Aireworth

3mm scale 12 mm Gauge

O/A size 25’ X 7’6”

Aireworth is the latest in a long line of 3mm layouts built by Phil Kirtley and nobly assisted by the Keighley club. It was designed to be able to operate scale length trains and provide interesting operation.

The track is code 80 rail on 3mm Society copperclad sleepers. The locos are a mixture of Triang, Gem and other whitemetal kits with etched brass and scratchbuilt locos all themed to represent the types that were running in West Yorkshire in the 1960’s.The carrages are a mixture of Kitmaster, and Worsley Works etched brass with most of the wagons from the extensive 3mm Society range. Metal wheels and fittings from the 3mm Society are used throughout

The scenery is made to indicate a backdrop of the Yorkshire industrial towns as they existed in the period modelled.

The layout was sold to John Stokes and is being refurbished at the Aire Valley Railway Modellers Club in Keighley. John’s notes below continue the story.

Aireworth is a 3mm scale, 12mm gauge layout and demonstrates the benefits of the scale; ie more railway in a given space than “OO” and bigger than “N” gauge scale making it easier to model. The layout was constructed by Mr Philip Kirtley and help by Mr Peter Langthorne in the 1970’s, and was designed from the beginning to be operated prototypically by several operators in both a Club and Exhibition environment.

Being set in the industrial area of West Yorkshire, this fictitious layout is of a typical Northern Town Station with railway of the L&Y, Midland and NER origins and features scratch built scale models of prominent KEIGHLEY buildings. You may recognise Carnegie Library or the Town Hall and seasoned rail travellers should notice the back of Cavendish Street. All buildings are restored to their former glory with all blemishes removed. A photo spread featuring Aireworth appeared in Model Railways, Novembers 1993 issue.

Overall size of the layout was 25’ft by 8’ft and as now been extended to 25’ft by 10’ft wide, this gives a 2’ft wide extension of one board at the side of the station board and a lift up section at the Nursery Close end, the lift up section add is so that us old portly operators can easily get into the middle to operate instead of having to duck under the layout to get in or out, it also gives us more room to move around inside without bumping into each other.

The layout includes a large Terminal Station at one end for a full passenger time table service, a Freight Yard in the middle to give lots of work for the operator, make up and braking down goods trains, a comprehensive Loco Shed at the other end for the arrival and departure of all locos. Round the back we have an incline which takes all the stock up to or down from the high level, a four track main line traverses across the station and front of layout in both directions, for the running of trains around, for viewing before they are stabled around the back of the layout.

There are four control positions one for the Station, one for the Goods Yard, one for the Loco Deport and one for the Main Fiddle Yard.

Since the demise of Tri-ang TT over fifty Years ago the stock running on Aireworth is still going strong.

Aireworth in the past have tried to run both Tri-ang TT and Three Millimetre Society products together, but suffered with stock coming off and now only runs Tri-ang TT or Tri-ang may have beens or Three Millimetre products fitted on to Tri-ang chassis.

Locos are a mixture of Tri-ang and Three Millimetre Society white metal kits, coaches are Tri-ang, Three Millimetre and Kitmaster on Tri-ang chassis, wagons are Tri-ang and Three Millimetre on Tri-ang chassis.

The Three Millimetre Society came into being in the late 1960’s and they have available to its members a vast array of locos, coaches and wagons kits. Also available is a comprehensive components list of track and scenic items. It has helped and contributed to the development of Aireworth and still helps in keeping it in running order.

Now in its senior years it is being housed and revamped to its former glory, at Aire Valley Railway Modellers Club, where the time table is still being operated.