From what I've seen and read on here most people seem to have a firm idea of what they want to create and or re-create.

For me the idea seemed relatively simple, I wanted a layout that reflected all the places that were prominent in my early years around where I lived.

For those of you interested Chase Hill does exist, it stands 600ft high and watches over the town of Ross on Wye in Herefordshire, and whilst there never was a station at Chase Hill, I saw it every day, and ventured into it's woods on a very regular basis, it hid old Roman mines, quarries and walkways, our favourite haunt being what we called the the "Daffodil Tump" named obviously because in the spring wild daffodils grew in their millions, it was in fact an old quarry, with massive lumps of limestone strewn about the place, it was and probably still is a great place for kids to go, mainly because you are miles from adults, and you can't really break anything, it's a natural adventure playground.

Ross itself had a station, and a large goods yard, it was a branch line which ran from Gloucester to Monmouth, and also to Hereford, at one time the station was very busy, and only really slowed down when the Beeching axe was wielded, the last goods train ran in 1965.

Ross station has been recreated in full on the Severn Valley line, if you've been to Kidderminster Station, that is a replica of Ross, I remember it as a fine brick built, no expense spared, the station itself was a model of Victorian and Edwardian engineering at it's best, no expense was spared anywhere, and that was before the GWR absorbed it in the grouping stage.

The ringed building is the goods shed, which is still standing, directly opposite it to the east, you can see the turntable and engine shed that existed at Ross, although the turntable is long gone, the engine shed is still there to see, and will be for ever as it is Grade 1 listed, it is the only remaining broad gauge shed left in the country, in another part of the town there are examples of the rails that the broad gauge used to run on.

The two rows of hatched buildings were at the time of this map owned by the GWR and were railwaymans cottages, they are still standing.

To sum up Chase Hill is as I said based on my early years, and the countryside around Ross, and how I remember it.