Older Inspirational Layouts

[Donw]

IainP, I am sure the Aire Valley had a mention earlier!  It was inspirational to me too.  Remember  'C-OIL' anyone?

Not so far fetched now with Shale oil and fraking.

Don

[5050]

Many, many are the layouts that inspired me as a lad - but I can remember the photos etc. but not the names!  Several of them have been mentioned above (especially Craig and Potwell) so I'll have to have a sit down in a dark room and think!

 

BTW, the GWR layout seen at Wakefield in the 70's was 'Ceiriog Valley' which grew over the years from my original 1973 OO 'Preesgwyn' layout.  It expanded until the late 70's when EM took over for several of the group which resulted in 'Kingsbridge' and 'Hungerford' (which was built as a Wakefield layout originally).

 

Quick edit to add a note on Tony Miles.  I visited the Manchester Show in 1972 for the first time and saw his Irish P4 chassis on display complete with the inside motion.  I could hardly believe my eyes.  When I saw it years later at working faultlessly on 'Adavoyle' my admiration for his work grew even more.

Edited March 31, 2013 by 5050

[Simon Moore]

For me it was Benfieldside. Wonderfully atmospheric.

I recently had a very enjoyable evening operating this layout & it's beautiful such a great piece of modelling.

 

Simon

[westerner]

Not sure if has been mentioned but a 2mm model of chipping Norton. I first saw it at an exhibition in Ilford town hall and then at the MRJ exhibition in Central Hall. Beatifully done.

[Donw]

Yes the model of Chipping Norton was superb. That would have been Keith Armes' model which also featured in MRJ. Keith is still active in 2mm.

Don

[westerner]

Thanks Don. Thats the layout.

[RJS1977]

I remember seeing that layout on the circuit quite a few times - the mill took my breath away!

[60526]

I really looked forward to seeing Borchester Market for the second time at Nottingham. I think that the design of the layout and the railway itself really stand up as a superb example of a proper operational model railway.

 

It was let down for me by the stock and some of the operation. I recall reading that Frank Dyer was a bit of a stickler for his operators being highly skilled on the layout before they were allowed to operate in front of others. I saw rather too many locos come to a halt because points weren't set or sections weren't switched correctly and a lot of studying lists of what to do next.

 

The other thing with the originbal stock was that nothing was unusual or "one offs". I recall reading how Frank Dyer got his atmosphere by modelling the day in, day out railway scene. On something like Borchester, that meant B1s, K3s, J39s, J6 & 11, J50 and all sorts of motive power appropriate to a secondary line. At Nottingham, when I looked, there was an A4, a 9F and Falcon on shed! It rather went against the spirit of what Frank Dyer was aiming to achieve. I appreciate that the current owners don't have the original stock but enough suitable RTR locos have been available to allow a more suitable loco stud and it rather spoiled the overall effect for me.

 

The layout was still worth a good coat of looking at though. Allowing a train to be seen running along the back and round into the station, with off scene fiddle yards like those is something that more of us should think about. Brilliant design!

 

If anyone is interested I thought that I would give you a comparison between Borchester Market as it was and as it is now.

The layout was set in the mid 50's, it's now early 1960's

We are using one of the original timetables, there was 23 locos in this rota, there are now 35.

Original locos for this rota included 4F, A1, A5, B1 x 2, C12, BR cl4, D11, J11, J39, J50, J6, K2, K3, L1, N1, N2, O2, O4, V2, Brush type2, Craven & Derby Lwt DMU's, Diesel Shunter.

Now, A5, B1, D11, J11, J39 x2, K3, L1 x2, N2 x2, O2, O4, V2 x2, BR cl4, Brush type2, Craven & Derby Lwt DMU's, plus, A1/1, Peppercorn A2/2 x2, A3, A3/1, A4, B16, 9F, Brit, Mucky Duck, Patriot, EE type 1, Sulzer 2, Peak, Falcon, Diesel Shunter.

What we are after is reliable running locos, one of the J39's is filling in for a J6, one of the N2's for a N1, the 9F believe it or not covered for the C12 on the Grantham local, we chose this because in one of Pirt's books there is a photo of such a thing, the 9F also covered for a WD on minerals. We usually run a K1 but had problems before the exhibition opened so was replaced by Falcon, which does have a local connection having run around Sheffield and on the ECML. The Patriot was used as a replacement for a Black 5 on passengers from the GC. To space out the re-apperance of locos we normally have another A3 in the roster, but this was playing up before the show so was replaced by the A4. These trains would have come up from either Grantham or Peterborough, so for the early 1960's this may not have been out of place. B16? Well there is a fish train in the rota, what better loco to be pulling it.

 

So on the workbench at the moment is a Airfix 4F with a Comet chassis, a Crafsman C12 which just won't behave itself, a heavily modified Lima J50 with a Perseverence chassis which has probably been talking to the C12, A B'mann B1 which will get a Comet chassis (eventually), a DJH J6 which needs a new chassis and motor, a London Road J6 which is still in the box, there are 2 B'mann WD's which have failed - problem here is that B'mann don't supply the original sized motor anymore so they are on the back burner, a Nu-cast K2 which has a Tony Wright type of rigid chassis and it doesn't like Borchester, so this will be modified with a flexi chassis time permitting, 2 DMR K1's, excellent kits, one is just about to come out of shops the other has been run so much that it needs some TLC, an ABS L1 and a DMR L1 - these have been replaced by the newer Hornby L1's but because the pony trucks on these were causing problems at Nottingham we're considering what to do next, there is a Drewry shunter which could be used but the Hornby 08 we use as station pilot is so good that it's not worth considering.  

 

So we do run a fair number of kit built locos on the layout, as for coaching stock the quality of current day RTR coaches is so good that it's not worth changing, mind you there are some Comet Gresley & Thompson coaches in there. 

 

One last thing, Borchester is not the easiest of layouts to operate, we do have operator errors but then it's no different to when it was originally operated. How do we know, we have asked previous operators, we even have one in our team. What we did find out at Nottingham is that at times Frank operated the layout for 45 minutes and then had a break for 15 minutes, wish we could have done this, we were down on operators and in certain cases operated out the front for 3 hours, fancy keeping on your feet and concentration for 3 hours, not a good idea. Anyhow, Nottingham was a good show for Borchester, a lot of people appreciated the layout being there, over the 2 days in following Frank's timetable there was just over 1200 loco movements, the most that we have ever achieved for a 2 day show. It's next outing will be at the NEC in November.

[298]

Interesting to note that there was little duplication in Frank's original stock list, was this just a factor of his chosen prototype operation or because of the amount of effort needed to kit or scratchbuild a loco, he wanted variety amongst the fleet...?

 

From what I saw of the operation at Nottingham, the team were doing a great job considering the age of the layout and operating it under exhibition conditions. Your efforts to continue to exhibit it are appreciated.

[uax6]

Sorry to go back a bit on the thread, but I visited my parents and remembered to take my camera with me, so took these photos of Frank Roomes' Midland Halfcab:

 

 

 

 

It's a bit bashed about, with bent and missing steps, which probably dates from when I was smaller and didn't know better! I belive it still runs, but I can remember it being very quiet.

 

Andy G

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Andy, that's a piece of living history.  You must be very pleased with it.  And it still runs!

[uax6]

It is certainly a piece of history and along with a railway omibus telephone and the copy of the St Micheals book of model railways (which featured Lutton) and a battered Cove roofed LNWR brake (in brass, and it weighs a bleeding ton!), are very nice reminders of times spent in that railway room, doing things properly.

 

Frank was a geniune gent, never scorning at our modelling at out home when he came to play with 'our' railway, and always offering incouragement. He was especially surprised one visit to discover that I had built cardboard and LED block instruments!

 

I remember some of the other items that he used to bring with him: His Furness railcar and trailer, a steep-cab electric (in NER green- was it the ner bo-bo?), this half-cab and some coaches. All had been converted to two rail from stud contact, and indeed the half cab still has it's skate, with the pickups soldiered to the it.

 

Happy times!

 

Andy G

Edited May 8, 2013 by uax6

[uax6]

Stubled across the St Micheals guide to Model Railways at a friends house the other day , and in it I rediscovered The Crooked Mountian Lines. Even though I have very little interest in US railroads, there is something about this model that even now I find myself looking at the pictures and being captivated by it. I must have spent about and hour looking through those 10 pages the other day!

 

I suppose that it has long since been broken up ;-(

 

 

Andy G

Edited November 2, 2013 by uax6

[Ragtag]

Ambleton West and Leaway Park were two that got me hooked on the hobby.

[Donw]

Lovely to see the photo of Frank's Half cab. Frank was a most imspirational modeller. He started out in 00 but switched to 0 gauge after helping Fred Bush run his Bushampton Layout. He wrote lots of articles a lot in the MRN.

Don

[Calimero]

Bob Hegges 'Crooked Mountain Lines', even now I'll spend ages reading and looking at the pictures in the model railway book I've got :-)

[CKPR]

As well the work of Peter Denny, P.D.Hancock and Iain Rice [just realised how much of my railway modelling library is writtten by this trio!], I would add:

• Porthleaven (Dave Howsham) in a 1967 RM -if I ever model a GWR BLT, it'll probably look like this ! (I know, never model a model...)
• Garve & Ullapool (H.Orbach) in a 1976 RM, a HR layout built in the USA
• Kelvedon & Tollesbury (R.Holme ?) in the following edition of the RM in 1976, a rather impressionistic version of the K&T that was nevertheless very atmospheric
• Tideswell (Bill Hudson) - I saw this at either York or Harrogate in the late 1970s and made me saw up my teenage 6'x4' GWR BLT to try to make a Midland BLT (I failed)
• Millport & Selfield (Bill Tate) - .this essentially pre-war standard O gauge NER layout featured in RM and MRN/MR in the 1960s and 1970s and it still seems to evoke the atmosphere of the pre-war railway, despite the rather basic standard of modelling 
• Castle Rackrent (Richard Chown)  - in RM, MRN/MR  and MRJ over the past 36 years 

There's definitely something about models of railway systems with trains actually travelling between stations in a believable manner that I like but which very few layouts seem to feature these days. There's also something about layouts not looking out of the box that inspires me. Of more recent models, I've always liked Ian Futer's 4mm models and Tom Harland's Bramblewick and I recall seeing a fantastic 1970's goods yard and canal wharf at the MMRS show a few years ago, which I think was subsequently featured in MRJ. It's definitely atmosphere that attracts me to a model and rivet-counting perfection for its own sake leaves me cold.

Edited July 2, 2015 by CKPR

[Talltim]

Just remembered Petherick. I think of it as a recent layout, but it isn't. I think its the reason I like deep baseboards

[Guest bri.s]

All ways enjoyed Nottinghams dc electric layout deepcar and in the 90's there was another with Dc overhead can't remember the name think it was deal street to coal hill it was 2 layouts in one the main one had 4 track through station with engine shed and goods yard and 4 bay platforms where the dc electric's terminated from there it went left to a junction where a line went round to the fiddle yard or straight on to the next station named coal hill I think that was 2 platforms with a goods yard I remember that the layouts could be worked separately or together think they where in railway modeller as well think I saw it a Huddersfield in the early 90's anyone else remember it I would love to know what became of it

 

 

Brian

[forest2807]

Take a breath Brian!

[5050]

I always liked all the various incarnations of the 'Ashdown and Midport' layouts from the original straight line terminus through the circular versions which included an EM one I think?

[Guest bri.s]

Take a breath Brian!

Should have really have thought about punctuation,got a a bit red in the face but I've big lung's,so it wasn't quite so bad I could handle it lol.

 

 

Brian

Edited November 21, 2013 by bri.s

[Del]

I still love 'Fisher Street to Victoria Bridge'. It was in the April 1985 RM, it's apparently only 7' 6" by 7' 6" but fits so much in, whilst looking great. Main line diesels and electrics, carriage shed, washer road, scratchbuilt catenary and even details like sand drags.

It was built by Ian Blackburn, which I assume is the gentleman who built the Rhydwyn Fawr steelworks layout featured recently in RM.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Del

[Guest bri.s]

I still love 'Fisher Street to Victoria Bridge'. It was in the April 1985 RM, it's apparently only 7' 6" by 7' 6" but fits so much in, whilst looking great. Main line diesels and electrics, carriage shed, washer road, scratchbuilt catenary and even details like sand drags.

It was built by Ian Blackburn, which I assume is the gentleman who built the Rhydwyn Fawr steelworks layout featured recently in RM.

I remember that one as well ,think am going to order a load of railway modeller back issues at this rate

[HSB]

I was pleasantly surprised a few days ago to find that a new smaller version of one of my favourite US layouts The Virginian & Ohio has now been built and appears in Great Model Railroads 2014