Maythorpe / Paradise (Ontario) (N Gauge)

Layout History

Living in a small house, I rarely have the opportunity to set up my layouts for running at home - in between exhibitions they are usually stored unused and unseen. Sometimes I just want to see what a new purchase looks like in a real setting, so I hatched the idea of a small N Gauge board which can be used as a photographic background or used for a little bit of stock testing and shunting. So here is  Maythorpe, British Rail in 1970's East Yorkshire....... and Paradise, Ontario, Canadian Pacific in the 1950's-80's. Yes, by making the scenery removeable, with a little compromise, it's two layouts in one. It can be used for "Inglenook" style shunting games, or just for simple terminus operations.

Layout Description

I have called this an "Inglenook" style layout, although it may not follow the strict 5-3-3 siding capacity rules ( see https://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/ ), and I don't actually operate it as a puzzle layout. The lack of a run round loop obviously limits it's operations, but does mean a second loco can be employed to assist in shunting. The core of the layout remains constant, whichever guise  the layout is used in, and consists of the track layout itself, a small goods/freight yard with a loading platform and crane, and a two road fiddle yard, the exit to which is hidden by a steel girder road bridge and brick faced abutments. For simplicity the buffer stops/bumpers are British style rail-built examples.. The drop-in scenic sections are built on foamboard, for lightness, stiffened with aluminium angle on the outside edges. When on the layout, they are held in place by a captive bolt and under-board wingnut. The board has it's own storage cover, and the scenic sections, back board and interchangeable backscenes all pack into a plastic storage box (see photos).

MAYTHORPE

Maythorpe represents a small town in the once busy docklands area to the east of the city of Hull in East Yorkshire. The timescale is the early to mid 1970's, with it's best days behind it. The station building itself is closed, and just used for engineering stores, a basic modern shelter providing the only "facilities" for commuters taking the suburban service to Hull Paragon station. The through line to Queen Mary Dock is now truncated  at the station and the engine shed that used to house the dock shunter has been taken over by a local firm of carpenters. Household coal is still delivered to the yard, and other general goods and parcels can be delivered when required.

The station building is a Smart Models cardboard & paper kit, the disused engine shed is by Ratio, the goods shed by Peco, all with a bit of customization and weathering.

Maythorpe? It's a location from the novel "South Riding" by Winifred Holtby, set in the south eastern corner of Yorkshire, which is setting for the layout.

PARADISE (ONTARIO)

Paradise represents a town in the lake lands of southern Ontario, Canada, a railhead for the local communities feeding into the Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Toronto and Sudbury (not to be confused with the community of Paradise Bay on Georgian Bay). The timescale can be from the 1950's to the 1980's, covering steam, maroon/grey diesel, red "Pacman" diesel and Via Rail, but strict accuracy is not adhered to - the layout's aim is to capture the spirit of the Canadian Pacific rather than be a perfect representation, for which I make no apologies! A local passenger service is provided, increasingly catering for weekend leisure travellers heading to their lakeside cottages A range of freight can be accommodated in the compact yard. 

The depot/station building, freight shed and yard shanty are TeamTrack Models downloadable paper and cardboard models. The sawmill is a plastic kit, the origin of which is lost to memory, the somewhat historic, but rundown, "Paradise Hotel" now catering for the lower end of the market is of unknown origin picked up in a local model shop.

Paradise? A favourite Eagles epic "Hotel California" album track "The Last Resort" features the development of a town called "Paradise", tinged with a hint of increasing irony, which stuck in my mind. I also used to live in an English town with an Industrial Estate called "Paradise"....further irony!

Whilst the layout was designed to be a "plank" for photography purposes, and never really intended for exhibitions, I am very pleased with how it has turned out and would be happy to take it to shows if invited to demonstrate that eveyone has room for a model railway!

Layout Specification

Exhibition Details:-

Layout Size - 3' wide. 1' deep. Operating space approx 4' deep required behind layout.

Operated from rear, viewed from front

Scale 2mm/ft, N Scale

No. of Operators - 1

Layout has integral lighting structure

Programme Description -  A compact N Gauge micro layout with interchangeable scenic sections allowing it to be run as 1970's British Rail, or the Canadian Pacific Railway between the 1950's and 1980's. The "inglenook" style allows for a local passenger service and limited freight operations.

Exhibitions Attended:-