Lydham Heath

[Northroader]

I think when the layout was designed, with the space available on the baseboards, which is quite extensive allowing for what there is, it would have been better to carry the cut off just a bit further in the Craven Arms direction, to include the point at that end. The divergence between the two routes could have been accentuated, so that you do get a better idea of what’s going on. As it is, it looks too close to being just another terminus to fiddle yard layout, leading to misunderstanding the operation pattern.

i saw it at an exhibition a long, long time ago, and being a BCR fan, I looked at it long and hard. It is very well made, the overgrown track is very well done, and the trains are excellent. I got the impression that the woodland behind the station seemed a very light shade of green, I think it’s mainly larches which would be tricky to do, presumably springtime look?

Edited April 4, 2020 by Northroader

[Regularity]

When creating the backscene, I used a website I found in Germany to generate the outline of the hills from the grid reference for Lydham Heath, providing an elevation that corresponded to roughly the height of someone viewing the layout, as well as a rough direction for the viewpoint.

 

Having just found the site again, I thought I would record it here before I lose it again:

https://udeuschle.de/panoramas/makepanoramas_en.htm

[Mikkel]

I see this is in the upcoming issue of BRM. Look forward to seeing it.

[woodenhead]

Saw this at Doncaster, at the Racecourse, they were having some sort of exhibition thing, there were lots of other model railways there too, and places where you could buy model locos and other bits and pieces.

 

I remember Andy Y was there too, in person, he was lent up against another model railway in the foyer.

 

I think there used to be lots of these things in the past, almost every weekend at times.  Such a long time ago, memories fade.

 

But back to the model, it was excellent in the flesh and comes back to the old adage, it's not how much track you can lay down and how many locomotives you can fit on your railway at one time, but how well you capture the character of what it is you are modelling.

[Regularity]

9 hours ago, Mikkel said:

I see this is in the upcoming issue of BRM. Look forward to seeing it.

Andy’s photos are superb.

[steverabone]

Excellent article by Simon Dunkley and photos by Andy York. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the layout which I remember seeing at the York exhibition some years ago.

[Colin Stewart]

Excellent article and photos, nice work

 

Colin

[Regularity]

Thank you Stephen and Colin, and those who have sent messages privately.

 

I really do recommend to anyone who is interested in this layout which has “the most interesting part of the track missing” to buy a copy.

 

And just to make what track there is there more interesting, I post the following photo, courtesy of BRM and Andy York...

 

[AY Mod]

29 minutes ago, Regularity said:

And just to make what track there is there more interesting

 

I'm of a mind that most exhibition-goers and article readers focus primarily on locos, trains, stock, operations, buildings, scenics, cameos, track, vehicles, signals and figures in roughly that order (feel free to debate this elsewhere to save potential distractions here) and we are compelled to provide these. However, I'm more interested in the emotional side than the factual - how does a scene make me feel? Hence theatrics and presentation are of interest and in the probably disregarded by most element captured in the scene above is the feeling of looking into, from the edge, a deep, dense and dark wood. Not something you often see.

[t-b-g]

I was OK with the track layout because I knew what happened off to the left and could use my imagination to fill in the gaps.

 

Most of us have to compromise in some things and very few true scale layouts could be built in that sort of space without going to the much smaller scales, like 2mm.

 

I used to just enjoy the fact that the modelling was top quality, the scale was unusual and that I found that I could lose myself for a while watching the layout, unlike many more complex ones. It was probably because it was (and still is) so different in concept and design to so many layouts.

[Neil]

28 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

 

.... However, I'm more interested in the emotional side than the factual - how does a scene make me feel? Hence theatrics and presentation are of interest and in the probably disregarded by most element captured in the scene above is the feeling of looking into, from the edge, a deep, dense and dark wood. Not something you often see.

 

I think that like conjuring tricks it's at its best when you don't know how the magic works and you just get drawn into the illusion.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Neil

[ianb3174]

Just found some old MRJ's during a clear out.  Something about this issue....can't put my finger on it

[D602bulldog]

Very nice layout what is the size of the scenic section please.

 

cheers

[Regularity]

About 9’ long and about 3’ wide.

as there are no straight line boundaries, the dimensions vary…

[D602bulldog]

Hi is the layout still going to be at the portsmouth show this year.

 

cheers

[Regularity]

I am afraid not, but it is pencilled in for 2022, and I shall look forward to it.