For this year's photographic expedition around the layouts the main area of
difficulty was the very variable lighting conditions. Some layouts were well
lit, others not so. Photos of model railways must usually be taken with the
camera's minimum aperture to get depth of field and some of those here were
exposed for 4 or 5 seconds; others for only 1/15 sec, such was the variation of
available light. For me, the use of flash for model railway photos is a no-no;
the photos usually look awful.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the layouts.
First Alston, N gauge, owned and built by David Smith, it is high in the
northern Pennines at the end of a branch from the Newcastle-Carlisle line.
A view of the "pretty" side of Alston station that you don't normally get to see
because it faces the inside of the layout.
A passenger train approaches Alston station.
Lambley viaduct -- scale height and length.
Next, Ashleigh, built and exhibited by David Seymour (S&DRS member) in EM
gauge, representing Network South East in the late 1980s.
Other pictures of Ashleigh are available here
on this site.
Dolores is an S&DRS club layout: Rio Grande Southern in Sn3, which is
3/16in:1ft scale, 9/16in gauge track, equivalent to 3ft gauge full size. Since it was first built in the late 1990s the
layout has endured several major rebuilds; this is either the 4th or 5th version
and we hope the last. Earlier versions can be seen
here on this site.
A view across the stock pens.
The farmers' market with the station behind.
The next layout is Ediger-Eller, German HO, set in the Mosel valley and built
by
John Illingworth of Keighley MRC. The layout has highly realistic DCC sound and
the
steam sound is particularly entertaining and realistic. Unfortunately, there
were no
steam trains around when I passed with my camera.
Here, the line crosses the Mosel on this bridge and plunges into the steep
valley side.
Another layout from Keighley MRC, this is Hellifield MPD in O gauge and
featuring
some very impressive ex-LMS locos.
Now, an excellent demonstration of the sort of scenic modelling where N gauge
comes into its own: Loch Oran by David Harrison of Bridlington. The layout was
inspired by the West Highland line and is loosely based on the junction at
Crianlarich.
The Loch Oran Hotel, above and below, was inspired by the Tarbet Hotel on Loch
Lomond.
Sabden Glen, below, was built by David Burrows, a Skipton DRS member in 00
gauge.
It's only 9ft x 4ft and represents the sort of layout that our children and
grandchildren
would enjoy and would fit somewhere in the average house. It features a treacle
mine,
a haggis farm and a black pudding tree.
The terminus of the narrow gauge shuttle between Sabden Glen and the treacle
mine.
Below is the N gauge layout of Andrew Thomson, a Skipton club member, again
the
sort of layout that most homes could find room for.
Finally, a couple of new shots of Whiteadder Junction, built by the Skipton
group of
the EM Gauge Society, based at Skipton DRS. It represents the junction of ex-NER
and
ex-NBR lines in the Scottish borders. More photos
here on this website.
