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Saturday 11th November 2023 OPENING TIMES: 10:00am-16:30pm ADMISSION: Adults £4.00 Children £3.00 Family £10.00 Annual model railway exhibition presented by the Solihull Model Railway Circle, St Marys Church Hall and 3rd Solihull St Mary Scout Hall (B92 8PN) - 15 minutes from J6, M42. Working layouts are invited plus trade and society support. Free parking available. Buses to Hobs Moat road that stop in front of the nearby ice rink: 72. Buses that stop at Wheatsheaf, A45, Coventry Road: 60, X1, X2. Bus Information: Available from Network West Midlands: 0871 200 22 33. List of Layouts Attending : Keiths Model Railways Steve Currin Book Sales Elaine's Trains Baz's Model Rail - 12 Volt DC John Ross's Model Railways Visiting Layouts Attending: 1. Grange Aggregates 2mm Scale, N Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle Grange Aggregates started up many Years ago. The canal was cut in order to transport the stone out instead of using horses and wagons. The narrow gauge railway was then laid to take stone to the crushing plant. Steam engines were introduced on the narrow gauge in the 1800s. When the main line railway was built, the loops and sidings to the quarry were also put in. All these forms of taking the stone out are still very much in evidence, with stone going out by canal, road or by rail. 2. A Scottish Branch 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle A end to end branch line club layout based on scottish practice, displayed here partly built to give an insight Into layout construction. It is 16 feet long and just over 2 feet wide and we are using SMP code 75 bullhead plain track and handmade Marcway Points. It has been constructed to run with either DCC or traditional control. There is a terminus station at one end and a hidden 'fiddle' yard with a traverser at the other, with a scenic section in between. A major part of the concept is the use of very deep baseboards, with the railway running through the middle, allowing greater depths and heights of scenery for a more interesting appearance. The major architectural feature is the curved viaduct based on Killiecrankie. 3. Cherwell 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle A scenic OO gauge, 26 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 6 inches, four track mainline with an integral branch line. It features working automatic signals and has largely scratch built buildings with a local theme, E.g.: the Manor House, the Masons Arms, the George Hotel and the Fat Cat cafe from Solihull; Kings Heath library; Tyseley station; and Water Orton station. The layout was built mainly to display scale length mainline trains, those being run reflecting the varying interests of the membership. Trains run are usually british outline, but can come from any part of the UK mainland and from any date between about 1900 and the present day. If you look carefully you can see pigeons roosting under the station bridge, foxes using the track bed as a shortcut and one fox eyeing lambs, gulls eggs and the shepherd on the upper pasture, cats watching building work in the arch from the platform and gulls above the sea and on the cliffs with a lonely cormorant. 4. Wegberg & Arsbeck 2mm Scale, N Gauge Eastbourne Model Railway Society The layout was built by the late Alan Tompsett and is based on the small town of Wegberg and its neighbouring village Arsbeck in north-west Germany, situated on the line between Mönchengladbach and Dalheim near the Dutch border. The British Army of the Rhine had a branch to RAF Wildenrath off the line and this junction is also modelled. The period depicted is 1955-1970. Traffic over the route was steam hauled passenger/drop off freight in the early period with diesel locomotives and diesel/battery railbuses taking over the duties through the 1960’s. Non-stop passenger trains are also run, and the line was also part of the “Iron Rhine” freight link between Antwerp & the Ruhr, so some long through freight formations also feature. 5. Kenstadt 1:220 Scale, Z Gauge, Ken Jones The small snow-covered hamlet sees tourists in the summer who visit the local castle at the top of the hill. Some sidings are provided nearby when demand is high. But in winter the place is usually cut off by snow and only horse carts and trains get through. The trains are the odd freight train, a local multiple unit service and sometimes a xmas special. 6. Sugar Creek 2mm Scale, N Gauge Nigel Harrold Sugar Creek is based on four locations of the triple bi-directional tracks, B.N.S.F Marceline sub at Sugar Creek Missouri. The layout is N Scale North American modern era DCC sound. The tracks see most of the main class one railroad companies running through – B.N.S.F.- Union Pacific – Norfolk Southern etc… Union Pacifics “Big Boys” can also be seen running through with their excursion train. 7. Burford GWR 3.5mm Scale, HO Gauge Pete Howell (Warley MRC) This fictional GWR branch was first conceived by the late Vernon Woods in the 1930s. It is modelled as it would have been at the end of that decade. What makes this model English branch terminus different – even rare – is its scale of 3.5mm to the foot (1/87th scale). After World War II the track was removed and replaced with the improved quality products then available. The layout as it now exists was completed 25 years later. After Vernon’s death the layout was given to the Warley club and exhibited on several occasions. However, electrics and running problems led to the decision to replace the track with the PECO code 75 product and to operate the points with SEEP point motors. Baseboards are original ‘old wood’ on 2X1 frames supported largely on trestles. Two of the boards do have integral legs. Work is continuing to replace buildings and to restore and improve scenic elements with modern static grass and some other landscape effects. Couplings are 4mm DG items which are operated magnetically. The signals, which are over 50 years old, are operated by the ‘wire in tube’ method. Control is analogue and points are now operated by more modern SEEP point motors. Work on the layout to maintain its historical and technical features are a continuous and ongoing process. 8. Fair T’Middlin 4mm Scale, OO Gauge John Collins (Wyre Forest MRC, Kidderminster) An “OO” gauge layout set in an industrial area of the North of England during the 1950’s/60’s. A fictional based diorama set around the town of Eckerslike and also the underground coal mine of Appen Colliery. Eckerslike and Appen Colliery are two separate modules which can be exhibited together or on their own. Eckerslike is a town dominated by a viaduct and substantial industrial red brick buildings constructed in the Victorian era. The railway station was originally an intermediate station on the Fair to Middlin line. The railway line was, however, truncated at Eckerslike following closure of the mine at Middlin during the 1930’s. The railway nowadays is a branch line from Fair providing a regular passenger service between the two towns. There is also a busy goods shed serving local people and industry and a private siding to the large engineering works adjacent to the station with an active coal yard. BR steam tank locos usually provide the motive power. Appen Colliery lies between Fair and Eckerslike. It is a deep underground mine now controlled by the National Coal Board (NCB) following nationalization of the coal industry in 1947. There are two headstocks providing ventilation and access to the coal face as well as screens to sort the coal before it is loaded into railway mineral wagons. The wagons are then shunted by the NCB’s own locomotives to the exchange sidings before collection by BR steam tender locos and taken to the marshalling yard at Fair for distribution throughout the UK or to a nearby port for the coal to be exported by sea. The extension of Fair T’Middlin to include Appen Colliery has a new fiddle yard which has a traverser and can rotate 360 degrees. It also has eight tracks which can accommodate eight trains including passenger trains with three coaches and a tender locomotive. 9. Linwood Lane 4mm Scale, OO gauge Shaun Greet Linwood Lane is an East Anglian branch surviving the cutbacks of the 1960’s. Depicts a local station with frequent goods traffic - can be a tad busy at times with a few run round operatons. Passenger serivices are in the hands of DMUs, while the freights motive power varies (classes 15, 31 etc...) . Built to fit a small area and to show what can be done. 10. Stonethwaite and Bainrigg Railway Summary 7mm Scale, 16.5 Narrow Gauge Middle Barton MRC This is the first 3 phases of a modular layout using 7mm Narrow Gauge otherwise known as O 16.5. It is set in the 1930s and is based on a fictional mineral line linking a quarry to a canal basin. Over the years the line has become more successful and is now carrying passengers and general freight, but cash is still tight on the line. The 1st phase of the model depicts the Wharf at Stonethwaite in North Yorkshire, complete with warehouses, a station, loco shed and canal wharf. The 2nd phase depicts the ”top” terminus of Bainrigg. This station serves this small village further up dale and has basic facilities. The mineral line to the quarry is beyond. The 3rd phase is the Quarry at Bainrigg. Stone trains and empties pass through the station and enter the quarry with all its workings, an inclined plane, tippers, stone crusher, steep lines and tight curves. The model has a mixture of DCC sound fitted Locos, extra sounds and a host of operating accessories and parts, including working canal boats. So keep your eyes peeled and ears tuned in. 11. Hookton Riverside 7mm Scale, 16.5 Narrow Gauge Mike Bragg Hookton Riverside is the terminus station of the Hookton and Lipp Vale Railway, a narrow gauge railway in Dorset. The name Hookton and the almost river Lipp were taken from the novel Harlequin by Bernard Cornwall who kindly gave me permission to use them. As per usual I have created an alternate history by using the characters from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson but now set in the late 1940s early 1950s. The Pub/Inn is the Admiral Benbow, the large Georgian house is aptly named Trelawney House, there is Benjamin Gunns cheese shop, L.J.Silver & Son the friendly butchers, not forgetting B.Pew Hardware I had thought he might have traded as an optician. Doctor Livesey, Captain Smollett and several others. I really do need to get out more, although railway modelling has to be fun, with for me, the back story being just as important as the modelling.

Annual model railway exhibition presented by the Solihull Model Railway Circle St Marys Church Hall and 3rd Solihull St Mary Scout Hall (B92 8PN) - 15 minutes from J6, M42. 10 Working layouts are invited plus trade and society support. Free parking available. Buses to Hobs Moat road that stop in front of the nearby ice rink: 72, 72A. Buses that stop at Wheatsheaf, A45, Coventry Road: 60, X1, X2. Bus Information: Available from Network West Midlands: 0871 200 22 33. ADMISSION: Adults £4.00 Children £3.00 Family £10.00 (2 Adults + 2 Child) Layouts Attending: 1. Gravelly Oak 2mm Scale, N Gauge Ed Purcell This is a small ‘modern image’ terminus of a former GWR branch which is still operational for passengers on the border of the West Midlands and Shropshire. Minimal facilities are provided by London Midland yet, like other stations of theirs in the area such as Hagley. Gravelly Oak retains its GWR building to serve commuters to West Midlands. As well as the passenger services there is a quarry nearby loading trains with specialised aggregate. Locomotives can also be fuelled and serviced at the fuelling point here. This was a first foray into DCC though the small terminus layout served by a cassette fiddle yard is a similar concept to the builder’s DC ‘Todmorden Midland’ LMR 1950s layout which appeared in October 2016 Railway Modeller and has been on the exhibition circuit for the last few years. (‘Gravelly Oak’ uses the same fiddle yard and supporting framework as that layout). Track is by PECO and control by NCE with traditionally operated SEEP point motors though frog switching is by autofrog units. Unlike my previous layout which had many scratch built buildings, this one uses largely modified resin and kit built buildings. Scenics reflect the quarrying nature of the railway here and are created largely from Woodland Scenics materials. Electrification has occurred since the layout was first completed and allows class 350 units to operate semi fast services over the LMR system. Stock is by Farish and Dapol with DMU classes 150, 153, and 170, EMU class 350, while classes 37, 60, 66, 70 deal with haulage. 2. Trinity Dock Street Bridge 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Gavin Rose Set on a cold dismal Monday morning in February 1939, among the busy inner town docks of Hull on the English Northeast coast. The tracks are inlaid into stones setts with many points and tight radiused curves as they connect the various quaysides with the yards to the west of the city. As short trains move about the buildings and rattle over the swing bridge the South Easterly wind is not only bringing the bad weather off the North Sea, but also the threat of war from the near continent. 3. Bankwood 4mm Scale, OO Gauge David Fletcher Small quay side station, with a sidings for a small factory. 4. Cannon Bay 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Jamie Grainger Cannon Bay is fictitious layout, lots to see and plenty happening that the public especially the children can have a go at. On Cannon Bay trains and buses run very frequently and will be able to get people easily to the local shopping centre down the road. 5. The Stonewaite and Bainrigg Railway O-16.5 Narrow Gauge Middle Barton MRC This is the first phase of a modular layout using 7mm Narrow Gauge otherwise known as O-16.5. It is set in the 1930s and is based on a fictional mineral line linking a quarry to a canal basin. Over the years the line has become more successful and is now carrying passengers and general freight, but cash is still tight on the line. This 1st phase of the model depicts the Wharf at Stonethwaite in North Yorkshire, complete with warehouses, a station, loco shed and canal wharf. The model has a mixture of DCC sound fitted Locos, extra sounds and a host of operating accessories and parts, including working canal boats. So keep your eyes peeled and ears tuned in. 6. Reely Grate, Muck Work and Primrose Hill 7mm Scale, O Gauge Ken Jones. This trio of micro layouts were originally the work of Mike Bragg and latterly owned by the late, Tim Johnson. Mike in his building of the layouts was highly creative in both his modelling skills and in developing a back story for each section of the line. The first section to be built was Reely Grate which operated independently with its own traverser storage yard. It was later joined by Primrose Hill, forming the other end of the line, and again capable of being operated on its own, before the two were finally separated (in distance at least) by Muck Works. 7. Grange Aggregates 2mm Scale, N Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle Grange aggregates started up many years ago. The canal was cut in order to transport the stone out instead of using horses and wagons. The narrow gauge railway was then laid to take stone to the crushing plant. Steam engines were introduced on the narrow gauge in the 1800s. When the main line railway was built, the loops and sidings to the quarry were also put in. All these forms of taking the stone out are still very much in evidence, with stone going out by canal, road or by rail. If you have any questions please ask the operators. 8. Avonbridge 7mm Scale, O Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle This layout is a 30 feet by 13 feet, three track, continuous run with station and storage loops. Early in 2013, we widened two of the front boards to provide some space to allow for shunting. The boards are made from 9mm exterior plywood with some aluminium box section bracing and steel box section legs with rubber door stops as feet. Peco code 124 bullhead track is laid to a minimum radius of 6 feet. Points are operated from the main panel using Hammant and Morgan motors. The buildings are based on local Midland railway prototypes and therefore the layout represents a busy MR branch line somewhere in the midlands, although the stock run, is from a variety of companies and eras to suit our varying interests. Most buildings are scratch built from a combination of plastikard and wood. The main station building is a model of Northfield and the small shelter on the opposite platform is from Moseley. The signal box is modelled on Luffenham, with Marton Junctions coal bunker. A scratch built scale model of the goods shed at Eckington on the Birmingham and Gloucester railway is at one end of the station and future developments will probably include a footbridge between the platforms, back scenes and possibly a small engine shed. At one end is the road over Rail Bridge at ripple, near Tewkesbury and at the other end a section of the 1816 Edstone canal viaduct from Bearley, near Stratford upon Avon. People and accessories are from various manufacturers, including Peco and Preiser. 9. A Scottish Branch 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle A new end to end branch line club layout based on Scottish practice, displayed here partly built to give an insight into layout construction. It is 16 feet long and just over 2 feet wide and we are using SMP code 75 bullhead plain track and handmade Marcway points. It has been constructed to run with either dcc or traditional control. There is a terminus station at one end and a hidden 'fiddle' yard with a traverser at the other, with a scenic section in between. A major part of the concept is the use of very deep baseboards, with the railway running through the middle, allowing greater depths and heights of scenery for a more interesting appearance. The major architectural feature is the curved viaduct based on Killiecrankie. 10. Cherwell 4mm Scale, OO Gauge Solihull Model Railway Circle A scenic OO gauge, 26 feet 6 inches by 10 feet 6 inches, four track mainline with an integral branch line. It features working automatic signals and has largely scratch built buildings with a local theme, e.g.: the manor house, the masons arms, the George hotel and the fat cat cafe from Solihull; Kings Heath library; Tyseley station; and Water Orton station. The layout was built mainly to display scale length mainline trains, those being run reflecting the varying interests of the membership. Trains run are usually British outline, but can come from any part of the UK mainland and from any date between about 1900 and the present day. If you look carefully you can see pigeons roosting under the station bridge, foxes using the track bed as a shortcut and one fox eyeing lambs, gulls eggs and the shepherd on the upper pasture, cats watching building work in the arch from the platform and gulls above the sea and on the cliffs with a lonely cormorant. Traders Attending: Keiths Model Railways Steve Currin Book Sales Elaine's Trains Baz's Model Rail - 12 Volt DC Helen's Model Trains