I genuinely cannot believe this - I won! I did not think I had a chance and when I saw the other layouts I just put the competition out of my mind as the others were so good. Looks like Loxley Barton Falls struck the right chord with the judges. I really enjoyed today especially the great camaraderie of the other...

I realised this morning that the Gallery images did not contain any of the final model as it went to ExpoNG 2005 yesterday. So this morning I did a quick photo shoot. The image above is my favourite as it really captures the dark forbidding new industrial era of the Victorian age - just the atmosphere I was trying...

Only 8 and a half hours before the public get to see Loxley Barton Falls. It's 2am and I am not frantically getting everything ready having spent the evening finishing the layout, adding figures and finishing off the rolling stock. This is my first ever showing at an exhibition and ExpoNG is the premier narrow gauge...

Hunslet 2-6-2 Locomotive No. 07 is a Parkside Dundas kit built by me in the early 1990's. This is kit DL01 Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway Hunslet 2-6-2 Tank Loco No.14 which was rescued from Sierra Leone. I have modelled the kit as a freelance Hunslet and this is a very good runner.

Today I filled in the waterfall and stream. I had already added the base water using a Woodland Scenics 'Realistic Water product and on top of that I added strands of Deluxe Products' Scenic Fibre glued in place for the main drop of the waterfall and where the stream runs around rocks. Once the glue holding the...

This weekend I have finished painting the lock gates. There is a base coat of black followed by dry brush burnt umber and then a light grey with a hint of burnt umber. The metal parts were picked out with a little rust detail and then the lock gates were finally super glued into place. I have not attached the hand...

Southwold Sharpie Locomotive No. 6 is partially constructed with the chassis complete and most of the body work in place. This is a Golden Arrow Productions Kit NL2 - Southwold Railway 2-4-0T / 2-4-2T. I have constructed this as a 2-4-0T running on a chopped Grafar chassis - possibly a 2-6-0. It's a great looking...

Locomotive number 04 is a GEM Baldwin kit on a Grafar chassis. I started to build this before I had finished Locomotive No. 03, about 1980 but it was never finished. this engine was rediscovered during a clear out in 2005 although I had known it was somewhere because many of the detailing pieces were in my bits box....

Roco diesel Classic Roco 060 diesel dark green with black roof. This engine was purchased in 1985 at a small model shop in Faversham. This was the first engine to test the Loxley Barton Falls track and it only just made the sharp curve. No.5 is a very reliable engine and an excellent runner.

Loxley Barton Falls is a 009 gauge railway layout built for the Cubic Challenge competition held at the 2005 ExpoNG Narrow Gauge Railway Exhibition in Swanley, Kent, UK on October 29th. The rules state that the layout must fit into an imaginary 500mm cube - no part, other than lighting and controllers, is allowed...

Baldwin Locomotive No. 03 Locomotive number 03 is a GEM Baldwin kit on a Grafar chassis. I built this in about 1980 and it runs well but the pony truck is a little troublesome over some point work. I added a copper strip over the motor to look like a firebox - needs to be a different colour. These days the Baldwin...

Ffestiniog Prince. I think this is a Gem Kit. I bought it in the Portmadoc Station of the Ffestiniog Railway in about 1976 (they don't sell any kits these days - pity). The chassis is an Arnold 040 and has not run for years. Needs some tender loving care and a rebuild.