VIDEO: Building the Great Central Railway - Episode one

The Hornby Magazine team are at it again! Join Mike Wild and Richard Watson as they embark on a brand new model railway layout build.

THE GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY is a landmark in preservation. Its double track main line is unique amongst heritage lines and provides the spectacle of steam hauled passenger and freight trains passing either other. Such an enticing scene was all the inspiration the Hornby Magazine team needed to recreate the GCR in 'OO' gauge.

This new build fills a 16ft x 8ft space and has been built over the past 18 months by the Hornby Magazine team. Its progress has featured in the 2021 and 2022 Hornby Magazine Yearbooks and now we are proud to release the first of a four part video series on KeyModelWorld taking readers through the layouts construction from start to finish. The first part is available to watch for free today with parts two-four going live each Friday at 8pm exclusively on KeyModelWorld for digital subscribers.

During the build you will be able follow Mike and Richard as they develop the layout, see its baseboard come together, the track layout establish, the first trains run and even take a journey to the real Great Central Railway to see if the layout measures up to its life size counterpart.

The full layout models a typical GCR style island platform station on one side which takes inspiration from Quorn and Woodhouse as well as Ashby Magna while the rear of the layout, typically a storage yard on our exhibition layouts, takes inspiration from Swithland Sidings on the preserved line for its trackplan, signalling and buildings.

Join us for the first part of the Great Central Railway layout build today and discover the full story of its development today.