Who was there?...

Cherwell Junction
by Solihull Model Railway Circle
Gauge = '00'/4mm

‘CHERWELL’ is our exhibition layout and is developing fast. Its design means a number of scale length trains can run simultaneously. The scenery is now taking shape, the tramway is now laid, and colour light signals on the mainlines.
If you look carefully you can see: Pigeons roosting under the station bridge; Foxes using the trackbed as a shortcut and one fox eying lambs, gulls eggs and the shepherd on the upper pasture; Cats watch building work in the arch from the platform; Gulls above the sea and on the cliffs with a lonely Cormorant.

Capel Blaneau
by John Perkin
Size = 5' x 2'
Gauge = '009'

Capel Blaneau is a fictitious layout set somewhere in North Wales. It uses locomotives from neighbouring railways to compliment its own, so a variety of Narrow Gauge engines can be seen duriing the day. Whilst the layout is priivately owned it is used to promote the gloucestershire warwickshire steam railway based at Toddington in the Cotswolds.

Pferdbrucke & 009
Display Stand
by Mr B Hobson
Size = 6'6" x 2'6"
Gauge = 'HOe'

This is a HOe (3.5mm Scale 9mm Gauge) layout representing a 760mm narrow gauge line on hte German/Czech border. The layout is a looped figure of eight to maximise the time trains are seen. Stock is of continental manufacture and track Peco.
The Display Stand will have historic 009/HOe equipment from the 1960's and some 5.5mm scale narrow gauge.

Oldgate
by Mr Robert McLeod
Size = 8'6" x 22"
Gauge = '00'

Oldgate is based on a layout design of Iain Rice from the magazine 'Modelling Railways Illustrated' June 95.

The upper level being ex L&Y for warehouse traffic. Lower level ex L.N.W.R. used for servicing locomotives, all under the L.M.S. banner.

Kings Basin
by Mr E. E. King
Size = 8' x 3'
Gauge = '0' + 0/16.5NG

Kings Basin represents an inland river port basin and warehousing served by both a standard and narrow gauge railway. The layout features several operating functions which may be operated by the public (please ask) as well as an automatic shuttle which can be switched on if the operator is busy with somthing else. Please feel free to ask any questions.

Foxbury
by Bob Brown
Size = 5' 6" x 1'
Gauge = 'TT3'

Foxbury is the terminus of a former Great Western Railway brach line in east Gloucestershire. It is set in the late 1950's; the final years of operation for many such lines.

The buildings you see on the layout with the exception of the Brewery, are all models of actual ones that were located along the Cheltenham to Kingham line - the inspiration behind the layout.

The locomotives and nearly all of the rolling stock are kit-built. A wide variety of kits and equipment is available in 3mm scale through the 3mm Society and specialist firms like 3SMR.

If you have any questions about the layout don't hesitate to ask.

Skip Hill Mineral Railway
by Peter Cullen
Size = 6' x 1'
Gauge = '00' 4mm

This layout was inspired by, but it is clearly not a model of, Cromford and High Peak line in Derbyshire. Powerful tank engines charge the 1 in 14 gradients with short trains of empty miieral wagons. After shunting the wagons on the summit, the loaded wagons are carefully (very carefully!) taken back down the gradients to the exchange sidings.

Steep gradients, short headshunts, automatic uncoupling and numerous isolating sections make for interesting operation in a space.

The name is derived from where I found the baseboard, in a skip!

Martello MPD
by L Spratt
Size = 9'6" x 2'6"
Gauge = '00' 4mm

Railway Modellers are very fond of building layouts which depict a scene from a "might have been" section of railway...
...well here is another one!
In the 1930s and late 1940s, there was a build up of Southern Railway cross-channel traffic at the ports of Folkestone and Dover. Martello M.P.D. represents a possible relief facility sited in the Folkestone Warren area, close to Martello Tunnel. The Martello Towers were built along this section of the coast as a defence line, around 1800.

This extra M.P.D. would ease the work load at Folkestone and Dover, much of which concerned the turning and servicing of the Locos working the Boat Trains, including the "Golden Arrow".

The model represents alocation near the site of the Warren Halt, which closed in the 1950s. There is no road access to the area, just a zig-zag path down the cliff face.

More modellers licence is used in the varied selection of Southern Locos to be seen on the layout, some of which you would not expect to see on the South-Eastern Section. This is to makethings more interesting for both modeller and Viewer.

Comments and questions are welcome.

Rio Bravo Industries
by John Farrell
Size = 4' x 2
Gauge = N 1/160

This N scale layout is based on the industrial district the eastern side of Kansas City. Rio Brav is, however, fictitious. There are eight different 'industries' able to receive deliveries or ship out their products by rail. Short local trains bring freigth cars from the yard on the mainline, delivery them to the approriate industry, (eg coal to the power station) and take way cars which have been loaded. There are also occassional local passenger trains.