Shows Attended
- Sturminster Newton
- Bluebell Railway 2025
- Salisbury 2025
- Exmoor Rail 2024
- Edington Jan 2024
- Wincanton Nov 23
- Shillingstone Aug 23
- Frome Jan 2023
- Pevensey July 2019
- Riddlesdown- N Gauge Show -April 2019
- Erith MRS Jan 2018
- Hailsham MRS December 2017
- Oxted -July 2017
- Tonbridge Annual Exhibition February 2017
- WSNG show Angmering November 2016
- WSNG Show Lancing 5th November 2015
- Liphook MRC Oct 2015
- East Grinstead March 2015
- Horsham Oct 2014
Crawley Yard
- Hayling Island MRE 14-16th September 2018
- Bluebell MRS- West Sussex 23-24 June 2018
- Milton Keynes Feb 2017
- Midhurst Show Feb 2016
- Chichester Oct 2015
- Midhurst Feb 2015
- Erith MRS Jan 2015
- Bluebell MRS June 2014
- Shoreham June 2014
- Horsham April 2014
Shillingstone
- Shillingstone 30th March 2024
- Shillingstone 160th Aug 2023
- RMWEB Modular 2015 Oxted
- Wealden Cement
- Wealden Cement
- East Dorset 2024
- WSNG Nov 2022
- Erith MRC Show 25-26 Jan 2020
- Shoreham Nov 2019
Gavin and the layouts
After a break of some 25 years, I re-found railway modelling and started looking around for something to model. I spent my early years in Dorset and many happy days at Poole and Bournemouth stations watching the trains go by and waiting for the unusual. Nearly everything was blue and grey and 90% of the locomotives were class 33’s. I did do quite a lot of walking as well and managed to walk a long way from Poole towards Blandford and from Blandford both north and south on the old S&D track bed. That was the inspiration and so my journey to model some of the stations in that part of Dorset started.
The first layout of Broadstone started well enough. I had to make a number of compromises with the junction to get the operation as I wanted it but ended up with something I was rather proud of at 10 by 2 it was larger than I really wanted. I had managed to get most of the features I was looking for included including the golf course. Then disaster struck, the bedroom i had been using was recovered for use by the returning daughter and I had to vacate to my study where the max length feasible was only 8 feet. Off it went into the roof to be recalled when space again became available. Alas something didn’t like the layout and it became moldy so has now been scrapped, At that point I wasn’t taking many photos so not a lot of evidence but the track plan lives on and keeps appearing as I get new ideas.
I then started work on Sturminster Newton, great location for a smaller layout, single track in and off the scene. Two passing loops, a few sidings, and a relatively short station area to model. The first version was fine but I was plagued by poor running, and derailments and some of the buildings didn’t really look right to me. I finished Crawley Yard at the beginning of 2014 and before starting on Shillingstone made a conscious effort to rebuild Sturminster. I re-laid the Fiddle Yard using Copper strip along the board joins and also re-laid the curves on the end. I replaced the bridge and redid the station buildings. I added the cattle Yard and Dairy and used Static grass, grass clumps and a revisited tree set to reinvigorate the look and feel of the whole layout. The biggest change was perhaps the removal of the photographic backscene which was never a good fit. With a base blue with the clouds sprayed with the airbrush and the outline of Hambledon hill in the distance I’m really pleased with this as it sets off the layout well.
Crawley Yard came about after much thinking, I’d been wanting to build a Modular layout that I could exhibit with the West Sussex N Gauge group for some time but after building Sturminster I really wanted to build based on a prototype rather than a fictitious location. Going past it regularly on the train helped with the decision and it was a perfect fit with the 4 track main line running from North to south for the London to Brighton line and the yard serviced by some access roads and having two main sidings and industries. I regularly posted about the layout on RM Web and seeing this work disappear down the threads became the catalyst for retaining the work on this website.
Crawley Yard was followed by Shillingstone, I was given the buildings for xmas in OO so it seemed wrong not to use them I quickly realised that my 8 foot space was going to have to be compromised even for a relatively short station like Shillingstone. I started off with C&L Finescale track and points but the points are a fair bit longer than the Peco ones so I compromised with those to get the track plan correct. At the time I was building this there was a challenge on RM Web for modular OO layouts so I built two ends for the layout, Haywards Bridge on the north and a run away from the station on the south. This went to one modular meet where it performed as expected.
The next project was Wealden Cement, I posted about this on the N Gauge Forum as a design but haven’t been inspired to post this into the build forum. I made slow progress but was hampered by two class 04 shunters not being very good starters. With the track down, Dapol Magnets are in place for uncoupling this is a shunting festival with exchange sidings, transfer roads with storage roads, and loading sidings for the presflos. The Class 04’s are chipped and when moving fine but getting them started isnt good. The layout is now finished and been to its first two exhibitions and with the new Hunslet 0-6-0 shunters from the N Gauge Society has become a pleasure to operate and keep me busy
Whilst I’d been prevaricating over Wealden Cement I’d been allocated a bedroom to use and had installed my first “home Layout” Two Stones, This included an N elevation for the fiddle yard, Models of Shillingstone and Broadstone on each side of the room and a yard at the end based on Templecombe. Alas after moving house this didn’t fit in the new room so has been scrapped and is being replaced by Poole Sidings
I regularly exhibit on my own, with Phil helping on a regular basis and historically with the Horsham and West Sussex clubs and now the Shaftesbury and Gillingham Railway Society
GRC Railways 