Hazel Valley.

This layout is loosely based on the railway which passes along the Hope Valley in North Derbyshire. This line acts as the major link between South Lancashire, Cheshire and Manchester in the West and South Yorkshire, Sheffield and North Midlands in the East. The model depicts a portion of this line as it passes through the limestone country at the Southern end of the Pennine Hills in North Derbyshire.

The model is in British 00, ie a scale of 4mm to 1 foot and a track gauge of 16.5mm. The complete layout measures 27 feet by 12 feet overall and consists of 14 baseboards, which form a large oval. Four wedge shaped boards form a semicircle at each end, and 3 straight boards front and back complete the oval. The three front straight boards and three boards of each semicircle contain the scenic section.

The viewer can see a tunnel portal on the West end of the layout, with a double track main line continuing to the East end, where it passes over the branch line and under a road bridge, a farm access bridge and finally a footbridge. The centre is occupied by exchange sidings for the branch line, which leaves the main line shortly after the tunnel. It then descends a gradient to pass under the main line and into a tunnel at the East end. The rear boards provide storage roads for trains. The operators stand in the centre of the layout.

There is no station on the layout and the only buildings are a signal box and messing facility block on the railway, and a hay barn in one of the fields. There are many fields modelled, with an ancient stone circle in the one near the East end, and a plantation of fir trees in another. A feature of the layout are the long stone boundary walls, which have been modelled by gluing together small individual pieces of card. Complete working signalling has recently been installed, with both semaphore and colour light types.

Operation consists of local and cross country passenger trains passing on the main line at regular intervals, together with various freight trains, some of which have to enter the exchange sidings. The branch serves a fictitious cement and limestone works, therefore suitable trains are shunted up and down the branch. The layout has now attended two of the Society's annual shows running trains from the 1980's. Motive power being models of diesel classes 03, 08, 20, 25, 31, 37, 40, 45, 46, 47, and 56, plus diesel unit classes 110, 142, 150/2, 155 and 156.

As the layout is principally scenery, there is very little that could fix it to a particular period. Therefore future operations could depict up to date locomotives and trains, or even locomotives and trains from the steam eras of Britain's railways.

The layout is available for general exhibition.

Written by Kevin Parkinson (Layout Manager)

Last changed: 16th November 2000
Editor Ian Major.