Kings Lynn O Gauge Group Modular Layout

Kings Lynn O Gauge Group Modular Layout (Sometimes known as the Shale Oil line and featured in Railway Modeller) 

Several modules are being built to a common specification, some are straight, some curved but all are capable of being erected in any combination and so far, we have only taken three modules to shows:

Frackingham – Shale Oil extraction in West Norfolk by John Hobden
Frackingham was a sleepy Norfolk hamlet until the oil rush of the 1920s hit the district. Oil shale was being quarried and processed at Setch which prompted the English Oilfields Company to open an exploratory pit at Frackingham. This proved to be no more successful than the workings at Setch and, but the crushing house and retort house were constructed with a conveyor to link the two. 

Oil from Norfolk shale proved to have too high a sulphur content for most purposes unlike the better-quality oil shales from Scotland, but production continued until the 1960s on a small scale for cosmetics manufacture.  The initial pit was worked out by 1930 when No2 pit was commenced.  When this too was worked out an adit (horizontal passage) was sunk from No 2 pit as the shale was much deeper than in the first pits or at Setch.





West Norfolk has a long history of minerals extraction and still in 2021 trainloads of high-quality industrial sand are conveyed from the Sibelco site at Middleton.  Explore the extensive rail networks which served these industries at maps.nls.uk/geo/find/

Kinnel – A viaduct across a steep sided valley by Tony Sparks




Frackingham No 2 Pit – An extension to Frackingham that can be right next to the crushing plant or separated by other modules also by John Hobden.

Boards are of a minimum length of 1.2m (4’-0” nominal), by 600mm (2’-0” nominal) Consistent standards are achieved by using an aluminium template. Trackwork is to 32mm gauge, two-rail, fine scale 29mm back-to-back to Gauge 0 Guild standards. Curvature to be to a minimum 6’-0” radius to the ‘main line’ but lesser curvature may be acceptable in yard layouts. In the interests of avoiding expensive failures, the modular layout will either be in DC or DCC mode but NOT at the same time. Consideration is being given to allowing the fiddle yard to be separately DC controlled even if the main railway is in DCC mode, but only if there is a separating section controlled by a DPDT switch.

The one downfall of previously exhibited modular layouts has been the prominent mismatch between adjacent boards and the scenery colour. We have carefully matched the colours and textures at the ends of boards so that any combination may be used together.