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China House Quay


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A layout from the days of sail, set a quiet corner of Sutton Harbour in Plymouth. The quay side buildings nestle by the waterfront serving a variety of industries happily going about their business, whilst main line trains scurry past in the distance up amongst the roof tops. The harbour is served by separate branches built by the PD&SWJR and GWR hauled by venerable tank engines of the PDSWJR, LSWR and GWR. Inset track and cobbles abound. A waggon turntable allows access to some of the warehouses and leads round to Victoria Quay.

 

The layout will be shewn in a ‘coffin box’ measuring 4’6” x 18” x 18” and will be built to P4 standards. There will be small fiddle yard shelves at either end measuring some 16”x16”. Viewing height is likely to be circa 4’6”, though the layout will be capable of being set up on a table top.Although this is going to be an exhibition layout, it will be set up at home so I can play trains. It may also allow me to test stock being built for other projects. The whole layout will fit comfortably in a car and be operated by two people.

 

In truth, this is an idea I've been toying with for some time as I'd like to have a small layout at home that I can play with whilst I'm building Cheddar. 

I have actually made a start on it but just hadn't got round to posting anything yet. The challenge gives me the perfect opportunity!

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As i mentioned initially, this project has been underway for a while, so what follows is a summary of some of the progress to date.

Armed with a rough idea and a track plan, I duly set about building the baseboards. These are a 4mm ply coffin box with 12mm ply for the track bed, split over three levels for the mainline, quayside and quay itself. I used 19mm square batten for reinforcing the corners.

Initially I considered using my usual laminate underfloor foam as a track base for the quay, but decided that as most of this will be under sets anyway I couldn't see how I'd be able to use something like Das without it cracking.

Track building uses soldered copper clad for the inset areas and ply and plastic chairs for the short sections of the two branches coming in from the right. For those who know the Coxside area of Plymouth, the quayside plan is an abridged version of Sutton Harbour, with the LSWR and GWR branches converging onto the quayside, only in my case it's a supposed extension of the PDSWJR and I've compressed things a bit. 

The double track main line uses flexitrack bases. As it will be up on a viaduct, the track will most likely hidden from view by a combination of the parapet walls and the buildings in front. The mainline is purely fictitious and started as a way of providing a scenic break along the rear of the layout, though it will  be operable (not that I've got any pre-grouping main line stock).

The back scene former is some of the Palight foamed sheet I had kicking around, as is the frontage for the viaduct. I'm still debating whether to detail this viaduct in full or use Scalescenes paper. The plan is to have buildings from the viaduct front right up to the quayside tracks along most of the layout, albeit with a road and over bridge at the right hand side end. Whether I have room for a set of level crossing gates or not remains to be seen.

The plan is to have warehouses forming the scenic block for the left hand exit, with similar and the end of a station on the upper level at the right hand end. We'll see!

There is a working wagon turntable on the left hand side, more details of that will follow in a subsequent post.

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Is this P4?

The track looks great, Andrew.

 

Will you eventually operate trains on the higher level?

 

Does the top have to be a main line, or could one of the tracks be truncated as a siding, indicating some occasional shunting movements up there might be possible?

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The track looks great, Andrew.

 

Will you eventually operate trains on the higher level?

 

Does the top have to be a main line, or could one of the tracks be truncated as a siding, indicating some occasional shunting movements up there might be possible?

 

The aim is to have the ability to operate the top level yes.

 

I have wired for a two track main line, but I did flirt originally with the possibility of introducing a cross over and a siding as a start of a single to two track affair. Gives an excuse to have a train stopped at a signal or something.

The aim was always to have a station on the upper level with a building going down to ground level, a bit like Ewerton on the GW Bath to Bristol line, It would also give the excuse to have part of a footbridge between the platforms as a scenic block for the upper lines.

 

I'll post the latest photos to bring everything up to date when I can find them.

Thinking about it a siding would give the excuse to only have one cassette in the fiddle yard.

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A few more photos to pretty much bring things up to date. You can see where the quayside ends as the sleeper end track begins. Things have moved in a little in that the track is all down, wired and working and all the point motors and turntable are installed with switches.

Have just spent half an hour finishing fettling the track so I can start on the scenics when the mood takes me. Still got to fill all the flange ways with something up to underside of rail head. Might use filler. Bought some moulded sheets off SE Finecast at Expo this weekend which I'll use for the viaduct and cobbles. I am not scribing Das. It's meant to be a relaxing hobby!

Eventually there'll be buildings between the viaduct and the quayside track.

I've bought some old Coopercraft and Slaters wagons and dug out some of the old Cambrian printed things I had as a teenager. Presently bringing a English China Clays wagon up to 2017 standards with a Craig Welsh under frame. There was a lot of UHU glue to scrape off!! Still it gives me an excuse to dust off some old China Clay wagons that never made it to Wheal Elizabeth.

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This is looking very good already. I like that turntable, did you scratchbuild all of it or are some components sourced elsewhere?

 

PS: I was reading the RM Clevedon article on a train the other day, and the chap in the neighbouring seat kept looking over my shoulder. I bet he was as impressed as I was.

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This is looking very good already. I like that turntable, did you scratchbuild all of it or are some components sourced elsewhere?

 

PS: I was reading the RM Clevedon article on a train the other day, and the chap in the neighbouring seat kept looking over my shoulder. I bet he was as impressed as I was.

 

Thanks Mikkel

The turntable is a kit. I'll dig out the details and post it on here when I can find it!

I was pleased wth how the RM article came out. Steve Flint's photos were really good.

Fancy a trip to Somerset in October? Weston and Clevedon will be going to a one day show in Portishead organised by the WCPR group. I don't think it's an exercise I'll be repeating! 

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