Layout History

Horton has seen many changes over the years, going from a U-shaped layout called Scadbury and Horton through to an oval layout called Horton and finally the latest multi-level incarnation.  When the layout changed to an oval, the late Stephen Parascandolo took the opportunity to completely re-signal it using control software developed as part of his University project and using electronics developed by MERG.  This produced a layout that used track circuits to detect the trains and with route setting and signalling done from a computer.  We even had a physical control panel, just in case the computer said ‘no’!

The new Horton has been two years in the making, with the aim of providing a more operationally interesting track layout and also to consolidate the signalling system.  We now have a ‘figure-of-eight’ layout on two levels, with sections of the old Horton station being incorporated on the high level and parts of the old country stretch being incorporated on the low level.  The station area also now has a lower level two-track section, which will hopefully provide more interest for children when the layout is displayed at exhibitions.  On the signalling front we have moved all the electronics modules from a large relay box and attached them to the underside of five of the layout boards.

Whilst all this work has deprived the club of a fully working OO gauge layout, we hope that the rebuilt version will showcase the capabilities of the BWWMRC and provide a platform that members can run their trains on during club nights.

And if you are interested to know what happened to Scadbury – it was rationalised into the terminus of the branch line…