Test Post

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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.

 

Introduction

 

By 1916 the First World War had raged for two long years. Europe had descended into the bloody stalemate of trench warfare and there was no end in sight. The Battle of the Somme, from 1^st July 1916 to 18^th November 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 it was decided to construct a network of tactical light railways to haul supplies to the front line. These lines were known as the War Department Light Railways (WDLR) and were of 60cm gauge. They were constructed and operated by the Royal Engineers (RE).

 

In late 1916 the 17^th Light Railway Operating Company was formed at the RE Depot in Bordon, Hampshire. After training on the Longmoor Military Railway they departed for France on the 28^th May 1917. 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 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 centered on the control point at (layout name). 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, where used to transport supplies in the local area where the roads were impassible.

 

Although the layout is set in a fictional location and the 17^th Light Railway Operating Company never existed, the historical events are real. The layout is inspired by the plights of the other Light Railway Operating Companies sent to France in 1917 and the often highly dangerous work they undertook. Hopefully the layout will serve as a fitting reminder about these often overlooked and forgotten heroes of the First World War.

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Layout Plan

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