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At the
2008 Nottingham Model Railway Exhibition, County Gate won
the Les
Pritchard Trophy which is decided by the visitors to the
exhibition who voted for their favourite layout.
County
Gate is a 009 scale model of a fictitious extension to Minehead
of the famous Lynton and Barnstaple narrow gauge railway . It
is modelled in June, 1935. Further information can be found
in the 'history' section.
three completed sections of
County Gate on exhibition - click to enlarge
Some of the locomotives on view
were built by the owner in the early 1970s. Great care and research has taken place to
ensure that the model truly represents the mid 1930s.
The first
section includes the Glenthorne Hotel and a hidden fiddle
yard which is accessed from the front.
Glenthorne Hotel
The second
section is the station of County Gate, where a branch line running down to a coal
port also starts.
a scene from the County Gate
station
The third section features an
impressive viaduct that crosses the East Lyn Valley and the
final section, which creates an 'L' shape is the coal
harbour.
The forth section represents a
coal harbour and features a scale 1898 steam collier 3ft
long
We would
like a 3ft 6" access to the rear for access to the fiddle
yard. Usually, three people operate the trains, as this
allows for one to be talking with visitors. The owner and
builder of County Gate is disabled, and some help is
usually required to bring in the model, set up and
dismantle.
The
sections are supported by quick build display frames which
support the lighting pelmets. We like to have a barrier in
front of the model. The frames allow the model to be adjusted
for height and the feet are adjustable to compensate for
any minor floor irregularity. The height adjustment can be
an important feature if many children or wheelchair bound
people are to visit. We require the provision of one 13 amp
plug.
the layout for 2008
the final trackplan for 2009
Click here
to see complete track plan
The
insurable value of the model is £30,000. It is transported in a large bespoke trailer. Hire cost
per day is £50 + fuel/food costs. The trailer size is 5M X2M X
2M. The sections are assembled at the end of the trailer
and rolled into the exhibition.
transport trailer
Rolling stock
The
locomotives are presented in two distinct liveries.
The Lynton
and Barnstaple locomotives are built from etched brass
sheet kits supplied by Backwoods Miniatures and are
faithful replicas of the prototypes when running in
Southern Railway livery of the period.
They are;
The
locomotives that operate the coal branch are in brick red
livery. Some were scratch built by the owner in the 1970s.
They are;
0-4-0 0-4-0 K1 Garratt scratch built
2-6-2 Alco (super detailed kit with modified Roco outside
frame chassis)
4-6-0 Baldwin scratch built
2-6-2 Hunslet Backwoods kit with Roco outside
frame chassis
The
coaching stock is built using etched brass sides
and ends, and the goods stock is kit built.
Should you
have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact
us by
email
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this is a comment from a visitor to our last exhibition
Thank you
for bringing the layout to the exhibition yesterday, the
photo's really don't do it justice, seeing it in the flesh
so to speak exceeded my expectations. I know my modelling
will never come close to your standards however I've
encountered people who call themselves professional
modellers and produce work nowhere near your standards
(one of them charging very large amounts of money for his
work which is mediocre at best.) There is no question as
to your skills however I have also seen some extremely
well executed models that lack the one factor that your
layout has - believability ! Having stood in various
positions at various distances yesterday taking direct &
sideways looks at the layout it has the rare quality for
me of being somewhere I could imagine myself walking
around. Quite a few people these days use "drivers eye"
cameras mounted on trains to video their layouts, one
thing I'd personally like to see is such a miniature
camera mounted on say the end of a piece of dowel or
plastic tube and "walked" around a layout at scale eye
level or "driven" in a vehicle rather than just the view
from a train, likewise a sideways mounted camera on a
train to give a passengers eye view, yours is the first
layout I've seen since having the idea where I instantly
thought "I'd love to see the results of it being done on
this one" Your layout is more than a model, it is a 3
dimensional miniature work of art and as I said a
believable place and landscape. On at least a couple of
occasions yesterday I had trouble seeing where the trees
ended and the backscene began and had more of a feeling of
looking into a landscape from a distance than of viewing a
model, well done Sir ! If you don't end up with a
wall full of awards for your work something somewhere is
very wrong indeed !
I look
forward to seeing the other boards and to be honest I'm
lost for what to say. I'm glad to have been able to see
the layout for the first time under the conditions
yesterday rather than at a large exhibition where it would
be a case of fighting through the crowds to get a glimpse.
Your work is at least equal to Pendon, long may you
continue to produce it. Well, thanks for reading this,
that's enough waffle from me, thank you once again for
bringing the layout yesterday and allowing us all a sneak
preview of what I'm sure is going to wow the exhibition
circuit.
All the
best, happy modelling,
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