Identities 2 GWR Layouts and Articles Sought

[WilliamBCrawford]

Hello.

 

Another 'can you remember this layout...' post. Sorry!

 

Both were GWR outline ('Well, THAT'S narrowed it down!' I hear you say) and really rather magnificent, lots of lovely old K's kits etc.

 

First layout firstly, I believe it appeared at least twice in Model Railway Constructor, late 60s to mid 70s, a loft layout, a lovely low level thru' station and a higher level station behind, scratch-built buildings (my first encountering of 'Bristol Board') with 4track main line to left of station and 2 2track lines to right (as I recall).

If I recall correctly, there was an added diagonal line added later, cutting operating well into two triangles, plus some mention of it being relocated following move etc. Very scanty, I'm sorry.

 

Second layout secondly, the scanty becomes scantier to the point of indecency! This layout may have been in Constructor, but I have a nagging doubt that says it was rather in a late 60s or early 70s Railway Modeller. Anyway, it was a U-shaped set-up with a grand terminus and fiddle yard at either end- but what really stuck in my mind was the middle section, a fantastic stone pier and wood-arched viaduct- I lack the technical description, sorry.

 

Well that is all rather vague, but if that does fire a memory or two please let me know, any name to attach to these recollections, and issue numbers would be most welcome and appreciated!

 

Kind regards

[Nick Holliday]

The first layout sounds as if it might be Ken Northwood's classic "North Devonshire Railway".  Layout of the Year in 1962 in the Railway Modeller and appearing in subsequent issues.  Ken wrote several constructional articles which appeared in RM and, I seem to recall, was a keen advocate of Bristol Board.  I think he did relocate it in later years, and I believe there were moves to preserve it, but I don't think that came off.  There is an article on the layout in MRJ Compendium No 2, but I don't know what it actually covers.

The second layout doesn't ring any bells, although there was one in MRC in the sixties where a curved viaduct featured as the cover photo, but I think that, although it had stone piers, the bridge sections were steel.  I remember it because the picture, taken from a low angle looking up, was, to my eyes, as close to the real thing as you could get. The other problem with this tentative identification was that the layout was only a single line branch terminus, albeit very well done, so hardly fitting the "grand terminus" description.