Layout History

With my other 009 layout, Kirkbythorpe, having some quite tight curves, some of my larger items of stock struggled to negotiate them, so I thought a small, straight-ish micro-layout would allow me to run these bigger items until a new bigger layout could be constructed. A suitable "plank" was found and a simple trackplan drawn up to fit, a simple branch line terminus. I initially thought a train turntable would make a neat fiddle yard, but later realised that the geometry would not work, and I redesigned it with a sector plate. As a change from the "eternal Summer" of most layouts, I planned to set this layout in the depths of mid-winter. Construction started in Autumn 2018, with a somewhat optimistic aim of the layout being a "quickie". By the end of March 2019 the layout was substantially complete, and, in fact, had already been invited to appear at it's first show some weeks previously!

Layout Description

As with Kirkbythorpe, this layout is again set on the fictional Wolderness Light Railway in 1950's East Yorkshire. For a full fictional history of the line, see the description for Kirkbythorpe. North Winterton is a small terminus station that is served by two incoming lines, one from the main line interchange at Great Driffingham via Kirkbythorpe, and one from the upper terminus of Burton-on-the-Wolds. Originally the station was planned to be a through station to continue on to the town of Market Levenby, but the promoters money ran out and the terminus remained in, or rather not too far from, the village of North Winterton. The station has fairly basic facilities - a small station building comprising just an office and a waiting room; a loco coaling and watering facility; a siding serving a wooden goods shed; and a siding used for delivering coal, also equipped with a light yard crane for loading bulky or heavy items. The railways maintenance team have a small hut to meet to meet their modest needs.

Structures on the layout are a mixture of resin, plastic kit, etched brass and card or balsa with downloaded building papers. Trackwork is from Peco, using the larger radius points which I feel give a far better result than the smaller points used on Kirkbythorpe. Point control is by rods under the baseboard, workable from the front or rear of the layout. Magnets are planted at suitable locations to allow the use of automatic couplings if required. The light snow cover is achieved using Woodland Scenics Snow - I tried to avoid the snow being too thick as I didn't want the layout to look like a Christmas Cake! The photographic backscene is courtesy of ID Backscenes.

Traffic on the line consists of the timetabled passenger trains between Great Driffingham and Burton-on-the-Wolds, reversing here; freight traffic comprises incoming coal, agricultural supplies and general freight and outgoing agricultural produce and parcels; through freight traffic consists of chalk from a nearby quarry on the Burton line, and other general goods. It being winter, a snowplough occasionally visits as part of it's efforts to ensure the line is kept clear of the white stuff!

Layout Specification

Exhibition Details:-

Layout Size - 4' wide. 1' deep. Operating space approx 4' deep required behind or in front of layout, depending on operating configuration.

Operated from front or rear, viewed from front

Scale 4mm/ft, 009 Scale

No. of Operators - 1

Layout has integral lighting structure

Programme Description - North Winterton represents a small terminus station on the Wolderness Light Railway, a narrow gauge line located in East Yorkshire, set in the late 1950's. The layout is presented in winter time.

Exhibitions Attended:- 

Bala Model Railway Show  May 2019

Borth-y-Gest August 2019

Llandudno July 2022

Borth-y-Gest August 2022

Rainford (Merseyside and North West Narrow Gauge) October 2023