Recreation of Loch Ness railway connection that never was wins prize for Inverness model club
A recreation of a planned Loch Ness-side railway station that never was has won a local model railway club a prize.
Inverness and District Model Railway Club picked up the honour at the annual Elgin Model Show earlier this month.
Heading along to the event on November 4 and 5, club members brought with them a layout called "Loch End".
"Loch End is an "O" gauge layout which means a scale of 7mm to the foot," explained model railway club's Brian Marshall. "It is an imaginary layout set in the 1930s and is based on a proposed line between Inverness and the eastern end of Loch Ness, to link by steamer with a line already built to Fort Augustus from Fort William.
"The line was never built but the model shows what Loch End Station might have looked like with the terminal for a steamer to Fort Augustus modelled. A whisky firm has taken advantage of the transport link to build a distillery on a short branch line, which it operates with its own locomotives.
"The main line is operated by the LNER using mainly tank locomotives hauling passenger and mixed freight trains."
The layout was built by Frank Martin and operated by Frank, Graeme Swanson, Colin Walker and Gerry Parks.
Related: Inverness and District Model Railway Club get ready for popular Highland exhibition