The Club builds and operates layouts in a variety of scales.
Sliding Doors – Red or Blue?
Class 321 Electrical Multiple Units (nick named Dusty bins) are the work horse unit on the Great Eastern main line through Ingatestone on the Essex and Suffolk commuter trains. They come in 4 car formations, but run in multiple to cope with the peak hour demand, so we need a number of them. Although …read more.
Feb 25, 2019
An update from Ingatestone – Aug 2018
Chris Ibbotson has been busy bringing a Hornby Class 90 up to a better standard. This model was fair representation when first released many years ago but suffered from many of the issues that are a result of Hornby’s wish to produce a product that was both a toy and a model. But this has been over come by …read more.
Aug 4, 2018
MRC Test Tracks at Warley 50
It’s been a busy first day at Warley for the MRC Test Tracks. A constant stream of locomotives kept the test team busy, with new owners were being reassured to see their purchases successfully running round the tracks. A handful of non-runners were identified, these were returned to suppliers for replacement or refunded.
Nov 25, 2017
Ingatestone Update: Field Trip!
One of the advantages of building a modern image layout like Ingatestone is you get the opportunity to visit the prototype to get up to speed on exactly what you are building. So with master craftsman Eric Sainte visiting from Belgium we arranged a field trip which had almost a full turnout from the Ingatestone …read more.
Jul 30, 2017Prefab platforms
We have started the building of our platforms on Ingatestone 00 which are of two types – traditional brick and the later extensions using a pre-fabricated concrete system (see header picture). This has meant we have been busy making prefabricated plastic components too! And they have to be laid out accurately so that the …read more.
May 27, 2017
“Blacklade” in Hornby Magazine
MRC member Stephen Siddle’s OO gauge layout “Blacklade” is featured in the June 2016 edition of Hornby Magazine – which is on sale now. You can get a taster for the layout on our Blog, but there is more about it including some lovely pictures in the magzine.
May 16, 2016
Ingatestone headlines at The MRC Open House !
Ingatestone had it’s first official display yesterday at Keen House. Receiving many positive comments and considerable interest, we ran our first official train round the layout, powered by Dapol’s forthcoming Class 68 locomotive. Below are pictures of the banner being broken by the first train,together with some other shots taken by the Ingatestone crew! We …read more.
May 9, 2016
A point for Ingatestone
The track plan for Ingatestone is relatively simple, at least on the scenic part. However there are two points required and the requirement was for a “B7”. Here’s a quick guide to how it was built – you can try yourself at one of our Track Building skills transfer day. Although the key to building a …read more.
May 7, 2016
Ingatestone gets ready for open house !
Great progress has been made on Ingatestone since the last appearance at Ally Pally last month. We are now attached to our joint fiddle yard. We have run the main track power bus along the remaining front boards 1,2 and 3 and added jumper connections between the boards. The foam sub-base for the landscaping …read more.
Apr 26, 2016
Ingatestone readies for Ally Pally
With our first official outing only 6 weeks away, when we will be showing as a work in progress at the London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace – have a look at: www.world-of-railways.co.uk/shows/show/the-london-festival-of-railway-modelling/ This last weekend, Lawrence, Mo and Tom were hard at work progressing the side board boxes and getting our …read more.
Feb 2, 2016
3 Red Panniers Project – Blog 2: It’s ‘EM’ Easy
Progress on L96 continues as I make preparations for detailing on the tank body. Meanwhile, I have started work on the second Pannier ‘L90’ which will be converted to EM (18.2 mm) gauge. For this, I have bought a Gibson conversion package which includes the following: OO/EM Wheel set + Axles Crankpins Coupling Rod Bushes …read more.
Jan 23, 2016
3 Red Panniers Project – Blog 1: Farewell GWR
Red Pannier Tanks became a standard feature on the London Transport Network until the 70’s. Their small size was ideal for transporting goods across the Sub-surface network, many were seen trundling across the Metropolitan Line in the final years of Steam on the Underground. There has always been something about Panniers that I have found …read more.
Jan 9, 2016