BASINGSTOKE

Basingstoke is a large N gauge layout that portrays 0.75 mile of track in reality and so shows only a small area around the station despite its apparent large size. It models the point where the four track main line LSWR line from London to the south coast and the south-west meets the ex-GWR line from Reading. This gives a reason (excuse?) for running a large variety of stock as the station was visited by the Pines Express as well as the Atlantic Coast Express and many boat trains for Southampton, Poole and Weymouth. We have attempted to capture the feel of a busy summer Saturday in the mid 1960s. The main lines from London to the south-west are about to be resignalled and electrified. You can see the half-built power box while the old pneumatic signal gantries are still in evidence. Meanwhile the line from Reading is still well used but the old GWR station building is showing the result of years of neglect.

A selection of images is attached, with grateful acknowledgement to the following magazines:
BRM = British Railway Modelling
RM = Railway Modeller
MR = Model Rail / Trevor Jones.

Figure 1 Aerial view of 2/3 of the layout (MR)

Figure 2 The station building was built from official drawings and site survey (MR)

Figure 3 & 4 Track plan of viewable area (RM)

Figure 5 - BRM "Classic Layouts" Spring 2001

Figure 6 The shed area. All buildings are scratch-built (MR)

Notes for exhibition managers

N gauge model
Exhibit: Prototype model of SR station in 1960s
Scratch-built buildings and a mixture of scratch, kit-built and ready-to-run stock
Space needed: 28 foot by 12 foot (includes space behind for stock tables etc)
Power needed: 1 socket drawing up to 8 amps including lighting
Operators: 8 minimum, preferably 10
Transport: Luton style van (Budget £150 plus fuel for van + 2 cars)
Featured in: Railway Modeller - October and November 1998; Model Rail - October 2000; British Railway Modelling Classic Layouts Spring 2001.

Note that because of the large size of the layout we do not normally attend one day shows.

More images of Basingstoke are available in the Gallery. This will open in a new window, and requires Flash software to be installed on your computer. We recommend access for broadband users only.

Exhibition outings

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