Who was there?...

1. Cherwell

4mm scale, OO gauge

Solihull Model Railway Circle

A scenic OO gauge, 26 feet 6inches by 10 feet 6 inches, four track mainline with an integral branch line. It features working automatic signals and has largely scratch built buildings with a local theme (The Manor House, The Mason’s Arms, The George Hotel, The Fat Cat Cafe, Kings Heath library, Tyseley Station, and Water Orton Station). The layout was built mainly to display scale length mainline trains, those being run reflecting the varying interests of the membership. Trains run are usually British outline, but can come from any part of the UK mainland and from any date between about 1900 and the present day. If you look carefully you can see pigeons roosting under the station bridge, foxes using the track bed as a shortcut and one fox eyeing lambs, gulls eggs and the shepherd on the upper pasture, cats watching building work in the arch from the platform and gulls above the sea and on the cliffs with a lonely cormorant.

2. Cinema Sidings

2mm scale, N gauge

Ken Jones

An N gauge layout designed and built by Ken Jones using a cinema usherette ice cream tray in 2002. The layout is an inner city derelict area, which in parts, is being renovated behind a building being demolished. Trains enter the yard under a road bridge - now overgrown and used by cows. The main building (Model Power prebuilt kit) once was a hotel with its own grounds. The developers want to lift the track and seal off the entrance under the bridge. So the scene is caught somewhere during this change. Already established on the site, but not yet occupied is one new unit (Kestrel Kit) and a cafe just opened. (Modified Japanese Kit) with internal lights. The theatre, formerly the cinema is still on the left-hand side, note the Neon signs - Theater/Cafe (Noch Folien) used to give added interest.

3. The Works

2mm scale, N gauge

Ken Jones

This layout was inspired by Mr Ian Redman, who laid the track for Ken. The layout is built in a double video case box. It depicts part of Unit 12 in a chemical works. Arnold 0-4-0 shunters work below the many pipes while workers get on with their work. Note the absence of hard hats. The pipework is custom built and some is from Knightwing. Some of the tanks are from Kestrel and others are by Ten Commandments and Rodney Hodge. The fork lift truck and other items are from Ken’s “keep until needed” box. The layout measures less than 8 in x 5 in [20cm x12cm]. The layout was finished in 2008. It made its first public appearance in Jan 2008 at the Dartford Exhibition, since when the pipework and detailing have been finished. The layout continues to make guest appearances at shows. The layout has inspired others to start building their own layouts, perhaps not in such a small area, and one of the goals has been to show people that you don’t always need a large space to enjoy the hobby. More information and photographs at www.kenjonestrains.co.uk

4. Tremore

4mm scale, OO gauge

Nick Palette

Tremore is a small (66ins x 9ins) demonstration layout which is set in Cornwall. It supposes that at least part of the former LSWR lines survivied to the present day. The layout features a small station on a through line with a freight line at the rear.

5. Tanybwlch

4mm scale, 009 narrow gauge

Nigel Smith

Tanybwlch is the popular intermediate station on the Ffestiniog Railway. Set between the early 1990’s and present day. While modellers licence has been used due to the size restrictions, hopefully the atmosphere will be familiar if you have visited the line.

6. Overkill

ON30 scale

Richard Insley

In the closing decades of the nineteenth century the Catskill Mountains became the favourite place for wealthy of New York to enjoy a holiday. Besides the legend of Rip Van Winckle, the area possessed splendid scenery of small lakes, waterfalls, rocky outcrops and forests. Hotels began to appear in the late 1880’s and by the beginning of the ext century the area was dotted with such buildings each bigger and more magnificent. 

From the Hudson River, the narrow gauge Catskill Mountain Railway conveyed holiday makers to the Otis Elevating Railway which took them up the steep escarpment to the grand hotels. From the top the 3ft gauge Catskill and Tannersville Railway ran for over mile to Tannersville and various hotels en route. It was extended a further mile to Overkill creek in 1900.

The Railway was nicknamed the Huckleberry Line, and winding its way through a sylvan landscape served many hotel and guesthouses between Otis Summit depot and Overkill with depots at Laurel house, Hatnes corner and Tannersville. At Overkill, the hotel Overkill and the Whyte house catered for the well heeled vacationers.

The layout represents the terminus at Overkill in July 1906; when the railway carried over 60,000 passengers in one season, the year when Teddy Roosevelt was president and the year of the San Francisco earthquake.

7. Glenuig

4mm scale, EM gauge

Gary Hinson

The North British Railway where eager to get a connection on to the island of Mull, to rival the Oban and Cal Lander Railway. Construction was started to provide a railway from Lochailort to Ardslignish on Loch Sunnart. This was soon met by protests from local land owners, the area being prime hunting country and the Lairds had friends in high places. The project was doomed from the start and the line only progressed as far as Glenuig. At Glenuig the lie was prematurely terminated, but was opened to serve the remote community. With the arrival of reliable transport, the village became an important fishing community and a ferry service was established to the small islands. The local ‘water of life’ distillery ‘Moidart’ soon had its own siding and this traffic, fish and timber helped the line to survive. The scene is set between 1975 and 1985; the transition between BRCW types 2 and EE type 3’s. The traffic consists of 2 coach train with the occasional mixed train, 2 coaches and TTB, a small goods service – timber, grain, fish or engineers train. The freight stock is a mixture of unfitted and fitted short wheelbase and longer air braked wagons.

8. Four Corners Railroad Museum

4mm scale, OO gauge

Doug Grazier – Cradley Heath Model Railway Circle

This museum layout is situated in the south west of the USA and is based in an old locomotive works and repair shop. It now houses a large collection of working steam and early diesel locomotives. Today is the gala day, with many of the museum’s locomotives running and on static display. They are also joined by locomotives from other museum collections and railroads from across the USA.

9. Shed 14

7mm scale Narrow Gauge

Ralph Gaskin

An experiment in both low cost 7mm modelling and O14. Depicting the end of a Narrow Gauge railway (1930ish), with a small exchange siding.

10. Ashburton

4mm scale, OO gauge

Dick Hewins

Great Western branch line Terminus modelled on the famous prototype. Can run either Great Western Railway or British Rail eras.

11. Town Goods

4mm scale, OO gauge

Ken Jones/Solihull Model Railway Circle

Small town goods yard set in the era of the 1950s and 1960s. Scratch built buildings including the goods shed. The layout features working yard lamps and lighting in the warehourse.

12. Town Goods

4mm scale, OO gauge

Richard Boyce

A non-purist Hornby Dublo 3 rail layout. Children are invited to operate/drive the trains.

13. Avonbridge

7mm scale, O gauge

Solihull Model Railway Circle

The circular part of this layout is made from 9mm exterior plywood with partly aluminium bracing and was completed in 2001. PECO Streamline 'Fine Standard' Code 124 'bullhead' track is used and when the layout is set up as a circle is 13 feet across with two continuous run tracks, later changed to three, with a minimum radius of six feet.

In early 2005, work started on the planned eight straight boards to turn the circular layout into an oval. These boards were made in the same way as the boards for the circular layout. The layout is supported on square section tubular steel legs with nuts welded onto one end so that they can be screwed into the boards and rubber door stops on the other ends as feet. Four of the straight boards are used as a five-track fiddle yard while the others will be a station and goods yard. Between 2005 and mid 2007, the track and wiring on the eight straight boards was completed with two main lines and a third track which is used as a goods line.

The now 29 foot by 13 foot oval layout has PECO six foot radius points, switched using ‘H & M’ point motors and micro-switches from a single control panel. A ‘Codar 2000’ feedback controller is used to drive up to three trains at a time. This means that there is an opportunity to provide the layout with scenery and buildings. The layout has been built to display reasonable length trains and allows continuous running, those trains being run reflecting the varying interests of the membership.

14. A Scottish Branch

4mm scale, OO gauge

Solihull Model Railway Circle