The layout, Albion Yard has come about primarily due to a house move and is about eight years old. Prior to moving I was working in EM gauge and had about 90% completed my EM layout Barnard Park. Due to the house move it was sold and has now joined the exhibition circuit with its current owners, renamed as Shirebeck-in-Emswell. Albion Yard is the result of wanting to get a layout up and running easily and to that extent is OO and uses Ready to Run motive power. It has also been flexible enough to act as a photo set, and has appeared in Peco Videos, Railway Modeller, Hornby Magazine, and Model Railway Journal.
Whilst the original intention was that this blog would be specific to the layout, I have widened the scope of the content adding one or two previously published articles and some new material.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you find something of interest.
Boring bit.
All images on this blog are copyright Albion Yard/2012images/Paul Marshall-Potter, or have authorised use from the image owner. Any unathorised use or theft of images from this or associated webpages, will result in commercial rates being applied for the use of the images in question. Having had to deal previously with copyright theives in the past there are no exceptions to this.
Albion Yard 
Hi Superb modelling. Can you share how you laid the cobbles in the yard please and who makes them please?
Thanks Ray. The cobbles are the Wills Granite Sets
Catalogue number SSMP204. Nothing special in the technique they are glued to the baseboard and then washes of various greys used to fill around the cobble stones.
out of the blue, is there any way to contact Ian Futers re thr Woodburn track layouts – he has an Aussie thinking of building a UK layout…..
Hi David,
I’d suggest contacting the guys at Railway Modeller
http://www.pecopublications.co.uk/railway-modeller/contact-rm.html
They’ll be able to pass on your request.
brgds Paul
Hi Paul, A fabulous layout that oozes atmosphere. I recall that on your Collier street layout you weathered the Peco underlay, but I can’t seem to find what you did. What type of paints did you use i.e. acrylic or enamels, and what colour would you suggest. I only ask because I am aware that this stuff perishes relatively easy, but I don’t fancy loose ballasting my young son’s layout.
Best wishes and thank you for sharing your lovely layout,
Mark
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the comments, and remembering Collier Street! I’ll dig out the track bit and put it up here, it’ll make a good fifteen minute hero. I’m currently writing the Collier Street story as a web page in its own right, which I’ll ultimately link through here. You can still see Collier Street in a number of current Peco ads which is nice!
Hi Paul – just read the article in “Model Rail”, and very much enjoyed it. One quick question, if I may: You say that the trackplan is based on an Iain Rice urban design – which one was it?
Thanks very much in advance.
Best Regards, Mark.
Hi Mark, thanks for your comments, the design was ‘Cornfield Street’ in an edition of MORRIL
Modelling Railways Illustrated Vol2 No.10 (June 1995) Hope that’s of use.
brgds
Paul
Thanks Paul,
that makes sense, as I didn’t recall it from any of his books. Looks like a trip to the loft to dig out some backissues…
Best Regards,
mark.
Hi Paul
I really like your layout. It has plenty of great atmosphere.
It also looks very spacious. What size is the scenic section? and the fiddle yard?
Keep up the good work
Matt
Hi Matt, the footprint of the layout is 10ft x 2ft. Scenic section is 6ft, and the fiddle yard 4ft. Some scenery is extended into the fiddle yard to get the ‘long view’ which gives an enhanced feeling of distance. The wrap round backscene also helps give that feeling of ‘space’
brgds
Paul
Good evening. Please could you tell me where you got your backscene material from, and what it is? I believe from Iain Rice’s cameo layouts book that it is a vinyl banner material, but the vinyl banner material I have sourced looks to have more of a “grain” to it than yours. Many thanks. Richard
Hi Richard. The backscene is a vinyl display banner, and has no discernible texture, and has a Matt finish. The printer is used was JP Grafix in Chesterfield. That must have been twelve years or so ago, so I don’t know if the product is still available, or if they can still print similar commissions.
Thank you! I will speak to some printers/banner makers near to me. Your solution creates such a good effect that I’m keen to replicate it.