'OO' gauge layout features
Fairwood Junction
One of the star attractions at the 2024 Great Electric Train Show is STEVE JONES’ brilliant contemporary recreation of this important Great Western Main Line junction in ‘OO’ which showcases the huge variety of the modern railway.
Pen-y-Bryn - the Western Region in steam
The South Wales collieries inspired PHILIP COGGAN to revisit his memories of working in them and create this compact scene in ‘OO’ gauge.Photography, Philip Coggan
Blair Atholl towards Drumochter
For the first time in its 35 year lifetime, Blair Atholl is going to an exhibition outside Scotland when it heads to Model World LIVE on April 27/28 2024. IAN and CALLUM McCREADIE explain how Scotland’s finest Highland Main Line layout was built and what the future holds.
The Spirit of Shap in 'OO' gauge
This legendary West Coast Main Line outpost is the subject of GRAHAM NICHOLAS’ stunning ‘OO’ gauge layout. He explains how he recreated it – including its famous banking locomotives.
Dalziel North
The atmosphere around a Scottish freight terminal in the early 2000s inspired RODDY NEWBIGGING and friends to create this detailed pastiche of the early privatised railway in North Lanarkshire.Photography, Jonathan Newton
Redbridge Wharf
Winchester Railway Modellers took on the challenge to build Redbridge Wharf - a layout based on the expansive sleeper works at Redbridge, Southampton, nestled alongside a busy main line railway. RICH SULZMANN tells the story.
Lockdown Sidings
The Pandemic lockdowns prompted SIMON MARSH to build his first layout in many years - and it shows what can be achieved in a small space in ‘OO’ gauge. Photography, Trevor Jones
Gonerby - a freight depot in the diesel era
The atmosphere of a 1980s freight terminal and depot was what KEVIN CRANE wanted to recapture, done to brilliant effect in ‘OO’ gauge. Read the full feature and watch our exclusive layout tour video here.
KINLOCHEWE
Based on a projected but never built railway in the Highlands of Scotland, NICK SKELTON captures the atmosphere and essence of the 1980s in ‘OO’. Watch our trailer video below and sign in or sign-up to read the full feature and watch the entire exclusive video.
Halifax and the Calder Valley in the LMS era
PHILIP WADDINGTON drew inspiration from West Yorkshire to recreate a pre-Grouping slice of nostalgia in ‘OO’ gauge, focused on the famous Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.
Ranelagh Bridge - London Paddington's stabling point
The once familiar sight of Western Region hydraulics at Ranelagh Bridge yard has been preserved in model form by MALCOLM BENTLEY'S stunning ‘OO’ gauge layout. We discover how and why it was built as well as its clever operational tricks.
Byway MPD - a steam era depot with sound
This compact ‘OO’ gauge depot layout is set on the Midland Region in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Builder JOHN GAY reveals how it was built and its high-tech operation in words, pictures and video.
St John’s - a GWR branch line terminus in 'OO'
PAUL WARDEN opted to 'Go Great Western’ with his first ever layout, recalling summer Saturdays in Glorious Devon in the 1930s and 1960s in ‘OO’ gauge - and you can see it at the 2023 Great Electric Train Show. Read the full feature and watch our exclusive layout tour video here.
MAKING TRACKS 3: Milton Keynes Central - the finished layout
When you have built two stunning 64ft long layouts in two years and you want to build a third, how do you make it even better? The answer was to take on a challenge from Hornby Magazine, which PETE WATERMAN OBE and the Railnuts did when they set out to build Milton Keynes Central in ‘OO’ gauge. MIKE WILD explains all.
Catherwood - a Southern Region branchline, Part 1
Inspired by his grandmother's tales of life in England and visits to the Swanage Railway, GLENN JONES recreated a slice of southern England in Australia. In the first instalment of a two-part feature, he explains the early construction, operation and train fleet. Photography, Jonathan Newton
Twelve Trees Junction
Hornby Magazine’s popular Southern Region ‘OO’ gauge layout has been out of the limelight for some time, but it is far from forgotten. We look back at its first full feature from the Archive. Photography, Mike Wild.
Hawkswood Junction - Nottinghamshire in the 1980s in 'OO'
Nottinghamshire during the 1980s is the setting for railwayman STEVE BRAMMER’S ‘OO’ gauge home-based layout, capturing the scene of the times delightfully.
Bakewell - the Peak District in 'OO' gauge
The Midland Railway's stunning route through the Peak District is the subject of ROB BROOKS’ ‘OO’ gauge layout, which keeps this much missed railway alive in model form.
Seend - a lost Wiltshire station in 'OO'
Modelling real locations is difficult but rewarding. STEVE JONES decided to rekindle a long closed station in Wiltshire in ‘OO’ and set in the 1960s.
Croydon North Street - Network SouthEast on the Southern
London’s bustling commuter network was rarely more colourful than in the days of Network SouthEast. PETER SHARPS set out to recreate a small slice of it in ‘OO’ on a layout just 18 inches wide.
Devon Junction - a Western Region through station in OO
Glorious Devon has inspired generations of modellers and LES PARRY is no exception. However, he chose to emulate Exeter St David’s in the basement of his Spanish home.
Wickham Bishops
A long-gone sleepy byway in Essex is the subject of ALAN PUMFREY’S ‘OO’ gauge exhibition layout. He recalls his inspiration and reveals how he recreated it in model form.
Parsons Vale - modelling OO gauge carriage sidings
As a self-confessed ‘dabbler’, DAVID JONES gave an old ‘OO’ gauge layout set around Bristol a new home and revitalised it to show the final years of the Class 50s in homage to these popular machines. Photography, Richard Watson
Rumbling Bridge – a Scottish through station
NICK SKELTON has long been fascinated by Scotland’s railway byways and chose one of the lesser known locations on the network as the subject of his fascinating ‘OO’ gauge model.
Misselthwaite - the Yorkshire Dales in OO gauge
To make the most of an inaccessible space in his new home, LEWIS BUCKNELL built a ‘OO’ gauge layout set in the BR steam era in Yorkshire - to evocative effect. Read our full feature here with exclusive Key Model World only video.
Horsley - a Southern Railway branch line in OO gauge
Sometimes a new model can prompt a new wave of interest, and for COLIN CHISEM, Bachmann’s ‘N’ 2-6-0 saw him switch to the Southern Railway from his lifelong passion for all things Great Western.
Billingham – the 1950s in the North East
BILL STEPHENSON describes the Middlesbrough MRC’s ‘OO’ gauge exhibition layout depicting Billingham station and its approaches from 1955 to 1963. Photography, Mike Wild.
Clarendon - LNWR steam in 4mm scale
'P4' is the most uncompromising of scales yet some fine compromises helped create this unique layout set back in 1908. In this feature JOHN GOWERS of Leamington and Warwick Model Railway Club explains all.
Burntisland 1883 - Victorian steam in Scotland
Modelling the Victorian railway is not for the faint-hearted, but EAST OF SCOTLAND 4MM GROUP has done just that with this stunning layout based in Fife just before the Forth Bridge opened.Photography, Mike Bisset
Astonbury Junction - a steam era junction layout in OO gauge
The sleepy railway byways of Buckinghamshire are the subject of Three Counties Model Railway Society’s atmospheric ‘OO’ gauge layout. WILLIAM THOMAS explains how it was built and operates.Photography, Trevor Jones