7th Street Terminal

[stivesnick]

7^th Street Terminal

The imaginary Sandy River Traction Company (SRTC) returns for the 3^rd time but in a very different setting from the previous two layouts. This time we are at one of the line’s city terminals. The time period is the late 1940s towards the end of passenger service. The line is owned by the Great Northern Railway (GN) who have running powers into the terminal. The SRTC is lucky to have a dedicated right of way into the city which may explain why the passenger service has lasted this long.

The layout is N gauge with a scenic section of 1200mm long by 450mm wide. The following describes the background to the layout and hopefully justifies the intensive service that would be needed to keep both operators and visitors happy at an exhibition.

The company’s head office overlooks a 3 track passenger terminal where electric interurban cars come and go. Passenger trains on the main route tend to be 2 cars with extra trailer cars including a parlour car and possibly a sleeper car added for certain services. The “Branch” train is normally a single coach but can often have freight cars added to the formation. The main line offers an hourly service with a mix of stopping and fast trains, whilst a two hourly service operates on the branch. The terminal switcher is kept busy adding and removing the trailer cars and freight to the various trains.

Adjacent to the passenger platforms are some freight sidings and the office of the Rail Express Agency. The facility is shared with the GN so their loco’s and baggage/express cars can also be seen.

A couple of rail served factories complete the local area.

It is assumed that the SRTC main freight yard and car barn are located close by but just off the layout. Local freight sidings are served by local trip works to/from the yard. To help develop the operating sequence, the tracks outside the scenic section have been developed. Following some crossovers, the north and south main lines and the branch line divide, whilst the third track forms a relief line to the freight yard and car barn. The developed track plan requires the GN transfer freight to reverse in the 7^th Street Terminal on its way to the SRTC yard.  

If all goes well, a second scenic board could be added to represent part of the junction and some additional freight sidings. Come to think of it, if I win the lottery, boards 3,4 and 5 could be added to represent the wye and SRTC freight yard.

For the passenger services, I intend to use some 1930’s Japanese electric units produced by Kato. I also have some motorised Bachmann American coaches plus an assortment of Japanese electric box and steeple cab locomotives. In the 1940’s many interurban lines switched to diesel power so some Bachmann 44T will appear. For the GN, diesel  switchers provide the power.  

 

Baseboard kits from White Rose Baseboards are one the way so hopefully work will be starting shortly.

[k-59]

I love interurban especially in N-scale! Have you looked at any of the shells available on shapeways?

[stivesnick]

I love interurban especially in N-scale! Have you looked at any of the shells available on shapeways?

 

Hi K59

 

I have seen the models on the shapeways site and this might be a future development once the layout is up and running. In the short time I have a number of existing cars using the Bachmann old time coaches and various Japanese models.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[298]

Looking forward to this. There simply aren't enough Interurban layouts about.

 

Can I ask which State is the City in, and will you be modelling Overhead or Third Rail electrification?

[Max Legroom]

Looking forward to seeing how this develops.

[stivesnick]

Looking forward to this. There simply aren't enough Interurban layouts about.

 

Can I ask which State is the City in, and will you be modelling Overhead or Third Rail electrification?

Hi 298

 

I have decided on a firm location yet. My first interurban layout, Sandy River Junction which featured in Continental Modeller October 2006 had an interchange with the Great Northern Railway was based in Minnesota. With a city centre location, unless there are particular architectural styles in an area, I think it can be kept vague.

 

All my existing rolling stock have pantographs so overhead masts will appear at some stage. I could omit the power to some of the sidings and assume that some locos had battery units. Again to be decided.

 

One of the things I like about interurbans is that they became the ideal "prototype for everything" railways especially towards the end when lines snapped up second hand cars for lines that had closed down.

 

Thanks for the interest.

 

Nick

[BR60103]

I like traction. One of my neighbours models it in O gauge, while another works on 58 7/8" gauge. (sic) (TTC gauge which is almost exactly 1.5 meters)

[298]

Hi 298

 

I have decided on a firm location yet. My first interurban layout, Sandy River Junction which featured in Continental Modeller October 2006 had an interchange with the Great Northern Railway was based in Minnesota. With a city centre location, unless there are particular architectural styles in an area, I think it can be kept vague.

 

 

Oh yes, I remember it now.

[Flatlander]

Cant wait to see this!

Your eyes must be in very good shape.

I had to go back to HO scale because my eyes and fingers no longer liked me.

Search Trolleyville times if you are not familiar.

George puts out a great newsletter devoted to trolley modelling

[stivesnick]

Cant wait to see this!

Your eyes must be in very good shape.

I had to go back to HO scale because my eyes and fingers no longer liked me.

Search Trolleyville times if you are not familiar.

George puts out a great newsletter devoted to trolley modelling

 

Thanks Flatlander

 

A very interesting web-site

Nick

[stivesnick]

A few pictures of the rolling stock used on previous layouts plus so new arrivals.

 

1. Bachmann old time coaches make great heavyweight interurban cars and can be motorised with Greenmax or similar 17m chassis. Little work needed on the body as end windows already included. The main issue is that the bodies and chassis on the original coach are a single unit so the coach floor needs to be cut out. Managed to pick up some more coaches secondhand last week end for £6 each including some observation cars to be used as trailer parlour cars.

 

 

2. Tomeytec cars - used a more modern lightweight cars - have 4 of these, a mix of powered and trailer cars. Drive unit is to one bogie only so not the best of runners. Need to add cow catchers - any thoughts on this?

 

3. Kato cars - latest arrivals that come in pairs. Shown as out of the box, need work on the ventilators, ideally would like some steps for low platforms and to fit mircotrains couplers.

 

4. Freight Motor - formed from two Bachmann old time combine cars with a Lifelike F7 chassis.

 

5. Box cab electric - Microace Japanese loco with added end platforms

 

 

 

 

[stivesnick]

^All

 

^{Fiddle yard track laid today.}

 

^{The top 3 tracks are for freight traffic and can take a loco, 6 freight cars and caboose.}

 

^{The next 2 tracks double up as head shunts for the run round loops in the station but can also take a passenger train of 3 coaches.}

 

^{The final track will take 2 passenger trains of 3 coaches each.}

 

^{Enclosed photos.}

 

^Regards

 

^Nick

[stivesnick]

All

 

Setting out the main board undertaken today as a final check that the track plan actually works and how much extra track I need to buy. Stock boxes used to recreate future buildings. The finished building at the front of the layout is the scratchbuilt fruit packing shed from a previous layout.

 

Happy with the result. The plans provides around 90mm between the track and the backscene and 125mm at the front for some decent buildings.

[stivesnick]

The first exhibition invite has arrived. Kettering in September 2018.

 

No pressure on the layout building then.

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

Track laying on the scenic board is complete with a small change from the original design.

 

I have moved the point to the fruit processing plant to enable a loco and a couple of cars to be shunted whilst still having space for two cars at the printing works. This also allows a service yard in front of the fruit processing plant to be included.

 

Hopefully the enclosed photos will make things clear. Next, its time to attack the wiring and the start the buildings.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

Work on the new buildings has started. There are some advantages to being stuck indoors when it is snowing outside.

 

A couple of Walthers Parkview Tenements underway - gutters and steps will be added. I need to play around with the spacing between the buildings - will be a balance of getting something that looks reflects real life against not having too much backscene visible. Picture below.

 

The kits are low relief buildings and the model is often shown on layouts close to the railway tracks. Is that correct or would there normally be some minor road access between the building and the railway? I may have enough space for a narrow road which would assist deliveries.  

 

Any thoughts on this welcome.

 

Regards

 

Nick

 

 

 

[stivesnick]

More building work on the layout - the interurban company freight house.

 

The building is based around the DPM #510 Trackside transfer. However I noticed that the trackside doors would not line up with the doors on a 40 foot box car. Rather than use the brick loading dock supplied with the kit for the lorry side of the building, I have used a KS Laser carriage siding platform to create a narrow walkway. The building has also been reduced in width to fit the space available.

 

Work in progress photos enclosed.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

A month has gone since the last update.

 

More work done on the freight house, a wider walkway has been added along with some roof details.

 

Construction of the platforms has started. I had a look a many photos to see how the real platforms looked and there is a wide range of options, including no platform at all. I have ended up with wooden planks supported off steel beams. My assumption is that the original wooden supports rotted away and were replaced by steel. The next stage is to add a canopy and an order for some brackets will be on its way to York Modelmaking shortly. The train in the platform is a couple of Bachmann old timer passenger cars which will be modified and repainted to look like interurban cars.

 

Nick

 

 

[stivesnick]

The platform canopies are progressing - Brackets from York Modelmaking - £4.00 for a pack of 10. I found that they slot nicely into 1.5mm wide plastic channel which has helped line things up.

 

The other development is the large factory building by the entrance to the fiddle yard. Walthers modular building components. Not totally impressed by the design of the kits and how they are packaged. The wall sections don't come with the coupler sections so  have many spare wall sections left over.

 

The track is wired up. Having not run my American stock for a little while, have been trying to coax them back to life.

 

Photos enclosed

[Conrail Joe]

Looks great so far!!

[stivesnick]

_{Some more work done on the large factory. The building is not rail served but acts as the backdrop where the trains enter the fiddle yard.}

 

_{Photos enclosed.}

 

_Nick

 

 

[stivesnick]

Some general photos to show current progress on the scenic board. Lots of wires being added underneath.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

All

 

Some work on the rolling stock.

 

A couple of interurban lines operated sleeper services. To make a typical sleeper car, I used a Bachmann old time coach and bits of microstrip to alter the window layouts.

 

Photos enclosed.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

All

 

Wiring complete and few crossed wires sorted out, so time for a play important operating test session.

 

A passenger train arrives and the station switcher removes the freight car and shunts to the freight depot. Then a freight train arrives and spends some time switching the various spurs. Photos below.

 

A couple of lessons learnt - I identified locations for some further uncoupling magnets, although spacing will be critical to reduce risk of unintended uncoupling. Secondly with rail express agency cars on track 3, there is little space to store outgoing wagons during shunting whilst keeping the run round loop clear to switch the fruit packing plant.  

 

Regards

 

Nick

[stivesnick]

A couple of picture of rolling stock for the layout.

 

A Intermountain wreck train set - brought several years ago but needed a layout to run on.

 

The sleeper train - a couple of Bachmann old time passenger cars; a coach motorised with a 17m Tomix chassis, coach converted to a sleeper car, GN express car to be added to the GN transfer freight and finally a SRTC freight car for the freight depot.

 

Regards

 

Nick