Middleway Bridge; a far too big first time N gauge layout

[The Pilotman]

I am not sure at which point it is acceptable to start a layout thread on this particular forum but the baseboards are almost finished, the track is almost all purchased, the track layout is pretty much finalised and I think I can see the way ahead now. So here goes....

 

This layout has been in my head, and on some small scraps of paper for about twenty years. To be honest, I never really expected it to become a reality at all but I have ended up living in Germany in a decent-sized house with enough time and money, and with a wife who slowly came round to the idea of me transforming our loft into a railway room.

 

The thread title says it's a first time layout and that's largely true; I did try a couple of time in my teens to build a layout but on both occasions domestic issues put a stop to them. So this is, in many ways, my first layout and I suspect it will be my last too. Why do I say that? Well, mainly due to the fact that this is a large project. The layout is almost ten metres long and as it's N gauge, a complete circuit of the layout is two scale miles. There is a station, a diesel depot, a freight yard, passing loops and three branch lines diverging from the double track main line. So plenty of operating potential, which is what I want. In essence, it's several smaller layouts in one. And also, it's several locations in one.

 

The era I am most familiar with is the 1980s and as I grew up in Berkshire, the Western is what I know best. Family holidays in the West Country have inclined me towards this area. When I say the layout is several locations in one, I mean that I have taken bits from various places to come up with this idea. It's an amalgamation of Par, St.Blazey and Lostwithiel all in one place but with a few other bits thrown in.

 

I will be adding pictures and a track plan in due course as things progress but I wanted to start this topic now to act as an incentive to keep the project moving forward.

Edited January 19, 2017 by Western Aviator

[Dancess]

I am not sure at which point it is acceptable to start a layout thread on this particular forum but the baseboards are almost finished, the track is almost all purchased, the track layout is pretty much finalised and I think I can see the way ahead now. So here goes....

 

This layout has been in my head, and on some small scraps of paper for about twenty years. To be honest, I never really expected it to become a reality at all but I have ended up living in Germany in a decent-sized house with enough time and money, and with a wife who slowly came round to the idea of me transforming our loft into a railway room.

 

The thread title says it's a first time layout and that's largely true; I did try a couple of time in my teens to build a layout but on both occasions domestic issues put a stop to them. So this is, in many ways, my first layout and I suspect it will be my last too. Why do I say that? Well, mainly due to the fact that this is a large project. The layout is almost ten metres long and as it's N gauge, a complete circuit of the layout is two scale miles. There is a station, a diesel depot, a freight yard, passing loops and three branch lines diverging from the double track main line. So plenty of operating potential, which is what I want. In essence, it's several smaller layouts in one. And also, it's several locations in one.

 

The era I am most familiar with is the 1980s and as I grew up in Berkshire, the Western is what I know best. Family holidays in the West Country have inclined me towards this area. When I say the layout is several locations in one, I mean that I have taken bits from various places to come up with this idea. It's an amalgamation of Par, St.Blazey and Lostwithiel all in one place but with a few other bits thrown in.

 

I will be adding pictures and a track plan in due course as things progress but I wanted to start this topic now to act as an incentive to keep the project moving forward.

I also have managed to get a railway room in my house here in France though my potential layout is only 4m x 2.5m, again in N gauge. My problem is deciding a suitable track plan after 6 months of deliberation. At least you are further advanced than me!

[The Pilotman]

Last week I posted a schematic track diagram to the Peco Technical Advice Bureau for their input on wiring the layout. Today, it arrived back annotated with where all the power feeds and insulated joints should go. As there will be over a hundred points on the layout (actually 111 at the last count, but I might still pop another siding or two in somewhere) there was as much red ink on the diagram as on some of my school essays from the 1980s. As an electrical novice, I see challenging times ahead when I get to that stage.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Western Aviator

[scottystitch]

Sounds like a huge undertaking. Thanks for posting your thoughts and ideas.

 

I thought my 17.5ft by 9ft garage project was big, with 60 turnouts, but yours is another level entirely. Please do keep us appraised of progress as I shall be following your thread with much interest.

 

Looking forward to seeing your trackplan.

[treggyman]

Hi

 

Good luck with your project.....

 

Quite some project for a first layout......

Although I don't model in N gauge I live near where your model is to be set so will be interested to follow your progress....

 

Cheers Bill

[The Pilotman]

Time for a few pictures now to illustrate what I am doing (click to enlarge).

 

 

 

This is the view looking west. The scenic section will be on the right with a seven road marshalling yard in the foreground. The station and depot will be on the wider section where the chimney flue is. On the left of the picture is the fiddle yard. There will be seven roads each for the up and down main lines. Ignore the track with the wagons on; that doesn't represent anything on the finished track plan. I just wanted to see what a rake of 15 VBA vans looked like snaking through a reverse curve.

 

 

 

This is the view looking east (scenic section on left, fiddle yards on the right). Most of the area on the left will be the "St.Blazey-esque" marshalling yard. The main lines (with up and down goods loops east of the station, like Lostwithiel) will be to the left of the yard.

 

 

 

This is the bit that's been causing me most grief so far; the multi-storey fiddle yard... Furthest from the camera is the "Newquay" branch which climbs away to a three-road fiddle yard which sits above part of the up line fiddle yard (but not the bit where any fiddling will take place). Nearest the camera is the "Fowey" branch which descends to a run round loop underneath the down line fiddle yard. In between them is the main line section which spreads out into two staggered seven road fiddle yards.

 

The Kato track in the pictures won't be used for the layout (that'll be Peco Code 55). I bought some to use as a test track and then used curves of various radii as templates to cut the plywood sections for the bits where the track is raised above the baseboards. On the scenic bits of the main line, the minimum curve radius will be 36 inches to give nice sweeping curves. Off scene, and on the branches, minimum curve radius will be 15 inches.

 

I'm not due to work much in March so hopefully I'll be able to make some progress with track laying.

Edited February 24, 2017 by Western Aviator

[njee20]

111 points? Crikey! Rather you than me, I'm bored motorising my 60, and that's taken a year! Looks good though.

[The Pilotman]

Over a year has passed since my last post on this thread . For various reasons, progress has been slower than I would have liked but there were several aspects of the layout that either wouldn't work, or didn't look right so I have spent many hours refining the track design to something that is more prototypical and very close to what I envisaged. There was far too much straight track parallel with the baseboard edge so I have eliminated that wherever possible (there is not much straight track in Cornwall anyway). I have remodelled the "Newquay" fiddle yard from a three road affair into two passing loops in series so that, with the same number of points, I can stable four trains there instead of three. This means the Newquay fiddle yard is much longer, but narrower, than before and so the overhang over the main fiddle yard is reduced. I have redesigned the main fiddle yard to include a section where trains can run round without blocking the main lines and this also makes it easier to transfer a down train that has passed through the layout back into the up yard for its next working and vice versa. The marshalling yard and depot have been redesigned so that they are more prototypical. The CCE sidings have been redesigned and lengthened to provide more space for my growing fleet of departmental wagons. I already have decent rakes of Seacow, Grampus and Barbel, to be joined in the future by some DJ Models Mermaids and Turbots, and Revolution Sturgeons. Finally, there were sections of the layout that just looked too crowded with track so I have rationalised here and there and opened things up a bit (particularly around the station) so there is a bit more space between the station and depot.

Today I made a start on the "Bodmin" fiddle yard which comprises a passing loop on a 240 x 6 cm strip of wood. I will post pictures when there is something worth seeing.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

I spent this morning running some trains on a test loop of Kato Unitrak with super-elevated curves to see how they looked and whether it was worth the bother of doing this on the layout. Although the curves were only 48cm radius (about half what the curves on the layout will be) I thought the effect was very impressive. There followed some more testing to see if there would be any clearance issues with long vehicles with the curve radius and track spacing I plan to use. Luckily, there weren’t. The rest of the day was taken up with putting the raised “Bodmin” fiddle yard together

 

 

and making a start on the low level “Fowey” fiddle yard.

 

 

Here is 37207 trying out the newly laid track. The track immediately above the loco will be the down main line on its way to the down fiddle yard. I will be putting some sort of edging along the edge of the boards as the drop is equivalent to more than twice the height of Moorswater Viaduct! Quite happy with what I’ve done today so hopefully the impetus will continue.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Western Aviator

[treggyman]

Hi

 

Nice to see you are progressing....

 

Looks good so far....

 

Cheers Bill

[The Pilotman]

Today's efforts. After yesterday’s picture session, I had to remove part of the Fowey fiddle yard/run round loop in order to complete the track laying. Once done, it was slotted into place under the main baseboard and I couldn’t resist parking one of my rakes of CDA hoppers down there:

 

 

The four banana boxes under the baseboard contain almost all of my rolling stock. I also had a play around with some cork sheets and a jigsaw to see how easy it would be to cut strips to go under the track with a ballast shoulder. With the jigsaw set at 45 degrees, I think the result is pretty good:

 

[The Pilotman]

Spent most of the day making the supports for the raised Newquay fiddle yard and glueing on cork strips for the track to go on. I will post some photos next week when it looks a bit more presentable. This evening I did a bit of testing to see what sort of loads my locos will be able to handle up the bank onto the Newquay branch. I rigged up a two metre straight of Kato Unitrak with a gradient of 1 in 50 (on the layout the bank will be 1 in 71) and gave both the Farish 45 and 47 a try. Both managed 9 Farish Mk1 coaches easily, even from a standing start. The only other diesel type that will be taking this length of passenger train to Newquay in my era is, of course, the class 50 but I shall have to wait for the Dapol version to appear before I can check what it can pull.

When the new Farish Castle was released, there were reports about its poor haulage capability on gradients and so I thought I’d see how mine fared. I’d already tried it out on the flat and it handled 9 Mk1s just fine. On the 1 in 50 test bank, it managed 6 Mk1s, including from a standing start, but started slipping when a seventh was added. This is considerably better than some other reports but even so, it looks like steam charters will be limited to the main line, or run with a smaller than normal load on the Newquay branch. I won’t be doing anything to the layout for about a week now due to work commitments, but there should be lots of time to progress at the end of April and throughout May.

[The Pilotman]

Not much to report since the last post but I have produced a schematic diagram of the track plan:

 

 

 

A few explanations may help:

 

1) I will run the layout using a mid-1980s summer WTT with times and trains for Par station. It will be either a weekday service (lots of freight) or a Saturday service (lots of extra passenger trains). Rather than stick rigidly to the real service, there will be some rule 1 extras as well, but within the realms of possibility. For example, in recent years there have been sporadic trains carrying sand out of Burngullow and so I have borrowed that idea and will run a train of 30 PGA hoppers in ECC Quarries livery. This is my justification for running a class 56 on the layout as in the mid-80s, they are what dominated WR aggregate traffic.

 

2) The Fowey and Bodmin Fiddle Yards are just run-round loops as in both cases, there will only be one train on each line at a time.

 

3) Empty china clay trains coming up from Fowey will run-round in the down bi-directional goods loop (like they do at Lostwithiel in real life) before heading west again to be reloaded.

 

4) The Newquay Fiddle Yard is two run-round loops in series as it allows me to accommodate four trains there (useful for the Saturday service when four trains go down the branch before the first up working returns). Also, there were space issues that prevented me from installing the three road fiddle yard that I first planned.

 

5) I haven't decided what sort of factory the sidings in the top left corner will service (and, to be honest, it doesn't really matter) but various wagons arriving on the several daily Speedlink services will go in there.

 

6) The freight yard will perform the same function as St.Blazey did in real life. Several times a day, Speedlink services will arrive there and be spilt up into trip workings that will head off to various points. The same applies in reverse, of course.

 

7) The run-round/transfer loop will allow an up train whose stock is next required for a down working to run round and then reverse the short distance into the down fiddle yard. Conversely, a down train whose stock next forms an up working can run through the down fiddle yard, run round in the transfer loop, and proceed forward into the up fiddle yard. There is enough room to allow run round movements to take place whilst not interfering with movements on the main lines. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

Not much has happened to the layout in the last two years, mainly (but not exclusively) due to a wasp infestation in the loft, a cycling accident and another important and time-consuming project with a deadline that was too critical to miss. Whilst tangible progress has been limited, I did tinker with the track plan and added to my rolling stock collection. And then this year the virus arrived! My work commitments are currently much reduced and so I have had time to return to the loft and kick start activity on the layout. As you can see, the JCB has just been unloaded, the PW staff have just arrived in their crew buses and as soon as they’ve finished their tea, work will recommence.
More updates very soon!

Edited April 16, 2020 by Western Aviator

[porkie]

Hells bell's that is some layout you are building. 

Being a keen N gauge modeler myself I am really looking forward to seeing this evolve. 

Keep the updates coming 

 

Phil 

[The Pilotman]

Reinforcements arrived and work has been progressing:

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

Here is a tour of the layout now that (most of the) track has been cut. We’ll start at the exit of the down fiddle yard; seven roads of 2-2.4m in length. The raised section with two tracks on the right is the end of the “Newquay” fiddle yard. 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

Next is the run-round loop between the down and up lines. A loco will be able to run round it’s train here without affecting the main lines. The raised section in the distance is the “Bodmin” branch with run round loop.
 

 

[The Pilotman]

The end of the run round loop with the lines curving left towards the scenic section.

Edited April 26, 2020 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

The scenic section will start at about the bottom of this picture. This is the junction at the east end of the small marshalling yard. The “Bodmin” branch is descending at 1 in 40 on the right. 
 

[The Pilotman]

The points are the east end of a seven road yard. The main lines (concrete sleepers) curve through 90 degrees with a radius of 90cm. 
 

[The Pilotman]

From the left; the yard, the main lines with the start/end of up and down loops and the solitary point on the right is the end of the “Bodmin” branch. 
 

[The Pilotman]

Lots of track in this bit! In the centre foreground is the west end of the yard. To the left are six sidings for PW use. On the right are the main lines (concrete sleepers) flanked by loops. 
 

[The Pilotman]

East end of the station area. PW sidings on the left, western exit from the yard at bottom, right of centre. Station area beyond. 
 

Edited April 26, 2020 by Western Aviator

[The Pilotman]

The station area. To the right of the main lines (concrete sleepers) is a passenger loop (also concrete sleepers) and a goods loop. On the far right is the fuelling point at the east end of the small depot.