Somerset & Dorset inspiration

Having already found plenty of inspiration in Chris Nevard's Combwich model (and unashamedly based my layout plan on his, given the similarity in layout dimensions and general prototype era), yesterday afternoonI found myself following web links about the Somerset and Dorset Railway and happened across 3218.co.uk where there is an absolutely superb collection of black & white photos of the last days of steam on the S&D.

There's something incredibly evocative about these images of trains ambling across the Someset levels.

While I don't intend to stick strictly to any exact prototype location with my model, these photos along with the Combwich model have fuelled my imagination enough that I think I'm going to base my model at least loosely on the S&D - albeit a fictional section of line and location and probably with a few items of rolling stock that wouldn't have appeared on the S&D itself.

(Photo copyright Ian D. McKechnie - http://www.3218.co.uk)