Boot camp

Kevin Russell

This is my new compact ‘OO’ gauge layout, entitled ‘Military Boots’. It is based on a fictitious branch of the Longmoor Military Railway, and is built in a shoebox – hence the title. Much of the track is second-hand Peco – the point is by Bachmann (also second-hand), while the curve in the siding is new Peco track. The point is worked by a home-made linkage made out of two paperclips. All that’s left for me to do are the scenery and buildings. The four-wheel coach is a second-hand model I purchased from a stall at a local model railway exhibition that had been repainted as an LMR coach. The War Department van – another repaint, and with a new roof – was also bought at the same time. The platform has been fitted with a brake van body purchased from the same model railway exhibition (but a different stall). I scratchbuilt two bufferstops to be installed in the siding and platform road and glued a backscene made from blue card, in much the same way as on my other shoebox layout – ‘Folkesgate’. I just need to do the scenics and ballast, and the layout will be complete.