Heaton Lodge Jn or Britains biggest model railway has started out on tour! And as its first port of call was only about 20 miles from my home, it wouldve been rude not to go.
The Showerings Pavillion at the Bath and West Showground, near Shepton Mallet in Somerset, is normally somewhere I go for toy and train fairs, but for 3 days its the latest venue for the spectacular 7mm O gauge layout. The show has been sponsored by Heljan and in addition to the big layout, it also features a number of other layouts in 4mm and 7mm scales. These supporting layouts (bar 2) will feature in the second part to this film. This part focuses on Heaton Lodge Jn.
For those who may not be aware, the layout features a complex junction of lines on the trans pennine route, between Leeds and Huddersfield. Modelled as it was in the 1980’s, the layout features dcc sound fitted locos, controlled by computer. Now, for me, this is where the layout becomes disappointing. There were many times when there were queues of trains all stood still on the scenic part of the layout. Suddenly, everything would move and in a moment, the layout was bare. I understand that on the first day of any show, layouts will have teething problems in operation, but this has been days in erecting and should be ready to go. The layout can be operated manually, but this requires at least 4 operators – thats a lot of people over a 3 day show, so it is understandable why the owners look to use the computer control.
I hope you enjoy the trains (plenty of class 25’s, 37’s and new 56’s feature on lots of freight) and details I have captured in this film. As I said at the start, the layout is truly spectacular in size and the detail in the modelling is brilliant.
Thanks for watching. Please feel free to comment, like and share. Dont forget to watch part 2 of this film, featuring the other layouts on show.
best wishes, Iain