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Video: Layout tour of Greg Simpson’s OO scale British layout
A mini Sodor! Well done Greg. I am looking forward to read your story when my copy of GMR 2012 arrives in about two weeks.
Great to see an operating British layout. Reminds me of my visit several decades ago. I to am looking forward to reading the story in GMR 2012
I love to see these british themed layouts, I am even building one!
LIke most UK layouts, waaaay to clean. Locomotives and especially freight cars of the era should be heavily weathered.
In the British Railways era being modelled, “Private Owner” wagons had all but disappeared so seeing all perfectly clean freight cars with bright company names on the side is completely wrong. If anything, only the slighest trace of paintwork would be seen under 20 odd years of grime since the wagon would have not been repainted in those colours since January 01, 1948, the year the railways were nationalised.
Coming from the UK and being a “trainspotter” in the era being modelled, I can tell you I never knew any paty of the UK that was so clean and pristine as shown in this video.
Looks like the layout is probably not set up for operations as we know them in North America but is probably run as just a “railfan’s”
Excellent modelling though but as I wrote, unrealistic for the efa.
Well done, made me think of the trip I had to the Motherland
in 96 Trains /Barges & Pub’s + all that history.
nice layout
Great model. Though on duel tracked routes which is the majority in Great Britain trains run on the lefthandside especially through stations.
Great looking layout, well done modelling something 1000’s of miles away from your hometown, you have captured the UK look very well. I am sure UK modellers who model US railroads make lots of minor omissions, which being a brit are easy for me to spot, but I am sure its all work in progress as with any railroad.
Just picking up on Rogers comments, the London Midland Scottish Ry was established in 1923 until the creation of British Railways in 1948. Private owner wagons are appropriate for this era, most were owned by coal mines or coal merchants and were generally kept quite clean by some owners as they were great free advertising. If you model the 40’s though these wagons would have been pretty filithy as every available wagon on the system was utilised during WW2, cleaning was certainley not high prioity.
Private Owner wagons disappeared post WW2 with the creation of the national coal board in 1947 removing all of the mine owned stock and then the rest were swallowed up into British Railways in 1948.
Anyway a brilliant layout I wish had that much space in the UK for my railroad.
Just got to say though we run trains on the left hand track in the UK, except for four track sections of main line where each line will be designated as up or down. by the way up is always in the direction of London.
Which is very confusing as we tend to refer to up north and down south, but our railways run up to London and down in any other direction.
Very nicely done. I’d love to hear if there are some authentic sounds effects from the steamers (although I do like the musical selection regardless). I think there should be more coverage of “foreign” model railways. After all, trains are something that are universally liked and modeled not only here but also in Britian, Europe and Asia. I think it would be great to have more articles in MR on a European, Asian or British layout for variety. Some of the modeling they do over there is simply astounding.
Excellent. a huge challenge modelling something so far away. Beautiful!
WELL DONE!!! I have many British trains here but my favorite is LMS and LNWR … I plan to build the layout sometime soon since I had a layout in 1980’s but it was torn away due to moving… Let’s build more British themed layouts !!
A very nice layout. we had a viaduct on the Garden state model railroad club but not as good as this one by a long shot.
A “Bloody-Good” Layout, Chap
Beautiful layout! The British connection with the U.S. is always cool to see, not least because several British engines have visited the U.S. - which could be portrayed even on American-themed layouts. Also, for fans of British trains: Try building a layout modelled on a preserved railway. Then you can have “visiting” engines from several companies and eras, and even modern rolling stock on show. Great for the modeller who likes “everything”!
This is a most realistic representation of a British railway system. Looks better than some built here in the UK. I give it 11 out of 10.
Lovely modelling! Run those train on the left though.
Excellent layout, Greg. Very good buildings and structures (especially the viaducts and bridges).
I was born in the real Derby (pronounced Darby) and moved to Canada ay about age 6. The seeds of my love of railways and the English landscape had been sown, and I now live in England again after more than 30 years in Canada (plus two years at college in Pennsylvania). While in Canada I designed and built a model railway based on two railways circa 1937. The first was the London Midland and Scottish Railway in the county of Derbyshire, including a bit of the scenic Peak District, a beautiful area of hills and dales (valleys) much like the Yorkshire Dales, where the vet James Herriot lived and worked. The second railway was the Southern, which ran from London to the coast, to the south, southeast and southwest, through a softer landscape featuring the North and South Downs, two ridges mainly of chalk and flint. Coincidentally I now live in Guildford, Surrey, an historic town once served by the Southern Railway. The town grew up in a gap carved through the North Downs by the River Wey, which became a successful commercial waterway with locks, until eclipsed by the railways.
I am now creating a layout based on three separate locations in North America - Aurora, Ontario (where I lived from 1977 until 1988), Troy, New York and Dearborn Station in Chicago.
Keep up the good work, Greg.
Cheers,
Nathan Morley
What a great looking model railway it looks almost real. Well Done.
Great layout - better than most I see at exhibitions here in the UK. The Trent bridge is a beauty & the signal box interior is a nice touch. But please - left hand running.
this was a wonderful video.
the jazz piano makes it even better.
who is playing the piano?
this is one great musician.
thanks,
tom hanlon