The Challenge

Back on April 1st the annual Christmas layout challenge was announced over at the Micro Model Railway Cartel Facebook group: Build a layout with a scratchbuilt railway related working feature (E.g: A crane, wagon tipper, wagon loader)

I'll hold my hands up, that prompt is very out of my comfort zone. I'm certainly a person who enjoys just watching the trains rather than seeing them actually loading and unloading. However it was very on the fence if the contest was going ahead this year, so it's certainly worth having a try, even if just to prove to myself that this certainly isn't an area I'm comfortable with.

Since the start of the month I'd been sitting down for an hour or two a week trying to sketch out some ideas. There were some nice thoughts, but nothing was really taking my fancy. The main stumbling block being that I didn't want it to be a layout were I could only have a particular set of locos and wagons running on it. I wanted it to be able to accomadate the regular 009 stock too, which would include incorporating a passenger service somehow.

Just last week though the obvious source for inspiration was pointed out to me. I'm not too far from the route of the long gone Ashover Light Railway, where industrial and passenger traffic coexisted quite happily together for a time. So armed with the Bob Gratton book on the line, a large mug of tea and the chance to sit outside in the sunshine, I started scribbling in the sketchbook again.

Introducing "Ashcross":

Very much taking visual cues from the Ashover Butts end of the ALR on the left hand side, with an aggregate chute and exit view-blocker cottage on the right giving some not quite Butts Quarry/Fallgate vibes. Just moving my pen back and forth along the rough track plan and thinking of operational moves revealed that it probably needs an extra middle spur for ease of operation. It could be done with just two tracks leading to the fiddle yard, but the third elleviates the need to 'crane shunt' locomotives round their trains.

Comparing the above rough sketch and stock list with what there is to hand in the project stash, this is looking like quite the viable project for 2026. There's the battered remains of a GEM Baldwin in a tub, the wagons would be a good scratchbuilding exercise, the body pieces for a Glouster style coach are easily available to buy and there's plenty of embossed sheets to make the structures. The only thing that would need to be specially bought in is one 'Y' point.

It all simply boils down to the classic enemy of all modellers. Time.

We'll see where this goes.

GWR Station Build

I needed a distraction.

I was totally burnt out from work heading into the easter weekend, and being the only mandatory three day weekend in the work calendar it's always a good time for a quick one off project. To that end, a GWR station building materialised on the modelling desk.

Nothing too spectacular here. A PECO 'manyways' kits, a few ideas for embellishment from Mr Ford, and a painting guide from the online GWR modelling website.

Oh, and it's N gauge!

Will this lead anywhere? We'll see...

Holmeswell - In Publication!

Just over a week back Holmeswell graced the pages of the spring issue of The Micro Model Railway Dispatch, effectively providing a nice bookend for my entry into last year's Christmas Challenge. You can find the article, and others, HERE.

Truthfully, I don't think this is my best writing, but I think that can be attributed to forcing a deadline upon myself and being full of cold and flu whilst writing. However Ian has done a fantastic job putting this together, and I'm still impressed with how good this layout looks in photographs. I can't help noticing that much like 'The Garden Railway', Holmeswell seems to have taken up residence as the final article in the issue. Is this becoming my unintentional home in the Dispatch? (I jest, Ian!)

And if the above slice of The Dispatch has wetted your appetite, all the back issues are also available to read for free HERE. 

Déjà vu

 We've been here before, haven't we?

Once again I'm attempting the smallest possible and practical (for me) continuous loop layout in 009. Some readers may remember I quickly grew disheartened with my last attempt, Corri-Llyn, from 2024 which used the same Chris Ford inspired building structures (Bar church and bridge). 

This time though I've taken the slightly safer option of making a copy of a layout, with some slight scenic twists to make it my own rather than an exact duplicate. One micro layout I've always liked the look of is the "Second First" layout built by James Hilton and his son, It's a perfect example of fitting several small scenes on a layout without it looking cluttered. So after the realisation that the Welsh 009 buildings meant that a good chunk of the scenic work was already finished the above layout materialised, at 38x46cm it's roughly twice the size of the original whilst still being fairly compact!. The goods store is a nice addition for some variety, whilst the tin tabernacle is very much a bit of indulgence after realising that I've never actually built one 'as is', they've always been bashed about. The only major structure left to make is a small locomotive shed for the station area.

Already I'm having a lot of fun with this layout. I decided to give Duncan a good run as he hasn't been able to since his rebuild. Surprisingly, given the uneven weight distribution of the original GEM kit and the short wheelbase Arnold 0-4-0 chassis on setrack points, he glides along almost like a sewing machine! 

I have a strong suspicion he might end up calling this railway home if this performance keeps up.

Bridging the Gap

 As a continuation from last time, the bashed about bridge has a home:

The result of a scrap sheet of 12mm MDF saved from the skip at work and roughly 30 minutes with a jigsaw. For a first attempt at fitting a bridge into a cut out section of baseboard, it all went together first time. My measurement calculations and ability to cut wood on the mark must be improving!

The rest of the baseboard? Oh, that will have to wait till next time...