Layout: Lynsford
Rapido Trains UK’S operations manager Andy Hardy tells Model Rail the story of how ‘Lynsford’ came to be.
One of the great things about the model railway industry is that, generally speaking, the professionals are also modellers just like you. That means that whether you speak to the Model Rail team or a manufacturer at a show, you’re chatting with a kindred spirit who enjoys the same things as you, struggles with the same techniques as you or suffers from the same modelling frustrations as you do.
Rapido Trains has never shied away from the fact that its eccentric founder Jason Shron is a dedicated modeller, but what of the team behind the new UK business?
New operations manager Andy Hardy is a familiar face in the world of real preserved railways, thanks to an enviable CV. Worked at the National Railway Museum? Check. Oversaw the Kent & East Sussex Railway’s day-to-day operations? Worked on new-build ‘A1’ Tornado? Guilty as charged. Written a book about the LNER ‘P2s’? Oh, yes that too.
But Andy is also a passionate railway modeller. Ever bought a figure or industrial locomotive kit from Hardy’s Hobbies? The fact that the name is the same isn’t a coincidence.
The fabulous little Southern Region terminus layout that you see before you – dubbed ‘Lynsford’ – shows just how far back Andy’s interest in model railways goes. It’s a joint project and the culmination of a long-time dream of Andy and his best friend Steve Bassett, whom he met at school.
They initially bonded over music but, one day, Steve saw Andy reading a copy of Railway Modeller. Not only did it turn out that Steve was also a budding modeller, but his dad Chris was also a layout builder of some repute.
The pair pledged that they would, one day, build a layout together but, as with most projects, life has a habit of getting in the way. Steve went off to university in Birmingham while Andy also left Kent to study in Leeds.
Fast-forward to 2016 and the pair were both back in their home county once more. Surely, the time was right to finally fulfil that pledge?
“We found an alcove in my house for a layout that measured 202cm by 45cm,” Andy recalls. “We laid a big sheet of paper out on the floor and started planning. It took nearly two years to complete and we only just finished it the night before its first public appearance.”
Being Kentish men, it’s natural that both Steve and Andy are fans of the Southern Region, including its third-rail electrified network. That plan became ‘Lynsford’, a fictitious Southern Region branch terminus in an equally fictitious south-of-england seaside resort. The trackplan is minimal, but it reflects the crammed in, slightly squeezed nature where the railway fought for space against the high demand for housing and accommodation that these rising watering holes demanded. ‘Lynsford’ may be a fictional place, but there’s more than a hint of the North Kentish coast mixed in with a pinch of Swanage and a drop or two of, say, Ventnor West on the Isle of Wight.
Sadly, the limited space means that you won’t find Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ hauling ten-coach holiday specials here. “The maximum we can get in the platforms is three coaches and a tank locomotive,” Andy says, “but our trains usually comprise just two coaches.”
One of the benefits of modelling the Southern Region of British Railways in ‘OO’ is that there is a wealth of locomotives, coaches and EMUS to take advantage of. In fact, there are so many excellent
pre-grouping Southern coaches that Steve and Andy have been able to invoke a ‘no Mk 1’ rule. Maybe, seeing that BR’S standard bogie coach never made it across the Solent, that’s where that Isle of Wight-esque feeling comes from.
A minimal trackplan is key to the success of a micro layout. Steve and Andy have not fallen into the trap of trying to squeeze in a bit more track here or an extra siding there. There are just two points on the 122cm long scenic section and a double-slip in the fiddleyard that gives access to both platforms. That’s right, a complete layout with just four points (all of which are powered by Gaugemaster solenoids).
“Like some Southern stations, trains are propelled out of the station area before a run-round.” Andy says, “or, if there’s a spare locomotive kicking around, a shunt release takes place.”
‘Lynsford’ is the first ‘proper’ layout that both Steve and Andy have built, although both have dabbled with layouts before. It was very much a team effort, with them sharing key responsibilities. That said, Steve took the lead with one of the key scenic features, the row of terraces behind the station.
“We both like terraced houses,” Andy jokes. “They’re built from laser-cut kits and Steve did all the wiring inside. It took him a year on and off and he basically turned up with them ready to install.”
Andy hails Chris Nevard as an inspiration. Chris’ layouts may be small but they have enough subtle detail to hold your attention for as long as a giant tail-chasing exhibition floor filler. ‘Lynsford’ takes that Chris Nevard approach and, not surprising for someone who launched a business 3D-printing people from laser scans, technology plays a key part in achieving this.
Those terraced houses, for example, not only have detailed gardens (making good use of the myriad detailing parts from European manufacturers alongside his own 3D-printed accessories) but they have 3D-printed interiors – including furniture and people. The 3D-printer has been employed elsewhere too (most notably figures – see p75) but it has also made brackets to hold the Gaugemaster Autofrog polarity switching devices and mounts for the signal servos and computer under the baseboard.
Lighting plays a key part too. There are the usual suspects – streetlights and platform lamps and so on – but even the houses have interior lights. These are wired in a way so that different combinations of lights come on to mimic people moving about inside.
It’s all very well having lights in buildings but, when the sun goes down, road vehicles also put their lights on. As yet, one of the very few 1:76 scale road vehicle
with working lights is Rapido’s Birmingham ‘New Look’ Guy Arab bus. Steve bought the bus before he joined Rapido. “We saw the bus being advertised and thought ‘we like the look of that’,” he remembers.
What started the team down a slippery slope was when they bought a 1:76 scale motorbike with working lights too.
“We sent a box of Oxford Diecast models off to Leigh Hobbies & Models,” Andy said. Proprietor Chris Bate fitted them with battery-powered lighting units for the headlamps and rear lights. This is a much neater solution than having lots of trailing wires under the baseboard and also allows the vehicles to be repositioned.
Having produced a range of industrial locomotive kits – and now responsible for Rapido’s forthcoming Hunslet 16in 0-6-0ST, it’s no surprise that Andy has a love of industrial locomotive kits. In fact, he readily admits that he likes “dirt and grime”. “I love Dave Hall’s industrial layouts,” he says.
Weathering is, therefore, an important factor and Steve and Andy have been careful to weather everything on the layout (using a mix of washes and powders).
“I like to see consistency across the layout.” Andy explains. “On some layouts, you see beautifully toned-down scenery but the locomotives are straight from the box. Or you see fantastically weathered locomotives but the buildings are still pristine. Either way, it jars. That’s why we’ve weathered everything, just to ensure that visual consistency.”
What does it feel like having finally fulfilled that childhood pledge of building a layout together? Did they achieve everything that they set out to do? “Well, we’ve always said that we wanted to build a layout that was better than Steve’s dad’s,” Andy jokes.
“Seriously, building ‘Lynsford’ has felt really rather good. Considering that even in the time we started building it we have both started families, it’s quite an achievement to build something to this standard. “We both think we’ve created something that would be a worthy next door neighbour to Steve’s dad’s layout at a show.”