Clintons Bend | Marshmoor | Winsford Hill | Crossleigh | Holmhurst | Grafton on Sea | Llwyndre Rhaeadr
The Association and it's members have a number of layouts that are available for exhibition. click here for further details.
CLINTONS BEND
There really is a city called
Clinton in Iowa. USA situated on the
banks of the Missouri and close to the Illinois boundary. Using a
little modeller’s licence, the small town of Clintons Bend lies to the
south of the main city on a well used double track main line that
carries freight (that is the bulk of the traffic) and passengers to and
from Chicago and the Great Lakes westward over the prairies and finally
to the West Coast. The ADM grain company has a facility on the edge of
the town and there are spurs that allow switching plus a refuge loop to
let faster trains to overtake. The diner and service station cater for
the needs of both the local community and passing motorists. All around
the facility are the wide- open spaces of the Mid-West.
Clintons Bend is a continuous run layout and we try to keep trains running all the time. The stock varies from steam to near modern day with a good selection of US railroad liveries, although it must be said that at times there appear trains from companies that were never near the area. It has also been known, if a certain grandson is willing, for a certain little blue engine and two carriages to show up. Gauge: "N"
The overall size is 16 feet long by 3 feet deep, and a 3 feet space is needed behind to allow for operator movements. A small table is needed to store spare rolling stock. One mains power supply is required.
The layout can be operated with only three people, but we prefer to have four to avoid operator fatigue and to cover for meal breaks. The whole layout normally fits into a large estate car / van, plus a second car.
This layout is having a new scenic board constructed so that it can be extended, if necessary to 20ft long. There will be additional spurs to an agricultural facility, which will increase the operating potential.
Exhibitions attending
2007
28th April - Stowmarket
26th - 28th October NMRA British Region Convention
MARSHMOOR
Work on Marshmoor began when the Association's premises were at St. Peter's Church, Ipswich.
This permanent, 46 foot, 00 gauge was mainly goods orientated with a working hump yard, loco shed and an "end to end" branch, each having its own station. Following IRMA's move to 40a, Norfolk Road, it was agreed to remove the hump yard.
The two branch stations have been retained but start with a main station and also have a milk depot. The layout will have four control panels along its length with basic running by four people.
Winsford Hill
Winsford Hill is the next
layout currently being built by the 'N' gauge group. The layout will be
British outline with a twin track main line along side a quarry works
with its own rail loading facility. The design is loosely based on
Windsor Hill on the Somerset & Dorset, which had an unusual
separated tunnel. 
The layout
will not be region or time specific to allow the range of stock owned
by the members to be run. The layout follows the current 'N' gauge
group practice of using lightweight plywood baseboards, using the
fiddle yards already constructed for 'Clintons Bend'. The layout is
still in its early stages with only the bare baseboards constructed so
far.
CROSSLEIGH
Crossleigh is the Association's 0 gauge layout built to fine scale standards - 32 mm scale. 29 mm back to back. It is a terminus to fiddle yard layout approximately 32 feet by 20 feet. This includes a medium size junction station with goods and loco facilities, with a single track main line running through to the fiddle yard. A branch line also starts from the main station climbing to a high level station. This is being extended and will nearly double in length. Stock on the layout has been produced for several of the earlier companies being mainly kit built.
We believe this to be a fair representation of a country railway set in the pre-diesel era.Track is mainly Peco and C & L with all points being hand built. These are operated electrically by a mixture of H&M and Lemarco point motors. The layout is run by ECM Comspeed controllers and operates as a flexible form of Cab Control with switching from fiddle yard to main panel as required.
Holmhurst
Holmhurst was originally built and exhibited at 30 shows between 1995 - 2003, by a former member / Chairman; Keith Lodge. Having taken early retirement and with plans to fulfil his dreams to live on a narrow boat, Keith very kindly donated the layout to IRMA.
The layout was built as purely GWR operation (just post war). Following discussions with the various club members from the 'O' gauge group, it was agreed that to accommodate the variety of stock owned by members (both regions and period) that the layout would be better operated as a preserved line. To achieve this only a small number of changes have been made replacing vehicles and people with more modern ones.
The layout is normally in storage away from the club rooms (space limitations), but has been erected for club open days and has appeared at some local exhibitions.
Grafton on Sea
Grafton-On-Sea
was a quiet fishing village until the Victorians built the pier railway
station for passengers on the pleasure steamers. Set in the 1960’s the
trains bring in day trippers, the tramways provide local transport and
the fun fair gives amusement for children of all ages. Llwyndre Rhaeadr - Grafton Waterfall
A typical Welsh narrow gauge slate mine scene in OO9. 1:76 scale (4mm to foot).