Thorne Yard is set in the 1980s, somewhere in the Midlands or central Scotland and models a departmental yard and run-round facility.
Gauge: ‘OO’ | Period: 2010-2022 | Region: Southern | Operating team: Simon Howard and CBM Diesel Group
Above: Thorne Yard models a departmental yard in the BR blue era in 'OO' gauge. S Hancock.
Thorne Yard is set in the 1980s, somewhere in the Midlands or central Scotland (depending on stock that is used). The layout purports to show a small but busy departmental yard, at the end of a spur from the main line that also acts as a run round facility for the local cements works.
The layout construction follows the regarded norm, with plywood and softwood used in the baseboards. Trackwork is handbuilt with C&L products, DCC control is via NCE Power cabs.
The key purpose of the layout is to display an ever growing, improving, and developing mountain of stock. All stock on the layout is (or should be!) correct for the appropriate year with photographs and websites used for reference. Locomotives are all sound chipped with various sounds files as well as being detailed and weathered.
A list of the day’s locomotive roster will be on display along with a timetable. The timetable is designed to utilise each locomotive a maximum of twice, and if operated efficiently there are around 60 moves which will last the whole day. But the main reason the layout was built was to exhibit it is to talk to people about modelling, railways or to answer any questions you may have, so please say hello.
