DavidB-AU

There was at least one occasion when an 87 hauled the Royal Train which included the 1920 LNWR saloon. Cheers David

If it's set on the northern part of the WCML, your fiddle yard/open storage sidings could be based on any number of goods loops such as Oubeck, Grayrigg or Quintinshill. You might even be able to base the whole thing on something like Oxenholme. Cheers David

Same test train, different loco, Walton New Junction, Warrington, EE Type 4 D371 (Warrington Bank Quay - Crewe) prototype Freightliner test train May 1965 IIRC the same dynamometer was also used on the MGR test train around the same time. Cheers David

In that case I would strongly recommend using as much of that 15 x 8 floor space as possible with 2' wide sectional boards (like I drew above) with up to an 11 x 4 operating well in the middle. You'll have much gentler curves, a much longer run of main line, a more prototypical layout and overall the building and operating experience will be less frustrating and more enjoyable. It's actually easier to build and easier to handle than an 8x4 slab. Pick a location you like and see of there is a real station that has the variety of traffic you want. That's the difference between a glorified train set (like the Anyrail diagram) and a model railway. Cheers David

When you say your max is 12x5, can you be more specific? A layout like the one depicted will need 2' of access space around all sides, so the amount of floor space you actually need is more like 16 x 9. Without this amount of floor space you will find it difficult to build, difficult to operate and it will be an endless source of frustration rather than enjoyment. Rather than a solid slab roughly the size of two double beds, I would strongly suggest making it sectional. There are many benefits to this - easier to build, easier to access for construction and operation, easier to transport when necessary (and truly portable if you ever want to exhibit it), doesn't need to be assembled all the time, can be expanded in future if you get more space, can be much more easily modified in future, etc. The other problem with big solid layouts is the temptation to cram in as much track as possible. For modern image it would be more prototypical to have as little track as possible, only as much as needed for the intended traffic. A modern station is unlikely to have a turntable. Sometimes (actually quite often) less is more - look at any layout by Ian Futers. If 12x5 is the absolute maximum floor space you have available, you're going to have trouble working this layout if you can't access all sides. Plus it looks a bit ambitious for a beginner layout. You'd be better off starting with something simple where you can access everything from inside, and make at least part of it removable when it's not in use. Either a continuous run or U shape terminus to fiddle yard with at least one side removable when not in use. The removable side could be a non-scenic fiddle yard to prevent damaging scenery. Here are some indicative sectional designs based on 12" wide boards with a 3' access space between them. The end to end version even with 12" wide boards could easily fit a 2 or 3 platform modernish terminus at the end of a double track line that would be operationally interesting. Go with the prototype. Think of places like Shoeburyness or Lowestoft with a reduced number of sidings, a shorter version of Bradford Forster Square, a slightly narrower version of Llandudno, Morecambe or look at layouts such as Ripper Street (a variation on Minories) and Newcastle Haymarket. Not all are electrified but that style of station would work and fit. The continuous run would allow a double track with some storage sidings on one side and a main line station on the other side. A station doesn't need to be complex to have a lot of traffic and be interesting. Again go with the prototype and think of places like Cheltenham Spa, Brighouse, Grimsby Town, Halifax, Morpeth (with some of the sidings), Royston (including the Down Loop and Sherriff's siding), Alderley Edge or Craven Arms. Again not all are electrified but you can see the concept. Possibly something based on Hertford North which can have through and terminating trains (maybe 1 or 2 storage sidings) and diversions off the ECML. Plenty of scope for a river close to the station - think Welwyn North or Berwick-upon-Tweed. And remember, each layout is only a practice for the next one so you don't need to cram everything into a starter layout. Cheers David

It need not be the next station down the line. CJF conceived Minories as modular. See the module designs here: You could imagine the loco depot or junction is just down the line, which could justify distants with each starter. Cheers David

So basically what you need is a variant of the 100mph AC EMU with 400hp traction motors like the 4REP, something like a 4TC and a class 37/4 with bagpipes. Cheers David

It's an interesting thought that Deltics could have been just one of those small prototype classes that didn't last long. There was certainly a need for a 100mph loco, which if the Modernisation Plan had continued as originally planned would have worked beyond the wires as electrification progressed and on routes not scheduled for electrification. I can easily see the class 50 doing the same job beyond the wires on the ECML as they did on the WCML. On other routes this would have eliminated the need for the 47/4 beyond the initial 20, which could have had their boilers and ETH removed after 1967. So imagine a fleet of ~200 class 50s working in all regions instead of 47/4s (meaning there wouldn't have been a 47/4 under TOPS). Go back to first principles of the 1955 plan. Diesels were only to be a stopgap for widespread electrification. There should have been no need for a 125 mph diesel after 1970 as the wires were supposed to have reached Glasgow and Edinburgh by then. By that time Europe was already building 200 km/h AC electrics. I know this is an "imaginary locomotives" thread but in the context of the modernisation plan I think there is too much focus on locomotives. Had electrification proceeded as planned, it may not have been necessary for as much to be loco-hauled. Something like the class 309 in 8/10/12 coach formations could have handled many of the fast and semi-fast services prior to 125mph running. Noting they did eventually do this work between Manchester and Birmingham (and occasionally to Euston) in the late 1990s this shows what they could have done 30 years earlier. Also remember that 7,000 steam locos were intended to still be in service in 1970 and the Standards were intended to have a working life of 25 years, meaning Evening Star was intended to be retired in 1985. Bulleid pacifics were intended to remain in service until slidey rail reached Exeter around 1980. Cheers David

It would depend on what real world railway is assumed to be operating the station. This thread has a diagram of an LMS version. A few examples of layouts with full signalling are Minories (GN) and Howard Bolton's SR version (full diagram in the Scaleforum 2017 guide). Cheers David

New Zealand railway KiwiRail has signed an agreement with Stadler for the supply of 57 diesel mainline locomotives worth around €228m. The order, part of a wider framework agreement, is the first in New Zealand for the Swiss manufacturer. https://www.railjournal.com/locomotives/kiwirail-awards-stadler-locomotive-framework-agreement/ From the specs it looks like a variant of the Euro/Afro 4000.

And considering they have been operating without a run around since 1995, this is more than sufficient historical precedent. It's how many fledgling heritage lines started. Cheers David

Hence my early suggestion that the line is still being restored and this is a temporary terminus. There is plenty of historical precedent for not having one. And it's done on Alderney today, not on a short demonstration-style track. Cheers David

Again I'll point you to Berwyn which was the temporary terminus of the Llangollen from 1986 to 1990. It is done today at Didcot, the Manchester Science and Industry Museum, the Beamish Museum and the Alderney Railway to name just a few. And it was done on many other heritage lines in the early days. Cheers David

Marty, you're not thinking fourth dimensionally. Staverton has passing loop now but it didn't when SDR reopened in 1969. It didn't get the passing loop and most of the sidings until 30 years later. You could imagine the line continues and the heritage group hasn't yet reopened the next section beyond this temporary terminus. In fact instead of a buffer stop, have a stop board and imagine the track beyond is still being restored. There are preservation precedents to have a temporary terminus on a single line without passing loop. Think of Berwyn on the Llangollen. Just top and tail all the trains or have them propel in one direction. Cheers David