An On30 Tribute to a Friend

    Having built exhibition layouts in OO, N and OO9, I felt it was time for a change of gauge. As some of you may be aware, up until March 2014 I was managing Train Times Model Shop in Eastbourne following the sad death of its owner, Trevor Hendrick, in August 2013.

    It was while I was working there that I got the inspiration for this layout. Trev was a brilliant modeller across a wide spectrum of railways, aircraft and war-gaming. One of the railway gauges that he modelled was On30, so this layout is dedicated to his memory, hence the name Hendricksville; and take a close look at one of the low-relief buildings, it is also named in his honour!

    The baseboard measures 4' x 2'11" and is made of plywood topped with a sheet of Wickes 50mm polystyrene to enable the carving of the river bed beneath the trackbed. The scatters are all by Woodland Scenics, and the tufted grass matting is by Noch. However the brown pine scatter is the genuine article having been collected from under some conifer trees in Polegate!

    The figures are by Woodland Scenics, apart from the figure shovelling coal on the coaling stage, which is by Mike Pett's Supercast. The vehicles are Matchbox Models of Yesteryear and Road Champs.

    The waterfall & river were made from a combination of Realistic Water & Water Effects, both by Woodland Scenics, along with cork bark, various grades of tallus and rock moulds.

    The trackwork is Peco Streamline O-16.5/On30 which is fitted with Code 100 rail. The rolling stock is mainly Bachmann Spectrum On30 apart from a couple of scratch-built items which you may see running round.

    The buildings are mainly 1:56 war-gaming kits modified to 1:48 by the addition of a fillet of stonework around the base, although the barn is 1:48 gauge by Bachmann.

    Most of the locos are DCC Sound and control is by a Gaugemaster Prodigy Advanced System. This is the entry level DCC controller offered by Gaugemaster and is capable of controlling three locos simultaneously, just enough for this compact layout.

    The layout has been built with 9" radius curves, which is very tight for this gauge, and as a result the couplings and bogie positions on much of the rolling stock have been altered to enable them to negotiate the tight curves. The couplings are a very simple wire hook with 2-link coupling.

    As with all of my layouts there are various scenes to be spotted

    • the surveying team checking the track through the pine forest
    • the farm workers unloading their aged pick-up truck
    • customers waiting for the model store to open
    • a State Patrol officer having a chat with a local businessman
    • and of course, passengers and railroad staff around the station