robb1090

Some photos of the layout taken at Tracks to the Trenches. We had a very enjoyable weekend and the layout performed surprisingly well!

Thanks for the film Paul, I haven’t seen that before. Just wish I could lay the track on the layout that fast!

We are using a mixture of white metal 40hp simplex kits from Wrightlines and etched brass 20hp simplex kits from Nigel Lawton. The 20hp simplex kit was originally produced in 4mm scale but Nigel agreed to produce a 7mm scale version for us. Since then he has made the 7mm scale kit available on his website.

Welcome to the thread following the construction of our new 7mm scale, 0-14 gauge layout, set in the trenches of the western front during the First World War. We hope you enjoy what you find here and we welcome your comments. A Background History to the Layout The Battle of the Somme in 1916 had pushed the British supply system to breaking point. Without adequate food or ammunition the army could not fight effectively, so to solve this problem, a network of tactical light railways were constructed to haul supplies to the front line. These lines were known as the War Department Light Railways and were of 60cm gauge. They were constructed and operated by the Royal Engineers. In 1917 the 35th Light Railway Operating Company was formed in France from railwaymen combed out of other units. The company consisted of 3 officers and 262 men, whose job was to man the trains, traffic control posts and marshalling yards along their section of railway. Although the company was under the command of a captain, detachments were often sent to operate outlying parts of the system where they were left to their own devices out of necessity. Upon arrival in France, the company was sent to the area north of Arras. It is part of the railway under their control that the layout represents. In this area the mainline ran approximately north-south, parallel to the front line trenches but about 8 miles behind them. The section of line depicted by the layout is centred on the control point at Ferme du Pont (Bridge Farm). Here a branch line leaves the mainline to head up towards the front to serve the artillery and supply dumps of the British First Army. A pair of loops are provided at the control point to allow the splitting and marshalling of trains before they head down the branch. As well as these loops there is also a short siding serving a small jetty on the canal for the Inland Waterways Transport barges. These barges, actually RE pontoons, were used to transport supplies in the local area where the roads were impassable. Although the layout is set in a fictional location and the 35th Light Railway Operating Company never existed, the historical events are real. The layout is inspired by the plights of the Light Railway Operating Companies on the Western Front and the often highly dangerous work they undertook.