It has been some time since i last posted anything about my own endeavours on RMWeb, although I have still been lurking in the background occasionally (work permitting!) and getting very inspired by what I'm seeing.

I was shocked and amazed at the reaction I got to my Nutbrook postings. I was rather pleased with the results of that project (by the way, it's still not completely finished, there are a few details here and there I'm still planning on finishing! - an update to follow shortly) and it's always nice to hear that you're on the right track from other modellers. I had been planning on introducing you all to my main modelling project for a while, but somehow never got round to it. So finally, here it is - the Clensmere Valley Railway.

The best way to describe this loft layout (apart from "barking") would be a "super train set", I suppose, seeing as a train set was the foundation for it many moons ago. A very long time ago now - over 15 years at a guess - I got a Hornby "Blue Streak" train set for Christmas. Inside the box was the ubiquitous oval of track and a very impressive looking Gresley A4 "Sir Nigel Gresley" together with 3 teak coaches. It quickly became obvious that only so much fun could be had from setting up the track on the kitchen table and eventually I bullied my dad into laying some floorboards in the loft so that I could play trains properly - despite the fact that there was only about 4ft of head space up there, but I was only a littlun, so that didn't matter to me.

Before I left to go to University, I had developed the oval into pretty much what exists today - a compact layout featuring 3 stations - Rempton, Erodin Castle (geddit?) and Clensmouth - representing a small branch line somewhere in the UK. As my rolling stock was steam based, and my only experience of steam was in preservation, so it was decided the layout would represent a preserved line somewhere. Family holidays to the Isle of Purbeck meant I spent a lot of time on the Swanage Railway, and there are no prizes for guessing where Clensmouth station is based on (or the inspiration for the intermediate station's name).

Eventually Uni beckoned, then I moved to London and the layout - and my interest in the hobby - was all but forgotten, until as chance would have it, 3 years ago my parents suddenly moved abroad. As the house would be rented out, something had to be done with the abandoned layout in the roof space and I headed home with every intention of packing the whole lot up ready for storage or ebay. Or so I thought! For as soon as I climbed back up into that tiny loft and saw what I'd started back when I was only a teenager, I realised that what I had been building was actually something quite exciting and plans were put in place to move it to London.

Today, the layout is precariously installed, albeit still on the floor, of my somewhat larger...well, taller - I can now stand up in the place without getting neck-ache!...loft. Apart from extending the boards slightly to allow for the use of larger radius curves (they were all 1st radius before, which I quickly found out on my return to the hobby would no longer be suitable for the majority of new purchases) and adding a few more sidings here and there, it is the same beast I was building 15 years ago - except it's a bit more grown up...well, a little bit!

Thanks to my all demanding job and because the loft is not the nicest of places to be in the depths of winter and the height of summer, work on the layout tends to be slow. In fact, since its move, most of the work that's been done so far has been electrical, with very little cosmetic work being done at all. Last year's efforts concentrated on creating the new motive power depot at Rempton, which proved to be more complicated than I thought! But now that the track work is finally finished (I can't possibly fit any more in without things getting plain silly) I can now make a start on scenics and attempt to make it look more like a model railway and less like a train set.

Not that I'm pretending it's anything other than what it is. The track work is all Peco code 100 with the majority of curves utilising 2nd radius setrack. Although I think it's now well hidden, the track plan still incorporates an oval - most models require a lot of running in, so I felt this was a necessity...and I still like to see the trains go round and round occasionally. I was also keen to utilise all the buildings and structures I'd built as a kid - mostly from the SuperQuick range, which I think with a little care and attention to the details can make very pleasing structures.

One thing that has changed though is the stock used. Being from the South West, the Southern and the GWR are very much the companies that interest me and Sir Nige, my original pride and joy, was of course from the wrong part of the country. I've managed to overhaul the loco though, and he will be making the occasional appearance (although I'll have to explain why he's sprouted new valances and sporting his LNER Garter Blue livery again). In his place is a collection of fine looking Southern locos, all of them new Hornby and Bachmann numbers, including a BR black M7 (Swanage's influence again), an N15, a King Arthur and what heritage railway worth its salt would be without a Standard 4 tank, eh?

The real push to finally post something about the layout, unfortunately, has been precipitated by its precarious future. Alas, my landlord has decided to sell up and I am facing a move. I have been very fortunate to be able to utilise the loft here but there is no telling what my next dwelling will offer. I have 2 housemates and understandably, their first consideration is not a space for the layout, although I'm pushing hard to find it a decent home. Thankfully, I built the layout with the possibility of moving in mind. It's not portable as such, but a move wouldn't mean massive amounts of damage, as it can be broken up into sections.

I definitely plan on continuing this project - I've invested far too much time, effort and money to abandon it now - but whether it is in its entirety as a "super train set" or whether I simply build a section of it as a stand-alone "out-and-back", with the rest put in storage, remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, the Clensmere Valley Railway has always been meant as a long term project and there are great plans afoot for the future, no matter how far ahead that may be! And I'm planning on keeping you up to date with progress on here - if only to keep myself motivated to move things forward whenever I can.

So, introductions over with, here are some photos of the layout's journey so far...a potted history in pictures if you like...

An overall view of the layout as it was found in the parents' loft 3 years ago. Work had progressed quite some way, but there was still a lot to do.

Clensmouth station had received the most amount of attention with some crude detailing of the platforms evident.

A few hours work later and the rolling stock was packed and the boards were stacked ready to move house.

When the layout reached London, it quickly became obvious that changes were going to have to be made, including changing all the curves to at least 2nd radius and the addition of this new baseboard.

I'd been a busy chap back in the day. All of these buildings had been carefully stored by my parents and a little tlc saw them coming back to life. My plan is to use them on the layout after detailing them properly.

The move to London saw every piece of track torn up and re-laid, as well as the station platforms being re-covered using Scalescenes papers or rebuilt altogether.

With all track now laid, all wiring done and no plans to add any more, the next job has been to paint and ballast the track around Rempton - a long overdue job, and one I was not particularly looking forward to.But at least it's a start! This shot shows the ballast laid, but not glued. I'll be weathering it in with acrylics and pastels, much as I did with Nutbrook's track.