Marmagne 3.5mm/HO
MARMAGNE
Marmagne is located on a branch line which meandered its way through the wide expanse of open countryside in Central France and is set during 1946–1970 (the epoch III era), with Steam, Diesel & Autorail (Railcar) services portraying typical train formations of the period.
A couple of local businesses utilise the railway – with an assortment of goods traffic to be seen arriving and departing the sidings, while the variety of passenger trains which the time period allows, occasionally serve the quiet rural station.
The Station Building (from which the layout takes its name) is a Pola Kit. The Grain Silo is by Faller and the Feed & Seed warehouse is scratch built.
Traditional methods were used in the building of the layout, which was constructed by Roger Nicholls of Wakefield and is now operated by Tony Durose – a member of the French Railways Society. 2”x1” softwood was used for the construction of the legs & layout frame, and plywood was used for the top, backboard & sides. Peco code 100 track is used and the points are mechanically (rather than electronically) operated by the ‘wire in tube’ method.
Stock operated on the layout is from several European manufacturers, including Jouef, Lima, Lilliput, LS Models, Mistral, Ree Models, De Massini, Roco, R37 & R87.
Please feel free to ask any questions about the layout, the French Railways Society or French railways in general.
“The one that caught my eye was a little French layout … I really loved that layout … I just looked at it and thought, yeah, beaut, it was absolutely beautiful … everything was consistent across it, every model fitted within the scene, it was all the same level of dirt, the same level of detail and it just, it just all fitted together beautifully.”
Phil Parker, Features Editor of British Railway Modelling
