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"Pathfinder - Ganwick"

S.A.C Martin

Entry posted by S.A.C Martin

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Inbetween work on my veritable and varied fleet of steam locomotives, I have begun clearing out my railway room in anticipation of the first section of my Pathfinder layout.

 

Remembering the priorities I covered in one of my previous blog entries:

 

Therefore, number one on my list of changes to my hobby is to the Track.

 

My second priority has to be running trains.

 

My final priority is better utilization of space.

 

 

My idea is a simple scenic layout; a double track main line with no turnouts or complicated track formations, and the ability to bring together all three priorities in one first test section.

 

Having studied and poured over photographs and books for a veritable age, I have come up with a section of track that I think is perfect for a first attempt at building a "proper" home layout.

 

blogentry-1656-0-85739400-1348051121_thumb.png

 

This section near Potter's Bar - Ganwick - is perfect. Two tunnels, one at either end, offer natural scenic breaks. The curvature of the track gives me a perfect excuse to have a rectangular baseboard, with the track deliberately not parallel to the baseboard. There is scope for shaping and creating hills, woods, and (from an initial Google Maps observation of the area), potential for careful use of resin buildings, modified, to represent the minimal housing in the area.

 

Thus, here is a rough edit of the satellite view above:

 

blogentry-1656-0-97083100-1348051137_thumb.png

 

There is scope for making this section of the layout long, but thin, and portable in two sections too.

 

Now, I am aware that this section in reality is a four track mainline today. It was not always a four track main line, from that I gather, but I am having great difficulty pinning a date down on the addition of the extra two lines.

 

If it is was prior to 1950, then I will have to model four main lines, but if not, then two main lines becomes a much better proposition for this test build. If anyone could confirm when the extra two running lines were added, it would be much appreciated.

 

See what you think of the initial idea, any and all thoughts are welcome.

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AJ427

I have a fuzzy pic of an A4 there in 1962 from somewhere on t'internet (can't remember where) that shows 4 lines of flatbottom rail. Not much help though : )

The stock of Copley Hill will look rather graceful zipping through here. How long will the boards be?

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boogaloo

If the boards are to scale from the red box drawn above they would be approx 32 feet long. Me thinks some inevitable compression is in order for SAC.

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S.A.C Martin

Absolutely, compression is necessary (vital!) and will be done. I am looking into standard board sizes and mulling it all over. At a push, I can do 21 foot long by 2-3ft wide on three separate boards. An idea of the centre baseboard being "optional" - i.e. the outer two will connect together as well as connect to the outer ends of the centre one, appeals.

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Atso

Hi Simon,

 

Looks like you're modelling is moving southwards now! If you'd like a double track section which includes a basic station yet still retain the two tunnels at either end try Hadley Wood which is fraction further south. There are a couple of pictures both before and after the quadrupling of that section (late 1950's?) in the book 'Kings Cross to Potters Bar'. Hadley Wood would also be a slightly shorter section of line...

 

You'll need some quad sets now you're modelling an area which would be heavily worked by suburban services out of Kings Cross!

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S.A.C Martin

Hi Atso - nope, no stations for me yet! This layout is forming a section of a much bigger potential home layout. This is but one part.

 

Ganwick curve was chosen because it can play host to most trains I want to run, at both ends of the bigger layout (KX and Leeds Central).

 

Quad arts - yes indeed, and I hope to update this blog later in the year with some modelling...stay tuned on that score! :)

 

Thanks for the tip on the book, I will go and search it out.

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Atso

Hi Simon,

 

Shame there is to be no station at the moment. I always thought the bottlenecks between Hadley Wood and Potters Bar would be for some interesting train movements! Maybe as a later addition then?

 

To help your searching I've dug out my own copy of Kings Cross to Potters Bar. It is mainly a pictorial record but has some interesting photos, information and track formations in it (sadly Hadley Wood is just a dot on an OS map so no help here for a track diagram but interesting pictures no the less...).

 

Authors are Charlie and Jim Connor

Published by Middleton Press

ISBN: 978 1 906008 62 8

First published on 2009 so may well still be in print.

 

Hope this helps

 

Steve

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S.A.C Martin

Brilliant, thanks Steve, much appreciated. Nope, no stations yet! Other sections of the whole Pathfinder project will have stations. Plenty of time for that yet. I wanted to work solely on the scenics and the running of trains, no distractions. :)

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