'OO' gauge layout features
The £500 Challenge - the completed layout
Can we build a scenic model railway for £500 or less? That was the challenge which created Lanacside, as MIKE WILD explains.
Manston Airport in OO gauge
ANDY HOPPER needed a layout to showcase his SECR rolling stock, so he looked close to home and created an aviation-themed scene in finescale ‘OO’ gauge. See it at the 2024 Great Electric Train Show on October 12/13 in Milton Keynes.
Crewe Gresty Bridge Depot
Big and loud diesels, from Class 37s to the latest ‘68s’, rule the roost in MARK DAVIES’ present-day recreation of this famous depot in ‘OO’ gauge - and it is coming to the 2024 Great Electric Train Show on October 12/13 2024 in Milton Keynes. Read the full feature here with exclusive subscriber only video.
Making Tracks 4 Watford
In a year that saw Pete Waterman OBE and the Railnuts already create over 100ft of new scenic layout, the group have developed brand-new scenes to take Watford Junction to Chester Cathedral and beyond in 2024. MIKE WILD takes an exclusive look at this stunning creation.
Tulloch Bridge
So well modelled is MARTIN STEWART’s ‘OO’ gauge take on the West Highland Line that some viewers think it’s a real location! Martin explains how this ‘test bed’ layout was built.
Hewisbridge revisited - the Waverley Route in OO
A stalwart of the exhibition scene for three decades, the 57 Study Group’s finescale ‘OO’ gauge layout continues to evolve and attract new admirers, as IAN PORTEOUS reveals.
Fairwood Junction
One of the star attractions at the 2024 Great Electric Train Show is STEVE JONES’ brilliant contemporary recreation of this important Great Western Main Line junction in ‘OO’ which showcases the huge variety of the modern railway.
Pen-y-Bryn - the Western Region in steam
The South Wales collieries inspired PHILIP COGGAN to revisit his memories of working in them and create this compact scene in ‘OO’ gauge.Photography, Philip Coggan
Blair Atholl towards Drumochter
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.
The Spirit of Shap in 'OO' gauge
This legendary West Coast Main Line outpost is the subject of GRAHAM NICHOLAS’ stunning ‘OO’ gauge layout. He explains how he recreated it – including its famous banking locomotives.
Dalziel North
The atmosphere around a Scottish freight terminal in the early 2000s inspired RODDY NEWBIGGING and friends to create this detailed pastiche of the early privatised railway in North Lanarkshire.Photography, Jonathan Newton
Redbridge Wharf
Winchester Railway Modellers took on the challenge to build Redbridge Wharf - a layout based on the expansive sleeper works at Redbridge, Southampton, nestled alongside a busy main line railway. RICH SULZMANN tells the story.
Lockdown Sidings
The Pandemic lockdowns prompted SIMON MARSH to build his first layout in many years - and it shows what can be achieved in a small space in ‘OO’ gauge. Photography, Trevor Jones
Gonerby - a freight depot in the diesel era
The atmosphere of a 1980s freight terminal and depot was what KEVIN CRANE wanted to recapture, done to brilliant effect in ‘OO’ gauge. Read the full feature and watch our exclusive layout tour video here.
KINLOCHEWE
Based on a projected but never built railway in the Highlands of Scotland, NICK SKELTON captures the atmosphere and essence of the 1980s in ‘OO’. Watch our trailer video below and sign in or sign-up to read the full feature and watch the entire exclusive video.
Halifax and the Calder Valley in the LMS era
PHILIP WADDINGTON drew inspiration from West Yorkshire to recreate a pre-Grouping slice of nostalgia in ‘OO’ gauge, focused on the famous Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.
Ranelagh Bridge - London Paddington's stabling point
The once familiar sight of Western Region hydraulics at Ranelagh Bridge yard has been preserved in model form by MALCOLM BENTLEY'S stunning ‘OO’ gauge layout. We discover how and why it was built as well as its clever operational tricks.
Byway MPD - a steam era depot with sound
This compact ‘OO’ gauge depot layout is set on the Midland Region in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Builder JOHN GAY reveals how it was built and its high-tech operation in words, pictures and video.
St John’s - a GWR branch line terminus in 'OO'
PAUL WARDEN opted to 'Go Great Western’ with his first ever layout, recalling summer Saturdays in Glorious Devon in the 1930s and 1960s in ‘OO’ gauge - and you can see it at the 2023 Great Electric Train Show. Read the full feature and watch our exclusive layout tour video here.
MAKING TRACKS 3: Milton Keynes Central - the finished layout
When you have built two stunning 64ft long layouts in two years and you want to build a third, how do you make it even better? The answer was to take on a challenge from Hornby Magazine, which PETE WATERMAN OBE and the Railnuts did when they set out to build Milton Keynes Central in ‘OO’ gauge. MIKE WILD explains all.
Catherwood - a Southern Region branchline, Part 1
Inspired by his grandmother's tales of life in England and visits to the Swanage Railway, GLENN JONES recreated a slice of southern England in Australia. In the first instalment of a two-part feature, he explains the early construction, operation and train fleet. Photography, Jonathan Newton
Twelve Trees Junction
Hornby Magazine’s popular Southern Region ‘OO’ gauge layout has been out of the limelight for some time, but it is far from forgotten. We look back at its first full feature from the Archive. Photography, Mike Wild.
Hawkswood Junction - Nottinghamshire in the 1980s in 'OO'
Nottinghamshire during the 1980s is the setting for railwayman STEVE BRAMMER’S ‘OO’ gauge home-based layout, capturing the scene of the times delightfully.
Bakewell - the Peak District in 'OO' gauge
The Midland Railway's stunning route through the Peak District is the subject of ROB BROOKS’ ‘OO’ gauge layout, which keeps this much missed railway alive in model form.
Seend - a lost Wiltshire station in 'OO'
Modelling real locations is difficult but rewarding. STEVE JONES decided to rekindle a long closed station in Wiltshire in ‘OO’ and set in the 1960s.
Croydon North Street - Network SouthEast on the Southern
London’s bustling commuter network was rarely more colourful than in the days of Network SouthEast. PETER SHARPS set out to recreate a small slice of it in ‘OO’ on a layout just 18 inches wide.
Devon Junction - a Western Region through station in OO
Glorious Devon has inspired generations of modellers and LES PARRY is no exception. However, he chose to emulate Exeter St David’s in the basement of his Spanish home.
Wickham Bishops
A long-gone sleepy byway in Essex is the subject of ALAN PUMFREY’S ‘OO’ gauge exhibition layout. He recalls his inspiration and reveals how he recreated it in model form.
Parsons Vale - modelling OO gauge carriage sidings
As a self-confessed ‘dabbler’, DAVID JONES gave an old ‘OO’ gauge layout set around Bristol a new home and revitalised it to show the final years of the Class 50s in homage to these popular machines. Photography, Richard Watson