Uncovering a layout.

There is a lot happening at WMD HQ and will be for the next few weeks. For Mrs. Woody this means additions to various chore lists to ensure the things that are planned happen. For me it means doing the items on the lists! Sometimes though you do need an event or deadline to actually do things and get them done. That is what I am telling myself anyway!

However, doing the various tasks does have its rewards. I have talked about several model railway layouts in this blog. There is my long term Last Great Project 00 gauge layout. My narrow gauge 009 layout that is nearly complete and my USA switching layout that is complete only because I bought it from a fellow modeller. There are other layouts though!

I do have an n gauge layout that is supposed to be UK based. I started building this back in 2010 and it really has never got anywhere apart from having track laid. Due to other commitments such as family care responsibilities taking up much of my free time it stagnated although I could run trains.

The benefit of n gauge is that it is roughly half the size of 00 gauge and takes up a quarter of the footprint. Thus my 6 foot 6 inch by 2 foot 9 inch baseboard is, in terms of comparative size, slightly larger than my Last Great Project layout. Why did I move onto 00 gauge then is a question you may ask. Well I was modelling n gauge for about 25 years prior to 2010 and had built several layouts which were dismantled as they all had problems - I should have planned better! During that time though I did buy the odd 00 gauge item usually replicating something from my childhood. Then Hornby started issuing themed train packs that I thought would be nice to collect. It all escalated and before I knew it I had as much 00 gauge stuff as n gauge. In addition as I have aged so has my eyesight. The days of being able to deal with any model without some magnification aid is long gone. The physical size of 00 gauge just makes it easier to deal with.

However and getting back to the main thrust of this post, during my clearing up chores I uncovered my n gauge layouit that for a number of years has become the resting place for clutter. There were trains on the track and the controller just needed plugging in. Turn the control knobs and all three circuits came alive with trains running - wonderful!

So what is this layout like? Well there are some photos below but basically it is three circuits with storage loops at the rear and a large goods yard at the front. I do have a fair amount of Network Southeast stock so this was going to be a layout semi based in the south east of the UK. Apart from the track and stock there are no other items on the layout apart from a few items that still need to be cleared off. Where I go with this layout I don't really know at the moment. Despite the eyesight issues it would be nice to either finish it or build its successor to be able to run the stock I have. For the moment having uncovered it there is the opportunity to play trains in the warmth of the house where it remained despite moving most of my model related stuff to my man cave a couple of years ago. Playing trains does of course depend on Mrs. W's lists!

An overall view of the front of the layout.

The storage loops are at the rear and there is a fair amount of storage for wagons in the goods yard.

A Class 33 in that fantastic 1980s/90s Network South East livery. At the time is strickingly vibrant after the corporate blue of British Rail. Of course with privatisation the railways have become a rainbow of colours.