This is a Club Layout built by a team of Club members
Although there are several places in Britain named Broad Oak this one is fictitious but could have been situated somewhere in the West Midlands. Built around the early 1900’s it was inevitable that a lot of it was based on Great Central design and practices. It is set in the 60’s; steam was well on the way out and many of the new diesels are being used both for express and local trains including passenger and freight albeit goods traffic was on the decline. Nevertheless steam still had a tenuous grip on the line therefore ex LNER, GWR and BR Standard designs were often seen with the very occasional interloper from other regions. Sadly these were in ever declining numbers and by 1968 all steam had gone.
The small town which the station serves has a steadily increasing population which has started to stimulate the growth of passenger traffic; this being in spite of the rise in car ownership. In defiance of the best efforts of Beeching and several self interested politicians the line was not closed and traffic continued to grow. Today Broad Oak is a thriving dormitory town with hundreds of long suffering daily commuters affected by time-table changes and overcrowding every working day. However you are seeing it in earlier, more relaxed times.
January 2026
Broad Oak is stored away. It will require being set up to check before going to Dereham on 21st February and to Wyndham on the 7th of March.
Mick also mentioned they could use some help transporting and operating the layout, a show of hands indicated enough vehicles were available. David Thompson suggested that it would be useful to erect Broad Oak for a bit longer than planned and the time used to train more operators, this was agreed to.
exhibition requirements
| Layout Size | 20′ x 2′ |
| Operating space | 23′ x 5′ |
| Number of operators | Four |
| Number of cars to transport | Two |
| Maximum distance for travel | No overnight stays |
| Tables & chairs required | 1 table , 2 chairs |