The perfect two point cameo…

There is something perfectly balanced about the two turnout cameo and it is a concept to which I return frequently, recasting it in various roles as my imagination is influenced by either nostalgic memory or a wonderfully evocative photograph…

Llandinam, 22nd September 1962, John Dewing from the book Great Western Branchlines 2 - Rural Wales (Welch, 2003).

I have a life long love of all things Great Western, of branch lines and Panniers… this is not from personal experience rather my Dad and Grandpa’s influence. One of Dad’s treasured models was a Hornby half cab Pannier and he always coveted Grandpa’s Mainline 57xx. One of my first ‘proper’ models was a Bachmann re-release of this tooling in the early 1990s… today I currently own three and they have yet to find a home. The speed at which one can build a cameo, and the emotional connection you create in such a compact space is not to be overlooked when planning your own layout, and my mind wandered whilst my hand traced familiar book spines on the bookshelf this rainy weekend until it settled on ‘Great Western Branch Lines 2 - Rural Wales’ (Welch, 2003). Flicking through this wonderful collection of coloured images I stumbled upon the familiar photograph of Llandinam, a tiny village station on the old Mid Wales line between Moat Lane Junction on the Cambrian main, to Brecon.

A picture postcard station house with waiting shelters and small goods yard with a level crossing and the classic GWR pine trees… the composition, with two turnouts in front of the platform, has always screamed model me, but seeing it again reminded me of Pont-y-dulais and of Bear Creek. Out came the sketchbook…

Plan, sketch and illustration by James Hilton 2022.

Utilising two Peco Code 75 bullhead turnouts and matching track, presented in a cameo box with integral lighting and wrap around backscene of distant hills and a hazy blue sky, the layout is simple but would allow basic operation in a manner similar to a Chris Nevard’s equally rose tinted ‘Catcott Burtle’ which utilises a similar format, switching his Somerset levels for the Welsh borders. Passenger trains would run through and stop, being turned in full on the cassette before returning. Pick up goods would shunt the small yard. At home cassettes could be stored on a shelf above or below the layout when not in use, perhaps the layout could sit atop some IKEA Kallax shelving giving space to store stock in a small cupboard alongside inspiring railway reference books in a study? Of course the real station was part of the London Midland region of BR when it was closed in 1962, but I would re-cast this as Western to allow my love of Panniers to flourish in this small space!

If you’d like me to design and build you a small layout that can be part of your home and enjoyed both in operation and as part of the furniture then get in touch for a personal proposal. Planning starts from as little as £160 and layouts from £500 depending on scope and detail. Use the contact form on the menu above, Facebook or the forums to get in touch and discuss further. In the meantime, more soon…

References:
Welch, Michael S. Great Western Branch Lines. 2, Rural Wales. Cheltenham, Runpast Publishing, 2003. ‌