Older Inspirational Layouts

[glasspusher]

For me it was a little HOn9 MPD layout in the Nov '73 MRC. it was by Nigel Adams and it sparked off my railway modelling days. It had everything to me, aged 11.  Industrial, run down, grimy and clever use of Airfix engine sheds.  Best bit was it was in a space less than a square yard, about all the space I could aspire to at 11. It's memory stayed with me for years. it wasn't even my magazine copy it was my brother's. My funds at that time would never stretch to 35p or whatever the magazine cost then. Not with Spangles and sugar mice to buy.

 

Strangely it was also responsible for bringing me back into Railway Modelling as an adult 30-odd years later when I discovered a bound copy of the entire years magazines for 1973 on the second hand shelf at Midland Counties Publishers. Flicking through, my eyes alighted on the very article and the old flame was re-kindled.

 

Thank you Nigel Adams. my obsession is your fault.  

 

I recall now that there was also the Rawnook & Holme branch, in September MRC of the same year, though I can't recall the builder's name . I'm off to go look. It had L&YR in spadefulls.

 

A couple of years later, '75 I think, During a family holiday in the area I made my first visit to Pendon.   The rest as they say, is history.

 

Kind regards,

 

Anthony

Edited February 23, 2013 by glasspusher

[Neil]

Dennis Allenden's Sainte Collin des Champs, O gauge vintage french 'pre grouping'.  This layout opened my eyes to the glory of old continental railways. The layout wasn't very much really but the rolling stock, all scratchbuilt by Dennis, and his descriptions of the prototype were very inspirational.

 

Fabulous another fan. I've always thought that Dennis Allenden's writing to be the finest on our hobby that I've ever read, the equal of his exquisite locos and stock, but there's a lot to be said for the layout too. A look at the plan which accompanies his article in the Railway Modeller shows just how ground braking it was. There are none of the must have conventions of terminus, run round loops or fiddle yards feeding a circuit. I'd suggest that even today it's a verty innovative concept and while not fully finished the component parts were beautifully put together.

[New Haven Neil]

I loved his writing too - the Lanky Flamme (sp?) rings a bell.

[tetleys]

I suppose we 'memebers of a certain age' have default layouts that very much broke the mold in a world of mediocre layouts limited by the lack of available modelling material. The ones that inspired me from the age of about 10 or 11 through the adolescent years and early married life when other interests and domestic demands pushed modelling into the limelight and eventually back to the hobby you never really fall out with are in rough date order.

Peter Denny's Buckingham

Ken Northwood's North Devonshire

Peter Jenkinson's various Settle & Carlisle layouts culminating in his ambitious Little Long Drag.

Chris Mathewman's Striving,

All of the above were viewed in Railway Modeller although I saw Chris operating his Striving and his later Striven at a couple of shows, I didn't have the oportunity to attend the few available but I was equally inspired by the unsung heros of local clubs, I recall being at a very modest Doncaster show back in the mid 1970s and watching a very well portrayed Settle Carlisle by I think Grimsby on which everything was nicely weathered almost unique back then, at the same show Wakefield were displaying their Great Western layout not weathered of course that would have been heresy but both layouts really got my juices flowing.

I thank them all.

Dave Shakespeare

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Don't think anyone has mentioned the Potwell Mineral Light Railway which appeared in the MRN in 1959. Set in the Kent Coalfield, the 4mm models were driven by clockwork,

 

I found (as a young lad) the detailing to be exceptional, and even today that layout could teach us a thing or two.

[Pacific231G]

Don't think anyone has mentioned the Potwell Mineral Light Railway which appeared in the MRN in 1959. Set in the Kent Coalfield, the 4mm models were driven by clockwork,

 

I found (as a young lad) the detailing to be exceptional, and even today that layout could teach us a thing or two.

I've got the MRN articles describing Mr. G.T. Porter's layout from July and August 1952 (Did it appear again in 1959?) and it always struck me as an excellent scheme. It was essentially two microlayouts joined together and based on the East Kent Railway  from Shepeherdswell (Potwell) with its sharply curved main line connection to Tilmanstone Colliery (Sibertstone) separated by the Lodge Hill (Golgotha) tunnel. The prototype track plan was simplified and Mr. Porter set it in an imaginary location.

 

I liked the idea of building the 8ft by 16inch layout into a cabinet and was intrigued by the idea of operating with clockwork mechanisms fixed at their lowest speed with just the reversing lever coming out of the cab. He did say that we was planning to convert the layout to stud contact and I wonder if that ever happened. Giles Barnabe produced an updated version of the plan in Model Trains International a few years ago.

[Donw]

One of those that sticks in my mind is Graham Overton's Beckford featured in MRI. An 0 gauge oval layout in 16x8ft yet it doesn't look crowded. Later he had more room and built a larger more complex layout. Somehow the original small through station and yard seemed so typical and something achieveable. It was also in G0G small layouts 2.

 

Don

 

Edit I also have seen no mention of Ravensbeck which kept me enthralled for ages at Bristol in the Watershed days.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Donw

[Peter Kazmierczak]

I've got the MRN articles describing Mr. G.T. Porter's layout from July and August 1952 (Did it appear again in 1959?) and it always struck me as an excellent scheme. It was essentially two microlayouts joined together and based on the East Kent Railway from Shepeherdswell (Potwell) with its sharply curved main line connection to Tilmanstone Colliery (Sibertstone) separated by the Lodge Hill (Golgotha) tunnel. The prototype track plan was simplified and Mr. Porter set it in an imaginary location.

 

I liked the idea of building the 8ft by 16inch layout into a cabinet and was intrigued by the idea of operating with clockwork mechanisms fixed at their lowest speed with just the reversing lever coming out of the cab. He did say that we was planning to convert the layout to stud contact and I wonder if that ever happened. Giles Barnabe produced an updated version of the plan in Model Trains International a few years ago.

Yes, you're right about the date. My grey cells are starting to fade....

 

I remember now that I read the second part of his article probably in the early 1960s and didn't manage to track down the first part until nearly twenty years later.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Western Sunset

[kernowtim]

Another mention for Allied Marine, after seeing this at Luton in 1979? I filled my Hornby steel mineral wagons with (gloss) painted watch parts and other scrap, and built a scrapyard and factory on my 6X4 ft oval, much to my parents distress, was only 12 at the time though.

Chee Tor was another revelation,trains in the landscape .Also a gauge 1 layout at the London Imrex show with signal bells & buzzers, dont remember its name, could possibly have been a test track.Have always liked watching trains go by,Charwelton & holiday haunts are more modern favorites

[Jason T]

I saw Borchester (for the second time) at Nottingham yesterday, hugely inspirational and completely belies it's age. At some exhibitions, it could easily walk away with Best in Show.

[Pacific231G]

I saw Borchester (for the second time) at Nottingham yesterday, hugely inspirational and completely belies it's age. At some exhibitions, it could easily walk away with Best in Show.

I agree. I've seen it several times now and it never fails to impress. I think it was Frank Dyer's well thought through approach to operation that really made the difference. Apart from his articles about Borchester itself (Market and Town) I've got a couple of his MRC articles about planning for operation and they make a lot of sense. I also saw this in his much simpler Hardwick Grange that was also at Ally Pally three years ago.

[edward66]

I'm surprised that P.D.Hancock's Craigshire has only had one mention in 8 pages, his work was superb as was his writing about it.

 

Edward

[New Haven Neil]

There's been at least three - my OP, post 14 and post 32!

[Barry O]

This thread is taking its toll - makes me feel a lot older than I feel.....

 

Great layouts, great layout builders/operators.

 

I mentioned the Leeds MRS layout from many years ago - Leeds Victoria - Dewsbury Midland - Bradford London Road and recently came across a picture of the pre Arthur Whitehead and pre Manchester MRS versions of Dewsbury - a shot taken in the Corn Exchange - no drapes or fire curtains- corrugated cardboard to cover the layout legs etc! Note Mike Cole's Class 50 in Dewsbury  - two motors - loads of lead and lots of grunt!

 

[t-b-g]

I saw Borchester (for the second time) at Nottingham yesterday, hugely inspirational and completely belies it's age. At some exhibitions, it could easily walk away with Best in Show.

I really looked forward to seeing Borchester Market for the second time at Nottingham. I think that the design of the layout and the railway itself really stand up as a superb example of a proper operational model railway.

 

It was let down for me by the stock and some of the operation. I recall reading that Frank Dyer was a bit of a stickler for his operators being highly skilled on the layout before they were allowed to operate in front of others. I saw rather too many locos come to a halt because points weren't set or sections weren't switched correctly and a lot of studying lists of what to do next.

 

The other thing with the originbal stock was that nothing was unusual or "one offs". I recall reading how Frank Dyer got his atmosphere by modelling the day in, day out railway scene. On something like Borchester, that meant B1s, K3s, J39s, J6 & 11, J50 and all sorts of motive power appropriate to a secondary line. At Nottingham, when I looked, there was an A4, a 9F and Falcon on shed! It rather went against the spirit of what Frank Dyer was aiming to achieve. I appreciate that the current owners don't have the original stock but enough suitable RTR locos have been available to allow a more suitable loco stud and it rather spoiled the overall effect for me.

 

The layout was still worth a good coat of looking at though. Allowing a train to be seen running along the back and round into the station, with off scene fiddle yards like those is something that more of us should think about. Brilliant design!

Edited March 20, 2013 by t-b-g

[PatB]

I'm surprised that P.D.Hancock's Craigshire has only had one mention in 8 pages, his work was superb as was his writing about it.

 

Edward

 

 

There's been at least three - my OP, post 14 and post 32!

At risk of derailing thr thread, what happened to P D Hancock?  I've got a copy of RM from the early 90s in which he relates the demise of Craigshire and his first efforts in 16 mm scale but I haven't come across anything since (having been away from model railways for most of that decade).  I assume that, at the time, he was somewhat advanced in years and so is likely, by now, to have joined CJF and Peter Denny but if that's the case, if anyone can point me to an obituary it would be appreciated.  A pointer to any further writings on the Torlum Valley Railway (as his 16 mm outdoor line was called) would be interesting too.

[New Haven Neil]

I don't mind the discussion moving on to the creators of the layouts Pat.

 

I think the gent concerned must have passed to the great fiddle yard in the sky, like you I have the impression he was quite elderly then.  I haven't ever seen an obituary either.

 

OK then folks, to keep it going, your layout building/writing heros?  Here's a starter...

 

Iain Rice

Peter Denny

Frank Dyer

CJF

PD Hancock

Tony Koester

 

...off you go!

[DavidLong]

No contest. I'll take Rice with everything

 

David

[martin_wynne]

add David Jenkinson

[queensquare]

No contest. I'll take Rice with everything

 

David

 

Denny on a bed of Rice for me. 

My  home layout is very much Denny - pre-group terminus and Junction with lots of operational interest.

My exhibition layouts are pure Rice - light railway, eye level display, proscenium arch etc

 

Jerry

[Pacific231G]

At risk of derailing thr thread, what happened to P D Hancock?  I've got a copy of RM from the early 90s in which he relates the demise of Craigshire and his first efforts in 16 mm scale but I haven't come across anything since (having been away from model railways for most of that decade).  I assume that, at the time, he was somewhat advanced in years and so is likely, by now, to have joined CJF and Peter Denny but if that's the case, if anyone can point me to an obituary it would be appreciated.  A pointer to any further writings on the Torlum Valley Railway (as his 16 mm outdoor line was called) would be interesting too.

 

He died on June 28th 2011 in the nursing home where he was then living

There was a very good speech at his funeral quoted in full here.

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/40424-pd-hancock-funeral/?p=432484&hl=+p.d.%20+hancock&fromsearch=1&do=findComment&comment=432484

 

I don't know when he stopped modelling but I don't think it was many years before his death.

Philip Hancock was born in 1928 and lived for almost his entire life in Edinburgh where he was a well respected academic librarian. He started building the Craig and Mertonford in 1950 and was contributing articles on narrow gauge modelling and modelling in general to Railway Modeller and MRN almost as soon as he started modelling.

The first article by P.D. Hancock that I have is a description and very good drawing of a small motor coaster in MRN in April 1950 that refers to his 4mm scale layout but not that it was NG. A plan of the CMR first appears in MRN in November 1950 when the layout was in its early stages of construction but he refers back to an article about the loco "Dunedin" in July 1949 that I don't have.

 

He said in his book that he was very inspired by John Ahern's articles that he'd first read in 1947 so it's interesting that a couple of years later his own articles were appearing alongside John Ahern's in MRN.  

 

Edited March 21, 2013 by Pacific231G

[Barry O]

Barry Norman

Alan Smith

Mike Edge

Nick Easton

Bob Harper

Ian Futers

Ken Longbottom

John Wright....

 

 

and many many more

[waggy]

Sadly I believe she passed away quite some time ago.

I spoke to her son Richard at the weekend, Vivien is still with us and modelling.

Edited March 21, 2013 by waggy

[clecklewyke]

No contest. I'll take Rice with everything

 

David

Here here!

 

and possibly "son of Rice" Tim Shackleton?

[Stringfingerling]

Gordon Gravett  
Trevor Hughes (Tanygrisiau)

Jurgen Mehnhert (spelling uncertain) (Abermynach - RM Feb 1983)