The Barley Sugar Line is based on history, local legend and folklore. It is not our intention to represent anything specific and much licence has been taken.

The hills above Burnley in Lancashire are dominated by Pendle Hill and the villages around are those where the notorious Lancashire witches were to be found. Perhaps not so well known outside the area is the legend of the Sabden Treacle Mines. We often have to explain to people unaware, that the treacle lode at Sabden is the World's richest deposit of high grade treacle ore.

We have stretched the truth a little - not a lot - in that the railway line was never actually built here, but our whimsical model has assumed that one was, and is intended to capture the atmosphere of a sleepy rural area. Well that is the 'raison d'être' for the line's existence. Some people don't believe us ... we can't think why ...

The model uses cork covered 3/4" chipboard under the track only and an open top construction on the viaduct board. Scenery is plaster covered polystyrene, carved to shape and scenified with Woodland Scenics. Some areas use chicken wire as the former. Leak proofing the live river almost destroyed the sanity of two of our members. All appears to be well now, however ...Oh! Oh!

We estimate that there are around eight or so (at the last count) auxiliary motors around making various bits move - Oh! and a few relays in there somewhere too. A route setting diode matrix is used in the fiddle yard and the operating signals on Spen Brook loop are interlocked with the loop turnouts. Feedback controllers are used for precise control. The simplest thing about the layout is the track plan, whilst being only single track allows up to seven trains to be out at one time if required.

Most buildings are scratchbuilt from Linka and most are illuminated. Thought went into our show lighting gantries in order to direct light from one side only in order to create shadows as in real life - hence the outslung gantries.

We take a light-hearted view to railway modelling. We hope you guessed!