Alan Monk’s British H0 Layout
Dounreay – Far North of Scotland circa 1970 in H0 scale (3.5mm/ft on 16.5mm gauge track)
The (fictional but quite plausible) History
Built at the turn of the 20th Century by the Highland Railway to serve the small fishing town of Dounreay. The line was retained during WW2 to serve the RAF Coastal Command base, which post-war was taken over by the UK Atomic Energy Authority and the MoD for a joint facility to develop and test experimental nuclear reactor technology and thus ensuring the line’s survival at least into the late-1960s and early-1970s, when the layout is set.
The Model
Dounreay is one of a series of layouts built on the Ikea ‘LACK’ 110cm x 26cm floating shelf. The track is Peco Code 75, worked by wire-in-tube operation to the front fascia. Most of the structures are scratchbuilt in card and/or plasticard, including the typical HR signal cabin and the overall roof.
I deliberately chose H0 scale to set myself a decent degree of modelling challenge with the bonus of fitting slightly more into the space than I could with OO.
This means that the stock is all either modified from the limited Lima and Jouef H0 rtr offerings from the 1970s or scratchbuilt – luckily, a micro layout such as this requires minimal stock – 3 passenger coaches, a couple of parcels vans and an assortment of 12t vans, Fish vans, 16t minerals, bogie bolsters, plates and a brake van or two
Many thanks to various members of the British 1:87 Society for their help in working in this niche scale, also to Ken Gibbons, whose Port Pennan EM micro layout provided much inspiration
Exhibition information
Total operating area: 2m x 1.4m
FRONT OPERATED and NOT Free-standing.
A 2m/6ft table is required, 2-3chairs
1 x power socket (optional)
1 operator (vegetarian)
Layout travels by public transport (train/bus)
Insurance Value: £500
Contact Details:
Alan Monk
Marlow, Maidenhead & District Model Railway Club 