KINL0CHDUBH – Reading Society of Model Engineers
The inspiration for the layout goes back many years to the 1970's, when layouts like "Kyle of Tongue" and "Laxford Bridge" first introduced me to the delights of the Highland Railway. A visit by train to Scotland taking in Kyle of Lochalsh, Fort William, Mallaig, Oban, Wick and Thurso only confirmed the view that one day I would have to try to capture the essence of railways in the Highlands in model form. Many more visits followed over the years accumulating hundreds of photographs, but lack of space and time meant that many years passed before the opportunity would arise to put all that research to use and build a layout. In the meantime my time was spent building and acquiring suitable 0 gauge rolling stock.
Just after I had finished work some years ago the Reading Society of Model Engineers decided to dispose of its large 0 gauge layout, which was duly sold to one of the members. However he did not have room for the 16 ft long fiddle yard, so the club was left with four well constructed plywood baseboards, which were now redundant. The track was removed and after some discussion amongst the 0 gauge group, it was agreed that a Scottish layout set in the Highlands in the 1970's/80's would be built and Kinlochdubh was born.
The layout represents the terminus of a fictious branch leaving the Wick and Thurso line and wandering through an un-named glen to reach the remote Northwest coast at the landward end of a sea loch. The name comes from the Gaelic, meaning "the place at the end of the black loch". The fiction goes on to assume a branch off a branch running around the head of the loch and then westwards along the north shore to reach a terminus at Lochdubh Pier. During the two world wars this area was used as a base by the Royal Navy, the loch providing a sheltered deep water anchorage for escort vessels, minesweepers etc. Re-fuelling piers were built out into the loch from the north shore and fuel storage tanks sunk into the hillside. The hills around the loch were used as a training area for Royal Marine commandos.
The village of Kinlochdubh lies on the southern shore at the inland end of the loch, and, typical of many lochside villages, follows a linear form parallel to the shoreline due to the narrowness of the strip of usable land between the waters of the loch and the hills behind. There is a quayside, where fishing boats unload their catch at the fish factory, which is served by two sidings. The village itself boasts an inn, a "Spar" shop, garage, ironmongers, fish and chip shop, newsagents/post office, bank, doctor's surgery, several cottages, a church and a police house. Photographs taken on my many trips to the area plus research on the internet provide the inspiration for all these buildings, most of which were built from scratch by RSME member, Neil Herd.
Neil was also responsible for the station building which was scaled up from drawings of the Highland Railway standard wooden structures used on some of the branch lines. All of these stations are long since closed and most have been demolished, but Plockton is still in use, so photographs of this building were used to fill in the small details. The disused engine shed and water tower are the work of Tony Giles, and the signal box and cottage under renovation are by yours truly. The magnificent girder bridge and the distillery are again the work of Neil and I am responsible for the trees seen on the layout.
The rolling stock seen on the layout represents largely the British Rail corporate image blue/grey period with some drift at either end. Most of the locomotives will be corporate blue with the occasional green diesel and the occasional loco in the later large logo or sector liveries. Now and again the odd maroon coach or steam hauled special may appear.
The layout is still a “work in progress” with further refinements to the scenery and buildings still in the pipeline and we would like to extend the period modelled . We are a small group and would welcome anyone from the Reading area who would like to join our small select band.