Channel Tunnel Terminal - N Gauge Display

[NGS-PO]

An interesting video found on YouTube:

Best

Scott

[exmouthcraig]

Remember seeing this in RM from early 90s, absolutely brilliant, did this use to sit in the middle of the terminal building on the UK side??.

Definitely a layout to spend a good length of time watching

[Snowwolflair]

Just TOO FAST 

[RailGooner]

  Anyone up for another NGF gathering?

http://www.elhamvalleylinetrust.org/

[ntpntpntp]

The museum thing at Peene is just down the road from me.  It is quite interesting and there's a pleasant craft shop and cafe next to it if you're quite local, but I dunno if worth a long journey just to see it.  Maybe combine with a visit to the RH&DR, or maybe the Battle of Britain museum in Hawkinge for example?

[joe cassidy]

Too fast, too squeaky clean, too soul-less - where are the people ?

The best part was the closing footage of the spam can hauling Pullmans

[ntpntpntp]

Too fast, too squeaky clean, too soul-less - where are the people ?

That is true, but remember this was a huge automated layout at the Channel Tunnel exhibition centre. I think of it more along the lines of an architect/developer's model rather than a model railway. The museum at Peene now only has the Folkestone side of the original layout.

I believe it was an excellent developing/proving ground for the wonderfully powerful and reliable CJM Saturn chassis 

[Skyline2uk]

I have had a conversation with one of the volunteers looking after / running the remaining section of the original layout from the Channel Tunnel exhibition.

It may have even been on this forum. Locos (Class 92s and Le Shuttle Units) originally developed in conjunction with CJM are still going strong.

@PostModN66 has what is believed to be an SNCF Class 92 originating from this, which he was kind enough to run for me on "Deansmoor" at the Trainwest show last April 

Skyline2uk

[Upperton]

I visited the site at Folkstone several times in the early 90s and remember seeing it in person. Was quite impressive, with plenty of large scale fish swimming above the "English Channel" portion. Nice to see some of it had been preserved and in good working order.

[PostModN66]

@PostModN66 has what is believed to be an SNCF Class 92 originating from this, which he was kind enough to run for me on "Deansmoor" at the Trainwest show last April 

I bought my 92 on eBay at a "buy it now" of £125.   I showed it to Chris Marchant, and he said it was one of the Channel Tunnel Model ones.

It has run a fair few miles on Deansmoor now, in addition to whatever it did in a previous life; could do with a bit of a refurb!


Cheers Jon 

[jrb]

I remember seeing this at the exhibition centre too, in the middle of the development on the UK side. I remember being jealous of all the road vehicles, and how I could use them on my layout The rolling stock back then was all very basic vac-formed bodyshells IIRC, with windows & other details just printed on.

I remember there was also a tower with a viewing platform at the top, where you could see the entire construction site (at least, the above-ground bits!)

I had wondered once or twice in the intervening years what happened to it...

[Upperton]

I remember there was also a tower with a viewing platform at the top, where you could see the entire construction site (at least, the above-ground bits!)

I think the viewing tower is possibly still there. Coming down the M20 south bound on the right hand side by the Cheriton exit is a structure similar to what my young teenage memory recalls climbing up.

I was in the ATC at the time too, and often flew Chipmunks out of Manston. On a few occasions I asked the instructor if we could fly down that way for a birds eye view of the construction site.

[Bob G]

I too went to see it when the build was on, and this layout was in the exhibition centre.
At the time almost all of the visible points were dummies. The idea was to have NO derailments at all, and so where different lines merged the running line was live and the joining dummy line only appeared to join the running line. There were no frogs, no switches, nothing.
A perfect exhibition layout as all you needed to do was keep the trains running.
It may have been modified since the tunnel was completed and the layout has new owners, as I could see pointwork on this video.

Modern exhibitors take note - and this is heeded by Network rail too - the fewer points on the running lines the better.

Best
Bob

[ntpntpntp]

I remember there was also a tower with a viewing platform at the top, where you could see the entire construction site (at least, the above-ground bits!)

Yes it's still there but I don't think it's open at all. My office is just a few metres from it in the old call centre building (not the ex- exhibition centre itself)

The old boring machine that had "For Sale" painted on the side is long gone 

[StufromEGDL]

Hi Gang,

A number of years ago I picked up a CJM 92 on a Minitrix chassis for a bargain price on E-Bay. The photo was a bit fuzzy and the title/description was vague but a gamble paid off. The loco was a bit tatty but Chris kindly gave the body a ‘breathe over’ and refused (in a nice way) to replace a perfectly working minitrix chassis (with CJM bogies/underframes).
He also proved its provenance as one of the original Channel Tunnel layout locos. This loco has quite rightly a top place in my fleet and is a testament to Chris’ workmanship...and, in this case, the durability of the minitrix parented chassis.

Later,
Stu from EGDL.