7mm scale, O gauge

Stuart Clarke

Hope works is a fictitious factory yard based in the North East of England and was built to provide some shunting entertainment whilst living in temporary rented accommodation. The factory processes fish which provides the need for a variety of wagons to be used and despite the obvious limitations with the size and number of stock items; it does demonstrate how little space you actually need to enjoy a small ‘O’ gauge layout in the average home.

The layout measures 8’ x 2’; baseboards are constructed using Barry Norman’s technique which has proven to be strong, rigid and lightweight. The buildings and bridge were made using a combination of plywood, scrap plastic and cereal packets! The rolling stock is mainly kit built with a mixture of Connoisseur Models, Bachmann, Parkside Dundas and Slaters. The trackwork is PECO and the controller is a handheld AMR unit with future plans to changeover to digital control, the search is on for a digital fishy smell to add that extra air of authenticity!