The Narrow Gauge Study Group was founded at Scaleforum1994 by a group of Scalefour Society members who had tried 00-9 and found it wanting and felt that there was a need for an informed self-help group who could investigate the best ways of modelling 4mm scale narrow gauge to standards comparable with those proposed for 4mm scale standard gauge by the Model Railway Study Group, which became P4.

The range of gauges used by prototype narrow gauge railways of all kinds can be quite bewildering - but it soon became clear that the standards for track and wheels adopted by the engineers and manufacturers of equipment fall into two groups for steam-powered NG railways, plus another for tramways.  Gauges from 1ft 6in to 2ft 4.5in can be accurately represented (in 4mm scale) by the wheel and track standards of the 2mm Scale Association, and gauges from 2ft 6in onward use P4 wheel and track standards, in each case with the gauge of the track and the back-to-back dimension of wheelsets changed to the 4mm equivalent of the prototype gauge being modelled. We hope to produce a 'Digest Sheet' soon with a comprehensive listing of track standards used by the main NG railway companies.

The Group's newsletter has been 4mm Finescale Narrow Gauge News, but articles have been rather thin on the ground. From now on, I will co-ordinate articles or letters to appear in the 'Area Groups' pages of Scalefour News and also articles are welcome in Roy C Link's wonderful Narrow Gauge and Industrial Review.

Details from Paul Holmes, address on the Blue Sheet or email ngsg at scalefour.org.

7/10/07

Winner of the MRJ Chalice at Scaleforum 2007

Double Fairlie Locomotive
"James Spooner"

Pictured on Paul Holmes layout
Borth-y-Gest

Video available on the Area Groups News Blog

The Bristol Area Group still meet weekly at member's houses. There are no plans to build a group layout, as we could never agree on anything; there is too diverse a range of interests. At the last count it included: Somerset & Dorset, Great Western (Broad and Standard gauge), The Highland, Industrials, Kent & East Sussex, Continental (H0 only) and 5" gauge. However there is a lot of interest within the group about DCC, so with a bit of encouragement, we might persaude one of the members to produce a circular test track so we can really start to "fine tune" our locos.

One of the main functions of the group is to get out and have some fun with trains, so we attend exhibitions as visitors and assist at exhibitions on various members' private layouts: this takes us all over the country. Also there is the encouragement and competition that emanates from a group. It is much more fun to create things and then show them. At the last count there were four working layouts amongst the group, but one of these could be going to a new home or maybe into a skip.

Finally, there is more to life than railways. (There is? No one told me.) So the social side is not neglected and includes going out for curries and even playing skittles against other scale societies.

We are always keen to welcome new members in the local area, so please either email bristol at scalefour.org or contact Gordon Ashton, or Tim Venton via the Blue Sheet if you would like to join the group, or just come along and say hello.

9/9/07

Contact Area Group Organizer M A Clark, details on the Blue Sheet.

Contact Area Group Organizer Norman Lee, details on the Blue Sheet.

The Craven (Lancashire and Yorkshire) Area Group comprises five regular members and another two or three who come more occasionally, but we would welcome any Society members, or other interested modellers living in the area between Bradford and Preston. We usually meet in Barnoldswick at the home of our Secretary, Roger Cox (see the Blue Sheet for contact details) to whom all enquiries about exhibiting or demonstrating should be addressed.

Our 'social' meetings are usually on a Monday evening, except the pre-Christmas slide-show and mince pie bash, which is a Sunday evening affair. We share magazines of interest, bring our latest models to display and discuss, drink tea and coffee and chat about matters prototype, model and non-railway. Sometimes a Monday meeting will begin with some work on our current layout, Heath End* (seen at Scalefour North in April 2007), and we gather at other times to carry out construction or maintenance work, often when an exhibition deadline is drawing near!

Past projects include Tibberton (see Model Railways March 1990) and Fulham Imperial Road which is booked to appear at this year's Scaleforum in September and a simple end-to-end double track demonstration Cravenfoot Halt* with scenery in various stages of completion to show how we did it. We have also helped exhibit members' layouts, Littlestoke, Frome North (seen at Scalefour Southwest in August 2007) and Biginnor Road*.

For up-to-date information on meetings and more detailed notes and photos of some of our layouts,
please see our blog: http://cravens4ag.blogspot.com/ - or contact Paul Severs at craven at scalefour.org

* Still available for exhibitions

29/8/08

While Crewe is clearly the right place to have such a thing, the Crewe Area Group (CAG) is in practice broadly centred on south east Cheshire, which certainly contains Crewe, but our current active membership of thirteen is spread as far south as Whitchurch and Stoke on Trent and as far north as Stockport. Our members are all active P4 modellers: they include a few representatives of the trade, a few S4 Society luminaries and even the odd body who is both at once.

Our Area Group meetings are at a member's house, normally on the afternoon of the second Sunday of each month. The meetings are usually themed, that is we ask one of our members to pass on the fruits of their hard earned wisdom, but we're not beyond going visiting instead. Over the last year or so we have had such delights as:

• 51(L) Wizard ways of casting white metal,
• A good flick through our Stores Officer's amassing photo collection,
• An opportunity near Christmas to eat mince pies and play trains,
• A brain expanding day trying to operate Mike Norris' inspirational bit of Preston,
• A visit to Don Rowland's well known Central Cheshire line and
• Our annual dinner in the Crewe Arms Hotel where it is possible to eat dinner and watch trains navigate Crewe North Junction.

The Group produced an 18.83 Layout Challenge entry, Knutsford East Junction and following our successful appearance at the 2005 Scaleforum, we now have a regular supply of exhibition invites and we continue to develop the layout. This means we also hold layout meetings which tend to occur monthly on Sunday morning as well, usually (but not always) two weeks after the Area Group meeting.

We try to keep Knutsford East's show appearances down to two a year; our schedule for 2008 included Rochdale in February and Scaleforum in September. For those who haven't come across the layout try the 'layout of the month' in October 07 Railway Modeller.

So there you have it, this is an active area group which in some ways operates like a normal club. It is unapologetically P4 and is a friendly place to get fired up about modelling properly in 4mm scale. If anybody would like to join us, we would make you very welcome.

Please contact our Area Group Organizer David Burton, details on the Blue Sheet.

Some of the usual suspects behind the layout at the Manchester Show last October.
From left to right: Phil Bourne, Dick Petter, Tony Montgomery, Will Litchfield and Tony Walker

29/8/08

Following our inaugural meeting in April 2008, we have established a regular pattern of meetings at members’ homes, where we have enjoyed running sessions on members’ layouts as well as demonstrations of model making techniques.

Typical numbers attending are around half a dozen and we seem to have coalesced into a happy and friendly group of people with many interests in common.

You can read reports of our past meetings on the Area Groups News Blog as well as the finding the dates of forthcoming ones by visiting the Society Calendar.

We’ll also be attending the Workington Model Railway Exhibition in November 2008 exhibiting Ian Everett’s ‘Clecklewyke’.

If you’re in the area and would like to come along please contact either Stephen Paulin s.paulin at merseymail.com or Stephen.Paulin at silverbeck-rymer.co.uk or Ian Everett ian at ianeverett.free-online.co.uk

Further details on the Blue Sheet.

29/8/08

The Mid-Devon Area group is an informal group which normally meets about four times a year. Due to the lack of  population in our area, it is not practicable to hold regular meetings, nor to undertake any form of joint venture. We normally meet in each others homes to discuss items of mutual interest, and to admire work that the members have brought along for inspection. We do not exclusively model in one given scale,and would be better described as a finescale modelling group.  For further details, contact : David Dornom: 01363 84385 or e-mail devon at scalefour.org

11/8/07

The Devon Riviera Area Group meets twice per month on Monday evenings, alternating at two separate venues in Teignmouth.
Catchment area is basically Devon from Plymouth to Exeter, and south of Dartmoor.

Membership currently stands at about 20 and attendances of around a dozen people are normal. Most focus is on developing a modular Mark II test circuit which will feature four tracks with minimum 5 ft radius curves, transitions, superelevation, some P&C, maybe even some gradients, and full DC/DCC capability.  Meanwhile the Mark I circuit gives us something to play on. This all enables members to develop their woodworking, tracklaying, wiring and troubleshooting skills as suits their preference and provides a running-in facility for old and new stock alike - and a lot of fun. Members also bring their current projects along to work on or just to have a chat.

A new project involves the restoration to possible exhibition condition of the late Nigel Hunt's 1970s layout 'Swaveney'.

Mass invasions of DRAG members to Scaleforum and RailWells are routine and other shows are visited or exhibited at - several individual members have their own layouts in various stages of development.

If you are interested in coming along or would like more information or help on any aspect of the group, the Scalefour Society or P4 modelling, please contact Rod Cameron on riviera at scalefour.org

26/7/07

If you live near Nottingham why not come and meet the Dukeries area Group of the S4 Society, we meet on Wednesday nights at about 20:00.
We work on an end to end layout in the attic, about 20 feet long. 'Grescaster Yard' is an imaginary town between Sheffield and Leeds, industrial, set in the 1930's on the LNER, therefore all dirty black. There is a double track main line, a relief siding, a goods yard, and an engine shed - no station. We would like to have a model of every Gresley designed locomotive - kits under the layout, plus 'Silver Fox' built in silver, an N2, D49 'Bedfordshire', and a good selection of goods stock and some Gresley carriages.
Contact  Alec Boothroyd, dukeries at scalefour.org

3/10/07

The Essex  Area Group meet once a week at a member's house in Hatfield Peverel on Thursday evenings. We are constructing an exhibition layout of Hawes station, a NE/MR end to end terminus originally intended to be set circa 1912 but the intended time period has now been stretched on into the LNER and maybe even early BR periods. The scenic section is around 18' long and the baseboards are now complete, all of the track laid and the wiring almost finished. A decision to use DCC was taken some time ago.

There is still a lot of work to do finishing the scenery and constructing the buildings so we would be very pleased to welcome any new faces.

If you're interested in joining us please contact Area Group Organizer, Keith Turbutt, details on the Blue Sheet.

29/1/08

The Fylde Area Group Meets every third Thursday of the month, near Preston in Lancashire, any members in the Blackpool, Chorley, Lancaster, Leyland, Preston, Southport, Formby, South Cumbria and Wensleydale areas are most welcome. Normal start time is 19:30 to 20:00. Please contact the Fylde Area Group co-ordinator for detailed directions.

We have a good steady team of about 14 regular members, who have quite diverse interests and differing skill levels. We normally have 2 or 3 theme nights a year where a member will present some topic associated with the hobby, in addition to a slide/hotpot supper near Christmas. The remaining meetings are usually run and natter nights with tea, coffee and biscuits.

We do not have a group layout or activity, but we do run a members layout, which is a model of Preston (North Union Side), set in the 1930's, it is as yet some way off completion. But does give us the opportunity to run on a 32' by 15' multi-track circular layout, allowing plenty of scope for running-in and haulage testing. The minimum radius is 3'9", which is a good test for a steam locomotive.

We are not planning any exhibition attendance and are not associated with any other group, although members are not just limited to S4, we are open to other keen local modellers.

Any other area groups wishing to visit the layout should contact Mike Norris on  fylde at scalefour.org, visits can be arranged with sufficient notice on any day and not just limited to meeting evenings.

Last Meeting: 21st August.

Next Meeting: 18th September.

29/8/08

Included opposite are two photos of Preston under construction. All images © Fylde Area Group

The group has a layout (Brinkley) which has already attended a number of  major shows and for which we have bookings in the future.  The layout is based on joint BR (M) and BR (W) practice, with the potential for LMS/GWR. All other regions/eras/forms of traction are represented amongst members interests.
Sharing travel arrangements to exhibitions, visits to places of interest and the exchange of ideas, information and techniques, as well as the inevitable  chin wag, are also part of our activities.  (We also cater for armchair modellers!)  The occasional social activity involving food and drink are also arranged.  All levels of skill and expertise are represented so that one may learn or pass on experience as appropriate.  Speak it quietly but there are also some interested in foreign railways and other scales at our meetings.  We used to be the custodians of Clinkerford, John Darch's layout based on Cinderford but exhibition managers should note that this is now resident in Eire with John (a country member!).  The group also support Robin Whittle when he  exhibits Sheep Pasture.  We meet at monthly intervals, usually on the first Tuesday in the month, at about 7.30 pm.

Attempts to find a permanent meeting room have so far failed and we therefore meet in each others homes.  Meetings take place in an area approximately bounded by Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, the Forest of Dean, Ross on Wye, Kemble and those parts of Bristol in the area which was once Gloucestershire.  We also meet for working days on the layout at  irregular intervals.

Brinkley was recently exhibited at Scalefour North.

Visit the group's website. where you will find more details of the groups activities and pictures of their layouts.

or Contact Tony Comber, Co-ordinator, Glevum Group
email  Glevum at scalefour.org

3/9/08

Members of the Isle of Man Area Group still meet each Monday at the Isle of Man Model Railway Group's clubroom at 1 Terence Avenue, Douglas. We have only four members but the total population of the Island is only seventy five thousand (well we do have 26 club members for the IOMMRG). My P4 layout 'Bickleigh' is undergoing wiring changes for DCC, this layout is based on 'Cadleigh' on the Exe Valley line which I was fortunate enough to visit on a summer holiday in 2006.

The club's P4 members have produced layouts of 'Castletown' (which was published in the Railway Modeller) and more recently a model of 'Kirk Michael', both are to 4mm scale, 12mm gauge, the lsle of Man Railway being to three foot gauge. Both these layouts can be seen on Model Rail video #13.

Our members are busy making plans of Peel Station on the west coast of the Island for our next Manx layout.
If any Scalefour Society member wants photographs or plans of stations on the Island, or if anyone is interested in joining or visiting the group please get in touch with Frank Warburton at manrail at wm.im

9/10/07

The Kent Area Group (KAG) of the Scalefour Society is a subset of the Cobdown Model Railway Club based in dedicated premises at Ditton, near Aylesford.

Background

KAG was formed in 1997 and has a small nucleus of three / four / five members. These range from experienced modellers to relative beginners. Activity is devoted to building (but see below!) the layout 'Eridge' - a representation of the real station in East Sussex as it was in the 1950s.  Despite none of us having built a P4 layout before, 'Eridge' was successfully exhibited at Scaleforum 2000 as a layout under construction and subsequently at St Albans, Brighton Modelworld and Beckenham.

The original layout was 22ft long with fiddle yards at each end with wiring undertaken by Rod Cameron (also of the Devon Riviera Group) who despite what he tells us, obviously moonlights wiring up Airbus A380's. Suffice to say, when it went wrong (which it didn't often) we left it to him to sort out!

We have (well Mike Ainsworth, S4 General Secretary and KAG member has) some most interesting stock, much of it of a Wainwright persuasion (although unfortunately not in Brunswick Green) but also some more modern items, largely of a Southern / Southern Region nature but every so often he succombs to something rather inappropriate, currently being tempted by that NER 2-D-2 electric loco kit. He hasn't yet succumbed to anything Swindonish yet, however.

Chris is currently engaged on the heroic task of completing the canopies before turning his hand back to the scenery - he may find time as well to provide a suitable Maidstone and District omnibus as well. I'm working on the other buildings before plucking up courage to have a stab at my D3 kit.

Rod, although a 'visiting' member, is working on the signals in between travel to the most far flung places imaginable and Mike Allen has assisted us with some proper engineering knowledge and building enough trees to build an entire Nelsonian fleet, if we decided to change the focus of our modelling.

Where we are now...

Unfortunately, despite spending a great deal of time on what turned out to be some pretty robust trackwork, the trackbase has suffered from some serious warping in a couple of places. We undertook some remedial work but after a great deal of consideration, we have just taken the heroic / foolish decision to build a 'New Eridge'. This will be an entirely different construction, viz:-

• Lightweight but strong and well supported ' Mosquito' type plywood baseboards
• Glued construction
• Three eight foot long 'core' baseboards underpinning the track, with lightweight scenery sections slotting on to the sides
• Building all the woodwork in one go
• Trackwork transcribed from official diagrams / maps onto Templot, printed out by a roll printer and glued directly onto the trackbase
• Probably digital control

This means that there is a lot of work to do but a lot has happened since Eridge 1 was started in 1997 which should make the task much easier. Much more is available by way of track and Templot assistsgreatly as well. Building three long but light and rigid baseboards using glued construction means construction should be very much quicker than last time around. There will be fewer joints, speeding up construction and building everything ion one go simplifies construction and means skills do not need to be relearned.

There are other advantages as well:-

• Starting with Templot means we can map out all the baseboard joints, signal post positions, signal wire and point rodding runs and so on and build them in from the start
• Using DCC enormously simplifies the wiring and means if Airbus speak to Rod nicely they can probably get the A380 back on track
• It will be much lighter and easier to move around and dismantle / mantle

Of course, the more imaginativeamongst you might ask, why not choose another project, having done Eridge? We did think about this and indeed did consider others but have decided to redo Eridge because:-

• It remains a very good prototype, with Southern enthusiasts often pleased to see it when we have exhibited it
• We have all the stock and buildings
• Building Lewes with third railwould mean that all certifiably insane members would need to be conscripted into this one project which would have deprived everyone else of their valuable help. (Check out the track layout if you aren't familiar with this particular prototype.)
• It can be done quickly and maybe we can get back on the exhibition circuit quickly!

If anyone is interested in the baseboards and track of Eridge mark 1, it's available at present but will otherwise in due course be dismantled.

Where we are and all that stuff...

The clubrooms are shared with the well-known 00 S&D layout 'Wouldham Town' and its successor, currently under construction, as well as an embryonic 0-fine layout of an ex-LNWR engine shed being built by another Scalefour Society member.  The KAG group generally meet on Thursday evenings, although the rooms are also used on Tuesdays. Club sessions finish with a drink at the 'King and Queen' in East Malling which has a fine range of beers unlike our previous hostellry which had a rather unfortunate knack of running out of beer.

Interested in helping?

There is now plenty to do again! If you are interested in helping on 'Eridge', or just want to come and see what we're up to, contact Simon Bass by email on simon.bass1 at btopenworld or kag at scalefour.org or phone (01622 890525).
The main things to do are the new baseboards and supports and then the whole trackwork and scenery malarkey. We plan a few carpentry sessions at my house on some Saturdays in the autumn in order to speed things up a bit, then get it all set up in the clubhouse and take it from there.

The pressures of the real world outside does preclude us sometimes meeting up every Thursday so if you do want to come along, you are advised to contact first.

Simon Bass

8/10/07

The Lincolnshire (North) Area Group continues to meet on the second Thursday of each month generally at members' homes for an informal evening, occasionally with some sort of demo and a 'look what I've been doing' from items brought along.

If you would like to join us please contact Area Group Organizer Gordon Luck either by e-mail nlincs at scalefour.org
or by ringing 01469 574637.

16/12/07

The North London Group is a group of railway modellers that has an interest in all things to do with the accurate representation of all railways in miniature.

The group meets regularly in Watford for a variety of activities which include lectures, film shows, demonstrations, track nights and chat nights. At these meetings various aspects of the hobby, local or global, are discussed as well as progress of the latest projects. We offer a welcome to anybody interested in model railway activities. You do not have to be a finescale modeller to qualify for membership although we may try to convert you! If you are interested in joining us either come along to a meeting or get in touch with the secretary - see below.

The meetings are held on the last Monday of the month in St. Andrews Church Hall, Park Road, Watford (five minutes walk from Watford Junction station). The starting time is 8.00 pm. Exceptions to the rule are when Bank Holidays fall on the last Monday of the month - in these cases the meeting is brought forward one week.

A Brief History
The group has been in existence since 1976 and in that time has had three homes and created two well known layouts to finescale standards. The first, Heckmondwike, after a tour on the exhibition circuit was on display in the National Railway Museum at York. It has now come home and parts of it have been preserved for posterity. The second, Bodmin G.W.R, is still being exhibited.

The membership owns several well known layouts which are frequently aired at exhibitions and group track nights. A membership team are currently working on a finescale model of Upper Lydbrook station in the Forest of Dean circa 1914.

Programme of NLG Meetings for 2008

• September 29th: Illustrated Talk

• October 27th: Trader's Evening

• November 24th: David Minnion Film Show

• December 15th: Christmas Party and Track Night

Contact E.B.Clark, details on the Blue Sheet.

29/8/08

The group has a membership of 10 or so and 4 or 5 of us meet every Monday evening (except Bank Holidays) in our own clubroom at Leatherhead Leisure Centre. The clubroom is open from about 19:30 to 22:00, after which we usually wind up at the pub.

We keep our exhibition layout, St Merryn, erected in the clubroom for test running purposes and to continue adding detail as the urge takes us. We are also working to complete our stock-building programme for the layout.

Society members are always welcome for a chat or to participate in group activities, but please contact Len Folkard first in order to understand the access arrangements. Anyone who needs directions can also contact Len; e-mail slag at scalefour.org
further details are on the Blue Sheet.

The photos here give a flavour of St. Merryn, which was recently exhibited at Scalefour North. Report on the Area Groups News Blog.

29/5/08

The West London Area Group meets most Wednesday evenings in Ruislip. We have our own shed (a converted site hut) which is at the foot of the embankment of the former GWR/Great Central joint line.

We are working on a P4 mainline layout - naturally, based on the GW/GC line - which we hope to exhibit in a couple of years from now.
Track and electrics for the front of the layout are well advanced with basic scenery in place. Focus is now moving to the fiddle yard.

If you would like to join us and help, or call in from time to time, you would be most welcome.

Contact Area Group Organizer Roger Haywood, westlondon at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

9/7/07

The Manchester Area Group is based within the Manchester Model Railway Society whose headquarters are at Dean Hall, Sale, Manchester. Here the  Group has access to excellent workshop and library facilities as well as the knowledge of a large number of very experienced modellers of numerous scales and gauges. A meeting is held every month with talks given on a wide range of railway subjects, both modelling and prototype.

The Group's activities are concentrated on building Slattocks Junction, an 18ft x 14ft oval layout based on the ex L&Y Manchester to Rochdale line around Castleton in the Period 1955-65. Since the layout had its one and only public outing to Scalefour North in 2004 progress has been frustratingly slow due mainly to business commitments of several members of the group, forcing them to be away from the layout for long periods. Also whilst remedial work to the turnout motor switches was undertaken it was established that there were various gauging problems with several of the turnouts. These turnouts were mostly of early plastic construction which was to prove difficult to modify. However, we hadn't counted on them completely falling apart due to the brittle nature of the chairs. Thus three examples in the goods yard have had to be completely replaced and those on the main running lines strengthened and corrected, (if only the P4 Track Company products had been available when the track was first laid!).

However at long last progress on the layout can be seen in a big way. Since Scalefour North the front scenic extension boards have been produced and the basic outline of the scenery has now been cut and carved for just under two thirds of the layout. The group is now in the process of constructing mock representations of the buildings that will be required.

There is also plenty of modelling being undertaken away from Dean Hall, with progress being made on the point rodding and the signals. These are busy times on the layout as we will need a large quantity of roling stock to run a full sequence. There is still plenty to do and if anyone wishes to join us please contact Tony Williams, Manchester Area Group Organiser at manchester at scalefour.org

5/10/07

Included opposite are some pictures of the group's 'Slattocks Junction' Layout.
All images © Manchester Area Group

The West Midlands Area Group meet at Fradley Village Hall, Fradley, Nr  Lichfleld, Staffordshire. The meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Friday of most months beginning at 6:30pm and finishing at 10:30pm. We have a break in December and at the end of September because of Scaleforum, in total we have twenty meetings per year.

We have a group 'test track' which was built as a four track continuous circuit to 18.83mm gauge. This layout was built to fit one of our members garages and was slightly triangular in shape but is now a more conventional oval. We are in the process of making new baseboards with a revised track layout, so that members can add their own extention, the group layout Moor Street is designed to fit on to the new test tracks. When ready in late 07 or early 08 they will feature two continuous circuits with concrete based sleepers for later and modern prototypes and two circuits with wooden sleepers and bullhead rail for earlier enthusiasts. Some members use DCC, some meetings have both this and 12v DC. When finances allow the group will purchase its own DCC system.

The test tracks are used for members to try out, run in, fine tune or just play with their locos and rolling stock. Although the tracks are to 18.83mm gauge some of the members still run their own EM and 00 layouts at home.

The meetings are also used for an interchange of ideas and as a forum for advice and help if required from other members. Although we are the West Midlands Area Group we have regular members from Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Nottingham, Derbyshire and further north. The group meetings are open to anyone with an interest. Visitors from other area groups and clubs are always welcome and members are always encouraged to bring a friend along whatever scale or gauge they may model in.

Any group or member that would like to visit just contact Les Bird as per the Blue Sheet or e-mail birdles5 at aol.com and they will be made most welcome. If required Les will send some written info and a list of meeting dates.

17/7/07

The Norfolk & Suffolk S4 Area Group meets once a month on the third Friday, at each member's home in turn.  Here we view and play with that member's layout, or work on our Group layout. Our Group layout, 'Coldfair Green', has been finished now for over two years, scenic wise, but we are still building dedicated stock for it. We also meet on the first Friday in the month for a 'work-in'; a time to devote to building something or just getting help from others. There are nine members of the group, not all P4 modellers; we have two EM modellers as well.

Coldfair Green was recently exhibited at Scalefour North.

Two private layouts are under construction, models of Snape Maltings and Holmfirth (L&Y). Both are based on the prototypes. A much smaller DCC layout is also under construction to investigate the advantages, especially with wiring.

Other layouts within the Group are John Watson's MSLR 'Kenton' and 'Laxfield'. We get to operate these several times a year when they go to exhibitions.

Anyone interested in joining the group contact Don Gilliland e-mail: dongil at globalnet.co.uk

29/5/08

Included opposite and below are some pictures of the group's Coldfair Green Layout.
All images © Norfolk & Suffolk Area Group

The Group has representatives from the Scalefour Society, plus EM Gauge Society, 2mm Association, Gauge O Guild and Scale 7 Society.

Essentially, we are a loose group of about two dozen modellers with a common interest in finescale railway modelling, almost all being members of one or other of the national finescale societies. The range of interests is very wide so there is no concentration on any one area, but much is learnt by all via exchange of ideas and information between us.
There is no group project per se but some of the members are involved with building 'Port Solway'.... NER/M&C circa 1905 in P4.... at the clubrooms of the Newcastle and District Model Railway Society.

We meet about every six weeks or so, at each others' homes, bringing models for discussion and running on our multi-gauge test track.
We also provide demonstrator support for our local shows. The depth and breadth of the modelling talent within the group provides a valuable and easily accessible resource, especially for beginners. Experience of, or expertise in, finescale modelling techniques is definitely not necessary for membership. Our subs are a nominal £1 per year to cover postage costs etc.

For further information and details of forthcoming meetings please see our web page at  http://www.xclent.freeuk.com/
or contact John H. Wright at johnhwright at xclent.freeuk.com

12/10/07

The pictures opposite and from the Group's meeting on 5th October 2007.
All images © North Eastern Finescale Group

L to R: Bob Jones, Dave Dunn, Paul Moore, Barry Nicholson, John H Wright, Tony Cormack, David Boorman, Mick Simpson & Yvonne Simpson

On display: P4 .NER Q, O, P2 and '290' (PaulMoore) EM ..NER C (Tony Cormack) 2mm finescale ..9F (Bob Jones' latest kit) O Scale ..A4 (Dave Dunn) Freight wagons ( Barry Nicholson ) HO ..PRR K4 tender artwork (Bob Jones)

The Risborough Area Group are a few members of the Risborough and District Model Railway Club http://www.rdmrc.nildram.co.uk/ who model in P4 or EM. We meet on Friday nights at the Carrington Room at the Community Centre, Princes Risborough as well as on a Saturday on a monthly basis.

After some months of planning, work has now started on a new layout with baseboards now being constructed. This new layout is called "Festive Road" and is a replacement for "Saffron Street". The layout follows the same geographical location and time period i.e. North London circa 1964, allowing for a mixture of steam and diesel traction from most regions although the time period could be stretched a decade each way if required.

Following experience gained in both exhibiting and watching other layouts, the concept is for a layout that not only allows plenty of interest in the detail contained in the model itself, but also plenty of movement; therefore we have developed two separate layouts in one scene!
Located on a high level and running on viaducts, bridges and embankments, is a double track continuous run, offering plenty of movement at exhibitions with long trains. Below at ground level is an end-to-end line with yards, giving plenty of shunting and industrial interest. The lower line passes through a street scene over a level crossing and into a yard and industrial sidings.
Neither of the lines are parallel to the front of the layout, each line being some 20-30 degrees off set and 70 degrees to each other. The whole layout is contained in a space of 25 feet long by 6 feet in depth, with a sweeping backscene; the scenic depth of the layout at the centre being some 6 feet. The ground line also rises front to back offering the observer a view into the layout.

In effect the layout will hopefully appeal to both those who enjoy roundy-roundy layouts and also those who like shunting planks, as it contains both! To account for one of the members of the club who models EM and to make use of his stock, the top continuous run section uses cassettes and has no points, allowing us to run both P4 and EM!
For those who require technical information, baseboards are constructed from 9mm Finnish birch plywood: each baseboard is located to its neighbours with pattern makers dowels and over centre clips hidden inside so they are not visible on the edge of the baseboards. Trackwork has been designed using "Templot" and control will be with DCC.

Anyone who wishes to become involved in the new project please come along. We tend to work from 8pm till !0pm and then head for a drink at a local pub, although this option is not compulsory!

Contact David Lane by email at risboro at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

3/1/08

As the title implies, this is a joint group of Scalefour and EMGS members, which meets on the Second and Fourth Tuesdays of the Month at Winterbourne Gunner Camp.
We have a P4 circular test track and we also of course have the 'commended' 18.83 Challenge layout Woolworth Road, presently being improved and due to appear at Scaleforum in September 2008.

Winterbourne Gunner Camp is an Army establishment and due to security requirements identity must be established by the guard room before you can get in.
Any prospective member can contact me so that details can be given to the guard room.
Martin W Moss,  Phone 01722 413603, further details on the Blue Sheet.

23/8/08

We meet informally in one another's houses, but do manage both to build joint layouts, like 'Bonnybridge Central' and 'Burntisland 1883' and to help members with their own creations, like Blackston Junction. These happen to be to P4 standards, but our group includes not just P4 modellers and other 4mm adherents, but also notable 7mm and S-scale modellers.
Our common interests are finescale work and good company.

David Orr is the Area Group Organizer and Secretary and is available on 0131 445 3990
or e-mail at: nancyanddavidorr at btinternet.com 
further details on the Blue Sheet.

1/8/08

Included opposite and below are some examples of the group's work. All images © East Scotland Area Group

The West Scotland 4mm Group (Centred on Glasgow, covering former Strathclyde Region area and West Lothian).
Meetings are held in members homes, normally monthly in second week (not July, August or January). We normally meet on Tuesday, but occasionally on Wednesday or Thursday. Some meetings are held jointly with the East Scotland Group.

There are currently 10 members in the group; open to new members of Society.

Group layout: CALDERSIDE.

Anyone interested in joining the group contact Chris Coles by email at westscotland at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

21/9/07

The group meets each week on a Monday night in various members houses in Ludlow (second and fourth Mondays), near Knighton (first and fifth Mondays) and Bishops Castle (third Monday).  The group consists of between 6 and 12 'regulars' and a number of people who visit occasionally from as far afield as the Lake District.  All meeting locations have working P4 layouts with run-round loops ranging from 60 foot in length to over a scale mile!

Members of the group have a shared interest in finescale modelling and the group has, over the years, worked on many group projects including making Trackwork, Controllers, RSU's and Locomotives.  With around 30 working locomotives of one type or another between the members a wealth of experience has been built up in making running P4 layouts.  Helping exhibit Adavoyle (of Tony Miles fame) and Kerrin Basin at various exhibitions led the group to enter the Scalefour 18.83 challenge with a model of the Lower Soudley ironworks in the Forest of Dean, which was 'Highly Commended' and which was recently exhibited at Scalefour North in April 2008.

New members are always welcome - evenings are a pleasant combination of discussion, modelling, running, coffee and cakes. Please get in touch via Jeff George on the Blue Sheet or by email at shag at scalefour.org if you are interested in coming along.

29/5/08

The Group meets on Tuesday evenings 7-11pm to chat and work on our layout Southwark Bridge, a seven platform version of Waterloo set in 1912. The layout is 45 feet long.

We are few in number and new members are most welcome (probably bite their arm off), they do not have to be LSWR aficianados, it just helps. If you would like to come along do please get in touch with me first though, details below.

We hold running days here, every even month on the third Saturday and working days on the intervening month, also third Saturday; 10am to 5pm in both cases with a pub lunch.
We have no intention of taking Southwark Bridge to shows as we do not have the manpower, however it is a fully working layout as evidenced by the article in Scalefour News No 149. Scenic modelling continues and more rolling stock keeps coming along.
We are rivet counting modellers, but are happy to have any modellers come along, no matter what their experience or otherwise.

Contact me Mike Day at southampton at scalefour.org or ring 01489 895808, further details on the Blue Sheet.

25/1/08

Included opposite are some pictures of the group's Southwark Bridge Layout.
All images © Southampton Area Group
More pictures of Southwark Bridge can be seen here.

We are a small group, meeting in Barry Luck's house in Plumpton Green (near Lewes), usually on Tuesdays.

We have three layouts at present:
Pulborough is still going strong, and is available for exhibition. For those who haven't seen it, it is a true-scale representation of the station on the London-Portsmouth line in Sussex. As far as possible it is an accurate model of Pulborough as it was in the days of the LBSCR, around 1910. The layout requires about 50'x10'.
Brighton Road is making good progress. We have laid and wired all of the track, built the control panels and have tested and run most of the trackwork. This layout is a model of a fictional inner London station. It consists of a high level four-track viaduct, mainly carrying passenger traffic and a low level goods yard and marshalling yard. We have started work on buildings and scenery, but much still has to be done. We hope the layout will be available for exhibition during 2007.
West Chiltington has been sold to a member of the group, and has been modified, and converted to modern image. It is available for exhibition.

If anybody would like to come and see what we are up to, you will be most welcome. e-mail midsussex1883group at lineone.net or call me on 01273-891427, to let me know you're coming, and I can confirm when we're meeting and give you the address. We would also be happy to provide speakers for local area groups, on subjects such as layout construction, wiring, railway operation, scratchbuilding, split axle locos etc.  More information can be found on the groups website.

Barry Luck

23/9/07

The last meeting was held of the Teesside and North Yorks. AG on Sunday 12th October.
It was decided that after 3½ years that we would no longer meet together as TNYAG. The meeting unanimously agreed that from now on we will meet as the Tees, Ouse, Esk, Ryedale Area Group! The name was suggested by James Dickie and advertised on his layout at the DEMU challenge. The remainder of the group would like to point out that we are not despicable people, ruffians or beggars but perfectly normal decent folk.
We will warmly welcome new members to join us, especially if you can smile at the group name. We meet monthly, usually on the 2nd Sunday afternoon of each month.

Originally formed in 2005 our interests form an eclectic mix from GWR broad gauge to Aberdeen Diesels and most things in between! Ages also range from the young in years to the young in spirit.

In addition to our regular meetings we've held a couple of modelling days. Both took place on a Saturday and we spent the whole day modelling together and helping each other out.

You can contact me at teesside at scalefour.org or on tel: 01642 570450 (after 8:15pm please).

Richard Spratt, TOERAG coordinator

24/10/08

The group operates within an existing club, the Leamington & Warwick Model Railway Society and details of the group's activities can be found on the L&WMRS website.  Our group contains 12 Scalefour Society members as well as others who are helping to build the club's P4 layout Clarendon.

L&WMRS itself has almost 65 members and meets twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday, and has moved into new premises just outside Leamington.

If you would like to come along then please contact Ian Spalding at swag at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

26/7/07

The  Wealden Area Group operates within the Uckfield Model Railway Club, further details, including information on the group's layout 'Leysdown' can be found on their website http://www.uckfieldmrc.co.uk/indexf.html

You can also contact Martin Marrison on wealden at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

23/10/07

Leysdown.
© Wealden Area Group

There is no formal area group setup at present, although I act as a contact point and warmly welcome enquiries from those within reasonable reach. Email Richard Dagger on nwilts at scalefour.org. 

There is a small P4 group at the local model railway club Westinghouse MRC at Chippenham, which acts as the de facto area group at the moment. We have a fair-sized P4 project (Midland Sidings) almost complete.

We are booked for Expo EM at Bracknell in May 2008 and Railwells at Wells in August 2008 and are working on further completion of the layout (more buildings, details & locos and stock) for these shows. Some thought is going in to making the layout (presently Midland Railway c.1920) also represent the BR steam/diesel period c.1962 and in converting the layout to DCC operation for this later period.

The WMRC site includes photos and details of the layout (August 2007), along with details/photos of other activities at the club.

16/12/07

The EYAG is a small, friendly group that currently meets once a week at the clubroom of the Hull Miniature Railway Society (HMRS).
We have a group layout, Botanic Gardens, which is based on a former North Eastern Railway (NER) suburban station in west Hull that disappeared when the lines to Hornsea and Withernsea, and the low level line to Hull's Eastern Docks were closed in the 1960s. The track layout is relatively simple but the project combines plenty of buildings, varied traffic and a tramway. The period selected is circa 1914 to fit in with the pre-grouping interests of project members, although geographically only one of us is an NER aficionado, one other relevant allegiance being LYR (useful for excursion traffic).

Pictures and details of Botanic Gardens can be seen on RMWeb as well as the Botanic Gardens Blog

Additional members for the EYAG would be most welcome. Please contact the EYAG Co-ordinator via the Blue Sheet,
or e-mail eyag at scalefour.org You will also be made most welcome at the HMRS clubrooms (see their website for directions) on a Monday or Thursday evening from 7:30 pm but please contact the EYAG Co-ordinator to ensure that a member of the group will be in attendance.

25/2/07

The South Yorkshire 4mm Group is a long established, small informal group centred in Sheffield, primarily for P4 devotees but also catering for other 4mm modellers of a finescale persuasion. Since we're not a club, there's no clubroom or group layout; members have always worked on their own projects and assisted each other as necessary at exhibitions etc. We meet at members' homes once a month, discuss projects, enjoy running sessions where there's a layout, or have a test track available if not. Sometimes we have a slide show and occasionally arrange other events.

The interests of Group members are quite varied and include GC pre-grouping and BR; GNR pre-grouping; LMS 30's; BR 60's; Industrial; American; Irish; SR; S&D etc. and there's interest in the current railway scene. Generally all models are appreciated if at least some work has been done to them i.e. conversion to EM or P4 from ready-to-run.
Currently fifteen members are in the Group, but two have moved from the area and three seldom get to meetings; the average attendance at meetings is eight.

Although we have no formal association with other clubs we do try to assist Sheffield Model Railway Enthusiasts with a presence at their show, but its date often clashes with Scalefour North. A lot of the West Yorkshire Area Group meetings (see below) have been attended by some of our members and we have good links with their Group.

Contact Area Group Organizer Graham Thomas, e-mail: southyorks at scalefour.org further details on the Blue Sheet.

The accompanying pictures were taken on visits to the layouts of two members: John Quick's 'Brackley' and Keith Parkin's 'Conisbrough'.

1/9/07

All images © South Yorkshire Area Group

The Livery of John Robinson's Class 1 'City of Manchester' sets the period of the layout.

Also on Brackley is a Parker class 3alt tank loco.

The West Yorkshire Area Group meets on the third Tuesday of each month. Our current default venue is the Thatched House pub, Stanley, near Wakefield, but as we often meet at members' homes or arrange visits to local places of railway interest, members interested in joining us should contact me if they are not aware of our arrangements. We could not bear the thought of you waiting alone in an unfamiliar pub. Meetings ususally start at 8.00 pm.

We do not have a group layout, but some of us have layouts of our own, giving the opportunity for running nights. There will always be someone at our meetings who will be able to answer your model construction, mechanical or electrical problems. Probably everyone - all different, but all friendly. I speak from experience.

Anyone interested in joining the group please contact Jim Harrison by email at wyag at scalefour.org or phone 0113 2679385

For the last report see the Area Groups News Blog.

12/5/08

The Australia East Area Group was first organized about 21 years ago when I was still living in Sydney where David Murrell, Craig Warton and I flew the Scalefour banner at the exhibitions that we attended. Initially we were interested in modelling the early period local scene (NSW Railways) to P4 standards. Mike McCormac was another P4 modeller of the local scene during that time and although now working in 3.5mm scale some of his later work can be seen here: http://www.michaelmccormacmodels.com.au/

I'm now based in Leeton NSW and sadly there are probably no other P4 modellers within 200km, however I'm still in touch with other P4 modellers in Australia; Canberra is less than 4 hours away from here and Sydney about 3 hours.
These days' Industrial railways have become my main interest, with the High Level range of kits proving hard to resist. I'm happy to remain as a one man Area Group in order to act as a contact point for any other P4 modellers visiting or moving into this part of Australia.

You can contact me, David Smith at: david.and.barb at iinet.net.au further details on the Blue Sheet.

24/7/07

No current information on group activities but anyone interested in joining should contact Andrew Wells e-mail: andw at bigpond.com further details on the Blue Sheet.

Based mainly in Ontario but also with members in British Columbia the Canadian Area Group was launched in July 2007.

Many of us are also members of the Platelayers Society, which encompasses all scales and gauges for those who model British outline.

The Platelayers Society arrange the Great British Train Show every two years, the last one being in Brampton in April 2008 where some of us were exhibiting. You can see a report on the show with pictures on the Area Groups News Blog.

Anyone who is interested in joining us, or if you are visiting Southern Ontario please contact Area Group Organizer: David Knight at
davknigh at sympatico.ca further details on the Blue Sheet.

12/5/07

As with some other overseas groups, members resident in the Netherlands are spread fairly widely around the country, which makes it too difficult to hold frequent meetings. As a result there is no group layout project, but we do attempt to get together several times a year on an informal basis to exchange ideas and discuss our own individual model making activities.
Anyone visiting the Netherlands or interested in joining should contact Arnoud Kroes by e-mail on a.kroes6 at chello.nl further details on the Blue Sheet.

There is also a SNAG web page available in Dutch and English where details of meetings and members' activities are posted.

Our last meeting was at Gerco's home in Bodegraven on 19th October.

There was no 'Rail' event in 2007 as the organizers decided to move the show from Den Bosch to Houten near Utrecht and also to change the date of the event from October to March. So on 7th, 8th, 9th March 'Rail 2008' took place. Unfortunately not all of the planned UK layouts turned up, but Iain Rice and John Chambers were there with Hepton Wharf in P4 and Richard Chown of the East of Scotland Group brought his French 0 Gauge layout. PICTURES FROM THE 'RAIL 2008' EXHIBITION.

Rail 2009 will take place on 6th, 7th & 8th March, this year incorporating the European Proto:87 Convention; more details at: www.rail.nl

24/10/08

The fledgling Sydney Area Group (SAG) has doubled in size since being formed in 2004 , with plans to acquire a layout to provide some operational focus. The group usually meets every two months at David Murrell's place in Eastwood, though it is planned to make these meetings more frequent once we have an operational layout.
We welcome new or prospective members, or those just curious to know what P4 has to offer, as well as visitors from interstate or overseas.

You can also keep up to date with our activities by visiting our blog: http://sydneyareagroup.blogspot.com/

Contact David Murrell on (02) 98749646 or e-mail sydney at scalefour.org for further details.

11/7/08

There is no formal US area group like those established in the UK. However Tony Sissons provides a solid contact with the society and many of its members he knows personally and welcomes any members wanting help or a chat. Contact him on usa at scalefour.org

26/2/05