Exhibition Layouts 2025
Nonsuch Tudor Railway (O:16.5)
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Bishops Lane Brewery (O) - Colin French
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Bishops Lane Brewery is situated somewhere in the UK. It is a micro shunting layout in O gauge, 7mm to the foot. It was built as a result of a challenge by fellow micro layout builder Dave Tailby to replicate, in O gauge in as small a footprint as possible, his three foot long OO gauge layout ‘Canons Lane Scrapyard’ and operate it in the same manner as shown below.
Wagons are positioned at three points on the layout as follows:
A - The Coopers area against the Brewery ‘main line’ buffer stop
B - In front of C
C - The entrance to the Brewery on the front siding.
A dice is thrown and the number that comes up determines which two wagons will be taken away as two more arrive on the Brewery ‘main line’ which is at the back of the layout. Only three wagons are allowed on each of the two sidings. There are six permutations.
Two locos are required to shunt the layout. The fiddle yard consists of a two-road traverser with each road holding a loco and two wagons. The period modelled is the 1950s.
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Botterill Street Yard (O) - Peter Rye
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Botterill Street Yard depicts a small urban yard area, which can be operated as either a wagon repair facility or a locomotive stabling point. The layout is normally operated with stock typical of the Eastern Region circa 1958 - 1962, although occasional visitors from the Western Region may also appear.
The layout was originally built by Nigel Adams, who has written several books on small layout design. I purchased it around 2010 and have since refurbished it, which has included adding a fiddle yard to replace the original ‘loco lift’. The layout has also been rewired for DCC operation, with some stock being fitted with sound.
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Combe Regis (OO / 009) - Sudbury Model Railway Club
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The fictitious town of Combe Regis lies along the Dorset and Devon coastal area of South West England. Sited alongside an estuary, the town had developed a small port, principally for a local fishing fleet, and with its extensive sandy beaches, a popular holiday resort. Historically the town had attracted the competing interests of the Great Western and London & South Western Railways to capitalise on this lucrative trade. Although historically rivals, an agreement was reached to share access to the station facilities as their branches approached the town from their respective main lines.
At the end of the 19th Century, taking advantage of the 1896 Light Railways Act, a number of local dignitaries planned and financed a narrow gauge railway to serve the smaller local settlements that the main line companies had seen fit to overlook. The line runs along the quayside street, eventually crossing the main line and ambling towards the coast. A short siding serves the gasworks bringing coke for gas production.
The model represents Combe Regis in the nationalisation era with both Western and Southern Region locomotives and rolling stock in evidence. The line is still kept busy with its freight and holiday traffic as the motor car has yet to appear in sufficient numbers to offer competition. As viewed, the model still represents a ‘work in progress’ and further detailing remains to be done. Within the club there are a range of railway interests from narrow gauge light railways to steam and diesel main line railways. We believe that this layout offers engagement from all quarters.
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Essex Brick (OO) - 'Eddy' Edwards
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In 2020 I started building a small portable freelance industrial layout called Essex Brick. It is based on storage facilities and service by rail, road and canal. All the buildings are based on how I remember them from my youth; travelling to London on the Fenchurch Line. Buildings were dirty and well worn post World War 2.
I freelance designed and 3D printed almost all of the layout including all the figures, buildings, locos, wagons, turntables, etc. This was very rewarding learning new skills and making the whole thing myself. The working canal works by a second track underneath with locos pulling the canal boats around and through the layout. In 2023 I focused on detailing and painting, using various methods to make the buildings and locos look authentic and dirty. Finally Essex Brick was completed.
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Foxvale (N) - Simon Fox
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A fictitious N gauge layout based on a container yard with engine maintenance shed and a lorry workshop. Designed and funded by Simon on a western theme because of his love of the North Wales scenery. The layout was built by Simon and two of his good friends.
Simon has developed his modelling skills over the years from his first exhibition layout ‘Foxhollow’ and from projects he’s worked on through the Bury St Edmunds Model Railway Club. Foxvale runs diesel locomotives with a variety of rolling stock and also has the occasional steam excursion go by on the main line. Please check out our website at www.foxvalelayout.weebly.com.
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Framplington (OO) - Nick Goward
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Framplington was built by George Woodcock, John Norton and Richard Coleman. It is based on the long gone terminus at Framlingham in Suffolk, which was at the end of a short branch from Wickham Market on the East Suffolk Line about fifteen miles north of Ipswich.
The line closed to passengers in the 1950s and freight services continued until 1965 when the line closed. In our world we have kept the passenger services going until the end, which is one of the reasons for the name change. These passenger services are handled by Derby Lightweight and Cravens Class 105 DMUs. Freight traffic consist of coal, oil, grain and fertiliser along with general goods traffic.
It had been a surprisingly busy station, but by 1965 the freight flows were beginning to fall off, not surprisingly due to the imminent closure of the branch. The station was a large building for such a remote location, but this was not unusual. The yard was also a large affair with a fair number of sidings.
There was a large goods shed and a granary building from which train was dispatched to various destinations across the country. The signal box is still in use. The old steam shed also still exists but is derelict and long abandoned, as is the old cattle dock. The name Framplington comes from a Guardian magazine spoof on 1st April 2017. We hope you will enjoy our small tribute to another almost forgotten piece of railway history. Surprisingly most of the yard and buildings lasted until very recently, but have now been replaced by houses leaving only the station building remaining.
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Longstone (GN15) - Barry Weston
A 15 inch gauge light railway serving the communities, mills, farms and light industry in the local area. Stone buildings and limestone rock scenery, abundant wildlife can be spotted in and amongst the scenery. Operated from one end and viewable on three sides. One side depicts a village, complete with shop, the opposite side depicts one of the mills and the end shows the railway crossing one of the bridges in the countryside surrounded by wildlife. Locos and stock are a mixture of scratch-built and kits, whilst the buildings are all scratch-built.
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Nonsuch Tudor Railway (O:16.5) - Sudbury Model Railway Club
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Nonsuch was built by our friend and former club chairman Derek Reeve who passed away in 2023 and is brought to you today by members of the club. Derek wrote this piece:
What if the Tudors had developed the railways instead of the Victorians? This is my idea of how it may have been. Everything is scratch-built including the locos, rolling stock, animations, mice and buildings. Most of the locos run on a Hornby ‘Smokey Joe’ chassis. Nonsuch is a real place in Surrey, although many of the buildings are models of actual buildings in the Suffolk / Essex area, including the Guildhalls at Lavenham and Thaxted. The layout took nearly two years of intensive modelling to build; literally thousands of hours. Most of the buildings have taken in excess of 60 to 100 hours each to make.
Why the mice you ask? My previous layout ‘Wendsleydale’ was a cheese mine that had 125 mice. I was debating whether to make mice or traditional figures for Nonsuch, but on visiting a local model railway show, I was recognised as ‘the Mouse Man’, so it was mice again...!
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Pye Rigg Works (O9) - Graham Watling
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This layout features a small railway works on the edge of the North York Moors alongside the fictitious 15 inch gauge Penny Howe Light Railway modelled at 1:43 (7mm scale) on a board under 4 foot long. Locomotives are a real mix of Victorian tram engines to mid-century diesels made of brass kits, 3D prints, resin kits and a scratch-build. Coaches are kit-bashed or scratch-builds and the wagons are mainly resin kits.
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Rainbow Railway (OO) - Sam Hill
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Deep in the rolling countryside, hidden from view, lies the Rainbow Factory; a magical place where every rainbow in the sky is carefully crafted. No, they’re not made by sunlight and raindrops alone… they are brewed with a secret formula and launched skyward through a shimmering chimney.
But magic needs movement, and long ago the factory workers grew tired of hauling rainbow ingredients by hand. So they built the Rainbow Railway, a one-engine wonder with seven enchanted trucks, each carrying a different colour of the rainbow. The trick? They must be shunted into perfect order, and fast, before the next rainbow deadline strikes. It’s part logic, part magic, and all charm.
Every rainbow you see might just be the result of a perfectly timed shunting dance, deep in the heart of this secret world. So next time on arcs across the sky, know that somewhere a little engine is puffing proudly, having nailed the secret formula once again!
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​Roseland Bay (N) - Ron Holland
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Set in the 1950s to 1960s this layout depicts a rather run down seaside resort somewhere on the east coast. This branch line off the main East Coast route was originally double track and had earned just enough revenue to avoid the Beeching Axe. One track was lifted as the traffic slowly decreased to its present level.
Originally the line was built to cater for visitors, after a Victorian gentleman found the beneficial effects of a local spring and a hotel was built to accommodate the wealthy clients who took the waters and bathed in the sea. The main source of income for the line today is holiday makers and the produce from the Roseland Bay Spa Water Company.
The weekend was change over time, so all manner of stock is used and many strange combinations of engines and rolling stock are seen to cope with the rush which makes for interesting formations.
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Sandside Quarry (OO) - Graham Morfoot
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The layout is inspired by the now closed Sandside Quarry at Storth, Cumbria on the River Kent estuary near Arnside. Limestone was mined and used for loadstone or agricultural use, with some processed in the Spencer kiln to make lime. In later years there was a plant in the quarry that made tarmac for road use. The quarry was connected to the British Rail line that connected Silverdale to Hincaster on the West Coast Main Line. Company owned steam and diesel locomotives work within the quarry, then British Rail locomotives transfer the wagons.
The layout is OO gauge, 4mm scale using Peco code 100 track. The locomotives are operated by DCC and points are hand operated by rods.
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Scarborough North Bay (009) - Harold Thompson
Scarborough North Bay Railway has been a tourist attraction in the North Yorkshire seaside town since 1931 where it runs a timetabled service carrying passengers from just outside Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills - a distance of just under one mile. The locomotives are diesel hydraulic and steam outline. During the period in which my layout is set, there was also a tiny industrial locomotive that was coal fired steam operated.
The track is 20 inch gauge. My interpretation uses N gauge track and ready-to-run locomotives - except for the tiny industrial one, which is scratch-built. All coaches are scratch-built, as are all the structures. The layout includes an operating water chute (though no real water!).​
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Willows Green (009) - Andrew Smith
Willows Green is another 009 layout that I have built since making a return to 4mm narrow gauge modelling. It is purely a fictional junction station on a narrow gauge railway that in my imagination would run from somewhere near Braintree to Felsted, and then meander through the Essex countryside towards Great Leighs and maybe Terling, as this area is ripe for gravel extraction used mainly in the construction of roads. And of course shows off the new 009 rolling stock readily available from Bachmann and other manufacturers, along with kit-built rolling stock as well.
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