Bostcroft is an Eastern Region branch line terminus set in the late 1950’s.
I started building Bostcroft around 2003 and it’s first appeared at the 2009 Boston Exhibition.
The late 1950’s saw the beginning of the changeover to diesel traction following the Modernisation Plan of 1955. This allows the use of DMU’s and early diesel types alongside Steam locomotives with both the Early Emblem and Late Crest. The Late crest started appearing from 1958.
The layout is completely fictional. To build it I made use of many Metcalfe card kits and some Ready to Plant buildings from Bachmann and Hornby. The track is all Peco Code 100. The greenery is Woodland Scenic’s. The ploughed field is made from real mud collected from the garden. It was first sieved before being crushed and glued down with PVA glue mixed with water. The base of the field is corrugated cardboard.
Rolling Stock is ready to run from Hornby and Bachmann. When I first finished the layout there were very few Eastern Region locomotives available to modern standards apart from the large pacific’s. Therefore I purchased a range of London Midland locomotives to run the layout with. Now Hornby and Bachmann have started to turn out more Eastern Region prototypes. Therefore as new locos are released I am slowly phasing out the LMR locomotives.
The layout is operated using the Lenz LH100 DCC system. Digital Command and Control means that a locomotive can be parked anywhere on the layout without worries about isolating it from other locomotives. The other main advantage of DCC is sound. Many of Bostcroft’s loco fleet are fitted with sound decoders from South West Digital and Howes.