Layout Description

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Brent Eleigh is a small village lying between Sudbury and Bildeston in West Suffolk. Following the 1896 Light Railway Act, a line was surveyed by Colonel Stephens to link Hadleigh with Long Melford with the intention of developing the agricultural economy of the local area. The railway was never built but this layout represents a narrow gauge version of what might have been. With a little tweaking of the route, a junction has been modelled at Brent Eleigh to allow trains to diverge to nearby Lavenham.

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On leaving the station the 'main line' loops and crosses over itself in Himalaya Darjeeling style to gain the necessary height to carry it out of the valley and onto higher land for the journey to Long Melford. Most of the buildings adjacent to the station are modelled on those in the village though a great deal of licence has been taken in relocating them.

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The model is set in springtime in the early 1950s by which time the company has acquired a variety of both steam and diesel motive power together with rolling stock from other lines which have closed. Road competition has yet to make serious inroads though cost cutting measures are being enforced.

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The layout has featured in 009 News (January 2020) and Railway Modeller (July 2020).