One of the best HO scale model railroad layouts of the Atlantic coast of the English Channel in France
Published on March 15, 2025
The Modelspoorclub Het Spoor from Sint-Niklaas is not only the largest model railroad club in Belgium, but also stands out at almost all European model railway exhibitions with its exceptionally beautiful and always well thought-out model train layouts in 1/87 scale. Model railroading magazines regularly report on the model rail layouts built by the members of the Modelspoorclub Het Spoor, for example HO scale layout “Braives”, HO scale layout “Chateau Migraine” or HO scale layout “Chemin de Fer Industriel”.
These miniature worlds constructed by the Modelspoorclub Het Spoor are always masterpieces and almost works of art. So it was almost to be expected that another great work of art would be presented at the Belgian model railway exhibition “Modelspoor Expo”, namely the HO scale layout called “Bouy-à-Béze”, which depicts an atmospheric fishing port with narrow-gauge railroads on the French coast.
The idea to build the model railroad layout “Bouy-à-Bèze” was born during trips with French railway enthusiasts to the Bay of Somme on the Atlantic coast of the English Channel in France. The model builders from the club set to work immediately to design their impressions and their memories of the French countryside as a miniature world. The model railway layout includes a small fishing port, where the tide is low. The model landscape extends from an industrial and commercial area to a small typical French village with a railroad station.
The model train layout is based on three 120 x 60 cm module plates or segments. Behind these three modules is a fiddle yard that is not visible to spectators. From the fiddle yard on the left-hand side of the model railway layout, the track initially runs to the small railway station of the village of Bouy-à-Bèze. From there, the track extends into the industrial area and finally to the harbor on the right-hand side of the model railroad layout. The track plan therefore does not allow any loop traffic, so that only a shuttle service between the port and the station is possible. For the tracks, the members of the Modelspoorclub Het Spoor have used HO scale narrow-gauge rails made by the manufacturer Peco.
The buildings and houses are very impressive. They were all designed and built by hand. The buildings and houses are based on the existing architecture of the French region. Therefore, many of the beautiful French buildings were measured and photographed on site. The model train layout called “Bouy-à-Béze” is characterized by weathered locomotives, dirty freight wagons, typical French rail buses and a landscape design with an incredible amount of loving details on houses and buildings. All this makes this model railway layout a real gem, so that the only question that remains to be answered is where the name comes from.
The conglomeration of all the ideas, photos, buildings, materials and techniques that buzzed around in the model builders' heads during the construction of the model rail layout resembled a soup, namely a “soup of ideas”. And when you think of “soup” in connection with “sea”, you quickly end up with a fish soup, known in France as “Bouillabaisse”. With a slight adaptation, the name “Bouy-à-Bèze” finally emerged.
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jogUq0CRLqQ
Picture Gallery
Advertisement Consumer Electronics
If you would like to support Pilentum's work, then buy from Amazon using the banner below. This link contains affiliate links, meaning Pilentum gets a commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no cost to you.
model train trains model train model railroad railroad model railway railway layout model railroading rail transport modeling model railroad layout model railway layout HO scale HO gauge masterpiece work of art dirt grime rust weathering train dioramas H0 HO model train layout Pilentum railway modelling model train layouts model railroad layouts France Modelspoorclub Het Spoor Bouy-à-Bèze