Inspiration
Entry posted by 10800
433 views
00 roundy-roundy - Tawbridge
by 10800
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??? posted on Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:09 pm
It's all Hornby's fault 
, coupled with an approaching birthday (making me more time conscious, not because of presents potential), where I live, and my attraction to all things of the green tendency. And maybe the Hull boys' recent layout project. I'm giving consideration - serious consideration - to building a relatively small roundy-roundy layout in 00 based somewhere in North Devon around 1960, using exclusively RTR stock.
The scenic bit would be just a double track secondary line - no station, no points - passing through the countryside, or perhaps over a river bridge. All I want really is to be able to watch trains go by in the minimum of time and with the minimum of effort. Having only plain track on view, and at a high eye-level, minimises the trauma to the P4 side of my brain 
. Peco points will do for the fiddle yard at the back.
Stocking it is (or will be) so easy - M7, N, T9, unrebuilt Bulleid Pacific, Ivatt 2-6-2T, Standard 4 2-6-4T, Standard 4 Mogul, Class 22, Bubblecar maybe, Maunsell coaches etc etc.
I'm already hunting on Ebay ...
Have I gone completely barmy?
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Comment posted by noddycab on Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:16 pm
Sounds like a nice little idea, i like the idea of just plain track and countryside... The river bridge would set it off nicely. 
When u going to get the kettle on and get the biscuits out to make a start on it? 
Andy
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Comment posted by shortliner on Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:57 pm
looks like the fiddle yard will be bigger than the layout, with that stock-list! 
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??? posted on Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:26 pm
Considerably, Jack! But at least the trains are short!
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Comment posted by sunshine coast on Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:32 pm
And why not ... There are ,after all only so many hours in a day ... 
Rod .............Ebay ......and ....Model shops ......! 
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Comment posted by Gordon S on S</STRONG> on Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:36 pm
Sounds good Rod, but you don't need a fiddle yard....A decent traverser will easily do the job.. 
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Comment posted by johnteal on Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:38 pm
How small is "relatively small" ???
John
RJR
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??? posted on Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:12 pm
I'm thinking in the order of 10ft x 6ft, but without having sat down and planned anything yet on paper. Really governed by retaining a reasonable scenic length and not having excruciatingly small radii on the ends. It won't be permanently erected at home whatever size it is, but it could be put up in the dining room occasionally (subject to approval from the authorities and locking the cats away), or at DRAG if they will accept a non-P4 layout, or hopefully at exhibition.
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??? posted on Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:18 pm
Gotcha Trevor! Next time I'm in the area, or even not ...
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Comment posted by westrerner on Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:38 pm
If you can get hold of it have a look at Iain Rice's 'Mainlines in Small Spaces' . It contains layout in 10ft x 7ft based on Port Issac Road, Whilst it is a station he has some interesting ideas on a fiddle yard. Basically Two long sidings facing opposite ways (for the ACE) two shorter sidings as cassettes (also facing opposite ways) with a continuous run between them, Going from cassette to cassette or long siding to long siding gives end to end running. The whole unscenic part of the layout is about 9ft and the scenic section is about 14ft. The main part of the visible bit of the layout is a long transition curve with the tightest radius being 30inches into the fiddle area.
I hope all that makes sense. You could leave the station out I suppose, but on his layout it is used as a passing station on what was a predominantly single track line.
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Comment posted by John B on Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:50 pm
It has massive appeal, Rod.....
I keep having similar thoughts of building something OO, just to "run in" things before the inevitable gauge conversion, of course...
Plus there's the excuse for all the stuff you want that's just too Sou-Western to run on Eridge or Camberhurst!
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Comment posted by Re6/6 on Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:03 pm
Anything goes at DRAG!
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??? posted on Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:08 pm
That will be the answer I give when the P4 detector van comes calling ...
Dead right, I'm wondering if it was that damned Class 22 that tipped the scales - even the T9 is OK for Eridge (well there was one once).
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Comment posted by davidpk212 on Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:46 pm
Another person willing to "take the plunge" and build an MLRT! Yipee! At this rate we'll have caught up with SLT building by Christmas... 
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Comment posted by jongwinnett on Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:37 pm
hear hear...
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Comment posted by Captain Kernow on Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:55 am
I see that you haven't taken Dr Kernow's psycological advice and locked yourself away in a small room with all the back numbers of the Scalefour News for at least 10 years......
Well, as they say on First Great Western local services.....'Welcome aboard'....
Shall I build that B7 crossover in OO after all, then?!
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??? posted on Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:23 am
MLRT? 
Main line run through?
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Comment posted by Barry Ten on Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:14 pm
It's a really nice idea, Rod - chimes with similar thoughts I've been having recently. I've often thought I could be just as happy with a well-modelled diorama - just a single or double track running through, no sidings or anything - as with a more orthodox layout, provided there was lots of storage space for a variety of trains. And I've been thinking about some kind of Southern or S&D themed layout to go on the second level above my current project. Its just madness not to model the Southern right now, isn't it?
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??? posted on Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:31 pm
This project is starting to build up a bit of momentum now. It will probably be 12ft x 7ft, with a scenic section at the front of around 8-9ft. I started trying to be really complicated in the fiddleyard, with loops, sidings, crossovers, a double slip etc but concluded this was unnecessary. There will now just be a long loop for each of the two running lines, and all four roads can be subdivided into three sections (it will be DC) for holding short/medium trains, or one long and one short, or one very long; a trailing crossover between the up and down (in the FY!); and possibly a couple of stub sidings for loco storage.
Baseboard construction will be conventional ply/softwood block sandwich type. The low-level river crossing, which is the main focal point, need only be a couple of inches above the water. I'm looking at three 4ft x 2ft boards front and back, and interestingly the side curve boards could be little more than 3ft x 15in drop-ins connecting the front and back runs.
The scenic section will be framed by a continuous thin plywood/MDF backscene, curved at each end to come to the front of the boards about 12 in from the ends. I will need to determine by trial and error where it crosses the tracks to avoid the 'sharp curve just inside the tunnel' routine, but there should be around 9 ft of scenic travel.
Now, because there is just rural scenery - no station, no signals, no buildings to speak of - this could be sufficiently generic to be almost anywhere in the wilder parts of the country, and at any time in the last century. So I'm thinking it could be the answer to my fantasies of having layouts based on prototypes I like away from the Southern, and for which I will just never have the time to convert stock to P4 - Eridge and Camberhurst will be all I need for that thankyou!. In 'Withered Arm' mode (or Devon diesel hydraulic mode) the backscene could have suggestions of Dartmoor tors on the horizon, but it could be made to have interchangeable slide in backscenes to change it quickly to (say) somewhere on the lower levels of the Waverley route - and change the stock to a V2, A1 and a couple of Claytons, some maroon Mk1s and off you go!
As it says on the TV recycling ad, 'the possibilities are endless'.
For those coming to the RMWeb day in Taunton at the end of April, I expect to have plans and mockups of the layout on display.
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Comment posted by Captain Kernow on Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:21 pm
We DRAGgers had better hope that the Provisional Wing don't catch up with us - they'll string us up by our Romfords if they do!!
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??? posted on Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:10 pm
I'm temporarily without a scanner, so I've had to just photograph it, but this is the sort of thing being considered:
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Comment posted by ian on Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:14 pm
You could take it a stage further Rod and build two or more sets of front boards with different scenes on - urban approaches on a viaduct, tunnel approach in a cutting.....
Sorry - I'll stop - you've got quitre enough on your plate!
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Comment posted by sunshine coast on Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:27 pm
Nice and simple .......set the trains running open a beer and watch .......excellent ....
look forward to seeing you at the meet ....
Regards Trevor....
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??? posted on Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:51 pm
Cheers Trevor - actually, there's space for a couple of handpumps on the fiddle yard boards ...
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Comment posted by westrerner on Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:07 pm
It's a nice idea. I like the idea of a changeable backscene and the idea of coming into the room and just switching and letting the tarins trundle round great. But just as a point of interest are you going to have automatic train control in the fidle yard. ie as one train leaves the fiddle yard the next one moves forward etc. and after the trains in that loop have completed their crcuit the points change and the next loop does it showpiece, That really would be good to watch with a G&T in hand(or a good pint of real ale).
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