Ridings - a 4mm working Trolleybus layout
Part of the Trolleybuses Galore site.    (What is a Trolleybus? Click here to find out).


Main site

Sections:

More Photos Below

Photos from the 2015 Sheffield Exhibition, where the new Huddersfield trolleybus was unveiled - see photos on the right and below and in the Vehicles section on the left.

 

This view from the back shows all three trolleybuses. From L to R are: Huddersfield 631 - a Sunbeam S7 with East Lancs bodywork, Bradford 704 - a Karrier W4 with East Lancs front entrance bodywork and Huddersfield 541 - a Karrier MS2 with Park Royal bodywork. (>>)

 

NEWS:  2016 - "Ridings" is being prepared for exhibitions next year. 2017 - "Ridings" is due to be exhibited at the Tramway Museum, Crich, at their Models Weekend August 19th and 20th 2017.

        2015: "Ridings" appeared at the Sheffield Model Railway, Bus and Tram exhibition on 13th June 2015. This was the last time this exhibition was held at the Sheffield United Reformed Church hall. Pictures above.

        2013: "Ridings" appeared at the Sheffield Model Railway, Bus and Tram Exhibition on 22nd June where it operated very well. it also appeared at the Huddersfield Railway Modeller's exhibition on 26th/27th October, where it was very well received, winning the 'Best Layout in Show' award - pictures below.

        2011 - Railway Modeller magazine commissioned an article on Ridings in 2010. A professional photographer came to take pictures; these, along with some further detailed pictures, set the scene for an article I wrote for them during the year. The resulting article appeared in the November 2011 issue of Railway Modeller. Photos taken for the article can be seen by clicking here.

        2010 - "Ridings" appeared at the Huddersfield Railway Modeller's Exhibition in Holmfirth on the 30th/31st October and was voted Best in Show - see photos below.
        
2009 - "Ridings" appeared at the Bradford Model Railex on 18/19th April. It was very well received, and indeed won recognition by taking the Chairman's Choice Shield. It also appeared at the Sheffield Model Railway, Bus and Tram Exhibition on 20th June 2009.
       
2008 - "Ridings" appeared at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft's Model Weekend on the 13th &14th September and also at the Model Bus Federation's AGM in Sheffield on the 4th October.
         2007 - "Ridings" appeared at the Sheffield Model Railway, Bus and Tram Exhibition on 23rd June 2007 complete with the new extension (albeit in its early stages).
         2006 The first full year "Ridings" was exhibited turned out to be quite busy! It was at the Model Railway, Bus, Trolleybus and Tram Exhibition in Sheffield on the 17th June. It also appeared at the Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft's Model Weekend on 16th/17th September where it worked very well. "Ridings" was also invited to the Huddersfield Railway Modellers Exhibition on 28th/29th October 2006, where it caused quite a stir amongst the traditional railway layouts!

Click here for pictures from the above events, and of the layout at previous stages for comparison (bottom of this page). Click on any of the photos for a larger version.

       LATEST:  The building of the Extension continues with the scenery. The Extension makes Ridings around 50% bigger, and gives more operational variety to both the railway and the buses - see Extension Pages (link above left). The latest is the addition of DCC control for the trolleybuses and the addition of a Huddersfield Park Royal trolleybus.
Click here for Videos of Ridings! (Now working again)

Latest Awards:

Best Layout in Show - Holmfirth 2013

This project started some years ago - too many to remember actually.   The idea was to build a 4mm scale (1:76) layout with working trolleybuses on it.   A railway as well was a natural addition as items for these are readily available, although I took the decision to operate 'unusual' stock, as opposed to those easily obtained, so long as they operated in the Yorkshire area of England.   It is based in the mid-1960's, when trolleybuses still plied the streets in great numbers, but the cut-backs on the railways had already led to some line closures and diesels were complementing steam operation.

Obviously the idea relied on steering the trolleybuses.  At first, I tried electronic guidance from a wire carrying a high-frequency signal - even having to obtain a radio licence to do so - but eventually settled on a magnetic method.  The railway part has been constructed for a while, but the technical problems with building the working trolleybuses were too great to overcome with the limited engineering tools I had at my disposal.   However, the resurgence of my interest in trolleybuses led to intense activity on the layout, and then the Faller road guidance system became more readily available, and this was used to supersede my own vehicle steering system.

Why "Ridings"?   Well, the connotations with riding on trolleys were too great to resist! In addition, Huddersfield is in the old West Riding of Yorkshire, and the layout pinches bits of the scenery and buildings from around the Ridings of Yorkshire.  For example, Ridings Station is based on Armley (Canal Road), the Town Hall and the roundabout in front of it is based on Bradford, the moors are based on the Pennine moors above Huddersfield, and the canal is based on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal which disappears into a tunnel at Standedge.

In this section you can the follow the links above left to views of the layout under construction - firstly the main layout and then the extension which carries the canal part, and also to the vehicles and the locomotives. Below are wider-angle photographs from events visited.

Questions? Comments? Exhibition Manager? You can contact me at


An interesting shot taken at the Sheffield 2013 exhibition, showing the layout before the scenic items have been positioned. (>>)


The Lockwood Trophy for Best Layout in Show - Holmfirth 2010.

The Chairman's Choice Shield - Bradford 2009.

 Six pictures from the 2013 Exhibitions

Photographs of the Ridings from 2010 Exhibitions:


Picture of the Town Centre and new Extension taken at the Huddersfield Railway Modeller's October 2010 Holmfirth Exhibition.


An atmospheric shot of the station area with the Huddersfield trolleybus and new Bradford trolleybus.


A view looking back down the developing extension.


The layout won the 'Lockwood Trophy' for Best layout in Show, by public vote.

Photographs of the Ridings from 2009 Exhibitions:


Views of "Ridings" at the Bradford Model Railway Club's Exhibition in April.
Above - the Extension end of Ridings, with the Chairman's Choice Shield.

A long view from the moors end of the layout at the Bradford Exhibition.


At the Sheffield Model Railway, Bus and Tram Exhibition in June 2009, showing the Town Centre from a different angle.

Photographs of the Ridings from 2008 Exhibitions:

MBF AGM, Sheffield 2008 (2)

MBF AGM, Sheffield 2008 (1)

Above and left: Ridings at the Model Bus Federation's AGM, October 2008

Sandtoft 2008 (1)             Sandtoft 2008 (2)
Above - Ridings at Sandtoft in September 2008

Photographs of the Ridings extension at the Model Exhibition in Sheffield, June 2007. The newly-built Extension was taken for trials, even though it wasn't finished scenically. The operation of it went very well, and lessons learned were acted upon after the exhibition.

Sheffield 2007 (1)

Sheffield 2007 (2)

Photographs of Ridings at the Huddersfield Railway Modellers Exhibition in October 2006:

HRM 2006 (5)

HRM 2006 (3)

HRM 2006 (4)

Photographs of Ridings at the Model Exhibition in Sheffield, June 2006:

Sheffield 2006 (1) Sheffield 2006 (2)

Photographs of Ridings in very basic form at the Model Exhibition in Sheffield, June 2005:

Sheffield 2005 (1)

Sheffield 2005 (2)