Southwell - a layout under the bed

[Southwell]

Hi all

 

I’m a relative newcomer to these parts but I’ve been lurking behind the scenes pinching ideas and advice from you all for the last couple of years whilst creating my first layout, Southwell. I think it’s on the edge of the definition of a micro layout as it’s over a metre long – but it was designed to fit into a small space under our bed!

 

I’ve loved model trains since childhood when my grandfather would entertain us with trips up into the loft to watch train whizz around his extensive layout. 

 

When he passed away several years ago it spurred me on to starting a model railway collection of my own. The first loco I bought was an old Hornby Mallard in BR Green (this might be a little too much information, but it turned out that Mallard would come to inform quite a lot of choices I made whilst making Southwell).

 

 

From there I slowly acquired more stock to match Mallard’s BR green (with late crest) – realising eventually that if I aimed for 1962 as a reference year then I could run a combination of diesels and steam trains – which ran around on set track layouts that, living in rented accommodation with limited space, could be neatly packed away.

 

My dreams of eventually owning a house with a loft where I could build my own monster layout were eventually dashed by getting a job in London. However, once we were lucky enough to be able to afford a two bedroom flat, I decided that I did have enough space under the bed for something small.

 

The space restriction meant that whatever I built could be a maximum of 19cm tall and around 70cm long, so I came up with the idea of two open ended trays which could slot together to make a 140cm long layout and could sit on top of each other whilst stored. Baseboards were made from 12mm ply – I wanted them to be solid as, due to the size constraints, the bracing would be minimal.

 

 

With limited space (and experience) I thought I’d aim for something tried and tested with a decent amount of operational interest and a quick bit of googling came up with an Inglenook layout. Whilst this gave me a lot of scope for shunting wagons about, it would’ve meant there was nowhere for larger locomotives (like my beloved Mallard) to get a look in. So I added in a double track mainline along with the end of a station platform to give the impression of the top scene of a larger station (which continues off scene), some accompanying sidings of a small commercial goods yard (which makes the inglenook) and a line running to a small depot.

 

 

I should say at this point that the inglenook isn’t completely true to form as there’s an extra point which leads to an extra siding next to the door to the depot. Once I’d laid out the track I noticed a large gap on the layout. Having ordered an extra point by mistake I decided to add in another siding which was then filled with a static model of a prairie having ash cleared from its smokebox to mean the restrictions on the inglenook puzzle were still in place.

 

 

Anyway, much sawing, cutting, sticking, soldiering, ballasting, painting, weathering and swearing later, Southwell is very nearly finished (as much as these things can be). I went for an urban setting, figuring that the small size of the goods yard could be explained by the lack of space in the city and had envisioned a station on the way out of London (north of Kings Cross).

 

 

 

However, during the process of making it my Father and I finally got around to clearing out my Grandfather’s loft in order to rent out the house. Whilst taking apart a layout that brought me and my brothers much joy wasn’t the easiest of experiences (I felt like Dr Beeching) it did mean some new additions to my locomotive fleet – namely the LMS jubilee Orion (thankfully in BR green!) – as well as a couple of scenic items, like a ready made signalbox.

 

 

 

These additions meant that my initial plan to represent a station of the Eastern region went out of the window somewhat, so I’ve simply stuck to the mantra that anything that was on the rails in 1962 is fair game (the eagle eyed of you will spot that platform posters also follow this too) and so have ended up with a bit of a mix of various regions.

 

 

From an operational point of view, it’s DCC and I use the Brian Kirby method for uncoupling wagons on the inglenook puzzle, with tiny neodymium magnets hidden under the track. The points are all controlled by switches on the side of the box and there’s also colour light signals (which I’m pretty sure aren’t accurate!) and I’ve added lighting to the platforms, depot and signal box. 

 

 

Finally, the station name of Southwell is taken from one of the stations on my Grandfather’s layout (which my father informs me actually started life as a portable layout too, before being incorporated into his loft masterpiece).

 

 

I’ve learnt a huge amount making Southwell  – if I were to do it again I wonder if I’d have focused so much on being able to run just one particular locomotive (particularly one used for express services!) and instead had a terminus for smaller length trains or DMUs. As it is I’ve just finished extending the two fiddleyards (one at each end of the layout) so I can run longer trains through the station. I'm now looking at the option of attaching a double oval of set track to the layout to have it as part of a ‘roundy roundy’. I'm also thinking of ways to do a back scene to limit the effect of the low side walls and if anyone has any other thoughts of things to add in, feel free to share them - i'm rapidly running out of ideas!

 

Sorry this turned into a bit of a long post, once I got going it was hard to stop! Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed having to think up solutions to some of the problems created by smaller layouts and I think it shows that anyone can have some form of model railway, even if you have to think small. 

 

I’d still like a loft though…. 

Edited January 25, 2017 by Southwell

[Londontram]

This looks good with a very high standard of modeling, your ballasting alone is outstanding and you seemed to have made the best use of the space you have giving yourself the chance for a bit of shunting without it looking overcrowded. Well done very much enjoyed looking at it.

 

                                                                  Steve

[Jerry1975]

Hi Southwall,

 

Great looking layout, I to suffer from space restrictions hence why I model in N gauge.

 

The lights are very effective and I like the goods yard area.

 

Look forward to seeing more.

 

Jerry.

[Southwell]

Cheers both - with regards to the ballasting, one of the upshots of having a small layout means it's not that tedious and you can give it more time to try and get it right!

[andyram]

What a great looking layout. I love the cameo scene with the Prairie. Excellent stuff.

[Edwardian]

Clever idea, and very well executed.

 

Well done and thanks for the pictures.

[AireValley1962]

Really neat idea - and very well done. A few more pictures wouldn't go amiss, I imagine.

 

Cheers,

William

[Sean the Bob]

This is an excellent layout, I particularly like the method of storage! You've done well to be able to do so much with such size restrictions and as others have said, your modelling skill certainly shows through in the finished piece.

[Southwell]

Thanks for all the kind comments - made up for toasting a decoder the other day! Whoever invented the split chassis has a lot to answer for.

 

Anyway, posting the layout on here got my mind going in terms of what else there is to do on it. 

 

The one thing i've always thought was a shame was the low side walls, which are necessary for it to be packed away under the bed but always seemed to spoil the look of it. 

 

 

I read an article about using magnetic fasteners to hold on a back scene (in case a loco decides to hop the track behind the scenes and you have to retrieve it). Anyway, it gave me an idea and today, whilst getting some stuff for tiling the kitchen I saw my opportunity and picked up a sheet of 6mm MDF - after waving a saw around a bit I ended up with these two strips

 

 

Next, I attached a small hinge to the middle to allow it to be folded away and then screwed a couple of cupboard magnets to either end (staggered so they wouldn't get in the way when it was folded up). The last job was to attach the metal plate to the layout.

 

 

 

 

 

So there you have it! Next job is obviously to put something on it. I was thinking of painting it rather than sticking a photograph to it, but could be persuaded either way. I'd like to make the obvious join in the middle a bit less prominent and was thinking of making it the edge of a building or something similar but any suggestions gratefully received! 

Edited February 22, 2017 by Southwell

[Southwell]

Turns out making a convincing looking back scene is harder than I thought so getting that finished is on the back burner for the mo.

 

Instead I decided to have a crack at lineside cabling and point rodding - two things I should definitely have thought about before I ballasted as I'm now faced with chipping away at jobs I thought I was done with! Live and learn and all that.

 

I ordered one of the Wills kits and it goes together well, if a bit fiddly - the only issue was that it became very apparent I'd need a couple more to get the job done which have just arrived in the post.

 

Here's what I've got done so far, which now needs adding to and painting.

 

[Southwell]

Got a bit further with this today - particularly pleased with the concrete trunking which are made from cut up leftovers from the card kit I made the platforms from. Think before the mainline bits of the layout looked too pristine and reckon they're looking more convincing now

 

[Southwell]

Now that my summer of attempting to play cricket has ended I'm back into the swing of things with Southwell (I couldn't possibly have both cricket and trains going on at the same time, I'd get nothing else done!).

 

Having got the layout set up it became clear that, whilst stored away for the summer, something had gone wrong with the lighting - it's incredible how these things can happen when something's just stored away! Anyway half an hour with a multimeter showed a short around one of the lamps and it all sprang back into life. 

 

So, what to work on? I could actually finish the back scene (still blank) or maybe finish off the point rodding and cable trunking (still half done). 

 

Of course I did none of those sensible jobs, instead I got cracking on something that I'd been mulling over during long summer days stood in a field watching men hit balls around - a shed. One of the downsides of Southwell is the only way to remove a loco from the layout is for it to run off onto the mainline - not ideal for things like shunters if I decide to turn them around or just swap them with something else - if I had a shed they could just disappear into there.

 

There was obviously no space to add new track to the layout but I'd modelled some shed doors for one end of the inglenook sidings so thought if I could carefully take them off and cut a hole through the plywood behind then maybe I could add a little extension onto the layout for locos to run off onto when they enter the 'shed'.

 

The initial work went well - the doors came off with no fuss and I was able to find some tiny hinges for almost nothing on a well known auction site which I then slotted into the doors (homemade from 2mm grey board)

 

 

Then it was a case of attaching them to the layout and then remodelling the area around them to deal with the newly cut hole. Next job was to make the extension, which was simply an off cut of plywood screwed to some wooden blocks to bring it to the right level and then located with dowels and a pin and socket terminal block for the track electrics and then a bit of leftover track.

 

It was then that I spotted a problem - though I was happy with the way the doors looked, the big hole behind meant there was a lot of light from behind showing through around the doors which looked odd considering the idea was that it was meant to be the entrance to a dark shed. What's more the extension behind was pretty visible through the doors which meant that leaving it unmodelled wouldn't pass mustard either. Suddenly my little shed idea had spiralled a bit. 

 

Everything still needed to store flat (under the bed still) so I knocked up an MDF shell with the leftover tiny hinges. Once folded into shape it creates a box around the extension to cut out the light. The inside of this was then modelled with some brick paper, card and paint. I'm reasonably happy with the current result but might add a couple of embellishments like electrical boxes or internal doors. 

 

 

As for the track extension itself the easiest way I could think of to make that look like a shed was to cut an inspection pit into it - this had the advantage of not adding any height to it. After a bit of swearing at my jab saw it started to take shape and I added more brick paper and some grey board steps. Finally I used half a pack of DAS clay to create the concrete floor and in laid track. The shed entrance on the main layout got similar treatment and that will need some work to blend it in.

 

 

This is currently drying and then I'll weather it all with a liberal coating of oil and general shed muck. I might also add some crates/barrels/etc but it depends where i can store it as I don't want them getting knocked off all the time.

 

In all it's definitely been worth it and although it still needs some work I'm happy with how it looks - particularly like the gloomy shot of the 03 sat above the pit. 

 

 

Now, what else can I think of that will get me out of doing the point rodding?

 

 

 

 

[Sun VI]

Hello Southwell,

I'm very impressed with what you've achieved on the layout and by building it in within your flat - great going.  I love the muted colours, the whole layout oozes atmosphere, and the night time shots work really well. 

Edited September 29, 2017 by Sun VI

[ess1uk]

Great little layout.

Very neat way to store it.

[Charlie586]

Really like the detail around the signal box and also the shed door. Good way of storing the layout as well.

[andyram]

I like the shed development. Will be great to see some pictures of it in context with the rest of the layout.

[Southwell]

After building the shed I decided it was probably time to crack on with the jobs I've been putting off on Southwell. I should've documented them all a bit more to keep this thread going really but what usually happens is when I finally decide to crack on with something, I then focus on it until it's done, only afterwards realising I've not taken any pictures of the progress along the way.

 

I'm getting to the point now when I consider Southwell to be finished - I can't think of much more to do. I might rethink the fiddle yards a bit at some point, but the scenic section hasn't got a lot left to add, which feels a bit sad in a way as i've had a great time making it and the idea of just running trains now seems a little dull! Seems odd to say that as that's been the goal all along but that's how it feels. 

 

Anyway, the first thing to finish was the magnetic back scene. I did toy with getting some photos of industrial buildings and editing it all together but quickly realised I didn't know what I was doing so opted to paint it instead. Knowing that attempting to put any detail on it at all would look pants, I went with the idea of greyscale silhouettes of nearby buildings and a decent amount of fog (to fit in with the general feel of the layout). The first attempt looked ok but the buildings still looked too sharp to me, so i got the airbrush out and covered everything in a decent layer of light grey which seemed to do the trick

 

 

Next up was the point rodding, which was tedious, but i really think works. I added some concrete cable trunking too (inspired by being stood too long at Finchley Road tube station) which was just 2mm card cut into squares and painted. Once I'd ballasted it I took the airbrush to it all to cover it in the usual railway muck colour. 

 

 

Other developments are some additional bits and pieces outside the sheds as I thought it looked oddly tidy. I may add a few more bits and pieces, particularly some more axels as two seems too few.

 

 

I made another cameo for the extra siding which can be swapped for the static prairie, just for some variety (and to make use of a wagon kit that doesn't run well). This fellow's having a break from shovelling the coal into the staithes - the picture also shows the (tiny) Wickham trolley which caused me no end of problems to DCC.

 

 

An arty one, showing off the 03 and the Wickham, as well as the worker emerging from the plate layers hut to change the points (I also added point levers to all the points of the sidings, you can just see them in this photo but they're very blurry!).

 

 

Everything else i've been doing has been rolling stock, but I thought i'd include them anyway to justify how little I've been updating this. First is a new sand wagon with a custom load.

 

 

Second is an old Hornby Autocoach to compliment my recently acquired 64xx. It was a bit of an auction site bargain which i've added some detail and lights to - much cheaper (and more fun) than buying the Bachmann version for 60 odd quid. 

 

 

Finally, I've spent a lot of time recently building a motorised Dapol Park Royal rail bus, complete with scratchbuilt interior and working headlights. The motor's from an old Hornby pacer - it took a lot longer than I thought and, at points, I wanted to throw it all in the bin but i'm really glad I persevered with it as it runs reasonably well and I learnt a lot doing it. Here it is sat on the platform at Southwell, which seems a good place to end. 

 

[AireValley1962]

Your photos are very nice, Southwell.

 

I really like the autocoach and 64xx.

 

Cheers, William

[Guest ShildonShunter]

Hi Southwell fantastic layout with great attention to detail.

[cklammer]

Hello Southwell,

 

 very, very nicely done. You surely have some clever ideas; I really do like your shed.

 

Best Regards,

Christian

[JSWM]

Hello Southwell,

 

Super layout with great details, I hope that my first attempt comes out as well as this...truly inspirational.

 

Regards John