Older Inspirational Layouts

[Nearholmer]

Remarkable. If Ahern wasn’t inspired by that, I’d eat my hat (sun for the shading of, green).

[Pacific231G]

Many thanks indeed, David.

What an astonishing layout, decades ahead of its time.

I can't wait for my issue of MTI and I wonder if that article mentions what happened to the layout or its creator/s?

Cheers,

John.

 

 

No John, I'm afraid it doesn't.(update: but I have found out more about him)

I have delved into the library a little more and I'd say that with the Madder Valley starting to appear early in the war that Cosomati was perhaps a decade ahead of the rest of the hobby.

 

In his introduction to the article in MTI, Chris Ellis (its editor) does states that "this was the layout that inspired John Ahern's famous Madder Valley". He may well be right but, In the forward to Miniature Building Construction,  Ahern simply says that "I think it had more than a little to do with my Madder Valley line". He too only seems to have known Cosmati's work from the the two MRN articles and he also credits Edward Beal with pioneering the art of scenic modelling. I too would like to know more about Aldo Cosomati.

 

Update: I didn't have to look very far to find out more along with examples of his profssional work- none related to model railways. 

 

Aldo Cosomati was born in Italy in 1895 . He settled in London at the end of the First World War and lived in Zurich for five years where he studied drawing, printing, bookbinding, and furniture design,

 

He then specialised in commercial art and between 1922 and 1928 designed a number of posters for the Underground Group (forerunner of LUL)

 

During the early part of the war, despite being an anti-fascist and married to an Englishwoman, he was interned on the Isle of Man where he was beaten up by interned Italian fascists after one of his anti-Mussolini cartoons was reproduced in a British newspaper (they got 21 days detention for their troubles) A number of prominent Italian fascists were not interned and Cosomati's case was one of several such injustices by the Home Office taken up by Sylvia Pankhurst  in a series of articles in her newspaper. I don't know for how long Cosomati remained interned and the next reference I can find to him was in several posters he designed for BOAC in 1953. He did work for the Curwen Press until 1970 and died in Hertfordshire in 1977

 

Several examples of Cosomati's work are available in the LT Museum shop (including a mug printed with his trooping the colour poster) . Two of his locos and at least one wagon, all from the Alheeba State Railway, are in the Science Museum Group's permanent collection (at the NRM I assume) but I've found no trace of him as a railway modeller after the 1933-34 MRN articles. I'd be interested to know if he shows up anywhere else- in a model railway club perhaps (?) . 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Pacific231G

[Edwardian]

More on Alheeba. I've been looking at the original articles as well as the version of it in MTI 82 which is worth getting if you're interested in knowing more about this pioneering layout.

 

The original articles were published in the December 1933 and January 1934 editions of MRN. Apart from railway company display layouts wirth train turntables, Alheeba is the first published layout I've found so far that included an off-scene staging or fiddle yard.

 

Alheba State trackplan.jpg

 

The Maybank layout, first described in the August 1934 MRN had been around and exhibited for a couple of years by then. That had a four road motorised traverser to handle trains "off-stage" but it's not clear how long Alheeba State had been in existence when its description was published. 

 

The first actual discussion of hidden sidings I've found was an article "In Conclusion" by A.R.Walkley in the October 1937 MRN  but there are enough odd passing references by 1934 to hidden tracks in tunnels etc. to sugest that this wasn't a complete novelty.

 

A.R. Walkley did include some scenery on his layouts but Aldo Cosomati said that "Alheeba owes its existence to a veritable lust of modelmaking of all types.. houses, landscape, railway and ships" by three friends over many years. Though the scenery, mostly townscape,  wasn't as well developed as John Ahern's in the following decade it does look as if the Madder Valley was influenced by Alheeba, at least to some extent.  

Alheeba State Heeba village.jpg

Alheeba town general view .jpgAlheeba town.jpgAlheeba marine quarter.jpgAlheeba goods station.jpgAlheeba controls etc..jpg

 

What a wonderful layout.  It would have been on my list of railways that inspired me, had I come across it before.  I suspect it did, indirectly, via Madder Valley.

 

Thanks to Nearholmer for directing me to this fascinating topic.

 

One layout I love is not that old, but it is, I understand, sadly defunct, and that is Maeport East.

 

The scenic modelling was a delight, and it relied on proprietary OO Gauge equipment skilfully back-dated. It had, IMHO, that same charm and slight whimsy that Madder Valley captured, and was clearly modelled to a high standard.

 

Hope going into the colour era does not offend!

[Edwardian]

Macclesfield Model Railway Society's Butley Town

 

From the mid '70s to early '80s, IIRC, a pioneering finescale OO layout, with buildings by Ken Ball and some very fine track-work.

[south_tyne]

A little unfair to classify as 'older' but Engine Wood by Captain Kernow of this here parish will remain an inspiration to me. Not just the outstanding modelling but the captivating backstory too! I must have read and re-read those RM articles from the mid-1990s over and over again as a teenager to the point where I could recall every word.

 

For me to encapsulated eveything that a model railway could and should be at its finest. I still love seeingand reading anything about EW to this day.

 

ST

[DLT]

One that I don't think has been mentioned, but had a huge influence on me was "Falcombe", a beautifully modelled and atmospheric GW branchline set in South Devon.  

Built by John Peverill-Cooper, it was RoM in the January 1969 Railway Modeller:

 

 

Check it out if you can find it.  It was one of teh articles that got me interested in branchline modelling, and moving on from the trainset.

I still look at it from time to time, and can probably recite the article word perfectly.

 

Cheers, Dave.

[richard i]

For me inspiration also came from an o gauge layout up in Cheshire? Which I was taken to as a teenager by a friend of my grandmothers a couple of times. It had stations in shed connected by tracks. Communication by signal block instruments. I operated Halebarns. I would love to see it again, best two days of my childhood. Blew my mind how much could be done with a model beyond a circle of track.

I have a couple of poor photos taken badly on my 110 camera of the time.

Never saw an article on it anywhere. Anyone else lucky enough to see it?

Richard.

[RJS1977]

For me inspiration also came from an o gauge layout up in Cheshire? Which I was taken to as a teenager by a friend of my grandmothers a couple of times. It had stations in shed connected by tracks. Communication by signal block instruments. I operated Halebarns. I would love to see it again, best two days of my childhood. Blew my mind how much could be done with a model beyond a circle of track.

I have a couple of poor photos taken badly on my 110 camera of the time.

Never saw an article on it anywhere. Anyone else lucky enough to see it?

Richard.

 

I've a recollection of it appearing in RM at one time.

[martin_wynne]

For me inspiration also came from an o gauge layout up in Cheshire? Which I was taken to as a teenager by a friend of my grandmothers a couple of times. It had stations in shed connected by tracks. Communication by signal block instruments. I operated Halebarns. I would love to see it again, best two days of my childhood. Blew my mind how much could be done with a model beyond a circle of track.

I have a couple of poor photos taken badly on my 110 camera of the time.

Never saw an article on it anywhere. Anyone else lucky enough to see it?

 

Hi Richard,

 

This layout?   http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/44856-day-trip-to-diggle/

[richard i]

Hi Richard,

 

This layout?   http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/44856-day-trip-to-diggle/

That is it. Thank you. Photos are great, but non can do justice to the real feel of the operation of the layout’s stations.

[kevinlms]

For me inspiration also came from an o gauge layout up in Cheshire? Which I was taken to as a teenager by a friend of my grandmothers a couple of times. It had stations in shed connected by tracks. Communication by signal block instruments. I operated Halebarns. I would love to see it again, best two days of my childhood. Blew my mind how much could be done with a model beyond a circle of track.

I have a couple of poor photos taken badly on my 110 camera of the time.

Never saw an article on it anywhere. Anyone else lucky enough to see it?

Richard.

By coincidence I opened a copy of the partwork 'Model and Miniature Railways', flicked open a page randomly and there is a 4 page spread on this model!

 

Part 24, often there are issues of M&MR, hanging around unwanted at exhibitions etc.

[St Enodoc]

One that I don't think has been mentioned, but had a huge influence on me was "Falcombe", a beautifully modelled and atmospheric GW branchline set in South Devon.  

Built by John Peverill-Cooper, it was RoM in the January 1969 Railway Modeller:

 

 

Check it out if you can find it.  It was one of teh articles that got me interested in branchline modelling, and moving on from the trainset.

I still look at it from time to time, and can probably recite the article word perfectly.

 

Cheers, Dave.

One of the first BR(WR), as distinct form GWR, branches I ever came across in print. 

[kevinlms]

One of the first BR(WR), as distinct form GWR, branches I ever came across in print. 

It only took 21 years to come to terms with the truth!

 

Edit to correct typo. Perhaps it will make more sense now!

Edited July 10, 2018 by kevinlms

[Donw]

One of the first BR(WR), as distinct form GWR, branches I ever came across in print. 

 

 

It only took 21 years to dome to terms with the truth!

 

 

I think the freight stock may have been a factor. The fifties were drab enough and the freight trains were very drab. Given the choice I think many were swayed by those wonderfull wagons Peco were doing very colourful. A lot of layouts were set in the Halcyon days when the worst of the deepression was over and the horrors of the war yet to come. Or at least that's how it was remembered.

To this day much as I love all things railway those drab freights still stick in my mind.

 

Don

[Andy Kirkham]

One of the first BR(WR), as distinct form GWR, branches I ever came across in print. 

This was possibly the first issue of RM I ever purchased.

 

I, too, appreciated the BR(W) setting as something of a breakthrough. I preferred that era partly because there were lined-green tank engines and probably because it was within my own lifetime. Also among the photos I knew (such as those in Great Western Branch Line Album) I much preferred the vivid, atmospheric pictures by the likes of Ben Ashworth to the static  train-standing-in-a-station shots taken by H.C.Casserley before the war.

Edited July 10, 2018 by Andy Kirkham

[westerner]

I and a couple of others have mentioned Harlyn Junction here is the cover of Railway Modeller with it on the cover for those of you who do not know it. I think the photo was taken by the builder Brian Fayle.

 

[The Johnster]

Actually, the inter-war were pretty drab as well; you don't think anybody ever kept those private owner wagons clean, do you.  But there is no doubt that colourful PO wagons, as many different ones as you get into a train, were a major selling point, along with the concept that everything was better before the war and that awful nationalisation nonsense, some sort of golden age when speed records were broken and everything was highly luxurious and ran to time.  The truth was more like the same filthy outdated late running that BR was not always justly credited with, and things were much worse in the cities before the Clean Ari Acts.

[Pacific231G]

 A lot of layouts were set in the Halcyon days when the worst of the deepression was over and the horrors of the war yet to come. Or at least that's how it was remembered.

To this day much as I love all things railway those drab freights still stick in my mind.

 

Don

On those layouts set in "Halcyon days" you don't see too many children without shoes or very obvious rickets but my late mother, who was a teacher from the mid 1930s, clearly remembered both. In rural areas- home of the archetypical Great Western branch line- poverty was even worse than in the cities and many farms were derelict or at least very run down.  

[Nearholmer]

Yep. All sides of my family are from rural parts of the south of England, and the generation that has now largely past had a very firm view: we must never go back to the thirties.

 

It was very definitely very hard in Miss Marpleshire unless you were well-off.

[Donw]

Actually, the inter-war were pretty drab as well; you don't think anybody ever kept those private owner wagons clean, do you.  But there is no doubt that colourful PO wagons, as many different ones as you get into a train, were a major selling point, along with the concept that everything was better before the war and that awful nationalisation nonsense, some sort of golden age when speed records were broken and everything was highly luxurious and ran to time.  The truth was more like the same filthy outdated late running that BR was not always justly credited with, and things were much worse in the cities before the Clean Ari Acts.

 

 

On those layouts set in "Halcyon days" you don't see too many children without shoes or very obvious rickets but my late mother, who was a teacher from the mid 1930s, clearly remembered both. In rural areas- home of the archetypical Great Western branch line- poverty was even worse than in the cities and many farms were derelict or at least very run down.  

 

 

Yep. All sides of my family are from rural parts of the south of England, and the generation that has now largely past had a very firm view: we must never go back to the thirties.

 

It was very definitely very hard in Miss Marpleshire unless you were well-off.

 

I am well aware that things were not that rosy, hence my comment ' or that's how it was remembered' . However from a modellers point of view a train of mostly grey wagons with a few brownish ones was pretty dull compared to the PO wagons. They didn't go in for a lot of weathering as a rule in those days. We had had enough of reality. Rather like the old fashioned toy trains a colourful livery was a definite plus.

Remember too during the fifties although things were a bit easier having space for a layout and a bit of pocket money to spend on a hobby was more common for those with decent jobs. It was the sixties when money to spend was more widespread

Don

[DLT]

I and a couple of others have mentioned Harlyn Junction here is the cover of Railway Modeller with it on the cover for those of you who do not know it. I think the photo was taken by the builder Brian Fayle.

 

Harlyn junc ed 1.jpg

 

Ah yes, Harlyn Junction and the Bishops Coney branch.  More about it on Brian's own website here:  http://www.brifayle.ca/1home.html  and Brian's move to 0-gauge and narrow-gauge, and his figure painting techniques.

Cheers, Dave.

[St Enodoc]

I and a couple of others have mentioned Harlyn Junction here is the cover of Railway Modeller with it on the cover for those of you who do not know it. I think the photo was taken by the builder Brian Fayle.

 

Harlyn junc ed 1.jpg

One of the best.

[south_tyne]

Yep. All sides of my family are from rural parts of the south of England, and the generation that has now largely past had a very firm view: we must never go back to the thirties.

 

It was very definitely very hard in Miss Marpleshire unless you were well-off.

Similar to some of my family roots, rural poverty in East Anglia was pretty horrific even in the 20th century. As with all these things, we remember the good/positive aspects. But hey, this is only railway modelling - for 99% of us it is escapism into an idealised time/setting/location.

 

Back to the thread....

 

I remember seeing Elmwell Village Depot as a lad and being mesmerized! It was that well known W&U layout depicting four seasons and four eras from GER to BR.

 

I am sure it will have been mentioned previously but it was so novel and different to anything I had seen before and still is pretty unique!

Edited July 10, 2018 by south_tyne

[The Johnster]

Rural poverty still exists, and even if it features the same levels of deprivation as urban, is worse because the rural poor do not have equal access to public transport, social services, facilities, low cost shopping, or the general infrastructure and support available to their urban counterparts.  

 

I recently mentioned that my 1950s South Wales Valleys layout was short on the stunted, bent, badly dressed, scruffy humanity (including those employed by the railway) because the 4mm figures on offer are fine upstanding, healthy, sleek, well dressed Home Counties types.  A few consumptive, overweight types, hunched against the rain and the bitter wind and sucking the last out of their Woodbines, would be more typical for the period and area, and the 1950s were by no means the worst of times in the mining valleys; full employment and improving standards of post war living courtesy of the NCB and it's pit head baths, and the still new NHS, to say nothing of universal free education made a huge difference to many people's lives.

 

Railway modelling, especially if it represents past eras, should pay due regard to the Social History of the locality and period it represents, and this may on occasion involve some realities that are not pleasant to contemplate.  Poverty meant something different then, not just having to put up with only having a CRT television; I can remember giving shoes I'd grown out of as a child away to a classmate who didn't have any (this was in the late 50s).  I do not want to recreate such inequality or desperation on my models, but I think it is only right to be aware of it and take it into account where necessary.  

[HonestTom]

I've always rather liked the Madder Valley because, for all it was freelance, it had a feeling of realism. I actually bought a couple of Aherne's books second-hand recently, partly because I just liked looking at his work. 

 

One that recently inspired me was Peter Denny's Leighton Buzzard. Specifically, I was very impressed by the standards of modelling he'd achieved despite having no access to the range available to modellers today. In turn, it inspired me to get more into repainting and scratchbuilding, which I'd always found intimidating.