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So. For many modellers the gauge 1 layout that was a turning point in scenic 10mm modelling was my 'Mardy Colliery' built in the mid 1980s. I had become more and more disillusioned with 0 scale and the rapid commercialisation of the scale and wanted to do something more obscure. Gauge 1 in those days was principally live steam with a mixture of clockwork and various electrics systems thrown in. The Gauge 1 Model Railway Association had done an incredible job of promoting the scale and rescuing it from obscurity. I had made a start on modelling the London South Western Railway and my infamous Beattie 2-4-0 (the longest project I ever did) was progressing nicely but the plan for the layout, based on the Swanage branch, was already looking impractical so a rethink was on the cards. As the then chairman of the Sheffield 0 gauge group the other members had allowed me to lay a third outer rail on the test track spaced at 45mm so I could test and run in the locos and rolling stock What was needed was a highly detailed scenic layout at 10mm to the foot but with small prototypes and lots of operational possibilities so the obvious route to go was industrial modelling. The NCB (National Coal Board) was an obvious choice with its varied fleet of Industrial locos shunting main line wagons. tight curves, steep gradients and a generally run down appearance. One of the principal requirements was a steep, curved approach to the colliery from the hidden sidings and the requirement to run round to get the wagons into the coal screens. In this way there was no simple run in and run out method of operation, you had to do some serious shunting. The incline was just guesswork with some test trains proving it would work although there were issues with buffer locking of which more, later. Under construction in one of the photographic studios at work The track up the incline and along the front was Tenmille flexitrack and points and at the rear Marklin points and set track. This threw up a problem at the first show as the locos sparked badly when they were running on the Marklin track. This was traced to the cast iron driving wheels mismatching electrically with the stainless steel rail. First show with very bare scenery! More tomorrow kev

Although I'm mainly known for Z gauge these days back in the eighties and nineties my main interest in railway modelling was gauge 1 either in 1/32nd scale for German or 10mm to the foot for British outline. I exhibited two gauge 1 exhibition layouts. Mardy Colliery was a representation of a typical National Coal board colliery with small industrial locomotives and typical British four wheel wagons. It was immensely popular on the show circuit but had a fatal flaw in its construction and its days were numbered as the baseboard tops began to sag at an ever increasing rate. I had already started to build its replacement 'Gottersee' a German branch line based on the line to Frasdorf in Bavaria on which I was going to run my Marklin RTR locos and also my scratchbuilt German locos and wagons. As the terminal station on the line it would require some shunting on any train that arrived so there would always be some action. Frasdorf station building The view towards the loco shed Construction started in earnest at the Sheffield '0' gauge group clubrooms and also at my workshop at home. Track was to be Tenmille flexitrack with hand laid points including a three way point at the station throat. After the disaster with Mardy baseboard tops were plywood not chipboard and as will all my layouts the baseboards were all the same size to make transport easier. Points were all to be operated by Fulgurex point motors except the three way. The buildings were built to drawings scaled off photos and as they are all typical Bavarian in appearance. A basic plywood shell was used with textured paint for the rendered areas and real wood cladding for the wooden bits. All were individual planks! The roof was wood with resin cast tile details and resin castings from my own patterns were used to make the windows and doors. Full interior detail was included including a risque scene in one of the bedrooms upstairs in the station building More soon Kev

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