Layout features

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Welcome to our collection of model railway layout features. Here you will find beautifully detailed model railways in 'OO' gauge, 'N' gauge, 'O' gauge, 'OO9' narrow gauge and more offering a huge variety of build designs and inspirational techniques. Plus our growing collection covers a broad spectrum of different periods in railway history as well as all four corners of the British railway network while many feature exclusive KeyModelWorld only video tours. Indulge and enjoy!

Explore the amazing model railways built by talented individuals and clubs which feature in the pages of Hornby Magazine. This section covers 'OO', 'EM', 'P4', 'N', and 'O' gauge model railways and more in all eras. Plus many now feature exclusive online video content which you can only find here on Key Model World.

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HURST GREEN

Originally built as a through station, COLIN CHISEM decided to give his ‘OO’ gauge home layout a new lease of life by converting it into a rural branch line terminus. Read the full feature here with extra images!

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Doncaster

It’s the early 1960s and the transition from steam to diesel traction is in full swing on the East Coast Main Line. JOHN WHITE takes us back to the heyday of Doncaster station with his fabulous home-based ‘OO’ gauge layout.

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Dawes Road

A switch of scale from amongst the smallest to amongst the largest led RICHARD BOOTHBY to build this atmospheric depot and station scene in ‘O’, set in the grimy 1980s.

Horsley OO gauge model railway Feature Premium

Horsley

Sometimes a new model can prompt a new wave of interest, and for COLIN CHISEM, Bachmann’s ‘N’ 2-6-0 saw him switch to the Southern Railway from his lifelong passion for all things Great Western. Look out for a full feature on his rebuild of Horsley (renamed Hurst Green) in the July 2021 issue of Hornby Magazine.

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Dent

Construction of this stunning ‘OO’ gauge home-based layout has proved to be the perfect diversion for Paramedic General Manager NICK CASON. Here he reveals the story of his recently completed model of one of the stations on the legendary Settle & Carlisle line.

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Westbury Cement

Faced with a third lockdown and desire to do something different, STEVE JONES built a box-file layout in ‘OO’ gauge with a distinctly industrial setting.

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MAKING TRACKS

Discover Pete Waterman's 'OO' gauge layout based on the West Coast Main Line with help from his friends. See more images and details here.

Farnby 'O' gauge layout Feature Premium

Farnby

Cleveland Model Railway Club looked back to the 1930s on the LNER for its ‘O’ gauge branch line scene. MARTIN SMITH tells the story of this attractive group project. Photography, Mike Bisset.

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GIFFORD STREET

Gifford Street was once a regular fixture of the exhibition circuit and was a showcase for 7mm scale on a large scale. JOHN EMERSON bids farewell to Gifford Street to make way for his new ‘O’ gauge project. Photography, Mike Wild.

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HALIFAX POWELL STREET

Competition between the pre-Grouping railways for access to Lancashire and Yorkshire’s towns and cities was fierce. PETER DURANT shows how he created this fictional station in Halifax which has a strong grounding in reality in ‘OO’ scale. Photography, Peter Durant.

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MUCH WITHERING

The garden presented the perfect place for STEVE BOON to develop an ‘O’ gauge railway on which he could run his collection of Western Region hydraulics. Here he reveals the story behind the line and how it was built.

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STANLEY JUNCTION

This famous Scottish location has been modelled before closures and rationalisation took place by the East Kilbride Model Railway Club. BILL CAMPBELL describes how this attractive ‘N’ gauge layout was built, and how it operates.

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Oake

DARREN BERRY explains how this ‘OO’ gauge Western Region layout set in Somerset not only developed from an initial two-person team, but helped to encourage new modellers too. Photography, Trevor Jones.

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Newton Grove 19F

A visit to a friend’s ‘O’ gauge layout was all the inspiration JONATHAN NEWTON needed to switch scales and start a new collection. Newton Grove shed is the result – a compact portrayal of the final years of steam in the North West.

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Roundtree Sidings

Summer 1985 is the setting for this super detailed ‘EM’ gauge exhibition layout built by the DEMU North East Area Group members. TREVOR SMITH reveals the detailed story behind this popular layout which features main line and Tyne and Wear Metro operations in 4mm scale.