GRUMS NARROW GAUGE LINES: 40 Years of Narrow Gauge Modelling

40 Years Narrow Gauge Modelling

It occurred to me recently that I have been modelling exactly 40 years - since1981. I had actually started to model narrow gauge (H0e) when I was around 14 years old, but that all failed - within a few months! My layouts have been in 009 scale up until 2015, when I felt the need to model in a larger scale - Gn15 then later, O9. Here is a picture of each layout, they are all shapes and sizes, some are micro's and some are modules that I made for the Norfolk 009 Group projects.

1982 - 1986: "Tregony & Newbridge Railway" (Mk.1). My first successful layout, a static 7ft x 4ft layout with a "U" shaped track plan.

"Pinnock". A home layout to test sharp curves, it was 5ft x 15".

1988 >. "Tregony & Newbridge Railway" (Mk2). Another static home layout, it was 8ft x 2ft with an involuted track plan and several levels.

1991>. "Newlyn", a 42" x 18" module built for the Norfolk 009 Group. Several modules could be joined together as the ends and track had common measurements.

1992>. "Goldoch". A 2ft x 2ft corner module based on Dolgoch, built for the Norfolk 009 Group.

1993>. "Whitemoor Junction", another module 48" x 18" for the Norfolk 009 Group project. This had a village street, rocky gorge, passenger station, engine shed and carriage shed, but did not look cramped.

1995>. "Scronkey/Lakeside". A two-sided module 42" x 18" built for the Norfolk 009 Group project.

"Church End" an end module 18" x 18" built by us, but owned by George Gleadhill.

2000> "Castleby", a 3ft x 1ft module for the Norfolk 009 Project (Mk.2)

2000 and 2002 > Originally called "Cruk Bridge" but scenery was re-modelled and re-named "Kirk Tor" in 2001. A 3ft x 1ft module for the Norfolk 009 Project (Mk.2).

2002> " Fotherbrook", when Norfolk Group member Ray Fothergill became ill, he asked us to build his module, and Fotherbrook was the result. 3ft x 1ft module.

2001> "Grumblewick Coombe". A layout for a Chelmsford exhibition competition which had to be A3 paper size. We were honoured to win competition.

2002> "Sampson Vale" another layout for a Chelmsford exhibition competition which had to be in the space of 30" x 20", it was two-sided. We came second in the competition that year.

2002> "Carne" the first exhibition layout to be built and run with my wife. 7ft x 3ft.

2006> "The Whitsend Tramway", based on North Yorkshire coast scenery, the layout was 9ft 9" x 23"

2009> After being given a lovely little baseboard, we built this 27" x 14" layout named "Hawkins Tower" - an old Victorian Park scene.

2009> "Fotherham", a shelf layout 54" by just 7" wide.

2010> "Nibley Knoll", a table top layout on two levels, 38" x 26".

2014> "Raven Gill". Built for a Norfolk & Suffolk Narrow Gauge Modellers Group Challenge and based on an earlier layout "Grumblewick Coombe".

19" x 17". Challenge winner.

2015> "Ellerbank", 48" x 9" approx. A riverside station scene.

All layouts so far were in 009 scale, but around 2016 I tried a new much larger scale: Gn15, 1:24 scale, 15" gauge:-

2016> 4ft x 1ft operating diorama "Longstone Maintenance Shed", a test piece in Gn15 scale, using Smallbrook Studio loco kits.

2017> "Longstone", the Gn15 exhibition layout, it was 7ft 6" x 3ft 3" with three scenes, village, upland scene with bridge over a beck, and a mill.

2018> Returning to 009 scale for a while here are three pictures of " Shortwaite Hill", inspired by a Cyril Freezer design. The layout is 44" x 24".

Looking for a new challenge, and finding it a really nice scale, I started modelling in O9, being 7mm scale, 15" gauge:-

2019> To get used to "O9" scale I built this operating diorama in a drawer. The scenic area was just 20" x 4.5".

2020> The latest project (at the time of writing), an O9 scale exhibition layout "Raven Hill", it is 7ft 2" x 20".

I am hoping very much to continue with this scale, and another O9 project is being built, a table-top sized layout.

All the above layouts were built for me to run, all 24 of them. Many of them were dismantled after I got tired of them, with some of the buildings kept plus all details, figures etc. for later layouts. Some were sold on and are still used or exhibited. There were a few we built that were for other people, either being requested, or for re-sale:

1996> "Ty-Morau" - 009. This was a unique revolving layout with automated train control featuring three seasonal scenes, a village scene in summer, a canal scene in the autumn, and a hillside mine in winter. The baseboard and it's drive was built by another Norfolk Group member, we built the scenery. 3ft diameter.