Following on from the last blog entry, let's continue the tour of my old layouts! Having demolished all previous layouts, I was still very eager to have something. Looking for inspiration, that's when I found RMweb (in 2008). The holy grail! I was 15 at the time of joining, and very much an impressionable indecisive child. I've said it elsewhere, but I vividly remember a comment in one of my first topics describing me as "flapping around looking for ideas". It was probably at that point that I knew I had to grow up a bit! Sadly I don't have any photos of my SLT (single line terminus), but they were photos taken on an old phone, and the old RMweb no longer exists to be able to retrieve them (and yes, I tried the Wayback Machine!).
So. October 2008 (according to the aforementioned Wayback Machine), and after having immaturely clogged up Stu's (lapford34102) St. Jude thread (a lovely SLT layout) for well over a week, I thought it was about time I started my own adventure. This is where the idea behind Calshot was born; my first proper layout. Thankfully, despite my immaturity and constant asking of questions, there were a lot of people to help me with this layout online; for which I remain very grateful to this day. Perhaps the main person was JohnDMJ, who even took a trip down from Sussex to teach me how to wire the layout and lay track on the MkII version; now that's a very generous thing to do for a clueless teen! But first, the MkI version:
The MkI Calshot was originally a relatively simple affair, with a large seaplane hangar forming the centrepiece. The Wills Platform Shelter has been turned into a Cafe; as Neil Rushby did with his on Shell Island; a hugely inspirational layout to me.
It certainly looked very smart, especially considering my age at the time, and I really was trying hard to elevate my modelling to the next level. It's a huge shame that I have no photos of the fiddle yard, as it was a really interesting system. A combined locomotive AND train turntable! Anyway, it didn't even last long in this guise, and was extended in two directions:
As you can see, the extensions resulted in a really weird wavy board shape! Thankfully the backscene was just long enough, too.
Looking back, the original aesthetically looked much nicer, but the lifeboat launch ramp, castle, and loco shed did add some interest. I soon realised that as the real place had a complete narrow gauge railway, I really ought to add some to the layout. This meant basically ripping up most of the trackwork, and installing a dual gauge section; allowing both standard and narrow gauge to cross in front of the hangar.
I don't recall exactly what made me scrap this version of the layout, but I vaguely recall running issues due to badly laid track being part of it. Regardless, you can already see how I'm starting to think about interesting sight lines, and a newly found desire to scratchbuild structures!
At some point in 2009 (before the extension to MkI Calshot), I had a brief flirt with the idea of an MoD line (with mainline connection). How it came into being I've no idea, but I had hung onto the last board (frame only) from my bedroom layout for some years after the rest got dismantled. Despite adding an additional filler piece onto the board, this never got past the mock-up you see below:
I had already part-built a loco shed for the MoD layout, as well as constructing one of the Peco Goods Depots (bottom right) and Ratio fencing.
Anyway, onwards to the MkII Calshot! After months of sketching, I came up with a plan I liked that would fit on a sort of egg shaped 3ft x 4ft board. Construction began in July 2010, but like the MkI version, this one was also extended. Its extension also meant I no longer had a backscene; so the entire layout looked very tatty as a result. Instead, here's the near-finished original version:
So. October 2008 (according to the aforementioned Wayback Machine), and after having immaturely clogged up Stu's (lapford34102) St. Jude thread (a lovely SLT layout) for well over a week, I thought it was about time I started my own adventure. This is where the idea behind Calshot was born; my first proper layout. Thankfully, despite my immaturity and constant asking of questions, there were a lot of people to help me with this layout online; for which I remain very grateful to this day. Perhaps the main person was JohnDMJ, who even took a trip down from Sussex to teach me how to wire the layout and lay track on the MkII version; now that's a very generous thing to do for a clueless teen! But first, the MkI version:
The MkI Calshot was originally a relatively simple affair, with a large seaplane hangar forming the centrepiece. The Wills Platform Shelter has been turned into a Cafe; as Neil Rushby did with his on Shell Island; a hugely inspirational layout to me.
It certainly looked very smart, especially considering my age at the time, and I really was trying hard to elevate my modelling to the next level. It's a huge shame that I have no photos of the fiddle yard, as it was a really interesting system. A combined locomotive AND train turntable! Anyway, it didn't even last long in this guise, and was extended in two directions:
As you can see, the extensions resulted in a really weird wavy board shape! Thankfully the backscene was just long enough, too.
Looking back, the original aesthetically looked much nicer, but the lifeboat launch ramp, castle, and loco shed did add some interest. I soon realised that as the real place had a complete narrow gauge railway, I really ought to add some to the layout. This meant basically ripping up most of the trackwork, and installing a dual gauge section; allowing both standard and narrow gauge to cross in front of the hangar.
I don't recall exactly what made me scrap this version of the layout, but I vaguely recall running issues due to badly laid track being part of it. Regardless, you can already see how I'm starting to think about interesting sight lines, and a newly found desire to scratchbuild structures!
At some point in 2009 (before the extension to MkI Calshot), I had a brief flirt with the idea of an MoD line (with mainline connection). How it came into being I've no idea, but I had hung onto the last board (frame only) from my bedroom layout for some years after the rest got dismantled. Despite adding an additional filler piece onto the board, this never got past the mock-up you see below:
I had already part-built a loco shed for the MoD layout, as well as constructing one of the Peco Goods Depots (bottom right) and Ratio fencing.
Anyway, onwards to the MkII Calshot! After months of sketching, I came up with a plan I liked that would fit on a sort of egg shaped 3ft x 4ft board. Construction began in July 2010, but like the MkI version, this one was also extended. Its extension also meant I no longer had a backscene; so the entire layout looked very tatty as a result. Instead, here's the near-finished original version:
As you can see, the hangar was reused, but painted (and with new doors added), and the castle was rebuilt with a new gatehouse. This is the layout as it appeared at the Brockenhurst Open Day (2010).
One of my favourite photos of the original MkII Calshot! If only it still looked like this and had a backscene (sadly the backscene suffered badly from damp, and was thrown out).
And for the sake of completeness, Calshot MkII's extension on the day it was demolished.
Thankfully, the entire construction of Calshot MkII is still available to view on my old blog!
As for where it is now, well I demolished the extension a few months back, and the original is now in a very sad state of disrepair; suspended from the garage ceiling. It's not only covered in a thick layer of dust, but has practically begun to self-destruct. I'm still uncertain whether I'll ever refurbish it. I really ought to dismantle it completely, especially as it's hung there for almost 10 years; although it would also break my heart to do so!
Perhaps we'll see a Calshot MkIII one day...
Next time, I'll finish off by looking at the final two layouts; Old AGWI Rd. and Sandy Shores!
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