Narrow Gauge North

2024

A 009 layout based on a fictitious location somewhere in England, by John Thorne

Set in the 1930s this small narrow gauge line runs through the English countryside and serves a small canal and pottery. The pottery is based on the buildings of the Coalport factory in Ironbridge. The layout is of no particular prototype but provides the opportunity to showcase a wide variety of 2ft gauge narrow gauge stock.

The layout is 8ft long. The central module is 4ft long and a 2ft module bolts on to each end. Each 2ft module incorporates a fiddle yard each of which incorporates five cassettes which mean that ten trains can be stored to run onto the layout. The station lies at the end of Bottle Kiln Lane and is the main station on the line located in the centre of the line. This means that trains enter the layout from both directions and as the loco shed is also located at the station locos are exchanged at the station and stock can be shunted into the various station sidings or down to the canalside. This means that there is a constant changing variety of locos and stock.

The layout uses Peco 009 Crazy track. Some of the buildings are scratchbuilt but also on the layout are two Hornby Scaledale items which have been used as scratchbuilders aids being considerably improved and weathered. The majority of the locos and stock are scratchbuilt and feature both steam and diesel prototypes. The wide range of industrial steam and diesels are built in plasticard and they run on a wide variety of chassis from Germany and Japan.