Hi to all from Hampshire. My interest in model railways first began back in the late 70's when I received a Hornby 'Flying Scotsman' set for Christmas. It came with a large square battery with springs on top, where the very basic dial controller clipped on. Many hours were spent with my face pressed to the carpet next to the track to get a view of the loco as it 'chuffed' by, the sound being generated by a piece of metal rubbing against a strip of sandpaper in the tender. I guess this was the beginning of trying to get a realistic layout. I earned pocket money by doing jobs around the house for my parents and eventually added to this very basic layout with two sets of turnouts, some extra track and a platform. The next Christmas I received the parcel pick-up/drop off coach for Christmas which led to an almost permanent carpet impression on my cheeks as I lay next to the tracks, this was often commented on by my parents when called down for dinner.
The model railway started to take more of a back seat once I received my first push bike and was off to 'big school', which meant homework. By the time I was sixteen with the discovery of pubs, girls and motorbikes( an FS1E...a 'fizzy') the model railway had been shelved.
Around about the time I was 25 I had left home and was living in a bedsit I discovered the local model railway shop and invested in some track and a class 37. This was short lived as my bedsit was burgled. This brings me to 5 years ago when I returned to the hobby, having settled down with the 'missus' and had time on my hands. After building a couple of basic end-to-end layouts I built 'Hankly' an 8' by 2' layout with a scenic front and fiddle yard. The layout was DCC with slow motion points and sound. It eventually spent the best part of a year as the window display in my local model shop in Alton. I have now cut this layout up to retain the scenics.
My current project was to have an exhibition style layout with lids and legs that could be stored under two double beds. I have just completed the baseboards consisting of two 5' by 2' scenic front boards with lids and folding legs and two fiddle yard boards 5' by 18" with lids and folding legs. The front boards have removable backscenes which are stored in the fiddle yard lids. The side backscenes are stored in the front lids. The front lids also contain the layout lighting.
I have joined this forum to get advise from people who actually know about era typical layouts, track, signals, rolling stock and vehicles etc. This wasn't correct on the initial Hankly build. I'm hoping to recreate 'Hankly' in a larger version with a more prototypical look but not going the full rivet counter route. Theoretically the layout is an ex LMS station with a small goods unloading area and the setting is late steam/early diesel. Having more realistic track is a must.
I have spent a lot of time perusing the posts and have loads of questions so will be looking for advice guidance from people in the know.
Many thanks in advance Steve
Here are a couple of photos.
