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Older Inspirational Layouts


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23 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

 

Sadly Neil passed away some years ago - he was a very talented modeller.

 

The buildings from the 00 layout were donated to Reading Society of Model Engineers (his club, of which I am also a member). Some of them have been reused on the Club's 00 layout, and we were in the process of constructing a new scene to incorporate more of them when the lockdown came along. Some of the other buildings, like the curved row of shops, and the station buildings, we have yet to work in owing to their awkward shapes.

 

Incorporating the buildings hasn't been easy, as many of them were built with a degree of false perspective or to fit a slope, meaning we have to attempt to recreate his ground levels!

 

I'm sorry to hear that.  I very much enjoyed the articles he wrote and as well as some superb modelling, he had a very engaging writing style imo.

 

I'm glad to hear his buildings are getting a new lease of life.  I think his was the first article I read about forced perspective.

 

Thanx

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On 14/12/2019 at 12:20, Barry Ten said:

 

Marc's still got it as far as I know. I think the main stumbling block was that the points are built to be operated from the rear, whereas Marc would rather stand in front of the layout and he hadn't quite figured out how to fix that without risk of damaging the layout. It would have gone in a skip if Marc hadn't acquired it.

 

Unfortunately Smithy's been seduced by the world of rock and roll performance; can't see what the attraction is myself.

@Barry Ten and others who may be interested......

I've been finding just a little modelling time over the past few days.... Not too much (I'm still in work, and unable to work from home - due to the nature of my job)
But the rock & roll lifestyle (as Mr Ten puts it) is rather quieter - though I've been given a list of songs to learn for my function / covers band....

So I have spent some time restoring the scenery, and making a few "tweaks". Some of the scenery was starting to look rather "tired" - so I've been slowly brightening and tweaking it. Also, I decided to build a new fiddle yard. I opted for a lightweight, foam board construction.

The old fiddle yard was rather jaded and rusting (there was more metal work on it than you might have thought). Plus, it was not as smooth in operation as I would like. Even more importantly in my increasing age - it weighed a tonne! The layout itself is rather heavier than you might think, but the fiddle weighed rather more than I regularly lift in the gym :o
On my Steelworks at night layout "Wales, Rails, Rain & Steel" - I made a very compact fiddle yard, which employed a "wired-in" Peco Loco lift to keep sound chips alive, while switching locos between fiddle roads. So I got a 2nd hand Loco Lift, and have been converting it to EM Gauge....

I'm hoping the new fiddle yard works well. I'm currently revising some of the wiring. There was a Relco unit wired in to the layout, plus it doesn't really work 100% as I'd like for DCC sound operation. Re the switching of the points - sadly, I will be unable to convert them to front operation - the switches and tie-bar mechanics are buried deep in the scenery, and tie bars too inaccessible and delicate to modify. I don't want to start tearing up the mod-roc / plaster landscaping.

The tie-bars are rather delicate in construction (though they work solidly) - During my investigations, one of them started causing an electrical shorting issue, which I have now resolved.
Phew! Lengthy update from me there

Anyway - I ditched my last EM project after running out of steam.... and decided to keep Ruyton Road (at least for now) get it up & running again, for something to run my EM stock on...

Edited by marc smith
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I happened upon the issue of MRJ which featured Ruyton Road looking for something else. Well worth a re-read and a nice layout. I was amused to read about Brian Williams acting as his CME. That matched my experience with my 0 gauge Sparrows Wharf layout when Steve Naylor did the same job for me. What every layout builder needs needs a mechanical wizard for support.

On the subject of the turnouts, could you use a tortoise motor or a servo at the rear operating the existing mechanism as though it was you.  These could be triggered by buttons on the front or a small box with switches on a wander lead. I can give more info if you want. 

 

Don

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4 hours ago, marc smith said:

@Barry Ten and others who may be interested......

I've been finding just a little modelling time over the past few days.... Not too much (I'm still in work, and unable to work from home - due to the nature of my job)
But the rock & roll lifestyle (as Mr Ten puts it) is rather quieter - though I've been given a list of songs to learn for my function / covers band....

So I have spent some time restoring the scenery, and making a few "tweaks". Some of the scenery was starting to look rather "tired" - so I've been slowly brightening and tweaking it. Also, I decided to build a new fiddle yard. I opted for a lightweight, foam board construction.

The old fiddle yard was rather jaded and rusting (there was more metal work on it than you might have thought). Plus, it was not as smooth in operation as I would like. Even more importantly in my increasing age - it weighed a tonne! The layout itself is rather heavier than you might think, but the fiddle weighed rather more than I regularly lift in the gym :o
On my Steelworks at night layout "Wales, Rails, Rain & Steel" - I made a very compact fiddle yard, which employed a "wired-in" Peco Loco lift to keep sound chips alive, while switching locos between fiddle roads. So I got a 2nd hand Loco Lift, and have been converting it to EM Gauge....

I'm hoping the new fiddle yard works well. I'm currently revising some of the wiring. There was a Relco unit wired in to the layout, plus it doesn't really work 100% as I'd like for DCC sound operation. Re the switching of the points - sadly, I will be unable to convert them to front operation - the switches and tie-bar mechanics are buried deep in the scenery, and tie bars too inaccessible and delicate to modify. I don't want to start tearing up the mod-roc / plaster landscaping.

The tie-bars are rather delicate in construction (though they work solidly) - During my investigations, one of them started causing an electrical shorting issue, which I have now resolved.
Phew! Lengthy update from me there

Anyway - I ditched my last EM project after running out of steam.... and decided to keep Ruyton Road (at least for now) get it up & running again, for something to run my EM stock on...

 

Great to hear you've been doing a bit of work on the layout. Be nice to see some pics, have you got a thread on it at all ? 

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The ol' thread keeps on giving!

 

A comment earlier puts me in mind of a small layout(s) that not much really happened on, but influenced me greatly.  I may have mentioned this before up thread but can't be bothered to look - Bevleys, and Bevet.  LNWR, P4 and at the time absolutely top notch modelling.  Seldom did small layouts inspire me, especially back then I was a mainline sort of 10 coach guy, but wow, they were captivating.  Happy memories.

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2 hours ago, New Haven Neil said:

The ol' thread keeps on giving!

 

A comment earlier puts me in mind of a small layout(s) that not much really happened on, but influenced me greatly.  I may have mentioned this before up thread but can't be bothered to look - Bevleys, and Bevet.  LNWR, P4 and at the time absolutely top notch modelling.  Seldom did small layouts inspire me, especially back then I was a mainline sort of 10 coach guy, but wow, they were captivating.  Happy memories.

 

You may have enjoyed one of my favourites from those days Ravensbeck. A big 0 gauge layout.

 

Don

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14 hours ago, sb67 said:

 

Great to hear you've been doing a bit of work on the layout. Be nice to see some pics, have you got a thread on it at all ? 

Hi @sb67.
No, I didn't create a thread, mainly because I didn't build the layout. It oddly seems sort of akin to "cheating" to me......
As has been said, I didn't acquire Ruyton Road to exhibit it. In fact, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.
I got it in order to save it, as the previous owner said that he was going to dismantle it! :o

That seemed such a shame to me - after all, it's the layout which finally convinced me that micro layouts were "my thing"
Now you mention it though, I'm thinking that I might indeed do a thread - just to keep folk up to date with it
I'm not going to do too much modification, As I've said, I'm altering the scenery a little - just to create a bit more sense of "space"
And my thoughts were always about how the line might have possibly survived... up until Beeching etc

Anyway, here are a couple of photos. These were taken after my first attempts at saving the scenery.....

EDIT: Both taken from the operators' viewpoint, rather than the "onlookers" view....

IMG_20190406_162215913.jpg

IMG_20190406_162144489.jpg

Edited by marc smith
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1 hour ago, marc smith said:

Hi @sb67.
No, I didn't create a thread, mainly because I didn't build the layout. It oddly seems sort of akin to "cheating" to me......
As has been said, I didn't acquire Ruyton Road to exhibit it. In fact, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.
I got it in order to save it, as the previous owner said that he was going to dismantle it! :o

That seemed such a shame to me - after all, it's the layout which finally convinced me that micro layouts were "my thing"
Now you mention it though, I'm thinking that I might indeed do a thread - just to keep folk up to date with it
I'm not going to do too much modification, As I've said, I'm altering the scenery a little - just to create a bit more sense of "space"
And my thoughts were always about how the line might have possibly survived... up until Beeching etc

Anyway, here are a couple of photos. These were taken after my first attempts at saving the scenery.....

EDIT: Both taken from the operators' viewpoint, rather than the "onlookers" view....

IMG_20190406_162215913.jpg

IMG_20190406_162144489.jpg

 

Thanks for the pics Mark. The layout has definitely gripped me and I wonder about a 'what if'. If it survived into BR ownership what stock would be used and even if it just crept into the diesel era with a waggon and Maschinenbau railbus for passenger workings and an 03/04 for freight. It certainly is a lovely little layout with a lot of potential and has certainly given me food for though.

I keep thinking about a version with a slightly bigger platform using a two car DMU and maybe a class 15 for freight, but then it might lose a bit of atmosphere.

 

 

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A bit late to this ansf I will no doubt duplicate earlier entries but.......some of the layouts that have inspired me....in no particular order. 

 

Cheddar - Chris Challis's S&D homage. 

 

Anything by the North Devon Group. Jamaica Reach etc. 

 

Mac Pyrke 's Berrow branch. 

 

North Leith which appeared in a Railway Modeller in about 1978. 

 

Anything by Iain Rice. 

 

Engine Wood and Bleakhouse Road by our good Captain

 

Pendlebury Town, a LMS terminus layout which appeared in Railway Modeller, late 70s. 

 

Lochside by Ian Futers, still a favourite from 1980 ish. 

 

Ditchling Green. 

 

Leysdown........and yes, Ruyton road funnily enough. 

 

 

There are a lot more....

 

 

Rob 

 

 

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On 10/04/2020 at 22:36, Nearholmer said:

 

Probably was yours then, because I was then a south-easterner.

 

Thank you, it was a pleasure to see it.

 

Just been clearing my workshop and here is the photo. Hopefully this is the layout you remember

 

Eric Hines is on the left, I am in the middle and Roger Cox on the right 

IMG_5681.jpeg

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On 13/06/2020 at 19:55, ICH said:

Just been clearing my workshop and here is the photo. Hopefully this is the layout you remember

 

Eric Hines is on the left, I am in the middle and Roger Cox on the right 

IMG_5681.jpeg

 

 

From the badges worn this would have been at one of the Sandown Park Racecourse model shows organised by the Elmbridge Model Club.

 

 

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Thanks for the info. it so long ago I forgot where it was. 

 

On 19/06/2020 at 12:23, adrianmc said:

 

 

From the badges worn this would have been at one of the Sandown Park Racecourse model shows organised by the Elmbridge Model Club.

 

 

 

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I haven't checked all the way through the thread, but has anyone yet mentioned the large layout based on the Isle Of Man railways that appeared in the Railway Modeller way back ? I think it was a club operation.

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3 minutes ago, joppyuk1 said:

I haven't checked all the way through the thread, but has anyone yet mentioned the large layout based on the Isle Of Man railways that appeared in the Railway Modeller way back ? I think it was a club operation.

A group from the Manchester MRS.

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  • 6 months later...

I remember seeing both guises of Martin Brent's Arcadia/Rye Harbour layouts back in the day, and am surprised that there doesn't seem to be any photos of this exquisite and inspirational layout on the internet at all.

 

[I hope this isn't a repost as this is a very long thread...]

 

Then I came across this, a video of a TV show which featured the latter. Brings back memories of those 80s exhibitions. There here would often be just one or two layouts that I found absolutely captivating. Lochside by Ian Futers was the other one that really springs to mind.

 

 

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11 minutes ago, StuartMc said:

I remember seeing both guises of Martin Brent's Arcadia/Rye Harbour layouts back in the day, and am surprised that there doesn't seem to be any photos of this exquisite and inspirational layout on the internet at all.

 

[I hope this isn't a repost as this is a very long thread...]

 

Then I came across this, a video of a TV show which featured the latter. Brings back memories of those 80s exhibitions. There here would often be just one or two layouts that I found absolutely captivating. Lochside by Ian Futers was the other one that really springs to mind.

 

 

Lovely layouts built by a lovely man.

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Looking back through some of my old RMs/BRMs and the following layouts really stood out for me but (unlike other ones of the time, such as Askrigg Bank) I do not know what became of them in later years. I wonder what happened to them? Any information about them or their builders welcome.

 

Highworth (unknown, BRM April 1996) - 2mm scale layout of Highworth station, atmospheric

 

Minima Bay (Mike Williams, BRM April 1996) - compact O gauge layout by Mike Williams, who apparently was the proprietor of a kit line called College Models? Not familiar with the kits but liked this layout a lot.

 

Littlington Harbour (John Cox, BRM May 1997) - interesting Sussex station model which (according to the credits) Tony Wright photographed?

 

Exeter Central (Ken Webb, RM Feb 97 and June 2001) - this was a large 00 model of Exeter Central built in a garage in Australia by an expat. Always found this one inspiring, I wonder if any of our Antipodean members have heard of it or its builder?

 

Much Dunking (Rev. Max Ramsey, RM Apr 1997) - enjoyable 00 home layout in two connected shelf units in a study. Managed to get a main line feel in a small space and had charm.

 

Loose End (Dave Holman, RM March 1998) - the builder of this layout has since made layouts of Irish subjects (Arigna Town, Fintonagh) which have appeared on the exhibition circuit in recent years, but wonder what became of this 7mm Col Stephens/Wantage crossover layout which was very well done.

 

Cold Harbour Lane (Ian Futers, RM April 1998) - the builder of this is obviously well known, but just wondering how long this small shed layout was on the circuit for?

 

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The Highworth Layout might have been an N gauge one by Stauart Brazier. It was vey well done and looked more finescale than most. I met Stuart when we both worked for a firm at Wombourne.  We used to nip over o Modellers Mecca at lunch times.

 

Don

 

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28 minutes ago, SD85 said:

Exeter Central (Ken Webb, RM Feb 97 and June 2001) - this was a large 00 model of Exeter Central built in a garage in Australia by an expat. Always found this one inspiring, I wonder if any of our Antipodean members have heard of it or its builder?

Ken Webb lived in Sydney. He died a few years ago and his layout was dismantled thereafter. Some of the buildings went to a fellow BRMA member in Melbourne who, as it happens, also has a model of Exeter Central.

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17 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

Ken Webb lived in Sydney. He died a few years ago and his layout was dismantled thereafter. Some of the buildings went to a fellow BRMA member in Melbourne who, as it happens, also has a model of Exeter Central.

 

Thanks for the information. Given that the layout featured in RM nearly a quarter of a century ago and Mr Webb had already been living in Australia for several decades prior (according to the information he provided in the article), I guessed that he possibly would have passed on by now.

 

It's always been a station that really rewards modelling from a scenic and operational angle, what with engine changes,  the gradient from St Davids, light engine movements etc. The layout definitely held my imagination when I read about it.

Edited by SD85
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18 minutes ago, Donw said:

The Highworth Layout might have been an N gauge one by Stauart Brazier. It was vey well done and looked more finescale than most. I met Stuart when we both worked for a firm at Wombourne.  We used to nip over o Modellers Mecca at lunch times.

 

Don

 

 

I think that was the one. Definitely seemed more finescale I agree.

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On 23/06/2020 at 11:58, joppyuk1 said:

I haven't checked all the way through the thread, but has anyone yet mentioned the large layout based on the Isle Of Man railways that appeared in the Railway Modeller way back ? I think it was a club operation.

The first Railway Modeller I ever bought.

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