The OO gauge railway layout illustrated had its beginnings twenty five years ago, but substantial progress, particularly with the construction of the scenery, has taken place only in the last five years or so. Despite the long period of development, the concept behind the layout has remained fundamentally the same. To achieve the maximum operating potential, three separate locations are portrayed. I am relying upon bridges, and a tunnel - as yet non-existant, apart from one portal - to provide the scenic breaks needed. The three stations, the largest of which still has to be built, are not based upon particular prototypes, but are intended to represent typical stations of their size during the early 1950s.

I am about to start developing the area for the main runing shed. To fit in the shed building which will comprise three Metcalfe shed kits, modified to take three roads, the existing track will have to be re-positioned, but I will take the opportunity to replace the dead frog points with live frog ones, for better slow running, and to fit point motors, where necessary.

Two trains can be run continuously, but there are also three sections of the layout which can be operated independently of the main lines, so, in theory, five locomotives can be moving simultaneously. There are, however, only four controllers. Because of the time spent on building work, the layout is not frequently operated, but I tell myself that this will change when building work finishes, possibly in 2005. My intention is then to devote more time to actually running trains, but also to do more loco building, and to improve some of my earlier work which I now regard as below standard.