There was a time when I would have been satisfied with almost anything in N Gauge. The hobby was served by a very limited number of Ready-to-Run manufacturers and the kit industry was often based around relatively coarse white metal kits or relatively poor resin kits. Those resin models even seemed to bend a little with age. 

It is a different world now. With modern homes being so much smaller and space at a premium, N Gauge is the new 00!

Model quality is high and standards are still rising. Modelling techniques have improved so much that it is at times difficult to tell the difference between N and 0, let alone 00.

The space available in N Gauge, together with the quality of models available mean that there has never been a better time to switch to N Gauge from other gauges/scales!

Just a few examples ……

1. The N Gauge Society Journal 3/19, p92. ….

The journal carried this picture of a sleepy scene of the goods yard at Wrenton with cattle waiting on the dock to be loaded. ‘Wrenton’ [1][2] is Roger Beckwith’s superb layout which was featured, along with an article about how he built the outstanding building models, in N Gauge Society Journal 4/18. … Are you sure that this is N Gauge?

Roger Beckwith has supplied a monochrome version of the same picture below. …. Is it really N Gauge?

2. N Gauge Society Journal 3/19 (back cover)

This picture comes from the back cover of the Society Journal and features the Ableton Vale Layout. [3][4]

3. The Derwent Valley Railway

The Derwent Valley Railway is a might-have-been railway connecting the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway to the Dore and Chinley line between Rowsley and Grindleford, following the course of the Derwent River past the Chatsworth estate. [5]

4. Stamford East

Robin Fox has this model on the exhibition circuit. [6]

5. Ashburton

A few photographs of Ashburton made (in N Gauge) by John Birkett-Smith which appeared in BRM Magazine. The layout also featured on the front cover of N Gauge Society Journal 6/19. [7]

6. Bridgford

A view of ‘Bridgford’ by Alistair Knox at the Warrington Show. [8] This image and those following immediately come from the N Gauge Society website. 

7. Wickwar

The layout ‘Wickwar’ by the Farnham & District Model Railway Club, taken at the Fareham show October 2017 using a mobile phone (Samsung Galaxy 6). [8]

8. Melton Mowbray

‘The Northern’ at Melton Mowbray, created by John Spence and Steve Weston. [12]

9. Shirebrook

Added at the request of a member on RMWeb. These three pictures are taken with permission from a flickr page. [13]

10. Blueball Summit

Also added at the request of someone on RMWeb. The video was made in September 2016 and is available on YouTube. [14]

Blueball Summit’s buildings are also exceptional. there are a few pictures below. [14]

11. Buildings

I find it really hard to believe that many of these models (both full layouts and individual buildings) are not at least 00-gauge models, (if not modelled in larger scales). Here are a few examples of the quality of buildings now being scratch-built in N Gauge. The first comes from ‘Wrenton’.The Red Lion in Wrenton, by Roger Beckwith. [10]Marylebone Railway Station modelled in N Gauge by Mark Eaton. This picture was included in the N Gauge Society Journal 1/19. [11]5 different images of structures on Bluebell Summit made by Andy Stroud. [14]

12. Hereford in N Gauge

Just not got as far as I could have done with my own model of Hereford Station in N Gauge. But here are a few pictures of my father-in-law’s work. The quality of my photography does not match the quality of the modelling! [11] My father-in-law, David built the model of the station building at Hereford and the two large goods sheds. The back scene, smaller buildings on the layout and the station footbridge are my own work.

References

1. Wrenton: http://www.roger-beckwith.co.uk/mr/mr1.htm, accessed on 24th May 2019.
2. Wrenton: https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38682.0, accessed on 24th May 2019.
3. Ambleton Vale: https://www.ambletonvale.com, accessed on 24th May 2019.
4. Ambleton Vale: https://www.facebook.com/ambletonvale, accessed on 24th May 2019.
5. The Derwent Valley: http://www.mansfieldmodelrailway.co.uk/2010/02/derwent-valley-railway, accessed on 24th May 2019.
6. Stamford East: http://www.nmdrm.co.uk/2014exhibition.html, accessed on 24th May 2019.
7. Ashburton: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/brm/model-railways/n/ashburton-in-n-gauge, accessed on 24th May 2019.
8. Bridgford: http://newweb.ngaugesociety.com/?page_id=79, accessed on 24th May 2019.
9. Wickwar: http://newweb.ngaugesociety.com/?page_id=79, accessed on 24th May 2019.
10. Wrenton: https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=38682.0, accessed on 24th May 2019.
11. Marylebone: N Gauge Society Journal 1/19.
12. Melton Mowbray: https://www.meltontimes.co.uk/news/website-set-up-to-promote-n-gauge-railway-model-1-5494948, accessed on 24th May 2019.
13. https://www.flickr.com/photos/135257675@N08/with/33929158108, accessed on 11th June 2019.
14. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/82477-blueball-summit, accessed on 11th June 2019.