Information for Exhibition Managers
January 2004 Update
Cowes has not been available for exhibition since November 2000, a situation that is likely to prevail for some time to come. Domestic circumstances currently mean that the layout has been in storage since November 2000. I am hopeful that possibly by the end of the year 2004 it may be possible to consider exhibiting the layout again. Meanwhile, slow progress is being made on the next phase of the project, which is Newport.
General Description
Cowes is a small terminus to fiddle yard layout, built to 4mm scale OO standards. It is a slightly compressed representation of the real life station, and represents the complete trackplan. Reliable operation and timetable working are a feature of the layout, which attempts to convey the once busy atmosphere of the Island's railways. Stock from the Southern Railway (1923-1948) era and the Southern Region era (1948-1966) will be operated.
The real Cowes Station closed in 1966, and after demolition, a supermarket was built on the site. Almost nothing remains today. This layout is the first stage of a much larger plan to model a significant portion of the railways on the Isle of Wight.
Requirements
The block plan below shows the space required for the layout, and the required orientation.
Cowes travels in two cars, with three operators.
Availability
Cowes will be exhibited for the first time at the Mid Hants Preservation Society exhibition at Alton Assembly Rooms on 2nd and 3rd May 1999. It will be available for exhibitions from then onwards, although the intention is to exhibit only a couple of times a year, and only within a 30 mile radius of Alton.
For the Exhibition Guide
Please use this text in your exhibition guide
Cowes, Isle of Wight (4mm scale, OO)
Exhibited by Chris Gardner & Mark Pretious of Alton Model Railway Group
Chris and Mark started building Cowes in February 1998. It is a slightly compressed scale model of the Station which served Cowes in Southern Railway days, and through to closure in April 1966. The operation of the layout is intended to convey the bustling efficiency which characterised the Island's railways in their heyday, when tens of thousands of holiday makers would arrive on the Island on a Summer Saturday, and would use the railway to travel to their hotel or guest house.
The layout is still under construction and most of the locomotives and rolling stock have been borrowed from other members of the Alton MRG. A variety of Southern and British Railways liveried stock will be operated.
Cowes is the first section of a sectional layout which is intended to represent a major portion of the Isle of Wight's once extensive network. To see the plans and read about our progress, visit the Isle of Wight Model Railway at http://freespace.virgin.net/c.gardner/iow/iow.htm.
The Isle of Wight Model Railway Homepage