For the first time in its 35 year lifetime, Blair Atholl is going to an exhibition outside Scotland when it heads to Model World LIVE on April 27/28 2024. IAN and CALLUM McCREADIE explain how Scotland’s finest Highland Main Line layout was built and what the future holds. Photography, Arran Aird and Callum McCreadie
With the model now in its 35th year, the genesis of this layout was a brief stay hotel in North Berwick in 1972 which led to my family purchasing a caravan and finding our way to the Perthshire village of Blair Atholl.
The following year, I was eight and we made our first trip to Blair Atholl and became regular visitors. My railway interests were well established by the time I reached secondary school. My grandfather was a retired Polmadie depot driver, so many school holiday depot trips were made on his ‘Priv’ pass.
