Risborough and District MRC

Layouts:

Brinklow by Wayne Webb & Mike Biss. This layout is based on Brinklow station which was part of the Trent Valley line between Rugby and Stafford, and the layout features a scale half mile of the line. It is set in the BR days between 19050 & 1965. The Brinklow section only ever has three lines, with no down slow, due to the proximity of the Oxford canal, which is incorporated into the layout.

Freedles Ric Lee (RDMRC) - N gauge freelance. “Freedles is a fun layout, with no specific era. It is a small portable layout built from my own imagination and runs steam and diesel locos of my choice. I love collecting both rolling stock and locos.”

Harkness by Tony Bucknell, (RDMRC). The Belford to Harkness Light Railway connected the East Coast mainline at Belford to the small seaside village of Harkness to the north of Bamburgh in Northumberland. The layout is based on the similar line which ran from Chathill to Seahouses, called the North Sunderland Railway.

The Belford to Harkness Light railway left the mainline at Belford running towards and connecting with the Easington Quarry before heading to the fishing village of Harkness. The line eventually traced the original tramways from Brada Quarry to the sea, which ended at a stone jetty used for loading aggregate onto ships heading for the South and London. This jetty was expanded over the late 1800's to form the current harbour and with it a more diverse trade. The line from Belford terminates at Harkness station with the original jetty railway line being removed and shortened back to form a small siding adjacent to the platform.

The layout features hand built points with SMP plain track. Most buildings are scratch built from styrene sheet and are based on similar buildings in the area. Trains are run in various time periods be it 1930's 40's or 50's. Whilst the Light Railway possessed its own rolling stock and locomotives, it was common for the mainline railway company to supply locomotives and stock and to also run trains over the branch. Freight workings were to\from the mainline with much railway owned rolling stock, for traffic. Such as fish, coal and acid, as well as some private owner wagons for coal and aggregates. The layout portrays a variety of these workings covering the LNER, Nationalisation and BR Periods using a mix of RTR and kit built items.

Helston by Dave Howsam, The layout was conceived as BR(WR), as a change from my Swiss models, and was going to be the third Porthleven model I had built; the first being in 1965. It became Helston? because models and kits of the prototype buildings became available. I was unable to build a reasonably accurate scale model in the limited space available to me so huge liberties were taken with the track plan; hence the question mark after the name.

Track is SMP Scaleway with their plastic based point kits. The signal box and station building are Rail Model laser cut kits, the latter being specially provided in 4mm scale by Andy Pearce. The engine shed is Bachmann and the goods shed is modified Ratio. As I did not have the width or length to model the extra loop that was at Helston I moved the loco shed to the other side of the track and created the branch to The Lizard via Porthleven (of course), its platform being loosely based on the bay at Churston. The branch line adds extra interest for the viewer as the layout was always intended tor exhibition use. Two periods of operation are usually depicted over a weekend exhibition, 1953 & 1963.

Okement Quarry (RDMRC) - Okement Quarry has been designed to work with the new Gauge O Guild modular layout concept. It is 12 feet long with double track entering at one end and leaving at the other. In between we decided to make a small layout representing a quarry yard, with hopper wagons being loaded from a hopper building, a small engine shed with associated coal stage and water tower. Other features will be added to make the layout interesting to view and operate. We have based some of the buildings on those at Meldon Quarry, which provided the ballast for the Southern Railway over many years. The river near Meldon is called the West Okement River, so that is where the name of the layout comes from. Its location means that SR and GWR trains would run through giving us a wide range of stock we can use.

Shadwell East by High Wycombe MRC Juniors - Shadwell East is the new layout from our Junior section at the HWDMRS. It presents a small terminus in the East End of London, serving the once thriving docks, industries and commercial businesses in that busy area. Suburban passenger services connect with north and east London, and a freight siding links to the adjacent riverside wharfs. The layout operation today reflects the late 1950s and early 1960s period and the transition from steam to early diesels. The layout illustrates some of the modelling skills and techniques that our thriving club Junior section for 12-18 years can achieve with encouragement, support and skills development. Do ask us today if you would like more information about our work with young people or email our secretary on secretary@hwdmrs.org.uk

Stonethwaite & Bainrigg Railway Set in the 1930's, this 0-16.5, 7mm narrow gauge layout has been built by a small group, with realism, and entertainment in mind.

It is set in Northern England and depicts a narrow gauge line originally built in the 1870's to transport stone from Bainrigg Quarry to the canal wharf at Stonethwaite on the outskirts of a large Yorkshire town. Here the stone is transhipped to barges in a basin off the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The line was so successful that the village of Bainrigg prospered and grew, as did some hamlets along the line. The line now boasts a passenger service and the transport of general goods. Many warehouses and factories have grown up around the wharf.

The layout is operated by DCC and all locos are sound fitted. As well as the usual small steam tank locos there are some scratch built surprises too.

There are a large variety of operating features on the layout such as: operating signals, moving water columns and at Stonethwaite we have the loading of canal boats, moving canal boats, working cranes loading and unloading wagons, opening shed and warehouse doors, opening gates. Other modules have a sawmill, timber tipper, rotary stone tipper and working stone loading hoppers. There is even a working inclined plane in the quarry.

Tamzynowo Wlk (Wlk=Wielkie) by Michal Miklasz, is a fictional station set in Poland. Although track layout closely follows the actual layout of station of Szklarska Poreba Gorna, it is fairly generic and commonly seen in most parts of Poland – with main bricked station building, a warehouse, two-sided platforms and a toilet outbuilding included! The idea behind the layout was to use a modular baseboard system as a learning curve to gain skills in track weathering, ballasting, and simple wiring before it became a testing ground for more complex (and daunting!) scenery techniques including river and rock formations. As it stands its current length is over 8 meters (26ft). With three main tracks, motor operated points and exact replicas of polish signalling system, it has a functionality of having fast trains passing freight with local branch trains completing their run at the terminus platform. It has recently been undergoing electrification with all gantries purposely manufactured from etched brass sheets. To add realism and create an ambience, the layout is fitted with replicas of station’s and platforms’ lamp posts, illuminated point change lanterns and level crossing hazard lights, meaning the layout can be presented both as day and night time.

Although project officially started in 2013, it has taken further 10 years (!) before it was first exhibited in Pitstone, courtesy of Tring and District Model Railway Club. The layout is privately own and not affiliated with any UK railway club. Hence, its operators are pre-selected family members!

Traders:

• Quainton Railway Society Books
• Keiths Model Railways for new and secondhand models.

Demos

• This year we have 5 R&DMRC members demonstrating a range of modelling skills, do stop and talk.

Societies

• Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway
• Princes Risborough Signal Box Preservation Group
• Great Central Railway Society. The Great Central Railway Society (GCRS) exists to promote an historical interest in the Great Central Railway (GCR) which existed until the Grouping of 1923 when it became part of the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER).

R&DMRC Secondhand Sales

• A variety of used models, kits etc.