Building a Layout Around the Southern Railway 2-BIL EMU

Hornby 2-BIL EMU

Hornby have now released their R3161A Southern Railway 2-BIL EMU twin pack, and it's such a handsome model that I thought I might like to try and incorporate it into a shelf layout that I'm thinking of building.

It turns out that it might not be 100% appropriate (and also that my skills aren't quite good enough yet to do it justice) but I thought I'd share my research with you.

So, from the top - the 2-BIL units were built from 1935 to 1938, and were DC third rail EMUs. They lasted into the 1970s, under the TOPS Class 401 allocation. If you ever wanted to see one in the flesh, the only preserved example is in the National Railway Museum, in York, according to the Southern Electric website.

Looking at photos, it looks as if the Metcalfe Signal Box would work nicely alongside the Class 401 (I'm using the TOPS classification because my layout would be based in 1970 or thereabouts), but I remain undecided on what kind of station would be best.


To further research this, before buying any extra buildings, I'd need to consult something like Modelling the Southern, an excellent book by Jeremy English. It's subtitled 'Ideas and Inspiration' and would help to avoid any serious faux pas.

My initial idea was to have the passenger component running on an auto-shuttle, something like the Gaugemaster SS-1, and then have a DCC based interactive shunting part based around some kind of goods yard or scrap metal merchant.

Since I'm pretty much a diesel fan, that leaves only the Class 12 of the three diesels that were built by the Southern Railway company. The other two were retired and cut up before the 1970 cut-off date that I'm envisaging.

However, I can't seem to find anyone who makes the Class 12; the closest I can get is the Class 08, which would have to be re-engineered a little to become a Class 12, if indeed it's possible. This is one of the reasons I've decided not to go the SR route at this time.

Examples of other Southern Railway rolling stock are available, all of which could be used to give the layout an authentic feel. They're just not really my bag!

As for layout ideas, I was also wondering if something like this Mile by Mile book might have been a good source of inspiration, had I decided to stay with the topic.

I'm a fan of research, and this book, covering the railway in 1947 would have been a good source of historical information pertaining to the use of the railway, and its original raison d'etre.

Another good book for helping research is the Southern Railway Handbook, which I still plan on purchasing as it will no doubt come in handy in the future since it covers the whole period from 1923 to 1947, complete with pictures.

What I'm really hoping for with this book is a good background in the steam/diesel transition years, which is a period that I hope to model into an exhibition quality shelf layout, once I've honed my skills on my current projects.

For more information about either of these titles, just click the images.

Other ideas for a Southern Railway layout might include coastal operations, such as various imported goods that would come into the UK by way of the various ports.

The nature of these goods will depend on the era. Perhaps a more easily accessible prototypical freight operation would include cattle and milk. A good initial source of information for Southern Railway modellers is the Wikipedia article on the topic.

Have fun!