Name of Layout - Magdalene Lane
Scale - 4mm/ft. OO
Era - LNER, 1923-1939
Size - 13ft X 20in.
Operating space required - 18ft X 8ft (includes space to barriers).
Number of operators - 2/3
Value for insurance - £1500
Magdalene Lane is a NER passenger station, converted for use as a goods depot. The layout is set in the period between 1923 and 1939 and seeks to capture the flavour of LNER stock and operations.
The layout is based on Gilesgate Station in Durham City, which was the first passenger station in the city. The station closed to passengers very early in its life (1857, after the opening of the present Durham Station) and became Durham Goods Station. It passed into BR ownership, and continued in use until 1966. Later, it became a DIY store used by J & G Archibalds, and recently has been converted to a hotel and restaurant.
The train shed and house still exist as they are listed buildings, but some of the site was demolished to make way for the A690 to A1M link road. The conversion to a hotel and restaurant has sympathetically retained most of the original architecture.
A variety of kit built and ready to run stock can be seen on the layout which is basically a shunting operation. Although DC controlled, the layout is actually 'DCC ready' and can be converted by plugging in a control unit and flicking a switch.
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