A model day out

A sunny Sunday saw me leaving the King's Cross suburban platforms by this train:


...(no, I've no idea who the bald bloke is, either), in order to go here:


...(the hilltop delights of Alexandra Palace, in case you were wondering), for the annual London Festival of Railway Modelling:


Don't worry, I'm not going to swamp you with images of model railways (no matter how delightful I might consider that), but you do get to see a couple.

First up is something called Crumley & Little Wickhill.


This is an extraordinary creation, built as a triangle. It takes the form of a valley and is viewed from either end.


The modelling is exquisite, especially when you consider the scale -- 1:76 (so a little human figure will be less than 2cm tall), in a variant technically known as 009 (which means narrow gauge railways).


It's a model of an imaginary place, where a light railway/tramway has been built hugging the steep valley sides.


Originally a mineral tramway, it has grown over the years and now carries passengers and freight, its tracks crossing or running alongside roadways.


The attention-to-detail on here is staggering, and I can't begin to imagine the level of skill required to make it work.


The second layout to grab my attention (and the last one from Alexandra Palace that I'm going to post about -- promise!) was Minories (GN), almost at the opposite end of the spectrum with its deceptively simple layout and traditional approach.


"Minories" is possibly the most famous design in British railway modelling: designed by the late Cyril Freezer, it was intended to represent a terminus buried deep in brick-lined cuttings in the heart of the City of London.


Freezer published it in 1957, but it is most often imagined in the 1970s, the diesel era. Freezer's idea was that the station was run-down but operated an intensive commuter service from the City via the "Widened Lines" to Moorgate, Farringdon, King's Cross and, thence, to Hertford and the north.


The partially-built model on display here is in EM, a variant of the most popular "00" scale in British modelling, 1:76.


While the huge size of Crumley & Little Wickhill lets you see the railway in the sweep of the landscape, models like Minories are much better if you're more interested in the detailed operation of the railway itself.


"Operating potential" is, of course, just a fancy phrase for "play potential", and the complicated (but entirely plausible) arrangement of points at the station throat allows for interesting puzzles as you try to get locomotive A from behind train B and onto the front of C, while enabling diesel multiple units D and E to come and go to their schedule.


This version of Minories is delightful, but there have been many others over the years: here's Moor Street, which has particularly successful detailing and is set in Great Western Railway territory in the heart of Birmingham.


Freezer stated that he believed Minories would work as well on a viaduct as buried in a cutting, and the viaduct option is used here.


I have to say, I don't think it's quite as successful -- your attention is drawn to the photographic backdrop which always, to me, looks like a stage set and, therefore, detracts a little from the realism, even on a model as exquisite as this one.


The final version of Minories I'm going to share with you is the most successful I have seen -- Ripper Street, a variant again set in a cutting in the heart of London, but here the barrel-vaulted terminus is hugely evocative.


This one features electric multiple units rather than the more usual diesel operation, but it's 3rd rail rather than overhead which, to me, avoids unsightly wires and support structures.


That means you can focus on the details of the structure, and the run-down, weathered feel of the place.


For me, this model has the feel of the old London (Broad Street) station, long-since demolished.


Utterly delightful. Makes me want to get one of my own.



PS: Someone's posted this delightful video footage on Youtube.



Minories (GN) and Crumley & Little Wickhill can be seen in action, at 2'17"-2'38" and at 2'53"-4'28" respectively.