Another week and another set of bare boards on the verge of becoming something exciting!
As the writing on the side of the boards suggest, these were originally fiddle yard boards for our aborted South London based layout. The track stubs on the board edges will be removed shortly.
So, what will these become? The plan is for the new club 00 layout set in Southern England. The inspiration is Itchen Abbas, the forgotten station on the mid-Hants route between Alton and Winchester. This station is on the stretch of closed line between Alresford and Winchester, the buildings long since swept away by development; the chances of reopening thwarted by the M3 motorway breaching the track-bed. This route has proven a popular subject for layouts, maybe more so in the preservation era, yet it is a good subject for a layout; smaller stations on a single-track line, regularly used by main line trains as a diversionary route. A great opportunity to operate main line express services with a branch line ambience.
Plans are ongoing, however the layout is currently indeed to be at least 12' in length for the scenic section, with a continuous circuit design the preferred option. This new layout will replace our current 00 terminus 'Titherleigh'.
In other news, we had a 'Small England' paying the club a visit a few weeks ago. Since then another has appeared, this time in green livery. Plenty more attractive traction for the 009 layout the member who has this cute little engine in captivity has under construction.
3D printing is a particular interest for at least one of our club members. Ordinarily the 3D projects are mainly smaller offerings, but just occasionally something larger appears. How about half a Dreadnought? Very much a work in progress, it is amazing to think such a beast can be created by the 3D printer. This impressive piece of kit is designed to float, so one wonders how long it will be until a replica Dreadnought finds itself out of Petersfield pond!
