It was several years ago now. I was surfing the internet looking for model railway related websites for inspiration to build a layout and I happened across Carl Arendts’ description of his Squarefoot estate railway. A Gn15 layout in under 1 square foot. I was absolutely capitvated by the layout not only for its small size. But also for this (then) new scale of Gn15 using 00/H0 mechanisms with G scale to represent 15″ gauge miniature railways. As an apartment dweller at the time small layouts were the way to go and having made contact with Carl and learned more of his “micro layout” philosophy. I started planning small layouts in Gn15 and building some Gn15 stock ready for whatever I ended up constructing.
Then my wife and I bought a house, complete with model railway room. I could start building a layout. More details of the layouts will follow later. But the first layout was built, then a second, then a third… I was also building stock at the same time. Gn15 had really bitten. I was founder member of the Gn15 forum “the Gnatterbox” amongst other things. After A few years I hit my Gn15 peak – the layout you see the picture of at the top of this page. “Purespring Watercress”. The layout was featured in the magazine “Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railway Modelling Review” and achieved a certain celebrity in the Gn15 world (a poster on the Gnatterbox once described “the Purespring effect”). Which was great, yet a curse too. How could I follow it? I couldn’t. Three years later I still can’t. So for the moment I’ve quit Gn15 and diverted my model making efforts towards other scales. Will I return to Gn15? I don’t know. Gn15 taught me a lot. I developed skills that I never knew that I had. Skills that I have been able to adapt to the other scales I’m working in now. But for the moment Gn15 doesn’t grab my attention the way it used to. So let’s crack on and chart my path through Gn15. I’ll try and post about all the layouts and models that I’ve built. Let me tell you there is a lot to go through, even some unfinished projects too. I’ll try to post quite regularly, so keep checking back.
