In this weeks post I am continuing my report from this years NMRA (BR) Convention which was held in Derby, England by showing you some of the layouts that were on display.  You can read part one here.

Just before we get into the layouts; if you are considering getting any 3D printed items from Shapeways then this is the week to do it, because they are offering free shipping on any order.  The offer expires on November 8, 2015 at 11:59PM PDT.  All you need to do is enter the code FREESHIPNOV at the checkout.

Getting back to the convention, there were some lovely layouts this year and as usual because I was part of the operating crew for our own large layout, I didn’t get the time to look around the other layouts and take enough photos to do them justice.  A lot of the photos were taken after the show had closed on the Saturday so not too much was running but I did get some nice shots which show of the layouts well.

To start with we have Padden Flatts.  This is a HO scale switching layout set on the Union Pacific Railroad.

The main section of the layout is entered from the right hand side, shown below at the bottom of the picture, from a small staging yard.

The main line is the center track which is evident by the lack of weeds and grass in the ballast.

There is a good use of a photographic backdrop as you can see when looking through the level crossings.

The layout was operated from the front allowing the operators to see the layout at its best and interact with the viewers.

There was a lot of nicely modeled scenes like the delivery van in the picture below parked just off the road.

The delivery van driver is knocking on the door of the building he is parked outside.

This guy is having a break while his dog runs around the yard.

All the rolling stock was very nicely detailed and weathered.  The caboose in the photo below looks like it has done a few miles.

Next we have an N Scale layout called Hills County.

This layout is very deep which helped give a real sense of landscape as the trains rolled through.  It has lots of mountains and bridges, which I always like.

At one end there is a town and yard scene.  Because of the depth of the layout the town could be modeled at a different angle to the railroad without looking squashed.

As the main line leaves the yard it splits. The front line runs to the end of the layout and round the back to a hidden yard.  Then, forming a loop, returned to the town yard.  The other line runs up through a canyon and twists it way up over the top of the layout crossing itself on the bridge as shown below.

The high line gains a lot of altitude as it traverses the layout.

The mountain line eventually returns to the town yard forming a second loop.

The next layout is a lovely HOn30 layout called Cariboo Lumber & Stone.

This layout has its own cabinet with lighting making a nicely boxed view.

There were some wonderful unique railroad items running up and down.

The layout had trains running in the foreground on the low-level line as well as in the background on the high level.

On the sides of the layout were staging yards for each line.

As well as all the layouts there where also lots of traders selling a huge variety of railroad equipment.  One item that stood out to me, simply because of the size, was on Richard Maxwell’s Brass stall.

All three parts form one locomotive which delivered 7000 HP.  Its UP’s unique coal turbine and this huge brass model is in O Scale!

The next layout is Coyote Creek, which was a HO Railroad running modern image as well as a few steam Shays.

There was a lot of home-made rock which set the scene of Arizona fantastically.

The layout was designed to be viewed on all sides with the operators in the middle.

The level of detail was very high and there was so much to look at, this burnt-out building below was very nicely done.

Even the front fascia of the layout had detail in it, at the bottom left there was a small scene depicting ancient ruins.

I still have four more layouts to share with you including our own, Solent Summit.  These will be covered in next weeks post, but in the meantime, if you are in the area of Poole in England this Sunday the Poole & District Model Railway Society are having their annual model railway exhibition. Here is a link to the exhibition page on their website.

And don’t forget about Shapeways free shipping event!