Crichel Down

I have come to this thread rather late in the day, but if asked to list those layouts which I have found 'inspirational', I would have to list at least 150, quite a few of which have already been mentioned by others in this thread. However, my two nominations for the absolute top of the list would have to be Peter Denny's Buckingham Branch and John Ahern's Madder Valley Railway - both hugely characterful models which absolutely ooze atmosphere. I was slightly surprised that no-one else seems to have mentioned the Madder Valley (unless I missed it). This was* an admittedly slightly quirky layout, but if you have any interest in independent light railways, with maybe a touch of free-lancing thrown in, I don't think the MVR can be bettered. [* 'was' should really read 'is' because, despite the death of its creator John Ahern 50 years ago this year (on Christmas Eve 1961), the layout is still displayed at Pendon Museum, and can even be seen in operation on two or three occasions each year.] I must resist starting to list the other 148+ !