Thornton Glen is set during the 1950’s to 1960’s and is still very much under construction. In keeping with the club tradition of naming layouts after local areas, this layout takes its name from the fact that – as described in greater detail on the club history page – the club originally started out in Thornton then later moved to Glenrothes.
Thornton Glen is a fictional Scottish location and on the layout the main junction station sits in the centre along with a small engine shed and goods yard. This area is then sandwiched by a large factory to its left and a quarry to its right (both rail served). The town is also served by a canal that can be seen running along the front of the layout.
The layout consists of seven 6′ x 4′ boards arranged in the shape of a ‘C’, and thus measures 26′ x 12′ at its widest point. In terms of the track plan the layout offers plenty of operational interest and flexibility since it is arranged as a combined continuous run and end-to-end layout by using a through fiddle yard for the main line and a separate turning board for the branch line. Perhaps much to the pleasing of the environmental lobby, the turning board has been recycled from a previous layout. The electrical wiring of the track and control panels are more or less complete with the focus now being on the scenery and buildings.
The stock running on this layout will consist of:
- Steam locomotives, which were still running towards the end of the steam era.
- Early diesel locomotives mainly in BR green livery.
Another selection of photos can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.