Build an ‘inglenook’
PETER MARRIOTT recycles old materials to make a layout that’s big on play value yet small on space requirements and quick to build.
Peter Marriott builds a layout that’s big on play value yet small on space requirements and quick to build.
Not another small layout from that bloke Marriott, I hear you cry. Sorry, but it’s true. I had a couple of reasons for building this one: firstly, I wanted to recycle a baseboard; secondly, I wanted somewhere to run my new NCB ‘57XX’ 0-6-0PT. I accept that these are pretty unusual reasons for making a new layout, and they must seem even more so when I admit that I bought the NCB ‘57XX’ on a whim. I missed out when it was a Modelzone limited edition, but then I saw one on Hatton’s website, so bought it. The baseboard was one that I built years ago. I’d removed most of the scenery from it and had planned to take it to the tip, before realising what a waste that would be. It gave me the opportunity to try something that I’d always wanted to: the ‘inglenook’ concept. I could build a shunting puzzle layout with just two points on it, while having a play around with a few products I had in stock and had not yet found a home for. The name of ‘Rowley Goods’ was inspired by my former West Midlands stamping ground of Rowley Regis. The layout would not resemble that double-track suburban line in any way, other than it plays host to GWR motive power. Currently in the hands of the London Midland franchise, Rowley Regis station has always looked a bit run-down to me. My inglenook design has three sidings: one is used to store a diesel railcar for passenger shuttles, while the other two are used for a small goods yard. The operational potential is the absolute minimum that anybody would want, but by the same token I wanted to prove that you can build a layout with some ‘play value’ in a small space. You may raise your eyebrows at some of the choices I’ve made - such as using foam ballast underlay - but I also wanted to prove that you could make a layout with play value in a small space really quickly.