The title of this entry does not allude to any forthcoming trip back to blighty, (oh that it did) but the desire to build an English outline layout. I've been umm-ing an ah-ing about it for a long time. I even joined the Scalefour society in the hopes of being able to start a finescale 4mm English layout. But with no 4mm finescalers in easy reach to talk to the enthusiasm faded. So I periodically find myself being blitzed with the urge to model in English 4mm scale and not being able to do anything about it. People like Chris Nevard and others have shown time and again that finescale fidelity is not needed to build a realistic layout. So perhaps the key is to forget the finescale idea and just get out there and build.

My latest research led me to discover Berwig Halt and Vicarage Crossing on the Minera Branch near Wrexham.

http://www.disused-s...wig/index.shtml

http://www.disused-s...alt/index.shtml

I spent a couple of years in the Wrexham area at college there so I had a familiarity with the area.

The first picture on the Berwig page was dripping in atmosphere for me. I felt it was the kind of image that would have graced the cover of Great Western Railway Journal.

The pictures of Vicarage crossing had a grimy run down feel that I love, so typical of that rundown early 60's era. So I'm thinking of some kind of cross between the two.

I have plenty of unused baseboards in storage so today I took a look and doodled on the face keeping the photographs in mind. Why the baseboard is triangular is a long old story that I shan't bore you with. The idea looks interesting and has me in mind to investigate it further.

The ground level will rise from below track level at the front, to above track level at the rear. How much, I don't know. That's one of the things that needs investigating. I've got a Ratio Tin Tabernacle" that would fit on the layout nicely. The rest of the structures would have to be scratchbuilt. I have procured plenty of rolling stock over the years that could suit a mid 60's period layout. So at the moment expenditure would be minimal. Most of this is stuff that I bought because I liked it and has no regional consistency to it. So the layout would just be something to show off British trains to punters at US train shows.

I'll let the idea brew a bit and see what transpires.