Recalling happy childhood memories of holidays in the West Country, Martin Reynolds selected a fictional location in Somerset to relive summer Saturday traffic – and more. Photography: Mike Wild
WITHAM IS a fictitious ‘OO’ gauge Digital Command Control (DCC) layout set in Somerset in an early 1960s summer. It is based on memories of childhood holidays when we travelled from Paddington down to Paignton, initially behind steam locomotives and in later years behind some of the Western Region’s early diesel motive power. The layout’s name was decided by the use of placing a pin in a map of the West Country and intended as a pastiche of those memories rather than an accurate replica of a real location.
With a footprint of 12ft x 6ft, it easily fits within my double garage and allows reasonable length trains to be run while providing ample viewing space for the public at exhibitions.
Above: North British Class 41 D602 Bulldog rounds the corner on the approach to Witham station with a postal train, as a GWR ‘43XX’ 2-6-0 trundles off the branch with a mixed goods.
From the age of nine to 16, model railways were a major part of my childhood which only ended when the need to obtain a motorcycle for independence resulted in the sale of my…
