Situated in the idyllic village of Iden, near the ancient town of Rye in East Sussex on the sunny south coast of England. 
The purpose of this site is to provide for the Gauge 1 membership a record of our meetings at Iden and to share with other interested persons some of the pictures when we are enjoying this fascinating pastime.
Gauge 1 Association members meet once a month bringing their own locomotives and stock to run, chat and enjoy this most absorbing of hobbies. We come from all walks of life, some with a distinct engineering background, some who are ‘trying’ to be engineers and others who just enjoy running the giants of the past. Of course ours are models, but it has to be said, they still work in the same fashion as their bigger sisters.
Several members – like me – are building their own locomotives, carriages and wagons and these monthly meetings enable us to show off our efforts and to get technical help from the more skilled within the group and occasionally to pass on some of one’s own knowledge. 

The circuit consists of a double track of approximately 375 feet in length – folded ‘dog bone’ in shape with passing loops, storage sidings and a separate steaming bay area all at a constant level. Built at approximately 3 feet from the ground for most of the circuit but where the garden rises there are two 12' tunnels and a cutting.

Rails are mounted in resin cast chairs on Iroko sleepers bedded in granite and bonded with SBR adhesive. The sub bed is a 4 inch reinforced ribbon of concrete resting on 4 inch square tanalised timbers concreted 2 feet into the ground. The basic circuit has been in position for at least 10 years and there has been no deteriation in the running quality. All points have been hand laid in position as there are no straight rails in the circuit. Minimum radius of 14' 6" and only one cross-over between the running lines.

A recent addition in the making is an end to end branch line for the use of electrically driven locos, connected to the main circuit but having two 'small town' termini. This envisages shunting of wagons and passenger services with four stations. The gradient in places is 1 in 80 and has tighter radii. I have used Cliff Barker chairs with rail on Mahogany sleepers but points are still hand made.

The hedges which disguise the height are Lonicera Nitida which are very fast growing. The big disadvantage being that they have to be cut twice a month. They look good and if a train decides to derail it will not fall to the ground. Not happened yet! 

There are several features on the line, the viaduct being the most predominant - cast in concrete sections from rubber moulds and from  plasticard masters.  The tunnels have access hatches and resin cast entrances. Made by the 'cut and fill' method.  Branch line viaducts and transfer bridges are aluminium sections with resin details added. 

The speedometer accurately records a scale speed of passing locos keeping the performance of visiting engines to a realistic speed. The electronics inside were made for me by a very good friend , Ralph.

I build at 10mm to the foot (30 to 1) which means most of my models are scratch built. Retail commercial models are mostly 3/8" to the foot (32 to 1).  If I was starting again I probably would go 32 to 1 but it's too late now. Besides 10mm being that much larger has more 'presence' on the track especially when seen side by side!

Coaches and wagons are made from plasticard with resin details.  High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is a lovely material to work with and David Jenkinson's book of  'Carriage Modelling Made Easy' convinced me that this was the way to go. Underframes are etched or brass for strength. The only purchased items being wheel bearings and wagon wheels.

Engines are either kit built, scratch built or purchased as a 'one off'. The intention is to build a recognisable train to match an engine. Unfortunately there are not enough hours in the day to satisfy all my wishes. The big ambition still is to build a live steam engine from scratch. THIS WILL HAPPEN - SOMEDAY!