Hi – I’m David Joy, the founding editor of the bi-
monthly Narrow Gauge World. What is today a hugely popular magazine all began on a whim in 1998. It was shortly before I retired from running Atlantic Publishers and I guess it was a parting shot! I had this vision of creating a magazine that would serve narrow gauge railways like no other. It was to have high production values, photographs reproduced to a generous scale, substantial colour content and articles truly reflecting what was once described as the ‘wonderful aura of quirkiness’ that characterises the narrow gauge’. As if that were not enough, coverage would extend to the whole world.
It smacked of megalomania and if prudence had prevailed the vision would have gone no further. Yet an inner voice kept saying that here was something very special that deserved a chance. There was nothing for it but to pick up pen and paper, engage brain and attempt to put together a mission statement. There was much scrunching of waste paper before the following eventually emerged:
We aim simply to act as a forum for all aspects of the narrow-gauge scene, adopting a ‘broad-brush’ approach rather than getting bogged down in minutiae. Our pages will focus on today’s lines as well as taking a nostalgic look at former times. The content will embrace all parts of the world, although the emphasis will always be on the UK and Europe.
Above all, our pages will endeavour not merely to be interesting or even exciting but also inspire a feeling of ‘belonging’. In this way, we shall serve as a link between like-minded enthusiasts both at home and all over the world, striving to capture the narrow gauge scene in all its infinite variety, and by so doing enlarge and deepen the appreciation of these most endearing of railways among all who know them.
The die was cast nd it was now but a short step to choosing the title Narrow Gauge World. It may have been a case of the heart ruling the head, but so it was that the first issue was launched by Atlantic Publishers in March 1999 with little advertising and virtually no marketing. Nor was there any support from the news trade, so issue No. 1 could well have been the last. 
Yet somehow the ‘broad-brush’ approach struck a chord and sales well exceeded expectations. A second issue of what was intended to be a quarterly was published three months later with full trade distribution. Contributions poured in from all corners of the globe, the avalanche of material prompting the magazine to go bi-monthly as early as issue No. 4. From that moment there was no going back, the next fundamental change occurring with effect 
from NGW-31. This brought in the facility for colour on every page and, more fundamentally, the introduction of a separate modelling section now under the editorship of Cliff Thomas.
With well over 50 issues now published, the magazine still hopefully reflects the spirit of my original aims. If it does no more than ‘deepen the appreciation of these most endearing of railways among all who know them’, I shall be well content...
