Heymore – Arthur Moss
Description of Heymore
Heymore is a multi-gauge oval shaped layout comprising of both OO Gauge and 009 Scale. It measures at 6ft x 4ft. The OO gauge is operated by a mobile app on my phone via Hornby’s HM6000 and the 009 is controlled by a generic Bachmann controller. At some point, the layout will also have to capability to also run DCC locomotives however currently, this isn’t the case. The layout hasn’t got legs of its own – it’s just the baseboard, so a collapsible table is used which we take to all shows that Heymore visits.
Heymore is a UK based layout however it isn’t set in a particular era or region but if it was, then Heymore would be set in the 21st century as a station on a fictious heritage railway based in the bottom-left hand corner of the Midlands. I have created some fictious history of the railways presented on the layout.
The Layout’s Setting
The 009 Scale is representing the Heymore Light Railway. The Heymore Light Railway is a 1ft 11” narrow gauge line spanning 8 miles that was constructed between 1865 and 1870 by the Heymore Railway Company. Passenger trains started in summer 1870 with the first freight services starting in 1875 after coal was found in the Heymore Hills. The railway was never nationalised into the LMS nor British Railways and the railway closed in 1955 after 85 years of service.
Thankfully the HLR was purchased into preservation in 1960 with the first 4 miles completed in 1964 with the re-opening ceremony taking place the same year. In the summer of 1970, the railway celebrated 100 years of the Heymore Light Railway and to mark this, the very pub (which is now a cafe) where the HLR was first thought of, unrevealed a special plaque above the very spot where the HLR’s founders sat at when they first thought of the idea of building a railway through Heymore. As well as this, the HLR opened their new extension which covered the other 4 miles of the line.
This would mark the first time a train would run on the entire 8 miles of track since closure 15 years prior. The Wessex Valley Railway operated special services into Heymore. The railway would have celebrated 150 years in 2020 however this event was cancelled due to Covid-19. In Summer 2021, the railway held their 150+1 gala event which included 2 visiting locomotives with these being Quarry Hunslet “George B” from the Bala Lake Railway and Penrhyn Mainline Hunslet “Blanche” from the Ffestiniog Railway.
The OO Gauge is representing the Wessex Valley Railway. The railway first opened as a single-track branch line in 1910 by the LNWR and it linked the town of Gaunt to the small city of Wessex-On-Trent. In 1923, the railway became under the operation of the LMS after the LNWR was absorbed into the LMS and in 1928, the railway became doubled tracked to increase services.
In 1948, the railway was nationalised and became part of British Railways. The line fell victim to Beaching’s Axe and was closed in 1962. The railway was preserved in 1965 however due to the fact that the railway had closed just 3 years prior, the track and track-bed was in good nick and after purchasing some rolling stock, hiring 2 locomotives from the NCB and doing some permanent way work to the track and some TLC to the stations, the railway opened its doors in 1967.
If you would like this layout at your show, please contact me via email here: arthurvmoss@gmail.com or telephone me on: 07496 139688
The pictures below are of Heymore at her first exhibition at the Claymills Victorian Pumping Station’s Model Railway Exhibition in Burton-Upon-Trent back in July 2022. Heymore was very much still in construction during this time. These photos will be replaced when I have photos of her when she is complete.
