Researching for a layout

When thinking of a new layout i often sit and look through various sources of information for a long while before even beginning to produce a trackplan. This is one aspect of the hobby which really appeals to me, and one that can take up a lot of time.

In a way this has been going on for Port na Cailliche for around 7 years. That may seem like a long time, but i've been modelling the same line with layouts based on the stations at Invercloy and Dunbracken as well as this one when it's built. Consequently i had to do some research for the two previous layouts and there were plenty of ideas which couldn't be incoroporated into these for various reasons. These ideas which couldn't be used have been floating in my head, and remain in the scrapbook i draw all my ideas in - incidentally this is a VERY good idea, whenever i have a thought for a layout i jot it down no matter how small it is. You'll never remember everything and this is an easy way to look back through your ideas.

The main source of information for research is books, for this layout i've been using various sorts of books from landscape photography of the Highlands and Islands to a historic photo book of the Isle of Arran.

Books on Scottish railways have obviously been very useful, particularly those on the Campbletown & Macrihanish Railway, and the Lochaber Railway being the main narrow gauge systems in Scotland. However books on the West Highland line (and indeed riding on it) have been useful, as well as Highland Railway books, and even books on class 37s- often used in the Highlands!

Because this line is more similar to the Irish 3' gauge lines than the Welsh narrow gauge i've got several books on Irish lines, one particularly useful one is 'Irish Narrow Gauge in Colour' by Norman Johnson. Also books on specific subjects like the Clyde Puffer are particularly useful.

Mention of the Clyde Puffer brings me onto another source of information; Videos of the BBC tv series 'Para Handy', this is a comedy series based on the wiriting of Neil Munro about a rather mischevious puffer crew. These videos contain some brilliant detail shots of puffers, quays, bits of coastline and scenery. All very useful for a layout where 95% of the front of the layout is water!!

Photos and memories from family holidays are of course also incoroporated into the layout plan, both places or buildings that mean something to me, and places that simply struck me as a particularly nice scene to replicate. Of course seeing things first hand is the best way to look into an area for a layout, and part of the reason i've chosen Scotland is because of many fond memories of family holidays when i was younger.

Finally there are a few websites i'll mention which have been useful. I linked to some specific photos on various websites which will be incorportated into the layout in one of my first posts, but there are some websites which cover large areas that are a very useful resource.

Firstly geograph - this is a site which allows you to select a specific geographical area on a map of the UK and then view pictures which have been uploaded to the site of that area.

Another site in the same manner as this is flickr, though photos on here tend to be more artistic it is worth having a look at the map section and doing as you would with geograph, or searching for more specific subjects.

Ports and harbours of the UK has been a good source of information on all sorts of small jetties and fishing ports in the Highlands of Scotland. Again based around a map of the UK it makes it very easy to find pictures of the area you're looking for.

Finally, if there's still areas of the trackplan that i've not managed to fill after all that then i just try and make up plausible scenery and scenes from what i've seen in all the other material - after all it is a freelance layout!