Setting

Inspired by the limestone valleys of the Derbyshire Peak District, Lacey Dale portrays a section of the old main line between London and Manchester via Derby. The line criss-crossed the river Wye on several viaducts and used tunnels to straighten the route through this winding valley.

To add operational and visual interest, a fictitious local branch line has been added to the valley floor where the local station and goods yard provided a link through the hills to the nearby town.

Model

The layout is modelled in British N-Gauge with a scale of 1:148, using Peco code 55 track and ready to run rolling stock from several manufacturers.

Control for the layout is provided by NCE Power Cab DCC systems. The upper and lower levels are on separate circuits.

Points are operated using a mix of traditional switch to point motor wiring and more recently a Layout Control Bus (LCB) which has been introduced for the remainder of the points, signal control and train detection. The use of the LCB greatly reduces the wiring complexity and simplifies the inter-board connections.

For exhibitions (or just watching the trains go by), the high level can be run under full automation, using a PC and Java Model Railroad Software (JMRI). Using this system up to 16 trins will be driven round the layout without operator intervention, leaving more time for drinking tea.