The cat is out of the bag. The plans for my next big model railway project are already known by a handful of close friends and, no doubt, following the recent clues in my Blog, soon many more will also have some idea of what it is all about. So, in an effort to pre-empt that, here is the concept with all its crazy notions and impractical ideas. It is not planned to be a portable exhibition layout, so most will not get a chance to see it in the flesh, but perhaps through the good province of RMweb, I will be able to bring you, further, if somewhat rather irregular, updates and news regarding progress.

I had scribbled most of these notes while on recent holiday in Australia, thinking that I might offer it to a commercial magazine but have since had second thoughts. After all what magazine would be interested enough to pay for my ramblings or even publish them. So here they are on RMweb.

Anyway, back to my plans for the next big ???un and, firstly, a proviso warning. The project really requires that I move house to dedicate a room for it. Although I do have a ???spare??™ room in my current house I am a little reluctant to start a permanent project in it as I have lived there for quite a while and would like to make one final dream house move. However, the project is being planned and work is underway in research, sourcing materials and building relevant models.

And what it will be is - London Bridge Station. I must stress that it will not be a complete scale model but will be a simplified representation, rather in a similar manner that the outstanding ???Gresley Beat??™ layout which is also only claimed to be a representation, but of the Belle Island area approaches to Kings Cross station.

Despite that the new model will not include all 16 platforms, most of the long lasting major features and iconic structures of the station are planned to be included; separate terminus and through platforms, the overall terminus station roof, the large ugly connecting walkway bridge, the oddly shaped covered concourse, the signalling centre, and the bus and taxi stands at the front. The aim is to model it with the terminus part at the front which should also allow me to include a representation of the No1 London Bridge building, Hays Galleria and perhaps Tower Bridge in the background if the research dictates they can be seen from such a viewing position.

The combination of a terminus and through station at one location is part of the attraction for me. The through lines will provide the option of continuous running in a roundy-roundy style, while the terminus will give me additional operational interest. And what??™s more, London Bridge will only be part of the layout, with a second separate scenic area, based on Selhurst Depot, planned for holding stock and therefore doing away with the need for a hidden fiddle yard.

The downside is the lack of loco hauled trains through London Bridge, but not being a complete stickler for historical accuracy or rivet counting authenticity - after all why let that get in the way of a good model - I will assume that the usual cross London freight line via Clapham and Olympia is temporarily out of use. That will mean that the routes linking to Blackfriars and via Snow Hill, such as through London Bridge, are in demand and heavy use.

I also want the layout to be able to accommodate as large a time period as possible to enable as large a choice and range of stock to be run. This will include relatively early Southern slam door EMUs right up to privatised modern third generation units, although perhaps not at the same time. Stock will initially consist of my existing collection of basically Network SouthEast era EMUs, but I will need, and want to, extend that with older and newer trains.

As part of that requirement I would dearly love one of the main British N gauge manufacturers to develop and launch a suitable modern EMU. Two obvious candidates are the Thameslink and Electrostar units. Both of these units are dual voltage machines, and by using pantographs operate on overhead equipment lines north of London, meaning that their attraction would not be limited to South of the Thames Southern Region third rail modellers.

The station will be modelled as it currently stands, but before the latest scheduled developments - which include the ???The Shard??™ as the tallest building in Britain - scar and dominate it. Nonetheless, at the real station, work has already started on the Shard and the layout will quickly become a historic representation as the area gets transformed in to the ???what it will look like??™ computer image currently displayed on the hoarding boards surrounding the building site.

I appreciate that famous structures, vehicles and many other items can quickly and easily date layouts, but by selecting items such as the iconic Routemaster and DMS type busses and K6 telephone boxes, that were all very long lived, it ought to blur any obvious time period. Also I intend to avoid the use of any too obvious tell tale paraphernalia and buildings that will specifically date it.

Standards are planned to be the finest N gauge modelling that I am capable of undertaking. Granted my efforts are not the best in the world, but I was relatively satisfied with my achievements with Stoney Lane Depot and if I can improve just a little on them I will be happy. Sourcing the best and finest products available is the key to a fine-scale look. However, I am not going to delude myself by thinking that I am capable of switching to 1:152 (2mm:1ft) scale with all the scratch building of track and stock that would require.

After all, I am nearer the end of my life than the start, and time is a precious commodity. Plus, of course, the fidelity and quality of the latest British N gauge products at 1:148 scale are now supremely high and can help one attain an N gauge fine-scale appearance almost equivalent to 2mmFS. And it is now possible to use the excellent 2mm Eazi-track system with the latest N gauge fine profile wheel-sets. All that remains to be considered are the choice and use of points; will I build my own using 2mm templates but adapted to N gauge flange-way and crossing-vee clearances and standards, or should I utilise commercially available RTR products such as Pecos code 55 points?

Obviously attempting a large London terminus station is a big undertaking and there will be massive modelling requirements. Such a layout will easily swallow up large quantities of everyday items such as vehicles, people, and street and station furniture. Consequently I??™ve already started collecting the best of relevant, and much needed items, such as the Oxford Diecast FX4 London taxis, and the BH Enterprise etched K6 telephone box kits.

I have a special ???scenics??™ box with separate compartments that are slowly filling up with completed and painted figures, wheelie bins, telephone boxes, pallets, barrels, skips, road signs, and so on. I also have another box with a growing collection of suitable road vehicles. Even more importantly I have managed to acquire a small stock of my favourite, but now obsolete, brick paper by Builder Plus.

Obviously this is a large project and it will take considerable time and resources to get anywhere near to fruition. As already mentioned a house move is likely to be part of it which, as most will appreciate, can be very time consuming. Although it may delay things, hopefully any move will not compromise my next big ???un research and plans. And while the house moving side of the project may progress slowly, I can at least finish the planning details and start construction of the necessary buildings and structures.

Hopefully, what I have outlined has whetted people??™s appetites to see and read more about the project on my RMweb Blog. Look out for updates at some time in the future.

G.