Max Legroom

Handy for popping up to the Mem to watch the Gas.

My copy just arrived and is full of inspiration. Really impressed!

Now you are teasing us! We need to know more.

Here are a few early photos of my new project, Jamaica Road, which is set on the north bank of the Clyde in the period from roughly 1976 to 1984. Control is dcc Prodigy Express and track is Peco code 75. It was inspired by Dalnottar Riverside and several of Ian Futers layouts and the idea is to replicate a couple of hours at the lineside rather than run a specific timetable. Hopefully the photos will give an idea of the trackplan and concept. First up is the left-hand board which is mainly a fiddle yard. Peco loco lifts and cassettes based on the loco lifts will be used at this end which represents central Glasgow. The next board shows the station area which will consist of an island platform and anover bridge incorporating the station building to the left. Next up is the junction. The main line looks to be double track but is actually a bidirectional freight line to the rear and the single track mainline to the front. The freight line is imagined to go to a yard just down the line. The line to the lower right is the original mainline but now is a freight line serving a small engineers depot and an exchange siding. The engineers depot will allow a bit of shunting and provide a nice setting for some of the lovely models of departmental stock that have appeared over recent years. The fiddle tracks at the rear and the industrial line will run onto a a further small board to allow some exchange of stock at this end. Track has been sprayed with Railmatch grime and the painted with various shades of MIG rust, MIG washes and the sleepers drybrushed. Buffers are Lanarkshire Models NBR salvaged from Strachur. All the best Max

I've just discovered this topic. What a fabulous little layout you have built. Brilliant attention to detail and full of atmosphere.

I like your technique of spraying the track after ballasting. It blends everything together nicely.

Looks fabulous.

This is brilliant. I’ve just started a layout based on the north side of the Clyde and these films are so helpful especially for stuff like stone and brickwork.

Here a final couple of photos. It was a tough decision to make but I've only got room for one layout this size and my Portmahomack micro gives me a chance to slow the pace down a bit when I want to. The new layout will be based on the north bank of the Clyde with an island platform and small permanent way yard. Lots of short freight trains running back and forth. I'm thinking of calling it Jamaica Road and I'll start a new layout topic as soon as I get the track down.

It's the end of the line for Strachur in its current form and the boards have been stripped for use in my next project which will be an urban layout based on Glasgow (inspired by Dalnottar Riverside). However, I think the idea of Strachur may resurface at some point perhaps in a slightly smaller form. The tracks parallel to the boards never quite worked for me and the low level of traffic meant that I was operating a lot of non-prototypical trains. The next layout will feature more action.

By the late 1970s, freight traffic had dwindled to domestic coal, the odd van of agricultural supplies and occasional timber from Cairndow. However, on this particular day the daily freight, hauled by 20002, included a vanwide and was met by the local PC. Along with the shunter, he kept watch on the van until a military truck arrived at which point any onlookers where sent on their way by the constable. Enquiries in the pub later that day revealed that the contents of the van were part of some top secret military trials further down the loch. Being as it was the height of the cold war no more was said!

My first trip up the WHL started with a class 37 thrashing out of Queen Street into the tunnel with the carriage windows open and no lights. Never to be forgotten combination of darkness, noise and diesel fumes! What an introduction to the line.

This little reprobate has managed to find it's way to the Port. Originally purchased for a future urban layout, it runs fine on DC but was hopeless on DCC hence it makes the odd appearance alongside a strange variety of out-of-place diesel shunters!

It's now Monday and the freight has arrived from Tain hauled by Haymarket's 25087 which makes a change from the usual class 26. The train consists of a loaded MCO, an empty VWV and a brakevan. We picked a good day to visit as 26028 and a BSO are substituting for the usual class 122. The freights departs for Tain with an empty MCO, ZDV and VWV plus brake van leaving the 26 to run round and wait to return to Tain.

Some engineering work was taking place on a Sunday. Here the Wickham trolley has just been turned by its crew and waits to return to Tain. The skip and open wagon were part of the recent station refurbishment. You can see where the line used to run into the goods shed which was situated behind the corrugated iron fence. Here a class 26 runs around its train of ballast hoppers and a shark. We must return tomorrow to watch the thrice-weekly freight.

I remember seeing a layout by Alderton and Payne at a few shows back in the early 80s. I think it was called the West End and was a continuous run with no fiddle yard, two stations, mpd and a quarry. It always had an interesting selection of diesels which made it stand out at the time.

I’ve just spotted this thread and am really impressed by your work. I recently built a similar micro based on Portmahomack so I can vouch for all the fun they can be.

And here is the yellow 07 running under 'Rule 1'. I just love this model!

I’m very jealous of your trip and can’t wait to get up there. Alternative realities are good fun but I was really pushing things with the Clayton! (It is one of the early poor runners picked up cheaply with the gears and pick-ups removed.) Having said that, I was running a yellow class 07 on Strachur earlier and it looked quite at home! Brilliant model too!

I've been playing trains at Strachur. The 08 shouldn't really be there but it is an old favourite - a Bachmann model that runs beautifully and has a dcc chip hard-wired. The local boating folk are starting to take over the abandoned fisheries yard (models by Model Dockyard).

Inspirational!

Looking forward to following your progress. The airbase might be an excuse to run some military traffic.

A little known trial took place in late 1970 on the southern part of the WHL. Class 17s were trialled on featherweight freights as they were thought suitable for shunting the small goods yards in the area. The results were predictably bad! 5377 drags a dead D8574 into Strachur after the Clayton had expired on the climb to Rest and Be Thankful hauling three vans and a brakevan. D8574 was dumped in a siding for a few backs before being towed back to Glasgow - never to be seen again in these parts.

Scenic section is 90 x 23 cm and the fiddle board is a piece of 60cm pine shelving.

Hi Mark I painted the rails Tamiya NATO brown and the sleepers were picked out in various greys and beiges especially in the sidings where I wanted a weather-beaten effect. Then I applied a few washes of dark earth and finally a stone dry brushed on to pick out the sleeper details. Quite a bit of work but then there isn’t much track so definitely worthwhile. All the best Max