A DEMU challenge layout

Longcarse West by David Furnage

Longcarse West is based on a few run down sidings in the Alloa area of Central Scotland in the period 1975/6. This was once a busy area with both the Caledonian and North British Railways building lines to tap into the local coal, glass making, brewery and distillery business. Although traffic remains buoyant the threat of closure is looming ever larger as local firms either turn towards road transport or shut down completely and many sidings in the area have already been abandoned or lifted as a result of this. The nearby dock lines will soon close and within ten years the railways of Alloa will almost all have disappeared although many locals hope for a return of passenger trains at some point in the not to distant future.

This is my first attempt at building a model railway although I have been an armchair modeller for at least the last thirty years. Dissatisfaction with the look of OO gauge trackwork and tension lock couplers were the main reasons for holding back although I did take the time to build a few plastic wagon kits, improving my skills with the help of books by Iain Rice and Geoff Kent as each one was attempted. In late 2004 I joined the North East Area Group of DEMU and became involved with the building of Round Trees Sidings, an EM gauge layout that was shown at the DEMU Showcase in 2005.