Heaton Lodge in 7mm scale
In early December 2021 Simon George's 'Heaton Lodge' layout had its first public outing in Wakefield. The layout represents approximately 1.25 miles of a major junction on the Lancashire & Yorkshire's Calder Valley Main Line. The original pair of tracks were joined by what became the London & North Western Railway's line to Manchester via Huddersfield and Stanedge. The section of line eastwards experienced considerable congestion, for not only did it handle a considerable volume of traffic, but also had a multiplicity of flat junctions.
Simon was a keen trainspotter, and Heaton Lodge, even in 1983, was still seeing high levels of traffic, with passenger and freight services heading towards both Huddersfield and Sowerby Bridge. The layout starts in the west with Copper Bridge station just off scene, and then crosses the River Calder before the lines from Huddersfield sweep in. In 1983 the underpass previous housing the New Leeds Direct Line tracks had been repurposed, and allowed trains from Huddersfield to pass under the Calder Valley and join the northern pair of tracks about quarter of a mile eastwards. The scenic part of the layout ends at the unclassified road overbridge, beyond which Mirfield loco shed was located on the northern side of the line.
Mr George was quoted by ITV News as saying: "I just wanted to recreate the place I used to go to as a child, being back in 1983 when Maggie was in No10 and Duran Duran were in the charts, so it is just an eccentric way of reliving my past." Although some of us might think that was a perfectly reasonable thing to do!
The layout utilizes some three miles of track and eight miles of cable and cost around £250,000.
The following images were captured on 7 December 2021, and are grouped by topic. Enjoy!
Bridges
Note the lit lamppost under the nearer bridge.
Note submerged items in the bed of the brook.
Not the clearest of shots, but taken through the curved Perspex protective barrier to prevent trains leaping into space as they enter the staging at the back of the layout.
Cameos
Note illuminated headlight on the BR Bedford lorry.
Buildings
NB: Not sure about a Deltic on the Calder Valley via Todmorden but could be a train diverted from its regular route via Stanedge at this time.
Track
The realism of these two close up shots of the double junction in the centre of the layout is stunning: and this in a layout that keeps up detail over a considerable length.
Tree
Signals
Sewage Work
A bit of artistic license here as the sewage works is on the other side of the line.
The lane forming the scenic break at the western end of the layout is fictional, but beautifully observed.
Staging
This looks like the empty vans for the Heaton - Red Bank newspaper train but the BG and GUVs are still awaiting Simon's weathering to be applied.
A view from the rear
One joy of this layout is that you can walk round it, and see what is happening in the staging.
The Calder Valley tracks: in real life this would be the site of Cooper Bridge station. The Low Moor Tramway, coming down from Ox Close and Hartshead, would terminate be behind the photographer at Three Nuns colliery!
I have included this rather undignified shot because people often ask about bus wiring. This is heavy duty and reflects the amperage that the fleet of sound fitted 7mm scale locos will be drawing.
Trainspotters
So when Mrs George let her son out that fateful day, did she realize what a day's trainspotting might lead to?
Copyright J K Wallace, t/a 'Hall Royd Junction' 2013-2023 email: Hall Royd Junction
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