Mention Newton Heath to most railway enthusiasts, and images of rows of rundown steam locomotives in a smoky depot during the last days of steam may well be imagined.
Our ‘Newton Heath’ is very different, lying on the remote heathland that stretches from the western shores of Poole Harbour to the Purbeck Hills in Dorset, an area rich in high-quality clay, much sought after by the ceramics industry, among others.
Our model was built primarily as an exhibition layout, and, although freelance in nature, we have taken features from these railways in an attempt to capture some of the atmosphere of the area around the middle of the 20th Century. The scene represents the clay works buildings that may have existed at the once extensive clay pit at Newton.
