‘N’ GAUGE LAYOUT LOSTWITHIEL
Lost without Lostwithiel
It has fascinated Rob Elliott so much that this is his third and finest rendition of Lostwithiel to date.
Words: Chris Gadsby
Photography: Chris Nevard Artwork: Andrew Mackintosh
1
" What makes this layout great?
We often talk about compression with a model railway, but with ‘Lostwithiel’ being an ‘N’ gauge layout, Rob has been able to get a realistic depth to his station area without having to cram everything in. It makes for a far more pleasing result."
2
3
Think back to the last time you bought a house. Whether it was six months ago or 60 years ago, you almost certainly had a list of requirements. A lovely garden, side by side parking, perhaps a good sized kitchen. A model room? Some of us could only dream of such a designated space, but when Rob Elliott and his wife moved house in 2015, a room dedicated to an ‘N’ gauge layout was high on the list of priorities. In the interest of fairness, a sewing room was also a must. Fortunately, the pair found a house that fulfilled both of these requirements and work began on Rob’s depiction of Lostwithiel almost before the cutlery had been put in the drawer.
“This is my third layout based on Lostwithiel in Cornwall, each one bigger and better than the last. My first was relatively basic, but the more I researched the area, the more interesting it became. Today, model number three is finished. The room is 9ft square and the layout almost fills it, with a 9ft by 5ft looped section and a branch totalling 11ft in an ‘L’ shape. There’s enough room to get in and for me to have a decent-sized workbench. As usual, I began by creating a plan on Anyrail, getting as many of my desired features as possible. I wanted a passable representation of Lostwithiel station with the crossing and sidings, the branch line to Fowey station incorporating Golant causeway and the clay docks at Carne Point, a version of the goods shed and dairy at Lostwithiel and a continuous run double track main line for clay trains. The branch line also needed to be long enough so that I felt I was sending the trains somewhere. It’s no good having the rear of the train at Lostwithiel station as the front arrives at Fowey. Cramming all of that into the available space was a challenge, and some of the points are in a different place from how they are on the prototype, but thankfully, in ‘N’, I was able to get almost everything in. I do wish there was additional room for a non-scenic fiddleyard though.”