PGN Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 What three layouts that you have seen have really inspired you, and why? I'm looking for personal responses here: I'm trying to get to the bottom of what kind of things modellers find inspirational, rather than attempting to identify an "all time greatest layout". The layouts that inspire you need not necessarily be in your chosen scale - although I suspect that for many of us, inspiration is more likely to have come from those who are working to a similar scale; and in my case all three are in fact N gauge and 2mm layouts. So my three are: Nether Stowey, which showed that N scale scenic layouts could be every bit as convincing in their scenic aspect as those built to larger scales Bassenthwaite Lake, for daring to be different, and showing that a basic oval "trainset layout" can be made into something worthy to stand alongside the finest exhibition layouts Chee Tor, for daring to be tall, and exploiting the potential of 2mm scale to allow towering landscapes through which the trains can run. There are, of course, many others which nearly made it onto my list ... and I was tempted to mention a few of my "second division" of inspirational layouts. BUT I said posters should mention three layouts only ... and if I don't keep to that rule in the first post of the thread, sure as pugs is 0-4-0s. nobody else will! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScRSG Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Biggleswade, Stoke Summit and our own Alloa! Models of actual locations, and the first two inspired me to take part in the third. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hiya I can name 3 layouts I like but hand on heart no layout has ever inspired me. Inspiration comes from the real world every time. I would say if you are looking for inspiration from a model, you are looking in the wrong place. The 3 I like are Wibdenshaw Pempool Falmouth Cheers Jim 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 P4 layouts all Heckmondwyke-- showing what could be achieved in P4. Only saw this in the flesh once. The long sweep, the attention to detail, the effect. Clinkerford - John Darch's (Killybegs) n branch that sets the railway in the landscape. The consistency and the understated detail is great. And you don't need a load of stock to have an interesting layout. Wheal Elizabeth - (Ullypug) you can have fun on a P4 plank. It works at all levels. How I made my choice? It's thinking that when I'm considering what to do I think of these most often as exemplars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Mmmm....that's a good question, and quite a difficult one to answer. As a child I always went back to my "Encyclopedia of Model Railways" time and again to look at one layout in particular. That layout was an inspiration then, and now, and is I expect also an inspiration to many others of my age and older. So my most inspirational layout vote goes to Peter Dennys Buckingham Branch where just about everything was scratch built. Keeping it to three is difficult, but an honorable mention must also go to Heckmondwyke and Moorcock Junction. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Got to agree with Jim on this one. Sure I took inspiration from Borchester in the 1960's but that was because it looked like a model of the railway I saw around me while living in Lancashire in the 1950's. I liked to see in print David Jenkinsons layouts because he modelled the 'fully panelled' era of the LMS. The outdoor multi-track Crewchester in clockwork excited me in the 1950's because of the way it was operated around real railway practices. But naming three layouts that have inspired me.... Borchester Crewchester GravyTrains layout Wainthrop? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 no layout has ever inspired me. Inspiration comes from the real world every time. I would say if you are looking for inspiration from a model, you are looking in the wrong place. Sorry Jim, I would respectfully have to disagree on that one. Inspiration is a very personal thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 No worries Mike Cheers Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) Without question the first layout that inpired me big time was P.D.Hancock's "Craig and Mertonford"..(is he still garden railwaying?) It gave me the impetus to move away from Hornby Dublo and discover that there was a 'better' alternative. I still have the old small format RM from 1950/60 something somewhere that lit the spark. Of it's time, it was probably the best that there was. Secondly it would probably have been "Coombe Junction ..Castle Coombe with the Tyling Branch" A lovely spacious well modelled GW or BR(W) layout. EM I think by Ken Payne(?) And thirdly (a difficult one!) would be "Heckmondwyke" one of the first exhibited P4 layouts..even that one was a little basic in details compared to what has been achieved today. The bigest improvement today IMHO (apart from the quality of most RTR stuff) is the scenics with several superb practitioners around now.. (use of seafoam, natural stuff, Grasmaster etc..) ...........but then there's Martyn Welch's 7mm "Hursley" ............. Edited February 21, 2011 by Re6/6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) For me the three are: Buckingham Craig and Mertenford Borchester All of them had a believable "could have been" histories and, for the period, were realistic. But my main inspiration is the prototpye, the most important are: Dent (and the rest of the S&C) East Leake (Great Central) Schindellegi Feusisberg and Sattel Aegeri (equally) on the Sudostbahn in Switzerland. David Edited for a spelling error Edited February 20, 2011 by DaveF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 I find other people's modelling and layouts inspires me to go on and produce models of my own. I see stuff that I like, techniques that I haven't tried etc., and that gives me motivation to carry on and produce more stuff of my own. I would agree that inspiration is a very personal thing, and for me some individuals or groups that have played a key role in how I approach the hobby would be: - Pendon Museum - Tim Venton (who I knew in his early pre-P4 & pre-Clutton days, but who even then would frequently badger me to 'up my game') - Martyn Welch - his weathering book was a revelation and I will admit to taking the occasional 'rather long' lunch hour in the days when he had his shop in Plymouth.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Right, Here's my three (in no particular order as they say on TV): Charford- John Charman's ex-SR branch terminus set in Dorset. It had the feel of a real railway, a sense of "place", had a good balance of stock appropriate to the location and it was operated in a protypical manner. Potwell Mineral Light Railway - Never heard of it? Well it appeared in two issues of the MRN in the late 1950s and I've never forgotten it. A small colliery/mineral line set in Kent. Lots of detail and very atmospheric. Anybody else remember it? Kirtley - The original O-gauge MR exhibit on display at the Derby Museum & Art Gallery in the 1950s/60s. Always fascinated to watch the trains go round on a Saturday morning Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave777 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Ummm, not sure if it deserves a reply to say 'none', but Jim's first sentence says it for me. I can't think of a single layout (let alone 3!) that have made me think 'I want to model like that' or 'I want to recreate that' or however we define 'inspired'. I can think of some approaches to modelling that have inspired me, probably the most influential being the rise of the urban grot layout over the past decade or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 ... I can't think of a single layout (let alone 3!) that have made me think 'I want to model like that' or 'I want to recreate that' or however we define 'inspired'. ... Maybe rather "I want to get mine to look as good as that". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westerner Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Over the years I've been reading mags and going to exhibitions there have been may that have "floated my boat", but three do spring to mind as layouts that made me want to build a model railway. 1. Harlyn Junction By Brian Fayle (RM Jan 1970) was the first layout I saw whcich looked real 2. Buckingham By Peter Denny again it looked so real and was operated blike a real railway 3. Borchester Market Once again operated like a real railway Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adams442T Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Inspiring? Well thought inspiring at least: Bevleys, by the Lowery's, perhaps a bit too 'clean', but for simple sweeping lines difficult to beat in the period. Arcadia, the original EM layout, not the later 'O' gauge version. It definitely inspired me to tackle EM. Harford Street, OO perhaps but North London post-war grot just as I remember it! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Oldddudders Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 Relieved to find I actually know some of the layouts listed here. JS-W's point about the prototype is well-made - we should not copy models, only what we see in 12" to the foot. That said, if you see a layout that motivates you to model, then I call that inspiration. Thus, although I have never attempted to model Irish NG, David Lloyd's incomplete Augher Valley remains the most inspiring layout - and layout description - from my youth. Mrs Thompson's Eastbourne was a gobsmacker, and a prototype (LBSCR) that I would have loved to adopt, but my skills aren't up to that amount of scratch- and kit-building. In modern times, Treneglos ticks a lot of boxes for me. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 ... JS-W's point about the prototype is well-made - we should not copy models, only what we see in 12" to the foot. Except that much of what is modelled does not now exist. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugd1022 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Catcott Burtle - Mr. Nevards little 4mm beauty, photos of which I never tire of looking at. Hursley - Martin Welch's 7mm masterpiece, like Catcott Burtle it has something about it which I can't pin down exactly. Birmingham New St - Jim S.W.'s long term P4 project.... will it ever be finished? Who knows but it shows it is possible to model a real location accurately and capture the atmosphere at the same time. All three are very inspring but I know I'll proably never acheive the same results, for lots of different reasons. I wonder what the answers to this thread would be like in say, twenty years time.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium mezzoman253 Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 20, 2011 Blackmill, Minories( in its various guises), and recently Warren Lane. All have given me ideas, motivation, and something to aspire to. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 20, 2011 3 layout's hmmm, in no particular order. 1. Ronsthorp - This was in the first Railway modeller I ever got my hands on (1992? and I still have it) and I thought that it was fantastic. I loved the ability to run long trains and to be able to show movements of them between service trains. Never saw it anywhere but in the modeller but it still inspired me. 2. Jamaica Reach - I saw this many times at exhibitions but it never failed to captivate me despite being in a scale that held no interest. 3. I can't think of a 3rd layout that I can say inspired me. There are lots of fantastic layouts out there that I deeply admire for many reasons and have taken ideas from to use on my own layouts but I think that I now gain inspiration from reality rather than layouts now. Edit - As an extra thought. These layouts that I have listed as not the ones that I would say are my favourite layouts but are ones that have made me want to go and build or operate immediately. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jim s-w Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi all To clarify my earlier comment, you can get methods and techniques from other layouts but IMHO there's a difference between something making you think "I want to model that" and something that makes you think "that is how I model it" I would say that none of the layouts that get mentioned in this thread were inspired by other layouts, just the real thing. Cheers Jim 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tebee Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I have a rather diverse three 1 Edward Beal's West Midland Read one of his books on this when I was about 12 and it made a lasting impression. Even though it's a long way from current layout standards it's still one of my sources of inspiration. 2. John Allen's Gorrie & Daphetid Saw thing in a 1968 Railway Modeler and it started my life long fascination with US trains - hey I even lived with an American girl for five years! Although aspects of it are dated now I don't think it's ever been equaled for scenic grandeur, though it was strictly a model railroad and not an accurate depiction of the prototype but it does convey the atmosphere so well unlike today's more accurate but sterile depictions. 3. Derick Naylor's Aire Valley railway - this started my fascination with all things narrow gauge. I loved the fact it was a complete system and was totally different to other layouts in both buildings and rolling stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianwales Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Hi All My Top Three 1. Chippenham by Roy Ball 2. Stoke Summit 3. Tonbridge West Yard Mainly because I've had a chance to operate all three and they all operate like a real railway. I like operating railways rather than watching them and in the abscense of my own model railway each of the above hasgiven me the chance to do so. Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted February 20, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2011 Striving. Can't think of any others at the moment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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