Chameleon Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I see County Gate, possibly the greatest narrow gauge layout ever built is coming up for sale today. I hope it gets a good price and goes to a good home and still does the rounds at exhibitions. If I had the money, I would buy it in a heartbeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted February 5, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 5, 2015 I checked up and apparently it did not sell at the auction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 On another forum it is stated that County Gate, Cliffhanger and Bratton Fleming have been sold and will be on permanent display, but no details of where or who now owns them. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir douglas Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 does that include the rolling stock & locos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fallen Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 From what was stated I think most of the stock and locos will go with the layouts. Not much hard information though. Frank Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 I see County Gate, possibly the greatest narrow gauge layout ever built ..... now there's a debate that would be a can of worms.... To be honest it had so much greenery on it I always thought it looked mouldy.... 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leander Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 County Gate, possibly the greatest narrow gauge layout ever built... Obviously you've never seen Peter Kazer's 'Corris'! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Obviously you've never seen Peter Kazer's 'Corris'!... or his 'Dinas Junction'.... I would contend that the daddy of all 009/NG layouts - the Craig & Mertonford - is at least one of, if not the - 'greatest' NG layout ever built, due to it's pioneering nature, longevity, & sheer character. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bécasse Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I would contend that the daddy of all 009/NG layouts - the Craig & Mertonford - is at least one of, if not the - 'greatest' NG layout ever built, due to it's pioneering nature, longevity, & sheer character. Agreed. I also agree that all of Peter Kazer's layouts have been exemplary, although I always found that Blythburgh somehow lacked the atmosphere of the others, perhaps because Peter failed to crack the difficult presentational problems that the prototype site presented. One other narrow gauge "layout" from a half a century ago that really deserves mention is the OO12 "put-together" of the railways of the Isle of Man produced by a number of members of the Manchester Model Railway Society, exhibited at the Society's 1964 and 1965 shows at the Manchester Corn Exchange and featured over three issues of the Railway Modeller in late 1964. It incorporated enough of the Island's railways, including all the terminal stations, to be run as a system "just like the real thing". 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigo Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Have to say I was disappointed when I saw County Gate at a local exhibition. It was after it had been in one of the magazines with nice close-ups of all the detailing. It probably wasn't helped by having chairs used for a barrier, but the nearest you could get to view a train was about 8 feet away with the corner of the L being much further. Nice as a scenic spectacular, but the detail was lost, mostly green blobs moving through a green background. Real pity. Brian G. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigo Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 On another forum it is stated that County Gate, Cliffhanger and Bratton Fleming have been sold and will be on permanent display, but no details of where or who now owns them. Frank Reminds me of a few other layouts, Barrie Kelsall's "Filisur", David Yule's "Disentis" and I think Barry Norman's L&SWR "Petherick" which were all bought by someone in the West Midlands to go on permanent display. Never found out exactly where they were displayed, but "Disentis" has new owners and is scheduled to appear at Chatham show in June. Brian G. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobby Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 (edited) but the nearest you could get to view a train was about 8 feet away with the corner of the L being much further. Nice as a scenic spectacular, That was how it's designed to be viewed, perhaps not 8ft away but certainly from a distance (the barriers were usually about 4/5ft away, I'd have been surprised if they were really 8ft away)... You are looking at a railway in the scenery not a close up... That applied both to CG and CH... Many layouts are built to be viewed that way but when they appear in magazines they do close ups as that's the way they do it. The detail can still be seen but at a distance just like many of us view a real railway... To be fair to that original quote if you were selling your pride and joy you'd talk it up as well... They've both received many "best in shows" and other awards... That sort of thing is very subjective, being a personal opinion and in in this case one that isn't always based on the layouts themselves but other "gossip"... Perhaps best to leave it at that rather than get into a slanging match? Edited April 20, 2015 by Hobby Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ramrig Posted September 2, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 2, 2016 I see County Gate, possibly the greatest narrow gauge layout ever built....................... I would add Dave & Shirley Rowe's Llareggub (I think that was its name) from the early 80's to the list of greatest ever. Their level of detail for the time was outstanding. As featured on the Lineside Look at Model Railways DVD by the late Bob Symes. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted September 2, 2016 Share Posted September 2, 2016 That was how it's designed to be viewed, perhaps not 8ft away but certainly from a distance (the barriers were usually about 4/5ft away, I'd have been surprised if they were really 8ft away)... You are looking at a railway in the scenery not a close up... That applied both to CG and CH... Many layouts are built to be viewed that way but when they appear in magazines they do close ups as that's the way they do it. The detail can still be seen but at a distance just like many of us view a real railway... It should also be borne in mind that its creator uses a mobility scooter so there needed to be plenty of space between the layout and the barriers for him to be able to access it if necessary. Also - increasing the distance between the barriers and the layout also increases the length of the barrier and hence the potential number of people who can see it at a given time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rue_d_etropal Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 (edited) Llareggub was the name of the village(B----r All backwards from Dylon Thomas's Under Milkwood) . The layout was originally just called Milkwood. I remember it from that narrow corridor at Central Hall and still have the old exhibition guide somewhere(early 70s not the 80s). Although it has now been rebuilt, it did suffer from problems with the material used to build the buildings(some form of clay popular at the time) It was possibly the layout that inspired me to be different as it was more like the dioramas in London museums, including the old transport museum at Clapham, which I believe had also influenced Dave. Not sure if Shirley was involved then, but I then seemed to be following Dave around the country, firstly down to Exeter, where he was building the large town part of Exe Valley or something like that, and when I moved up north, Dave and Shirley attended every Blackburn exhibition. Must admit when I saw County Gate at Blackburn I was impressed, but it was a bit difficult seeing through the crowd. Some nice ideas like the SR verson of the Greek railcars. ============================ Edited because one word got bleeped, don't you love these politically correct computer programs. Edited September 25, 2016 by rue_d_etropal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewshimmin Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Any idea what happened to these layouts? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dorset Wanderer Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 County Gate was still at the auctioneers six months or so ago having not sold I believe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted July 11, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 11, 2018 County Gate was still at the auctioneers six months or so ago having not sold I believe I understood that the Auctioneers wanted to keep it put it on display. Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Bridport and Charmouth has always seemed quite exceptional to me.. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 On 26/09/2016 at 00:39, rue_d_etropal said: Llareggub was the name of the village(B----r All backwards from Dylon Thomas's Under Milkwood) . The layout was originally just called Milkwood. I remember it from that narrow corridor at Central Hall and still have the old exhibition guide somewhere(early 70s not the 80s). Although it has now been rebuilt, it did suffer from problems with the material used to build the buildings(some form of clay popular at the time) That would be Pyruma fire cement (also marketed by Peco as 'modelling compound' at a higher price!). Allan Downes used it for many of his earlier buildings like Candleford Mill, but most of these also crumbled with age. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 The one layout that inspired me was 'Ambledown'. Probably mid 1960s. Much of the freight rolling stock was Tri-ang TT bodies on N chassis. As a pre-teen back then, it was the one that started the ball rolling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubbles2 Posted January 29, 2022 Share Posted January 29, 2022 Is there any further news of what happened to the inspirational layout, County Gate or where it is now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted August 12, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 12, 2022 I have just read on the Narrow gauge Forum (NGRMonline) that John De Frayssinet has died. Sorry I can't provide a link, that forum is members-only. Dave. 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 Very sad. John wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea to be sure, but he was a magnificent modelmaker and almost single handedly saved the Fairbourne railway from being torn up in the early 1980s. That the line survived (albeit in an altered form) is testament to him. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators AY Mod Posted August 12, 2022 Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2022 Sad news. It may sound an odd obituary but I did have several monumental run-ins with him including trying to conjure up a Texan obscenity law case against me, trying to get a show closed down the day before it opened and the most fantastical tales of military action and international assassination risks. But I came to like him if you gave as good as he tried to give. RIP John. 4 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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