Hi, this an update on my blog that I have not updated since my first and last entry, I am taking a little break form building up my baseboards to give the details of what this layout is to be about, it will be set around a distance of some 2 to 3 miles from the outskirts of Manchester City Centre, based on a line running down into Manchester Victoria Station, the era will be the 1980's decade which will be allowed to time overlap into the very early 1990's, going no later than 1993.

My influences for this layout, are a mixture of Queens Road DMU stabling point, Newton Heath DMU depot, and Manchester Victoria train services, in the 1980's, which I still have fond memories of, as I am originally from Bury "East Lancs Railway fame", my many journeys down into Manchester Victoria on the class 504 EMU's involved them passing over the line that ran into Victoria via the Red Bank, which also was next to the DMU stabling point at Queens Road, this is now the site of the Metrolink depot line. The Bury trains ran into the bay platforms at Victoria, which were next to other bay platforms these would be filled with many types of 1st generation DMU's, 101s, 104s, 105s, 108s, 128s and so on, the rasping sound of exhausts and the heavy smell of diesel fumes ever present in that area of the station.

The name for my layout is "Newton Ridley", now I did choose this name because I am a Coronation Street fan, far from it, but I do admit to taking the name from a mix of the infamous Brewery name "Newton and Ridley" and "Newton Heath" DMU depot, I was pondering on a name for the layout by making sure it had a North West slant on it, so this is how I came up with the name, but it so happens that both names have Newton in them...............I am trying very hard to justify that my choices where a more complicated thought process than they really are, but at the sometime just proving the fact that I really am simple in my head sometimes !!!

As I stated in my first blog, the layout dimensions are 22.5' long by 8' width at one end and a 6' length at the other end, the layout scenic area will be of a U-shape, it will definitely incorporate a DMU servicing depot and stabling point, there will also be a junction which will involve a double track branch line climbing a gradient then going over the double track main line before the both go off stage, I am still tinkering around with getting a suburban station into the layout, this will hopefully act as the other scenic break, the layout will also incorporate 2 fiddle yards, one will have 3 stabling roads and a through line, and the other fiddle yard will have 4 stabling roads and a through line.

I hope to have the track plan uploaded onto the blog this weekend.