As I finish writing this, my thoughts are again with Brussels.  What importance is our hobby compared with all that is going on in Belgium, and almost day-by-day around the world?  But perhaps this is just the time when we need the calming influence of a relatively pointless hobby…..

Just lots of photographs today.  Starting with 3.5mm scale….

Red Hook Bay owes much of its track layout and scenic to an old Iain Rice track plan, and is full of interest.  Perhaps too ‘busy’ to be completely realistic, but there are so many interesting trains, boats and buildings here, that this was one of my favourite layouts for the day.

Malix and Lenz offers some excellent HOm metre gauge Swiss modelling.  Where else in the world can you model two scenic helixes separated by a fiddle yard?  I liked the fact that one end of the layout was modelled in summer, the other covered by very realistic snow.  Snow must be one of the most difficult things to model so it looks right and either captures the sparkle of new snow or the brown slush of 24 hours later.  Some impressive bridges and viaducts were also on show.

And then we have all the variations on 4mm…..

Ruston Keys is, I understand, a British Railway Modelling magazine project layout.  And a very good one too.  It’s a 6′ shunting layout, with a high level shuttle using DMUs.  Some good modelling on show.  It would be interesting as a 4′ N gauge layout…..

Eskmuir takes us north to Scotland at the end of steam.  I liked the train-spotting sheep.

Whiteacres is a large club layout with main lines on two levels.  Lots to look at, but it tended to hit my ‘t00 busy’ filter.

A slice of GWR main line at Hungerford, closely based on the real station there.  Here we see some relaxed shunting going on.

The Irish delights of Valencia Harbour are always worth a look.  On the one hand we have scale 5′ 3″ gauge track, and proto-scale track standards.  On the other hand the model capture a bleak location and un-cared for railway extremely well.  I’ve seen this layout before, but it’s always a favourite and worth spending a few minutes taking in the atmosphere.

Hartburn took my award for ‘best station name.’  Google told me it’s a real place in Northumbria rather than a model railway enthusiast’s dubious sense of humour.  But you can work out the location from the scenery and the rolling stock.  This little layout was another favourite of mine.  A simple through station a couple of sidings to shunt made a very ‘achievable layout.’  The simplicity of the layout makes the scene at the level crossing all the more effective.  If and when the gates open, I’m sure they’d still be talking…

In contrast, Ackthorpe is a large layout, but with a lot of interest due to the National Coal Board industrial locos and the well modelled colliery.  Long trains of coal wagons made up most of the stock movement.

A small but effective gravel working on Grathwaite Junction.  Looks like it uses the old operating trick of ’empties in, full out’.

And how about a 5 road terminus with no points.  Earl’s Court delivered this, and also featured some very interesting multiple units and well observed urban modelling.

Lastly for today Belmont Road, a little loco shed.  I liked the ‘dark’ lighting, and was intrigued by the coaling stage, with a gradient up for the coal wagons and a gradient down for the locomotives.

Next time, I’ll finish off with some large scale models.