Club Layouts and Test Track
N Gauge: We are currently finishing a layout called Catesby Sidings, based upon a Great Central station in the north Buckinghamshire area, running on DCC - more on this below - and we have just bought a new second hand layout for DC which we will refurbish.
00 Gauge: A new layout is being planned - name TBC - the baseboards and track have been purchased - join us now to get involved!
Test Track: We have a fully functioning test track in our club room for 00, 009 and N-gauge models, so if you don't have a layout yet at home, come and play trains with us!
00 Gauge: A new layout is being planned - name TBC - the baseboards and track have been purchased - join us now to get involved!
Test Track: We have a fully functioning test track in our club room for 00, 009 and N-gauge models, so if you don't have a layout yet at home, come and play trains with us!
YouTube videos of Catesby:
https://youtube.com/shorts/aYNAS-suoOI?si=u6K7FmzBCYJHgh70
youtu.be/NiH6Cl53k0c?si=4OijuT4ZtQZqiCkv
https://youtube.com/shorts/aYNAS-suoOI?si=u6K7FmzBCYJHgh70
youtu.be/NiH6Cl53k0c?si=4OijuT4ZtQZqiCkv
Catesby Sidings was at the following exhibitions in 2026:
Saturday 9 May 2026 South West Herts Model Railway Society- Queens School, Bushey - details to follow
Saturday 9 May 2026 South West Herts Model Railway Society- Queens School, Bushey - details to follow
Catesby Sidings - Layout Description
There is a real Catesby on the Great Central (GC), it’s a Tunnel between Charwelton and Staverton, but there was never any sidings there to our knowledge. The layout is fictitious paying homage to Charwelton, its station and Iron Ore Sidings just south. We needed to squeeze the essence of the GC into 2.4m x 1m (7ft 11in by 3ft 4in in old money) providing operational interest for the operators but not detracting from the quintessential GC feel.
So, it is not a copy of Charwelton, it has already been done very successfully in OO, but a “What if” piece of modelling licence. All the essentials of the CG are there. Standard Pattern, Small Island Platform Station with road overbridge. There is a goods loop on the down side feeding the exchange sidings which in turn are fed from the Iron Ore works somewhere off scene. Empty Iron Ore Trains from Woodford arrive from the south and are shunted into the exchange sidings off the goods loop. Loaded Iron Ore which has travelled down the branch into the exchange sidings are collected by the Woodford loco. Once the run round is completed, the loaded Iron Ore train departs southbound to Woodford. This manoeuvre is executed on a regular basis as Iron Ore production is quite high.
There are also the usual representation of Express, Local and Parcels trains plus the usual Windcutter/Runners and other fast freight the GC was famed for. The layout is usually run in periods representing 1950’s when everything was open and in Eastern Region ownership to the mid 1960’s when the GC was being run down by BR in London Midland ownership. We have tried to keep the trains as faithful as possible to the prototype, however occasionally when no one is looking, an oddity can run by.
While the club own the layout, all the stock present is the property of individual club members. The GC lends itself well to this arrangement as a mix of Eastern, Midland, Western and even Southern Regions can be easily presented, just like the prototype.
For Exhibition Managers
Gauge: N-Gauge
Layout Size: 2.4m x 1m (7ft 11in by 3ft 4in in old money)
Operators Space: Add 1m (approx 3’3”) behind
Power: 1x 13A socket required for an extension lead which will have 4 power packs attached not exceeding 3A
Operators: Min 2, Max 5
Additional Kit Required: 1 x Stock Table and Chairs for Operators
Layout is DCC Operated with Sound
Email: [email protected]
So, it is not a copy of Charwelton, it has already been done very successfully in OO, but a “What if” piece of modelling licence. All the essentials of the CG are there. Standard Pattern, Small Island Platform Station with road overbridge. There is a goods loop on the down side feeding the exchange sidings which in turn are fed from the Iron Ore works somewhere off scene. Empty Iron Ore Trains from Woodford arrive from the south and are shunted into the exchange sidings off the goods loop. Loaded Iron Ore which has travelled down the branch into the exchange sidings are collected by the Woodford loco. Once the run round is completed, the loaded Iron Ore train departs southbound to Woodford. This manoeuvre is executed on a regular basis as Iron Ore production is quite high.
There are also the usual representation of Express, Local and Parcels trains plus the usual Windcutter/Runners and other fast freight the GC was famed for. The layout is usually run in periods representing 1950’s when everything was open and in Eastern Region ownership to the mid 1960’s when the GC was being run down by BR in London Midland ownership. We have tried to keep the trains as faithful as possible to the prototype, however occasionally when no one is looking, an oddity can run by.
While the club own the layout, all the stock present is the property of individual club members. The GC lends itself well to this arrangement as a mix of Eastern, Midland, Western and even Southern Regions can be easily presented, just like the prototype.
For Exhibition Managers
Gauge: N-Gauge
Layout Size: 2.4m x 1m (7ft 11in by 3ft 4in in old money)
Operators Space: Add 1m (approx 3’3”) behind
Power: 1x 13A socket required for an extension lead which will have 4 power packs attached not exceeding 3A
Operators: Min 2, Max 5
Additional Kit Required: 1 x Stock Table and Chairs for Operators
Layout is DCC Operated with Sound
Email: [email protected]
