cloggydog

Thanks. My Irish H0 micro will be in a similar theme, more curved and 10cm longer and wider. I need to get that thread started.

Built on yet another Ikea Lack 110cm x 26cm shelf, this is my Czech TT:120 micro layout. 'New Town on Lack' is set in the north of the Czech Republic circa 2010 and was inspired by an eventful railtour I did with a group of friends pre-Covid. Track is all Kühn (now part of Roco's range), structures and details are Czech kits. Locos are rtr, stock a mix of rtr and kits - the Czech modeller is very well-supported by their cottage industry, particularly in TT:120. Nové Město was featured in the October 2022 issue of Continental Modeller.

Another of my micro layouts using the Ikea Lack 110cm x 26cm shelf as it's baseboard, Mynydd y Ddraig (Dragon Mountain) is a compressed version of Devil's Bridge, the upper terminus of the Vale of Rheidol line ans set in early BR blue days, 1970-75. Peco 009 track, kitbashed, scratchbuilt and 3D-printed structures, Woodland Scenic trees. Locos are kit/3D bodies on ancient Minitrix N mechanisms, coaching stock is all scratchbuilt using a Silhouette cutter to mass-produce the sides. Having made all the stock, the next plan is to make the Aberystwyth end of the VoR in similar micro form.

A few years ago I constructed a small terminus based loosely on Wick/Thurso in H0 scale. Set c1970 in the BR green/blue transition era. Baseboard is an Ikea Lack 110cm x 26cm shelf with a thin ply display box surround. Peco code 75 track, structures all scratchbuilt using a lot od Slaters embossed sheet and plasticard. Locos are 3D prints from Lincoln Locos on modded Roco mechanisms, stock is reworked ancient Lima, Fleischmann and Rivarossi rtr, plus some scratchbuilds. Featured in the March 2025 Railway Modeller, Dounreay has been exhibited around a dozen times so far. The choice of H0 scale was deliberate to encourage/force myself to do more modelling!

I'm (finally) dipping a toe into Irish railway modelling and following the various threads on here with interest. I have a plan for a small micro/cameo layout set circa 1980 with a fairly small (ha!) stock requirement and kitbashing/scratchbuilding is a most enjoyable part of the hobby for me. Now, I have made 5'3" gauge pointwork and plain track in the past, albeit for Australian broad gauge and in H0 scale, for a friend's sizeable VR exhibition layout - this used 18.2mm EM standards and gauges (giving 5'2½", which is close enough) but certainly ran fine and looked the part. I'm also one of those slight weirdos who models British H0 (amongst many other scales, gauges, countries and prototypes), so my Irish layout will be 3.5mm/ft scale on 18.2mm track - this satisfies my dislike of the narrow-gauge appearance of using 16.5mm track in either 3.5mm or 4mm scales for Irish outline (but I fully get the reasons why many others are fine with it). I've had a play in Templot to arrive at 3.5mm scale 5'3" track adapting EM standards. I'll be using code 75 Bh rail for the most part, but might also build some soldered FB track (as I have copperclad H0 sleepers and FB rail left over from the Aussie track build). Thinking about 3D printed track - there is now a supplier here who can Templot-design and print pointwork bases in various forms, including 'CARROT' track, filing jigs, laser-cut bases, etc., at quite reasonable prices - 3D Track | Kosmik (no connection, but have heard good things from elsewhere and will make enquiries for my own track needs should my own basic 3D printer prove not up to the job). I've seen their stand at a couple of UK shows and was impressed with what I saw.

This might prove useful: https://www.brmna.org/xrefs.shtml