Malcom’s N gauge layout

“Hi Alistair,

Lyttlehurst took me just over 6 month’s to build, it is N gauge, and its 4 foot long by just over a 1 foot wide, I’m afraid that I can’t take all the credit for the design. I borrowed the plan with full permission from Mr David Cox, it was his 00 gauge layout (Woodstow) that was my inspiration.

It is an end of line terminus set in the 60’s in the fictitious country town of Lyttlehurst. The hills are a cardboard frame covered in peppier mache, I use uni-bond as the fixer as its far stronger than ordinary paste.

All the building’s are commercially available kit’s some with modifications, the weathering is all watered down artists acrylic paint of various colours, (browns, green’s, blacks,), the rust on the track’s is un-diluted ochre, again acrylic.

There are a few little things to spot, the woman in red, outside the pub is Marilyn Monroe, (she makes an appearance in all my layout’s), on the platform, the couple with the white boxer dog is my wife and myself, there is a fox by the nearside barn, also the pile of rusty scrap, and there is a couple walking in the top field with the sheep, if you need any more information then please don’t hesitate to let me know,

Thank you very much for your interest.

highest regards,

Malc”

(images are clickable)



That’s all this time. Thanks to everyone who emailed me about the ebay cheat sheet being down. All fixed now. So go bag yourself a great deal here.

Phew! What a day. Off for a glass of wine now.

That’s all for today peeps. Until tomorrow.

Please do keep ’em coming.

And if today is the day you get you get the urge to scratch that railroad itch, the Beginner’s Guide is here.

Best

Al


61 Responses to Malcom’s N gauge layout

  1. Nice pictures of your layout , Marilyn fits in anywhere , and you and your wife with the dog also add that bit extra to the layout …nice one

  2. Brian Messenger says:

    The attention to detail for an “N” scale layout is incredible. Well done. Brian (HOn3) CT – SA

  3. John Meehan says:

    Great layout Malcom!

  4. Ray Appenzeller says:

    Very nice detail and layout! I was wondering if there was more to this layout than what was being shown. I mean is there any sort of continuous loops and distance runs? Perhaps a broader panoramic view of the entire layout would be nice. I am trying to achieve a better feel and visual of your entire layout. What I see is very nice, but I would like to see the bigger perspective of it. If not, that is okay.

  5. Colin King says:

    Great layout, lovely detail for such a small scale.

  6. Dave Watson says:

    Whew! Quite a lot in such a small space. Thanks to N-gauge we can do this. Great job.

  7. very nice layout. what sort of trains and carriages do you have for this era. the cattle pen and garden look great has given me some ideas for my layout thanks Malcolm.

  8. Bill Fitzpatrick says:

    Fine job Malcolm! That’s a lot of detail for “N” scale, but it isn’t “cluttered”

  9. chris says:

    lovely layout, great attention to detail; well done!

  10. Jaaques Shellaque says:

    Great, Malcom ! Six months, eh?
    Amazing. I’m attempting a “high-rail” (Lionel/
    O-scale/three rail track) layout in an 18X35 foot
    room. It has been three years, and I’m barely half
    done. It is probably unrealistic for a first time layout,
    but I’m having a great time doing it. Isn’t that what
    it’s all about, anyway???

  11. paul Otway says:

    it looks so real.

  12. Peter says:

    Great looking layout… only wish you had a track plan diagram to go with it. I think I could add a modified version on this layout in my plans.

  13. Ed Clark says:

    Great N-Scaling my friend. I’m inspired by the grass growing between the tracks plus your ground cover work is as good as in any scale I’ve ever seen.

  14. Gene "Hat" Hatfield says:

    Marilyn looks as good in red as she did in white.

  15. Tom says:

    Malcolm,

    Lyttlehurst with Ms. Monroe and you, your wife, and best friend(dog) time spent for detail your railroad is a masterpiece. Well Down!

    regards,

    Tom

  16. Christine says:

    I have HO but I am going to G scale, a big indoor layout.

  17. Skip says:

    Where are the trains?

  18. John says:

    The ground cover is amazing!! What is all of that??? I know someof it, but the grasses???

  19. Tony Prior says:

    Malcolm,

    I don’t model N gauge however my wife and myself are impressed with your layout, the best we have seen for a long time.

    Tony and Vicky.

  20. Mike Wilson says:

    I have to agree with Paul, it does look very real. I thought the attention to detail of the weeds and grass was very lifelike and the track it’s self -brilliant. I hope you keep up the great work Malcolm, my hat’s off to you.

  21. Andrew Fiocchi says:

    Great layout!! Spectacular! Whenever I see other people’s layouts, their personality shines through in it, and it inspires me to work on my own layout!

  22. Cameron Davies says:

    Great layout and very nice photos. An incredible amount of detail for such a small scale. Thanks for posting.
    Cheers
    Cameron

  23. Arnie Steiner says:

    Nice job Malcolm. Particularly like the personal touches like including references to yourself and Marilyn. Also love the scenicking with wild grasses… Makes for a very warm and appealing diorama. Too bad you didn’t have more room for your layout so you could include trains with continuous running capability rather than just point-to-point track.

  24. THOMAS says:

    YOUVE GOT A GROOVEY LAYOUT. VERY WELL PUT TOGETHER.

  25. Roy F says:

    Nice one Malcolm. I just wish I had time to get mine looking like that. I started about a year ago and although I had trains running, I decided to change the lot before I put the scenery in. Now I’m working towards a 30′ by 4′ dog bone with fiddle yards underneath in 00. It’s coming on and you have given me new inspiration. Love the little diaramas. Thanks. Keep it up.

  26. very nice, nice detail

  27. John R says:

    wow ! great stuff but all the others before me have expressed my admiration for the effort, so I am lost for words.

  28. Gavin says:

    Excellent detail on your N gauge layout Malcolm. The buildings and scenery are very convincing, with just the right number of people and cars etc. Well done.

  29. Christine says:

    Repeat, but I do want to point out there’s no trains in any of the photos. You guys are getting way too far from the train thing. After all it is about trains. It is a nice layout, a lot of work went into it. Just by looking at it you can see a lot of time and work. Don’t forget, trains.

  30. dionisis says:

    VERY NICE LAYOUT!!I LIKE IT

  31. Bernie Glynn says:

    I love the amount of high quality detail you have added. Fantastic job. Well done.

  32. Bernie Glynn says:

    Also, the pictures are in such hi resolution and the deeper I look the more impressive it gets! Really fantastic model township. The layout is perfect, totally believable. Superb job. Does it actually run trains? The weathering is first class, especially of the tracks.

  33. colin says:

    A work of art and I love that you found a Vauxhall PA Cresta Estate to use. A rare beast indeed. Well done!!

  34. Roland Burch says:

    Excellent layout you have. I would like more pictures.
    Roland

  35. Rod Mackay says:

    Splendid job, I’m amazed that’s only four feet long, well done.
    Rod

  36. Ian Carruthers says:

    Excellent! Very detailed which is difficult for an N Gauge. Thank you!

  37. steven stclair says:

    Very impressed. An excellent job.
    Steve

  38. David says:

    Great job. Keep up the good work!!
    Support your local hobby shop

  39. Ken says:

    Such a small space well utilized and not overcrowded a fantastic display of art.
    Well done Brian.

  40. Spyro says:

    Beautiful work. Like someone mentioned above, it would be great to see a picture of the whole layout and this applies to all who send in photos. again, great job

  41. Jim says:

    Great job. Not too much but just enough for details to work. And maybe we could see some trains in the future.

    Jim AZ

  42. Dan says:

    Getting the most out of a very small space. That’s sure to inspire those with a space problem!

  43. Kevin McArdle says:

    Great little layout and a lesson for all that it doesn’t take a lot of space to get into and enjoy model railroading. Wonderful job.

  44. Kenneth Hansen says:

    Wow…an incredible piece of work wherever one looks. Fabulous life like detailing done in record time. Very, very, very well done!!!

  45. Rich B. says:

    One more here, agree with all threads. This is about the destination not the arduous journey getting there lol.

    Rich

  46. Peter Waring says:

    Malcom, Great layout, such attention to detail. Your pictures are very clear, love all the people dotted around. At one time I had planned to do a similar layout based on a small market village called Hope in the Peak District. At one time it had a thriving cattle market and the station had lots of sidings for cattle off/on loading and even had its own turntable. Another layout I considered was a narrow gauge railway that was constructed for the building of the Derwent and Holden dams at the start of the 20th century, this fed off the Sheffield to Manchester line. I might attempt these in N scale once I have finished my current layout, which seems to taking forever! Thanks for being so inspiring!! Peter…

  47. Cary B says:

    Very Nice Malcom, The detail in N scale is incredible. I love when layouts depict personal items and memories.

    Cary B

  48. Robert Shuman says:

    great detail!

  49. Warren Ferguson says:

    Outstanding in every way. The attention to detail is amazing, and in N scale no less. Thank you for sharing, Malcolm.

  50. Dave says:

    Very impressive layout. Incredible detail too. I can only hope that my layout will someday look as good. Keep the wonderful tips and layouts coming. They are a real inspiration. Thanks for doing this Al, I’m sure it isn’t easy.

  51. Bob Walker says:

    Hey Malcolm! Very nice layout – the weathering of the buildings is fantastic! Thanx for sharing & keep up the great work! -Bob W, NH, USA

  52. Antony says:

    Beautiful layout. Top marks.
    Ant.

  53. Ray G says:

    The realism is unbelievable. Great work.

  54. Jon B. says:

    As everyone else has already said, great attention to detail, just a beautiful layout. I am especially impressed with the weathering detail and the various foliage. You are a true artist. We’d all benefit from a “How To” video or two from you. Keep up the great work.

  55. Robert D. Bouskill says:

    nice

  56. STEPHEN PARKER says:

    I got a new idea from your garden plots. Thanks

  57. I want to trade all my ho for n , I dont have room for the ho gauge

  58. — a great layout for sure!! — would like to see a train somewhere on the tracks!

  59. Richard Walter says:

    Very well done! Would love to know who manufactures the green and yellow signal tower.

  60. That’s a LOT of Railroading in 4 Sq ft.

  61. Wilf says:

    Superb atmosphere; great.

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