Older Inspirational Layouts

[Donw]

Neil

he is still building layouts in 7mm and he has a new one at York at Easter.

 

Barry

Ian must have used practically every combination using a few points in a small space.

Don

[Barry O]

and in a variety of scales and gauges -4mm OO,EM,P4, 7mm O...

[westerner]

 

 

I used to know Ian Futers a little when I lived on Tyneside, he used to have an ongoing sarcasm battle with our club!  I always loved his little layouts, he was years ahead of his time.  Nice to see him still discussed, i haven't seen anything by him for a long while though?

 

 

You obviously you don't read Railway Modeller. He has had several articles in the mag over the last year.

[bluebottle]

Ian's "Scotswood Road" is featured in the "Railway Modeller" Annual 2014. His layouts are much in demand; "Scotswood Road" was sold after two appearances at exhibitions. One of these was at Nottingham 2013, where I got this snap:

 

 

 

[Pete 75C]

Ian's "Scotswood Road" is featured in the "Railway Modeller" Annual 2014. His layouts are much in demand; "Scotswood Road" was sold after two appearances at exhibitions. One of these was at Nottingham 2013, where I got this snap:

 

scotswood road 2.JPG

 

I reckon almost every railway modeller has bought an Ian Futers layout except me. It's becoming really annoying... Can I have first refusal on the next one?

[DavidLong]

Ian always builds the layouts that I wish that I'd thought of

 

David

[New Haven Neil]

You obviously you don't read Railway Modeller. He has had several articles in the mag over the last year.

 

No I don't - there's a clue in my name.......

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_New_Haven_and_Hartford_Railroad

 

I have only in the last few months taken an interest in UK modelling after modelling the NH for the last 20 years.

[Pacific231G]

I'm sort of wondering about a slightly different definition of inspiring layouts. Not so much those you've simply been most impressed by but rather those that have been the inspiration for something- not necessarily a complete layout-  you've actually built.  

 

I don't think my efforts are ever likely to inspire anyone but my first adult layout- an H0 North American switching layout-  was definitely inspired by the 0 scale Wyandotte Transfer. 

Pendon and the Madder Valley inspired me to try my hand at scratchbuilt buildings.

My current H0 layout was very much inspired by the standard gauge part of Giles Barnabe's St. Emilie. Though my track plan is completely different, operating Giles' layout showed me just how much operation you could get out of five points.

The H0m layout I'm working on now was inspired by an H0 BLT "Guinette" built by the French modeller Yann Baude (now the editor of Loco-Revue) though I've added an extra siding and a canal wharf.

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 2, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[Pete 75C]

No I don't - there's a clue in my name.......

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York,_New_Haven_and_Hartford_Railroad

 

I have only in the last few months taken an interest in UK modelling after modelling the NH for the last 20 years.

 

That clue passed right over my head... all this time I thought it was referencing Newhaven as in harbour as in Sussex... D'oh.

[bigdaveadams1]

Are Scotswood Road and Gallowgate the same track plan?

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Are Scotswood Road and Gallowgate the same track plan?

 

All Ian's plans use the same trackplan...

 

I'm kidding of course, but there is a limit to what you can do with three turnouts.

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 2, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[bigdaveadams1]

Aye I'm not complaining, I was just reading my railway modeller and wondering whether it was Gallowgate or Scotswood Road. Personally, Ian Futers Ullapool layout is the one that has inspired me to get into O gauge. Although I've not seen it recently, I gather Ullapool has been transformed.

 

Modern Day inspiration for me is Elcot Road, I've recently bought plenty of NSE era OO gauge. Just waiting for the layout to be built.

[TerryD1471]

Long Suffren, by the Newport club which was on the circuit at the back end of the 70s, was the name which I couldn't remember when I commended it in an earlier post. Full length main line trains and a lot of convincing operational interest do it for me every time.

 

Now I'd rather have the WCML than the West of England, but I'm not so blind to the merits of the others that I can't appreciate the likes of Long Suffren, the North Devonshire, High Dyke, Dunwich etc. at the same time as the likes of Tebay. There was a large and complex exhibition layout called Trawden Junction, too and Wheatstone Bridge. Modesty prevents me from shouting too loudly about Stoke Summit and Charwelton from my own Wolverhampton Club, while distant memory recalls Frank Dyer's wonderful Borchester(s) in both guises.

 

I have seen David Jenkinson mentioned many times, but did anyone ever see how far he got with the Little Long Drag before it was abandoned? Would that it had been finished!

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Terry,

 

I think the track was almost completely down, and it was partially operational.  It's mentioned quite a lot in Historical Railway Modelling Pendragon ISBN 1-899816-10-0.

 

Something that has only become clear to me in recent years is how few of the 'greats' were actually the work of a lone individual, and how many relied on horse trading to reach completion.  I don't have an issue with that at all, but I wish I'd known years ago and consequently stopped beating myself for not being good at everything.  

 

I'm glad to say most of the more recent 'greats' are only to happy to acknowledge the practical input of others.

[Allegheny1600]

Wonderfully captivating thread,

Thanks for all the input chaps as it has reminded me of so many wonderful and varied layouts that I have seen or read about in my modelling career!

I wonder if it might be opportune to do a similar thread but counting the greatest & most inspirational layouts of today?

For "today" read over the past decade or so!

Cheers,

John E.

[Calimero]

Well some certainly some mega ones off this site 'Warren Lane', 'Bradfield' and 'Widnes Vine Road'!

 

Also add one I saw on the circuit the other year 'Mostyn Dock', where do people find a) the time to create this stuff and b) the skill!!

 

Beats my hit with a hammer once a month and poke it with my sausage finger skills.

 

All I'll say is through them I'm happy ;-)

Edited May 3, 2014 by Calimero

[dick rowland]

'Heimdorf' by David Cox, featured in Continental Modeller about thirty years ago. The trackplan was Heimbach in the Northern Eifel region of Germany but the buildings and other features were from all over the Eifel.

Excellent scratchbuilt buildings on a totally believable layout.

Unless you look at some of the very much more recent Nfine layouts (which I suspect are not built by mere human beings!) this is German N scale as it should be.

[C&WR]

Bah!  Over the Bank Holiday weekend the Bucks Railway Centre were due to have a show, including a display of Rewley Road.  As I said above this has resonance for me because I remember the old building from my childhood.

 

Sadly when offered a choice of things to go to on Monday (our only free day of the weekend) The Small Controller chose something else.  We had a good time anyway, but I would have loved to have seen Rewley Road!

[clecklewyke]

Bah!  Over the Bank Holiday weekend the Bucks Railway Centre were due to have a show, including a display of Rewley Road.  As I said above this has resonance for me because I remember the old building from my childhood.

 

Sadly when offered a choice of things to go to on Monday (our only free day of the weekend) The Small Controller chose something else.  We had a good time anyway, but I would have loved to have seen Rewley Road!

Oxford MRC's 4mm scale model of Rewley Road was something special but, of course, the Bucks Railway Centre also features the actual 1:1 scale Rewley Road - very well worth a visit!

 

I am glad to have played a (very) small part in persuading  Oxford University to have it moved to Quainton (I was then a member of OU's management.)

 

Ian

[C&WR]

Ah, so the model is with Oxford MRC?  Must keep an eye out!  I will make it to Quainton some day, it's just The Small Controller only shares some of my railway enthusiasm & The Long Haired Controller none.

 

I remember the building well from childhood visits to Oxford, and then in slightly older years examining it while buying a burger from Brett's stand outside on the way to or from the pub on a night out.  It would be great to see it again.

 

One of my last contract jobs before landing this permanent one was in finance at the University Chest.  Little did I know when little and walking past the Blackwells Building I would one day work in there!

[tebee]

My main influences have been the Madder valley, Derek Naylor's Aire Valley and John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid. - I do seem to like big layouts!

 

One other line which I found fascinating was a freelance TT scale pre-grouping line - the North Caledonian ?  there was  couple of articles on it in a late MRN and one of the early Model Railways mag called closely watched trains and More closely watched trains respectively. I have lost these now and if anyone has them, I would dearly like to find them again.  

 

There was a slate quarry line I saw at EXPONG 30 odd years ago, with lovely fine running scatch built locos. I seem to remember it was 4mm scale 7mm  gauge? any remember this ?

 

Another line I liked was a model of Uganda Railway is something like 10mm scale on 32mm track . Have some photos of this I took an early digital camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom 

[CKPR]

My main influences have been the Madder valley, Derek Naylor's Aire Valley and John Allen's Gorre and Daphetid. - I do seem to like big layouts!

 

One other line which I found fascinating was a freelance TT scale pre-grouping line - the North Caledonian ?  there was  couple of articles on it in a late MRN and one of the early Model Railways mag called closely watched trains and More closely watched trains respectively. I have lost these now and if anyone has them, I would dearly like to find them again.  

 

There was a slate quarry line I saw at EXPONG 30 odd years ago, with lovely fine running scatch built locos. I seem to remember it was 4mm scale 7mm  gauge? any remember this ?

 

Another line I liked was a model of Uganda Railway is something like 10mm scale on 32mm track . Have some photos of this I took an early digital camera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom 

Giraffes - now there's something you don't see on many layouts these days !

[faulcon1]

My inspiration for modelling outside in OO came from the Don Neale book Railways in the Garden. He said in 1978 that OO was perfectly feasible in the garden.

The book was very good and he wrote with a lot of wit. Such as saying that shunting in the shed could even entertain the odd person. Not that the person is odd, just the odd person.

He also said that the gremlins save their venom for outdoor railways when you invite a few friends round for a running session. Things like failing locos, stock derailing etc and it's no use waiting for a pat on the back when these things happen.

For inspiration today I look to Trevor Jones OO gauge garden railway which is superb. Although most of mine is a high level railway due to the slope on my block of land.