Older Inspirational Layouts

[Mythocentric]

Anything by David Jenkinson. They are the one's that inspired me and showed that layout-building could approach art!

[t-b-g]

Easy one that! Buckingham and Borchester.

[sb67]

Ian Futers Lochside did it for me I loved seeing all those dirty blue diesels! I have enjoyed all his creations ever since.

[DaveF]

Another vote for Borchester.

 

Also P D Hancock's Craig and Mertenford.

 

I too remember being impressed by David Jenkinson's  Garsdale Road at an exhibition in Harrogate - must have been second half of the 60s(?)

 

Then there are also Berrow, Charford, Lydney(?) an out and back using a simple reversing loop, and High Dyke (but they may have been influence by the fact I used to drive past the real High Dyke everyday for several years.

 

For operational fun Teddy Boston's Great Western Layout at Cadeby - Olton Priors which I helped operate many times in the mid and late 60s.  He also had a very nice layout based on the Southwold Railway.

 

Edit - I missed out Buckingham.

 

David

Edited January 27, 2013 by DaveF

[steve1]

Or was it Bevleys?

They built two. Bevleys was the first, larger one. Brevett was the second, smaller one with a sector plate and fiddleyard at the back.

 

For me it was Martin Brent's Arcadia. EM and Blue diesel too.

 

steve

 

Edited for spelling

Edited January 27, 2013 by steve1

[HSB]

'Anyone remember the huge TT layout that used to go to Leeds show?  It's annoying me I can;t remember it's name, I think the owner was Alan Smith?

 

 

Lydney ?

 

Brian R

I think it was Lydney. I saw this layout at the Corn Exchange, Leeds circa 1970 after having seen it in RM. The Sundown and Sprawling was also there with it's models of Lion, Kestrel and other one-off prototype diesels.

 

Ken Northwood's North Devonshire Railway.

 

Regards

 

Richard

I was lucky enough to see this in Buckfastleigh a few years ago the same month it appeared in RM. He very kindly autographed a copy of the mag for me.

 

Dave and Bev Lowery's LNWR layout - I forget the name!

I think there were actually two layouts:- Beverlys and a smaller one called Bevet.

 

Easy one that! Buckingham and Borchester.

I first discovered Railway Modeller whilst staying in Yorkshire around 1961 and the second one I bought was the Peter Denny Special! I have always considered Buckingham very inspirational as was Borchester.

 

Nobody has mentioned American layouts but I also found the Gorre & Daphetid and the Virginia & Ohio particularly inspirational.

Edited January 27, 2013 by HSB

[MartinWales]

Dave and Bev Lowery's LNWR layout - I forget the name!

I believe you're referring to Bevelys

[BlackRat]

Bredon (I wonder if they ever built the larger layout they lauded to?) and of course the wonderful Pipers Mead.

[Colin]

"Borchester", either the original continuous layout (it held my attention for what seemed like hours at Central Hall, Westminster one Easter) or the now-"preserved" Mk2 version.

 

Brian Fayle's "Harlyn Junction", a lovely evocation of secondary line GWR.

 

"Charford" - the layout that started me off modelling Southern. 

[t-b-g]

Absolutely, if anyone here reading this would like to to know more I would suggest attempting to locate a copy of the September 1980 issue of Model Railways which was entirely turned over to a thorough description of this model. Likewise a later edition of MRJ concentrated on Chris Pendleton's South Shields almost from cover to cover. I still refer to both of these so often that neither ever get returned to the cold store (AKA Garage) but stay in the house so that I don't have to go and dig them out when needed.

 

I understand that Borchester will be making an appearance at the Nottingham Exhibition in March.  

 

The layout in Model Railways and at Nottingham is the later "Borchester Market". Still an excellent layout but the one that Frank Dyer really made a mark on the hobby with was the earlier "Borchester" (I think the layout was called Borchester but the station on it was "Borchester Town")

Edited January 27, 2013 by t-b-g

[Baby Deltic]

I liked High Gill by the now defunct Riverside Railway Society in Essex. It was one of the first OHLE layouts I saw.

[backofanenvelope]

Bredon, built on a 6'4 x 4 ft board to show what could be achieved with proprietary stock in a limited space. Incredibly atmospheric. It was in the RM in the mid 80's if I remember correctly.

Kyle of Tongue too, which captured the bleakness of the Far North perfectly, and inspired my first Lima Class 33 to 26 conversions. The less said about them the better!

 

YES, Bredon! and Ian Futers N layouts in the 80's tiny but inspiring, also a little roundy 2' 6" x 3' cannot for the life of me remember the name or the builder but it was built to carry to shows by the family? but had a big impact on me. Another vote for Garsdale Road. Still have the RM with it in.

T.

 

Found it!

 Ok bit later than I thought.. Edited January 27, 2013 by backofanenvelope

[flyingsignalman]

It was Doreen Andrews' Torandor Valley Railway that appeared in the February 1971 Railway Modeller that started me wanting to model NG railways.

This was followed by Derek Naylors Aire Valley Railway that was serialised the following year that confirmed that decision.

 

David Manders Stronalachar Railway that was being featured around the same time also had an effect but it didn't seem so at the time. I'm still trying to make a model of a whole railway rather than just a station.

 

Another layout that still inspires is the "Bracton Chase Railway" which featured in the Model Railway News in 1966 (I think), though I only found about it in the 1970s.

 

 

[PLD]

When I tried N gauge at the start of the 90s I remember Andy Calvert's "Nether Stowey"

 

Really impressed by it.

 

Dave

Not only the layout the proved for me that an N gauge shunting layout could work (despite the perceived wisdom of some 'experts' at the time) leading to thoughts of a sort of Midlandised Nether Stowey before I built Red Wharf Bay.

 

Also a good guy - always willing to talk and explain how it was done to encourage others...

[PatB]

Allied Marine - Who'd have thought that industrial grot could look so attractive?

 

Allan Wright's Cheviotdale - Fine(ish) scale in a small space and achievable on a modest budget.

 

Don Neale's LMS garden layout - From the days when "garden railway" meant scale length main line trains rather than whimsical narrow-gauge (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[DavidB-AU]

Ian Futers Lochside did it for me I loved seeing all those dirty blue diesels! I have enjoyed all his creations ever since.

I was going to mention Lochside. The prevailing "wisdom" at the time (1979) was that P4 had to be pre-grouping.

 

Cheers

David

[marc smith]

Over the years, I've seen many layouts from which I draw some inspiration
and I agree with so many of the names mentioned above....

For me, the most inpirational layouts are in different scales, and for differing reasons;

 

Llanstr was a revelation - although I couldn't at that time, think of a design to apply the concept to my era

 

Ruyton Road was the layout that attracted me to micro and small layouts
I'm a layout builder, not a layout buyer - BUT I had to acquire this layout, when I learned it was going into a shed for storage
minus its' buildings!

And Gordon & Maggie Gravetts' Ditchling Green proved to me that O gauge needn't occupy a tennis court
It's still my all-time fave O gauge layout, I think - as Braunstone Gate doesn't really fit into the heading "older"

And let's face it, we all have to thank John Ahern for showing the way....

Nice thread

Marc

 

 

Edit: Oh, and Neil Rushby's "Shell Island" is up there too

Edited January 28, 2013 by marc smith

[t-b-g]

Striving - the only layout I have chased around the circuit. (Plenty of other good ones but for me Striving was "it")

 

I had the great good fortune to get the chance to operate Striving a couple of times. The quality of the workmanship and the care that Chris Matthewman put into getting it to work well was truly inspirational. It worked perfectly and any problems were down to operator error (especially when I was on duty!) rather than mechanical or electrical problems.

 

Big chunks of "Striving" were re-cylcled to make "Striven" which was exhibited just the once by Chris before he died and is now in the capable hands Colin and Val Ashby and can be seen at exhibitions from time to time.

[Joseph_Pestell]

They built two. Bevleys was the first, larger one. Brevett was the second, smaller one with a sector plate and fiddleyard at the back.

 

For me it was Martin Brent's Arcadia. EM and Blue diesel too.

 

steve

 

Edited for spelling

 

I remember Bevleys. That was very small - so Brevett must have been tiny! Bit of a contrast from what he does these days!

[edcayton]

The "Railway of the Month" in the first Railway Modeller I bought in 1965 (June or July IIRC) was Porthleven by Dave Howsam. A fabulous little GWBLT just blew a 12 year old me away.

Never saw the layout in the flesh, but met Dave at the St Albans show a couple of weeks ago operating his Swiss n.g. layout. He told me he has switched to the continental stuff years ago because it was more reliable.

 

Ed

[br2975]

A selection of layouts that have inspired me over the years.

................

"BURNFOOT" by Ian Futers, again blue diesel urban grot.

................

"MILL DALE" the first plausible 009 layout I recall seeing, in the late 60s.

................

"PENHYDD" nothing more to say there (yes I know it's up to date).

................

"BUCKINGHAM" a complete concept.

................

"TETFIELD" - archetypal GWR BLT, you have to be of a certain age to remember this.

................

Brian R

[newbryford]

Two layouts for me that got me wanting to exhibit.

 

Steve Flint's Kyle of Tongue and the other I think was called "Witton". It was a Southern Region EMU terminus with an oil siding behind it. Very simple trackplan that inspired Bryford Road.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[clecklewyke]

One layout that impressed me as a teenager was Warden Central. This was an O gauge layout with a through station in a shed and reversing loops built in long boxes on stilts around part of the garden. The scenics were nothing special but there were lots of trains and it was operated by Vic (surname forgotten for the mo'*) and his wife to a timetable using proper block instruments. It is probably no coincidence that this is how Bradford North Western is operated (but NOT by my wife).

 

Vic was the Warden of Warden Manor, Warden Road, Warden Point, Warden, Sheppey.   This was a TocH holiday centre where I stayed with my parents on a couple of occasions. It's now for sale.

 

I never saw the layout featured in the model press although it did feature in a newspaper Sunday supplement once. I probably still have the cutting but...

 

Ian

 

* Vic Martin

 

Edited to add Vic's surname

Edited January 28, 2013 by clecklewyke

[peanuts]

surprised to see no mention of Manchester mrcs Gransmoor Castle  was lucky enought to see this 2mm & 2mm finescale layout on its final outing at Macclesfield model railway show 

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Central Cheshire Lines by Don Rowland, completely convincing portrayal of every day life on the LMS before the war.

 

Diggle Hale Barns and Westport Railway, a corker in the old-school of operations oriented model

 

Wallsea, another favourite from early RM magazines.

 

Oxford Rewley Road - probably the one that got me interested in modelling real places

 

Happisburgh - fictional but convincing and entertaining, loved the rotary coal dumper

 

There are also several that I recall from model exhibitions, but the names have long since disappeared into the mists of time.  A 7mm branchline at the Stroud Subscription Rooms, circa 1975, and a large GWR junction station - I think it was Yatton.