photography, printed properly. They've got the books, the models and the calendar. What sits unprinted is the shot they waited two hours for.
And after that
The stage that follows this one is on the wall: Paper, frame, canvas, wood, metal, mug, bottle and cards. What each format physically is, which pictures suit it, and where it belongs.
Written by Craig Fearn, Trackside Prints. Last updated .