Which layouts have really inspired you?

[andyrids]

Treat yourself to a copy of Ian Futers' "Modelling Scotland's Railways" - Lochside's in there. If you're feeling really generous, buy his "Scottish Railway Projects" at the same time. Enough inspiration in those two books to help you make good use of your spare time!

Thank you that was the info I was looking for, nice one :-)

[sammyboy]

Right then, here we go. I have written up a list of favourite layouts I have liked from seeing either in magazines or in the flesh at exhibitions.

That list of approximately 13 layouts came from working through a pile of mags on the floor of my bedroom to the left of my desk. If I had expanded the list from ALL the mags I have, it would have taken forever!

 

It looks like the rules were at the start of this topic to break down my list to just 3, which is a very hard decision indeed!

 

In no perticular order:

Bradfield Gloucester Square - A great layout of a truly authentic inner city small terminus which just oozes atmosphere, built in a reasonably small space. Well done to "The Laird" for originally building it and for it's new owners for nabbing such a great layout.

Shame I haven't seen it at a show yet, want to see it at least once somewhere soon.

 

Stoke Summit - A wonderful recreation of a stretch of the East Coast Main Line where we can enjoy just standing watching the trains go by, just as many of us would have done in our spotting days.

 

Scarworth Junction (aka North of England line) - A great representation of a fictional country junction station in N Gauge built by the Scarborough MRC. Great detail in the town & market square scenes, you don't see many towns on layouts surrounded by a old city walls like both York & Chester are. Plus I've liked seeing another rare sight modelled which is the stately home with it's wonderful gardens. It reminds me of my days of working voluntarily at Chatsworth House.

 

Other "Highly Commended" layouts are as follows:

Runswick Leamside

The legend that is Borchester Market

Dewsbury Midland from the Mancs

Tetley's Mills

Both "Ring Road", "Cross St" &'"Hedges Hill Cutting" in N Gauge, layouts that inspired me to change to N from OO.

 

Sam

[Geoff Endacott]

Hedges Hill Cutting will be at Calne on 18 & 19 January.

 

Scarworth Junction will be at Trainwest in Melksham on 12 & 13 April.

 

Geoff Endacott

[coachmann]

Been inspired by my own Greenfield layout........I've copied the track layout five times..

[ozzyo]

Been inspired by my own Greenfield layout........I've copied the track layout five times..

 

I don't think that counts!

[coachmann]

I don't think that counts!

My humour must be too subtle for some....

[ozzyo]

My humour must be too subtle for some....

 

Maybe my humour is far too subtle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

PS. just realised that I forgot to hit the funny button on Larry's post.

Edited January 4, 2014 by ozzyo

[Poggy1165]

In 2013 the layout that has inspired me most is Steve Fay's Cardiff Canton. To get so much into so little space in 7mm! It has set me thinking about doing something moderately similar, inspired by (but not really modelled on) Neepsend, with its cramped terraced houses behind the shed. The only thing is, I need to do it at high level above the offstage part of my layout, and as I haven't really worked out the low level yet...

Edited January 4, 2014 by Poggy1165

[Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71]

Cheedale - for its emphasis on 'the train in the landscape'...and its relative insignificance

 

Mostyn- for its determination/emphasis on flawless P4 running/achieving the correct stock for the location/period

 

Unknown of a 1990s MMRS exhibition ((un)surprisingly held in Manchester)...the refinement of the Alex Jackson coupling to the point where I struggled to see the damn thing...and yet the operation was flawless.

 

I may fail to unite these qualities in Tor Giffard...but I'm prepared to die in the attempt.

 

Dave

[bluebottle]

Been inspired by my own Greenfield layout........I've copied the track layout five times..

 

To quote the jazz musician Humphrey Lyttelton: If you're going to copy, copy from the best!

[emt_911]

I wish I could keep it down to three layouts.

 

My list contains 18 which I refuse to reduce as each one is an inspiration for different reasons

 

Duncan

[KTM]

I've only recently discovered this layout (Tower Pier).

 

http://www.hadleightemple.org.uk/CorpsNews/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/BRM-Mar12-Tower-Pier-A4e.pdf

 

This is very inspirational and despite it's relatively modest size, it packs in a lot of operation. I especially like the way it can be operated like a real railway, with proper signalling and levers etc.

 

If I can manage to incorporate a similar operation and general flavour in my O gauge layout , I'll be a happy man

 

Jon

[Dicky W]

I've only recently discovered this layout (Tower Pier).

 

http://www.hadleightemple.org.uk/CorpsNews/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/BRM-Mar12-Tower-Pier-A4e.pdf

 

This is very inspirational and despite it's relatively modest size, it packs in a lot of operation. I especially like the way it can be operated like a real railway, with proper signalling and levers etc.

 

If I can manage to incorporate a similar operation and general flavour in my O gauge layout , I'll be a happy man

 

Jon

 

Jon

 

Tower Pier was in the March 2012 issue of BRM, if you want to read further.

[wombatofludham]

One layout which inspired me when I saw it a few years ago was the O gauge exhibition layout based loosely on Dawlish Warren. What I loved about it was it was just trains running through scenic vignettes, no shunting, no depots or stations, so could be timeless, and the way they had added environmental sounds (waves, seagulls, etc). It gave me the idea of using a small mp3 player to play birdsong and the sound of people and traffic for "King's Oak", and I'm certainly going down the plain-line, trains in the scenery approach for at least one of the layouts I'm planning for the model railway shed this summer.

[sub39h]

In the last year and a bit since I've returned to the hobby I've been to three shows, and watched numerous videos online as well as reading the write ups on here. There are really a lot of fantastic layouts that I've seen and it is difficult to shortlist three, but if I were forced I would say the top three would be (in no particular order):

 

Glendower (featured in BRM but I came to know of it via YouTube)

Everard Junction (of YouTube fame)

Dorehill St. Stevens (seen at Warley 2013

 

Special mention would go to Everard Junction and Glebe Road Junction for their helpful instructional videos. Other layouts worth a mention that I've seen would be the under construction Rayvenscliffe (RMWeb), Gresley Beat (seen at Woking 2013) and Gainsborough MRCs ECML recreation (YouTube). Five Elms (YouTube) is a very much up and coming layout that is worth a watch as well. Eastwood Town is another that I am keeping an eye on. 

 

My time at university in Birmingham means P4 New Street is a bit of a blast from the past (albeit though it is set in the 80s when I graduated in 2010). The quality of Jim's work in capturing the atmosphere is phenomenal. 

 

All inspire me due to the sheer level of skill and volume of work as all are sizeable layouts. I am more modern image than steam which explains Everard Junction, Glebe Road Junction, Five Elms and P4NS but as a Leeds boy ECML is close to my heart and to me when I think of "railway" it is hard to not make a quick association to Flying Scotsman and Mallard - two of the most famous locomotives ever. This is where Gresley Beat and Gainsborough come in. 

 

This post has been edited three or four times to add more and more layouts. I told you keeping it to three was hard! 

Edited January 10, 2014 by sub39h

[steve fay]

In 2013 the layout that has inspired me most is Steve Fay's Cardiff Canton. To get so much into so little space in 7mm! It has set me thinking about doing something moderately similar, inspired by (but not really modelled on) Neepsend, with its cramped terraced houses behind the shed. The only thing is, I need to do it at high level above the offstage part of my layout, and as I haven't really worked out the low level yet...

 

Many thanks I'm glad Canton has been an inspiration, I set out to prove you can affectively model in 7mm in a relatively small space and with it based on a prototype location.

I've just used the Holly Wood approach and that is to bend reality to suit my needs.

[CloggyDog]

Some of the layouts that have inspired and influenced me over the years - mostly by seeing in the flesh at exhibitions, a few via magazine or online features

 

1. (name unknown) - at a Chelmsford show back in the mid-1980s there was a small OO shunting plank, maybe 6' x 2'. late steam/early diesel era, I think it had 3-links. I stood and watched it for quite some time, and returned to it a couple more times during the day.

 

2. Lochside by Ian Futers - showed that BR Blue was worth modelling and what could be done with that eras crop of RTR.

 

3. Carron Road by Nigel Bowyer - clever use of sector plate, compact design, perfectly executed.

 

4. one of Peter North's early Rock Island HO layouts (probably Hope, Illinois) - properly opened my eyes to US modelling. Again, clever design, perfect scenic execution.

 

5. Easington Lane (Ian Manderson), Canada Road (Pete Johnson), The Brewery (Tony Wood) - lovely, lovely EM gauge shunting layouts.  Tony's Villiers Street also because (like The Brewery) it deviated from the usual rectangular format and showed the possibilities of a single triangular baseboard.

 

6. Hursley - never saw it in the flesh (that queue at Central Hall....) but the photos in MRJ could easily have been of the Real Thing. Quality modelling.

[Iain Popplewell]

Two layouts that inspired me in my youth;

 Peter Denny's Buckingham the first Railway Modeller I ever bought 18p. had an article by Denny in it.What was inspirational was the way Denny could turn his hand to everything and what he did was always so good.

 Derek Naylors Aire Valley.Fantastic narrow gauge system in the 1970's.Almost everything scratch-built and it formed a complete imaginary world.It was this layout that got me into actually building my first proper layout in 009.

 

Layout that inspires me today.The best layout I've ever seen no less, the incomparable Bramblewick.North Eastern pre-grouping layout on the Yorkshire Coast, could you want for more and superbly modelled in all it's aspects.

Edited February 7, 2014 by iainp

[St Enodoc]

Two layouts that inspired me in my youth;

 Peter Denny's Buckingham the first Railway Modeller I ever bought 18p. had an article by Denny in it.What was inspirational was the way Denny could turn his hand to everything and what he did was always so good.

 Derek Naylors Aire Valley.Fantastic narrow gauge system in the 1970's.Almost everything scratch-built and it formed a complete imaginary world.It was this layout that got me into actually building my first proper layout in 009.

 

Layout that inspires me today.The best layout I've ever seen no less, the incomparable Bramblewick.North Eastern pre-grouping layout on the Yorkshire Coast, could you want for more and superbly modelled in all it's aspects.

Iain, if you haven't already done so you should take a look at derekarthurnaylor's blog on this site.

[clecklewyke]

Iain, if you haven't already done so you should take a look at derekarthurnaylor's blog on this site.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Derek at the Kendal MRC show a couple of weeks ago. He's still exhibiting and we had a long chat. Lovely man!

 

Ian

[Iain Popplewell]

Iain, if you haven't already done so you should take a look at derekarthurnaylor's blog on this site.

Yeah already seen his blog and follow it.In his Aire Valley days he used to live in Shipley where I live now.Strange how our paths in life have crossed and yet we've never met.There's a church in Shipley and a Salvation Army Citadel that featured on his Aire Valley layout so many years ago and I recognized them as soon as I moved to the area.

['CHARD]

Years ago there were three layouts in Railway Modeller that really fired my enthusiasm to build one; they have stuck in my memory ever since.

 

We're talking before my interest in the real thing mutated into spotting, so this was circa 1975.  

 

One was a compact roundy on two levels, I think called Corfe?  It had a Hymek, a West Country and an Airfix JCB that really appealed.  And it looked achievable.

 

Another was the photographic accompaniment to an article entitled 'Watching the trains go by' and featured a scenic section of double track only, long enough to pose and photograph a decent length train in OO.

 

The third was a vast WCML modern image layout, North West in essence, with AC masts, lengthy Cartic and Freightliner trains, and a huge fleet of D & E traction.  Wish I could recall the name.

[St Enodoc]

Years ago there were three layouts in Railway Modeller that really fired my enthusiasm to build one; they have stuck in my memory ever since.

 

We're talking before my interest in the real thing mutated into spotting, so this was circa 1975.  

 

One was a compact roundy on two levels, I think called Corfe?  It had a Hymek, a West Country and an Airfix JCB that really appealed.  And it looked achievable.

 

Another was the photographic accompaniment to an article entitled 'Watching the trains go by' and featured a scenic section of double track only, long enough to pose and photograph a decent length train in OO.

 

The third was a vast WCML modern image layout, North West in essence, with AC masts, lengthy Cartic and Freightliner trains, and a huge fleet of D & E traction.  Wish I could recall the name.

I don't recall the Corfe layout, but "Watching the trains go by" was by Alan Gibson (not the wheels and kits man, a different one) in Railway Modeller February 1972. The WCML layout sounds like the "Wardleworth Lines Committee" - RM December 1972.

['CHARD]

I don't recall the Corfe layout, but "Watching the trains go by" was by Alan Gibson (not the wheels and kits man, a different one) in Railway Modeller February 1972. The WCML layout sounds like the "Wardleworth Lines Committee" - RM December 1972.

 

It may not have been Corfe, it could conceivably have been Swanage.  The layout featured a couple of times, and in the second article, the train service was being withdrawn.  The author described the last day's services and tracklifting!

[St Enodoc]

It may not have been Corfe, it could conceivably have been Swanage.  The layout featured a couple of times, and in the second article, the train service was being withdrawn.  The author described the last day's services and tracklifting!

That sounds like Colin Boocock's Weybourne, RM June 1977 and February 1978.