Andrew’s been back in touch with an update on his Hornby Dublo layout:
“Dear Alistaire,
My latest has taken 20 months to complete and is the 5th Hornby Dublo 3 Rail layout, constructed in my garden shed 3.6 meters X 2.4 meters (12 feet X 8 feet).
You have been kindly posted my earlier versions on your Blog.
I enjoy building a layout, and once it is complete, working satisfactorily, and I have running sessions operating well, I like to make improvements. This takes the form of a complete rebuild of the layout.
The original Hornby Dublo train set was a present from my father 70 years ago.
It still runs with oiling, maintenance and TLC.
Over the years the set grew with birthday/Christmas presents from relatives and when I first started work full time in 1969 I built my first model railway – as opposed to a toy train – in the attic of may parents home.
Work took me away with the track and locomotives stored in a trunk. This travelled with me as my work took me around the UK and when I finally retired in 2014 to Queensland Australia it came out and has given me a wonderful creative hobby ever since.
The layout is created from my imagination and does not try to reflect any place. Photo web sites have provided ideas for scenes with buildings from or personalised from your site and other on-line sources.
Andrew”
A big thanks to Andrew for sharing his Hornby Dublo layout.
That’s all for this time folks.
Please do keep ’em coming.
And if today is the day you blow the dust of your old locos and find some track too, the Beginner’s Guide is here.
Best
Al
PS More HO scale train layouts here if that’s your thing.
Need buildings for your layout? Have a look at the store.
They are great fun to make and great value too.
I love the old Dublo kit. I have a good collection of early locos and rolling stock, all in good running order. My original set was was also a present, a Christmas present, 70 years ago, and like you I have set to in retirement to fully enjoy it.
And what a great layout you have built Andrew. So much detail, so much activity depicted and so many operational possibilities. I’m building a layout for my own Dublo collection, but in a much smaller space. In order to get some good operating possibilities I’ve had to go with three levels. Mine is just about operational but I haven’t embarked on the scenery yet. Progress is rather stalled right now, but your post inspires me to get on with the job.
Thank you for posting Andrew, and thank you Al for providing the forum for us to share our ideas and achievements in this most satisfying of hobbies
Andrew , that’s an awesome layout . Your back story is amazing as well, too cool that you kept all your stuffs over the years . Very nostalgic , we don’t get to see the old trains often enough . Thank you for not giving up and thank you for sharing your work .
Great layout indeed !
Building the layout is also the rewarding and fun part of the hobby for me, too. In fact, I would say building things is what I really enjoy, period. I like the variety of scenes on your layout. Many of them tell a story. Great job on number 5. cheers, Rob
They really built to last then, didn’t they? A remarkable working life for what was basically sold as a children’s toy. Such good play value too, with the ability to have a reverse loop and simple hand points. Brilliant!
Great layout. That is a lot for that space. 20 months is a long time, but how many hours were put in ? Looks like a LOT of work. Great job.
Well done, Andrew. It’s good to see a British layout (but then I am biased!). I love the detail and little cameos of real life. Talking of “made to last”, my oldest loco was given to me by my wife for our first Christmas together in 1973. I have converted it to DCC and it is one of my best runners.
Holy photo dump, Batman! The newest layout looks great! I especially like the town scene. It reminds me of Castleton in Derbyshire, which oddly enough is the inspiration for my current HO scale layout build.
I really like your track plan and the way it translated to reality. I never thought about doing a turntable & roundhouse that way, which saves space.
The scenery is excellent. Just one question: Is that light blue the local version of prison work gang uniforms, or the uniforms of the contractor doing that job?
well done love how busy it is
My question. The consist travels counter clockwise. How does it go onto the loop at the far right