Inspired by the now-closed Old Oak Common roundhouses, MARK POLLARD set about trying to recreate the atmosphere of these ‘cathedrals of steam’ in ‘O’ gauge in just four square feet. The result is stunning
JUST IMAGINE being in a dimly lit shed with locomotives simmering and bubbling away around you – this is what I aimed for, and to provide somewhere to display many of my kit-built ‘O’ gauge locomotives. It can, just about, be populated by locomotives from all the BR regions, including BR Standards, but I do need to build a few more I feel.
After building my previous layout, Polcombe Depot, five or six years ago I fancied another ‘O’ gauge layout project. I always enjoy a visit to Didcot Railway Centre and the atmosphere inside the engine shed with the light and shadows around the locomotives resting.
Initially I had been considering a really small minimum space ‘O’ gauge layout using the Heljan diesel depot. A kit was purchased and ideas scribbled down to get ideas for a track plan. While I was developing those ideas, the latest issue of the Great Western Society magazine dropped through the letterbox and there was a double page picture taken from the turntable looking inside Old Oak Common roundhous…
