Smardale

Definitely great advice regarding the garage. I've actually splashed the cash on AnyRail now and having more than 50 track pieces really has opened up a whole new world! 😄 I'm trying to go for minimum 3rd radius. I don't want to ever worry about rolling stock having a hard time with corners etc.. This was really useful, thank you! I've been playing with this concept for a good few hours. The problem I'm finding is that I'm not happy with how much elevation I've achieved by the time I have to cross the fiddle yard tracks. But I'm moving pieces around and I'll hopefully come up with something. Love the idea of simply 'bypassing' sections. I have enough space in the middle of the room to do this. That was really helpful to look at. I think I've accepted that I won't be able to do Kirkby Stephen East any justice at all in the space that I have, although I can definitely take inspiration from it. All I really need is a station that has an engine shed with banking engines, as well as a few goods facilities for some shunting fun. As mentioned by Robin, I think a more compact station is needed but I still have enough space for it to be decent. Your entire post is very insightful. Thank you. The fact you use 3rd Radius on around a 1 in 36 gives me lots of hope as my layout is going to be much more gradual! I'm going to mess around on AnyRail and see what I come up with.

Hi all, thanks for the replies! I don't have time to do an in-depth reply at the moment (I will tomorrow) however I just want to say that the plan I posted wasn't mine. I think I took a picture of it from a magazine a while back. I posted it because it's more or less what I intend to go for but obviously with different dimensions and a more thought out track plan (hopefully! 😄)

Hello all For a while now I've been planning speculative 00 layouts on the off chance that I manage to get my own place. Well, an offer has been accepted and in a few months I'll have access to a 9' by 18.5' garage. I can use the entirety of the space for the new railway as there's also a small shed for gardening equipment next to it. Exciting times! Another bonus is that the garage has a battery operated roller door. Above is a rough plan of the space on AnyRail. I quickly measured it during a house viewing. I'm a big fan of the Stainmore Line from Barnard Castle to Tebay and would like to loosely base my own layout on it. Throughout the years I've collected many track plans from magazines and the internet such as the below, which have served as inspiration. I can't recall where I got this track plan from, but it's a proposed plan for a Kirkby Stephen East/Belah Viaduct/Stainmore Summit layout. My problem is that I want to stop trains in a station, call in a banker, and then have a bit of a run towards the summit - not just two corners. I don't mind if the train disappears from view for a while, and I don't mind if there's a gradient as long as it's reasonable. In fact if there's a gradient then that would justify the banker.. Ideally I'd like the layout to be a continuous loop but I'd consider end-to-end. I'm happy to use the side door to the garage as well to maximize the space, and as I'm still fairly young I don't mind duck-unders. I'd also like to avoid the use of a helix because I've seen enough YouTube videos to scare me off them for life! If anybody has any ideas or perhaps another plan that I can take inspiration from then I'd love to know. I'm open to all ideas as long as it's 00 Scale and fits within 9' by 18'. Despite the plan above, I'm quite happy for the line to be single track which will probably help things. I was on AnyRail before building a station on one side of a peninsula, the summit on the other and then a climb right around the garage walls. Then I exceeded the free track piece limit and gave up - but I would love to know if somebody has done something similar. Considering how much of a fan I am of summit layouts then modelling one of those wouldn't be a bad thing by any means. I just want to know if my dream of banker operation 'with a bit of a run' is feasible in the space that I have. Wish List In Order: A) Summit (Loosely Based On Stainmore) B) A Journey (Feeling that distance is travelled - even if the train just disappears from view for a short time) C) Viaduct (Loosely Based On Either Smardale Gill or Belah) D) Station (With a small MPD for bankers) Thanks in advance for any suggestions! James

Thankyou everybody for your replies so far. Your insightful contributions have sent me down many internet rabbit holes! 😄

What’s the longest stretch of disused railway that you can think of with track still in place? (And optional bonus: why wasn’t it lifted?) it would be interesting to find the longest ones in the country (especially if there aren’t preservation/reopening schemes attached, as is often the case!)

Do you have any favourite track plans from the reading material you've purchased?

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's replies so far. The enthusiasm people have for certain aspects of the hobby is really making me want to get started! I'll try and reply to some posts now but apologies if you asked me something and I've missed it. That's a really good idea. Has anyone ever created a 'running in' loop? Perhaps an elevated section on a layout just for running in purposes? I didn't even think about this. Whenever I'm doodling track plans I often have a use per siding - it never occurred to me that it could actually be more fun to have multiple facilities on a siding. @Zomboid also said something similar, so thank you both. @Keith Addenbrooke your entire post was very insightful, so thank you. What I've quoted above however is something that you've really got me thinking about. I'm now looking at many layouts in a different way (trying to picture myself as an operator and needing a breather!). Also I think creating a small photo plank is a very good idea to get me started. I'm wary of doing this before I know how much space I'll have as I don't want to waste peoples' time. But rest assured I'll be posting a thread with concepts as soon as I move! This is something else that I never appreciated as a newbie to the hobby. I guess one of the main perks of modelling a real location is that you have all the historic timetables and regulations to follow from the off.

Hello there. I'm spending many hours designing layouts. Partly because I find it fun, but mostly due to not knowing how much space I'll have to work with due to an upcoming move. I want to be ready though for when the time comes and have some pre-existing ideas to call upon. One thing I'm wary of is designing a layout without significant operational interest or with missed potential for more, and so therefore I'm constantly looking at layouts, literature and prototype designs to see what's possible. I have to say that the many topics on Minories in this forum have been a real eye opener regarding this. I was wondering if people wouldn't mind sharing either their 'operational must haves' during the design phase, or perhaps operational examples from their own layouts that they find really enjoyable. It would be a huge help to me as well as I'm sure to other novices out there. Thanks in advance!

I've just been looking at Troutbeck on disused stations and it has everything you need for a layout! Even an Industry right by the side of the station. Perfect! Good luck with it. I think you're really onto something with that idea. I'd hate to think about how much I'd have to spend just in points alone I have actually tried to do a 'simplified' version of the station on AnyRail, using the road bridge that cuts through it as a scenic break and just modelling one side. It would have to be on a peninsular I think, or at least in a layout where you could access it from both sides.

Hi everyone! Out of interest, does anyone have a summit track plan on a single track line? Or alternatively, have a guess on what perhaps Ais Gill/Stainmore would have potentially looked like if the line wasn't double track? I presume that it would look something like below, with a passing loop and maybe a refuge siding? I'm probably way off though. I don't know of any single track summit layouts. The double track examples I've seen have both up and down refuge siding with a crossover in-between them. ('The Summit' for example). I'm asking this because the more I play with the idea of having a small station with an engine shed for bankers (like Blair Atholl on the Highland Railway) the more I think it'll be enjoyable to operate. I could perhaps have a layout with a station, then a viaduct/large bridge with a weight limit, followed by a summit. The weight limit would create scenarios such as pilot locomotives having to become bankers as to distribute the weight, or mineral trains (with a limited length) being combined in the station sidings before continuing on. That sounds really fun to me, especially when I add further operations that Axlebox has talked about over Stainmore. I think I've come to the realization that Smardale Station, unless part of a grander layout, may get a little boring after a while.

I've just read lots of stories about derailing! As Harlequin said in his post though, in his experience it seems to be ok for trailing points. If I'm using them for refuge sidings I'm hoping that the movements won't be fast enough to cause any issues. Sorry Mike do you mean for the summit? I haven't featured any stations as of yet. The problem with the summit I'm currently having is that I hate when trains go 'off scene' and so having to allow five feet on either side of the refuge sidings is a bit of a pain. I guess I could have the turnouts to the refuge sidings be opposite each other, with the main line cross over to the right or left of them. I just feel this wasn't prototypical as there's a reason for this track configuration?

I should probably rename this thread.. There's a chance (with much convincing..) that I may be able to set up my layout in the garage. The dimensions are 9 by 17 feet. I've been toying with having a summit on my layout as it'll create lots of operational interest. I could also have a shed for the bankers at a small station. Any thoughts on the below? I've curved the summit as to meet the 9ft requirement, but am wondering if the two curved points will cause problems. I think I'll be making the refuge sidings a little longer as well, so that they can comfortably hold 4ft trains.

Well I did not know that. I always just presumed that there was not enough space to do so. Although looking back at some videos (and the splendid picture that you linked from the brilliant SRC page) it's obvious to see that there is. More evidence that I really need to get the Peter Walton book that you recommended! (I'm trying to find it at a reasonable price. I saw it on one website for £95..) In a related note, I picked up 'Modelling Branch Lines' by David Wright and 'Model Railway Operation' by C.J. Freezer. My railway 'background' is visiting heritage railways and catching steam specials on the national network, so they've been a big help as I feel like I knew nothing.

No worries Mike! What a brilliant website.

Fascinating! I've always wondered why Smardale Gill wasn't widened yet the Merrygill and Podgill viaducts were. I hope that legend is true