I've been attracted to TT scale for a long time, being a firm believer in the old Berliner slogan of it being "die ideale Spur". It's small enough to produce an entertaining layout in a reasonable space, but large enough for fine detail to be visible and not too fiddly to work with. It also has more "presence" to me than N, somehow the models just seem to look weightier and sit down on the track better.

Continental TT scale is 1:120 scale, unlike the 1:100 used by Triang and the following British convention. This puts the 12mm track gauge within 0.042mm of scale, close enough not just for jazz but me as well. Contemporary models are up to the expected standards of any scale, having flywheel drive, DCC sockets, NEM coupling pockets etc. The older Berliner coupling has given way to a newer, more compact design that allows near buffer-to-buffer coupling when a suitable mechanism is fitted. As TT shares the same coupler pocket as N, Fleischmann Profi couplings can also be used if delayed action is desired.

There are a few makes widely sold, though you're unlikely to see them on UK shop shelves. They're also still less common in the west. Tillig have the widest range, having taken over the old Berliner TT Bahnen in the early 1990s. The quality varies - some are simply rehashed BTTB models from DDR days, and even the more recently tooled models are variable. I have locos that are up with the best H0, and coaches that I can barely put up with. Roco have a small selection, all high quality. Piko have a selection of more budget models, generally basic in detail but good representations. Some more recent locos have been very smart indeed. Kuehn have a range of good quality models, not extensive but useful. There are other smaller makes, perhaps the best place to get a sense of just what is available is Modellbahnshop-Sebnitz, who are situated right next to Tillig's factory.

There isn't such breadth of product available as H0, although if your leanings are towards DDR modelling I think the choice is slightly better than in N.

As far as my own modelling goes, I have a long term project to model the major features of the Rübelandbahn in a Portakabin on my inlaw's farm. This is a slow mover, and as I wanted something to watch the trains go round on at home and have more than one class of loco to look at, I have started on a 21st Century layout based upon City Classic's show layout. I've made a few changes to it, and the size I have for TT makes it larger than it's H0 inspiration in prototype terms. I'm working with a 9' x 2'8". A lot of my inspiration comes from the Industriebahn Feuerbach, street running through the industrial area of a city. Other inspiration came from the tracks in Dresden's Industriegelände, where I found myself staying in June.

I tried to plan things accurately. I really did. All that happened was that I got a migraine. In the end I extended the width of some H0 boards I'd built for a Fremo module and topped them with ply. Then I laid the scenic section's mainline.

Hang on, there's gradients and different levels. I'd better cut some ply out so I can fit point motors more easily.

Then I steadily plugged away at tracklaying and putting in the ply for the slopes. I had to come up with an interesting solution for a run-round loop (the original design only has one on the main) as the most obvious location was on a slope. I like the effect of having a crossing in the middle of it, it gives a more industrial character. Now I'm waiting on some more track to finish the last few bits that need laying on the scenic area, and I think signalling will be the next step.