Subbwarts

No-one can quite remember who said this would be a good idea, however it started with someone pointing out a steam train that travelled in between the football pitch and the stand in Slovakia where amatuer football club TJ Tatran Čierny Balog play.

So with the challenge set, the question of building a model railway track around a Subbuteo pitch was pondered. Either the (oval) track was going to be too large for players to reach the middle of the pitch, or the track needed to cut inside the corners of the pitch..., which was of course the preferred option!

Once the idea was conceived, the Subbwarts project (initially the Quidduteo project) sort of magically developed and took on a life of its own.

What came first, the train or the pitch?

According to youtuber 'The Tim Traveller', the football pitch was built after the railway closed in 1982. However, Mercedes Streeter highlighted the grandstands and the rails in the background can be seen in the team’s historical photos predating 1982, and suggests, the football pitch has been alongside the rails since the team formed in 1933.