Docking Road Junction

[NXEA!]

After many false starts, swearing, and gnashing of teeth with previous projects that have failed to get off the ground due to my sh*te wiring skills, disillusioned I took a small break from the hobby and stuck to looking at RMWeb and 'window shopping' online. However, an at the time impending house move from Tonbridge to Norwich together with cheap and exquisite Great Eastern region models in the form of J15's, D16's, B17's and the new B12, reignited my interest in East Anglian railways.

 

I'm a Great Eastern man at heart as my local shack growing up was Manor Park, and I have also lived in Southend, Halstead, Sudbury, and went to college in Colchester, so returning to my home region for my next project seemed a good choice. East Anglia, had a rich assortment of railways from the Mid-Suffolk, to coastal and rural branches and through routes, and a vast cross-country network in the M&GN, with elegant motive power and rolling stock available RTR. What more could you want? 

 

Dozens of books later, I've settled on a layout based on the West Norfolk Junction Railway (yes, a real railway). I'd had no idea this line had existed as photographs and mentions from other sources are very scarce. However it's an intriguing subject as it was a through route from Wells-next-the-Sea to Heacham which closed as early as 1952. D16's ruled supreme on short 2-coach passenger trains, with J15's and J17's providing power for freight traffic which was mainly grain, vegetables and sugar beet. The layout is set between 1948-1952. A couple of photo's to whet your appetite:  

 

In my scenario, there was a junction between Docking and Stanhoe on the WNJR with a light railway branch to Tatterford. It was built early in the 1900's on the cheap, and was intended for it to go all the way through to Fakenham to join up with the M&GN, however it never got beyond Tatterford. It soldiered on until WW2 when it became strategically important due to building of RAF Sculthorpe, but post-war it has declined and generates only two freight trains a day of sugar beet, grain, vegetables and domestic coal, however there is also an out and back train for serviceman at RAF Sculthorpe and occasional other traffic.  

 

As for the layout itself, it is small with a 4x1 scenic section, with a mantra of less is more enforced due to the lack of space in our house (luckily my other half is very supportive of my hobby!). There is no station, its purely a junction. The baseboard and electrics (DCC) were done by others as I was fed-up with the false starts and desperately wanted somewhere to run trains and crack on with scenery. The fiddle yards will be simple I know that much, but I'm not yet sure how (suggestions are welcome!). I'm aiming for something with broad skies and flat terrain, something like this (hopefully):  

 

And finally a couple of photos of where it is at the moment, with a small loop, two diverging routes at the end and a siding:  

 

For those of you that like wiring:  

 

 

And a taste of what's to come:  

 

Progress will be slow or in fits and starts as I commute from Norwich-London 3/4 days a week and juggle that with fatherhood. Stay tuned! 

Edited October 22, 2017 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

Not much to report this week. Work and a 9 month old puts paid to that, but this was always going to be a slow burner. One of the main things I'm after is to develop my skills, particularly in kits, painting and weathering. This is a marriage of convenience with the tight budget i'm constrained with - any new purchase either has to be saved for or the money raised by whittling down my NSE stock, and you get more of a personal pride for things you make yourself anyway in my humble opinion. I currently have a good amount of modelling mojo on tap, so I spent yesterday evening in front of Match of the Day putting together a Parkside Dundas kit of a LNER 5 pack wagon which I really enjoyed. Excuse the cruel iPhone shot (with spare bits for a load).   

 

 

NEM boxes and a trip to the weathering shop in the future beckons.  I'm planning to practice weathering on this one, dry brushing and pastels perhaps. A PD LNER Grain Van is up next.  

 

Attention has turned to the presentation of the layout itself. With space at a premium like everyone else, I've had to settle for a small layout, and the width is only a foot unfortunately. I'd like it wider but as it lives on a set of draws it's not really possible, so I'm currently thinking about back scenes and presentation which is crucial to enhance the feeling of space, but how tall is tall? The hard-board I have is around 2ft high, but I'm worried that it'll look kind of ridiculous! So to get a good idea of what I want to do on back scene and lighting, I've ordered a copy of Cameo layouts. Watch this space... 

[Dufus]

Hi NXEA!

 

I will watch with interest.  I live on the route of the West Norfolk Junction Railway.  The old trackway is just outside my back gate at Heacham.  I'll send you a photo or two when I get back home.  Like you I work away a fair bit.  I have started on an N gauge layout that I intend will have buildings in the style of the old buildings along this line.

 

regards,

 

Chris aka Dufus

[NXEA!]

Hi NXEA!

 

I will watch with interest. I live on the route of the West Norfolk Junction Railway. The old trackway is just outside my back gate at Heacham. I'll send you a photo or two when I get back home. Like you I work away a fair bit. I have started on an N gauge layout that I intend will have buildings in the style of the old buildings along this line.

 

regards,

 

Chris aka Dufus

Hi Chris,

 

Good to know that someone else is doing something based on the WNJR. I'll be interested to see what you come up re. the buildings - one of the reasons I went for a non-descript junction was to avoid having to model the buildings! Sources on the line are very scarce, I'm not even sure if there is a book on it? Having a junction layout also means I can move the layout around East Anglia if I wish to do so with nothing too specific to tie it down. The key thing for me is nailing the feeling of big open skies, space, and the presentation. I look forward to receiving the photos.

Edited October 30, 2017 by NXEA!

[Dufus]

Hi Chris,

 

Good to know that someone else is doing something based on the WNJR. I'll be interested to see what you come up re. the buildings - one of the reasons I went for a non-descript junction was to avoid having to model the buildings! Sources on the line are very scarce, I'm not even sure if there is a book on it? Having a junction layout also means I can move the layout around East Anglia if I wish to do so with nothing too specific to tie it down. The key thing for me is nailing the feeling of big open skies, space, and the presentation. I look forward to receiving the photos.

 

 

There are couple of books.  Middleton Press do one 'King's Lynn to Hunstanton including the Heacham to Wells branch', or the one I prefer is the Oakwood Press 'Lynn and Hunstanton railway and the West Norfolk Branch'

 

My track is going to be somewhat different to yours, A family friend died earlier in the year, leaving a baseboard and a set of plans with most of the track.  His wife was not aware that he had been working on it in his shed.  I have laid out the track and wired is as per his plans.  We have no idea what he intended to do with it scenic wise.  I intend to do something like the local area but obviously the track layout shows no resemblance to real life.  Most of the railway buildings along this part of the line were designed by Henry Le Strange and were built from the local carrstone.  There are loads of buildings built of this stone in Heacham, Hunstanton, Snetisham area that I intend to photograph and use them as a 'brick paper' to cover kit bashed or scratch built buildings.  Likewise, it is very flat, open with lots of trees and just a few buildings.  Oh and a big platform because that is the only bit of scenic that Ken designed into his layout and I felt it had to stay.

 

regards,  Chris

Edited October 31, 2017 by Dufus

[NXEA!]

There are couple of books.  Middleton Press do one 'King's Lynn to Hunstanton including the Heacham to Wells branch', or the one I prefer is the Oakwood Press 'Lynn and Hunstanton railway and the West Norfolk Branch'

 

My track is going to be somewhat different to yours, A family friend died earlier in the year, leaving a baseboard and a set of plans with most of the track.  His wife was not aware that he had been working on it in his shed.  I have laid out the track and wired is as per his plans.  We have no idea what he intended to do with it scenic wise.  I intend to do something like the local area but obviously the track layout shows no resemblance to real life.  Most of the railway buildings along this part of the line were designed by Henry Le Strange and were built from the local carrstone.  There are loads of buildings built of this stone in Heacham, Hunstanton, Snetisham area that I intend to photograph and use them as a 'brick paper' to cover kit bashed or scratch built buildings.  Likewise, it is very flat, open with lots of trees and just a few buildings.  Oh and a big platform because that is the only bit of scenic that Ken designed into his layout and I felt it had to stay.

 

regards,  Chris

 

Thanks Chris, the Oakwood Press book has duly been purchased. 

 

 Sorry to hear about your friend. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out, particularly the buildings! 

[NXEA!]

Nothing new to report. My copy of Cameo Layouts arrived yesterday, but other than a quick flick through I haven't had a chance to read it yet. However having seen some of the layouts in there, I'm already inspired! I'm hoping to knock up a fascia and backscene by next weekend, time will tell if I do though. Hopefully i'll have some time tomorrow to build the PD Grain Van kit...

[NXEA!]

Evening all, not much to report but a few bits rumbling on in the background. I've duly digested my copy of cameo layouts, some interesting information in there and some really inspirational modelling, particularly Llanastr. The PD LNER Grain van has been put together, but I need time to fit all the brake gear and other parts.  

 

Time is a precious commodity with a 9 month old - I work from home twice a week but any kind of down time is restricted to late evenings at the end of the week or during nap time on weekends, and that's if there is no house work to do! I grabbed some time this evening to cut the backscene to fit. It's plain hardboard from Hobbycraft in a very light sky blue colour as I'm after a neutral background rather than anything photographic. A couple of photos with the backscene leant against the wall with one of my J15's (which needs a logo change and renumbering eventually):  

 

  

 

Based on the first photo, does anyone think I've overdone the backscene? I've gone for an 18 inch height as I want to portray open skies and space on what is a 1 foot wide layout, and I'm also wary about the point made in Cameo Layouts about the average tree in OO gauge being around 12 inches tall. Is 18 inches too tall? I personally think it'll look ok once I've built a fascia and the layout is enclosed more, but I'd be grateful for any opinions.  

 

I was hoping to build the fascia and mount the back scenes this weekend but not sure if that's possible now. I still need to order the MDF (I don't drive and neither does my other half) and then I need to find time to put it together. This, and coming up with a fiddle yard solution are on my jobs to do, before I crack on with scenery in earnest.  

 

That's all for now. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

A little bit of progress to report...

 

I took the latter half of last week off, and whilst I spent most of my time with my other half and my son, as you should, I did get a little bit of modelling time.

 

I've ran in all my locos which all run like Swiss watches fortunately for me, and begun fitting DCC chips to them. My first time taking apart a model, and whilst it might be small beer to some it was rather daunting for a first timer! Luckily both DCC chips worked and the locos went back together great. One J15 and one D16 done, five more locos to do, and thanks to DCC Concepts who talked me through rewriting the CV for the D16 over the phone as it was a jerky runner. No progress on the PD Grain Van at the moment.

 

The biggest change is putting up the backscene. It looks much more like a layout now rather than a plank with some track on it, and I'm happy with it. It's just plain mounting board from Hobbycraft.

 

It is rather tall but the height effect will be reduced once I put the 'lid' on and a front piece of wood so I can angle the layout lighting. That's the next job to do, along with fiddle yard construction.

 

Away from the layout, I got a bonus from work which has facilitated a few purchases - a Bachmann J11 on eBay for only £50, and a couple of Gresley Teak Suburbans. Unfortunately, the wall behind my garden fence has collapsed today... No one was hurt luckily. Whether I have to pay for that either myself or as a joint thing with the neighbours I don't know as its affected more than one of us. I have a feeling that the council might pick up the tab however, in which case my bonus is spared for more goodies!

 

Anyway, photos:

 

Backscene

 

D16 62530 in the siding after arriving from Wells with a single CCT for the branch.

 

And finally a black and white arty-farty shot.

 

That's all for now, stay tuned.

Edited November 27, 2017 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

I'm aware I haven't posted anything on this recently, so a small update for anyone interested... 

 

Progress is slow, and funds and time have been getting in the way as family and work come first, and the festive period has taken up a lot of my time. However, the full fleet of loco's have been fitted with DCC chips - 3 J15's, 2 D16's, a B12 and a B17 and all work fine. The fascia for the layout is coming along - the underside has received a coat of white paint and is drying as I type this, and LED strip lighting has been ordered. I will get this fitted and the fascia finished off next week, and I'll update with some photos.  

 

Next job after that will be the fiddle yards. As SWMBO kindly lets me work on the layout in our bedroom, when I'm not operating or doing some modelling the fiddle yards and stock will have to be put away. To this end, I've bought some Really Useful Storage boxes for the storage of the cassettes. The boxes are only 75cm long, which ensures I don't overdo train lengths - a B17 and two coaches will just fit, or a J15 and 5 wagons. I'm still looking at an electrical solution for the cassettes. Chances are they will be a bit 'Heath Robinson', but as long as they work and are reliable I'm not too fussed.   

 

As most of us on RMWeb are, I'm looking forward to the Bachmann and Hornby range announcements in just over a weeks time - whilst the GE has been truly blessed by Hornby with some fantastic models, I'm hoping they've got one last Great Eastern trick up there sleeve - an E4, J69 or 50ft Corridors would have me jumping for joy! I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on the J70 and N7, time to start saving methinks! 

 

Finally, I hope everyone that reads this has a happy and prosperous 2018!  

 

That's all for now. 

Edited December 31, 2017 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

A small update...  

 

The lid, and the lighting for the fascia has now been fitted and glued in place. The lighting is some self-adhesive flexible LED strip lighting in warm white. I am happy with it, but unfortunately there is a little shadowing at the front of the layout in certain light. Its not noticeable when there's daylight coming through, however thought has turned to perhaps somehow providing an additional fluorescent tube to further light the front of the scene to avoid this. The fascia has been painted sage green for it to blend in nicely with the surrounding bedroom furniture - more aesthetically pleasing than black or bare wood. It's nice to have the layout looking like a layout rather than a plank. It's small and compact, but i'm happy with it.  

 

Below are a few photos taken with my new J11 - I'm aware its kind of off-region, but they did venture into East Anglia, and for £50 including DCC Chip, I couldn't resist! It'll need backdating with an early crest.  

 

 

 

 

 

And finally two overall views:  

 

 

As I said in my last post, next task will be the fiddle yards. That's all for now. 

[gobbler]

What type of fiddle yard are you going to have?

 

Have you already said? Or am I just being blind as a bat

 

Scott

[sb67]

Just been reading this thread, anything GE  is right up my street really looking forward to seeing this develop, it all looks great so far, well done NXEA.

Steve.

[NXEA!]

Hi Scott and Steve,  

 

Thanks for your interest.  

 

Scott, I'm sure I mentioned fiddle yards above, but I'm thinking cassettes. I have devised a crude way of joining them electrically, I just need to build them now!  

 

Steve, thanks for the kind comments.   

 

As you can probably see, I haven't made any progress recently, and that's down to a few things - things are tight financially, work is busy and I've lost my mojo a little bit, however seeing more interest in Docking Road Junction definitely encourages me to make some more progress on it. Lets see!   

[danstercivicman]

I share your pain, job, two children and a wife who has an ever extending diy list...

 

Progress looks good

[NXEA!]

I share your pain, job, two children and a wife who has an ever extending diy list...

 

Progress looks good

 

Damn that DIY list... luckily for me I tend to get out of doing DIY, I'm usually saddled with a good proportion of the household chores instead! Case in point being tonight, only just sat down... And only one child for me. At the moment...    

 

Thanks for the kind comment. 

[NXEA!]

Not much to report recently unfortunately. I've been very busy with work during March, doing courses and in London a lot of the time, and money has been tight. However it has given me lots of time to think about the layout and get some inspiration. 

 

I'm desperate to get something running properly so I can crack on with scenics and developing the layout, so I've plumped for a simple and cheap solution for now. I've ordered some Ikea Lack shelves which will act as fiddle yards. These will be fixed with clasp locks for alignment and supported by Wickes trestles which I already have.  

 

The downside of this is that I will only be able to have a few engines in steam at any one time - like most of us do, I have more stock than a layout this size requires! Over the summer I will build proper fiddle yards and cassettes with ply so I can use more stock during an operating session and have variety.  

 

I'm also pondering putting in a station after all - the premise was that it was a junction in the middle of nowhere, but a small timber halt about a coach long really appeals - the lefthand platform ramp could allow passenger access to a road with a level crossing towards the left hand side of the scene with some kind of building in the foreground to act as a view blocker for trains exiting. The siding at the front of the layout would be cut back by about 15cm if I do this, but it's something I'm seriously considering.  

 

Hopefully there will be progress next weekend - watch this space. 

Edited April 8, 2018 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

There has been progress - just not as quick I had intended. The fiddle yards have been b*stardised and are fully functional - I've fitted hinged legs to allow the fiddle yards to be folded away and put under the bed when not in use. It keeps SWMBO happy! Connection is via luggage catches, and electrical conduct is via opened out rail joiners - simple. Pictures are below - eventually, I'll get round to building cassette boards out of 2mm ply, but for now this'll do.   

 

 

 

 

I stuck offcuts of wood (part of a bed slat!) at the end to ensure I don't have any nasty or expensive accidents.  

 

This also means that for the first time I've had a fully functional layout which is a massive milestone for me, and so I've indulged in lots of thorough 'testing' (playing).  

 

There's also been a bit of progress in other areas. I've cut back the siding in the foreground, as I've decided there will be small open country road crossing and a cottage to the left to act as a view blocker. I've bought a lovely Bachmann Scenecraft cottage which I'm very pleased with. I'm planning to model a front garden with vegetable patches between the cottage and the road which will allow me to get some of that lovely fen-like black earth in. The station that can be seen is a Wills halt from the spares box so I can visualise, as I'm still toying with the idea of a small halt. 

 

Some photos:    

 

 

 

A Claud passes the cottage with a train for Heacham.  

 

 

 

Another Claud brings in a short 1 coach local.

 

 

 

Some shots of a J15 bringing the afternoon freight for the branch past the cottage and through the junction.  

 

 

Two wagons after being dropped off in the siding, including an arty-farty B/W shot.   

 

And finally, a some shots of the overall scene from a viewing perspective. Needs a lot more work! 

 

I'm pondering a location change - I would love to move the layout to the fens, but I think space precludes me building in a fen drain and windmill. I need to have a think about the view blocker on the r/h side of the layout, and there isn't much space to work with. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear!  

 

Finally, i've also been dabbling with some ballasting as you can see in the above photos - I used the Chris Nevard method with some DAS modelling clay to do the siding.   

 

 

I'm very pleased with it and love the effect, I just need to get hold of some matt emulsion tester pots to finish it off.  

 

I've also bought some of the legacy/DCC Concepts 2mm brown blend ballast, and tested it by putting it loose onto a bit of track and brushing into place.   

 

 

 

Again, I like the lightweight look of it, and I think it'll look even better once its been toned down and the sleepers and chairs picked out. Hopefully I'll get some ballast down tonight and tomorrow. Lets see! 

Edited May 6, 2018 by NXEA!

[NXEA!]

Not too much to report at the moment, as it's been a few busy weeks for me (my son has managed to have two(!) tummy bugs in that time and I've been snowed under with work and the usual day to say stuff). I did manage to get ballast down a few weeks ago but haven't been able to weather it to finish it off.  

 

I'm trying to go for an effect similar to this shot of Mildenhall by having lighter ballast with differentiation between sleepers, chairs and ballast, but a bit darker.   

 

 

A few photo's of my efforts to lay and fix it down:  

 

 

 

 

 

I will need to tone it down into a duller more uniform colour, before picking out sleepers and ballast. 

 

I am yet to paint the DAS modelling clay ballast either - I've had no time to go to a shop and pick some tester pots. The clay for the road/lane crossing is down, although no photos of that yet as I want to finish that before uploading a shot, same goes for an overall shot of the layout as it stands.  

 

Next steps for me are to give the track and ballast another coat of sleeper grime to take the edge off the ballast, paint the DAS ballast, and the road surface. A static grass applicator is also quite high up on my wishlist too! I also need to source a new transformer for my LED strip lights as my current one has died for some reason, so there's no layout lighting at the moment.  

 

Until next time!  

Edited June 10, 2018 by NXEA!

[mullie]

For a small halt why not look at Wighton on the Wells line for inspiration, a station in miniature with a brick platform only one coach in length. The Wills hut could be adapted to look like the platform building as could the building at Bartlow on the Saffron Walden platform. Mill Lane on the Thaxted branch would also be an interesting build. However, Norfolk buildings don't tend to be built out of timber, though I stand to be corrected. Any East Anglian light railway will yield inspiration for buildings and they do have quite  distinctive character not easily replicated without serious modification of kits/ ready to plant or scratch building.

 

East Anglian halts tended to have sleeper built platforms, I've built numerous versions over the years mainly using balsa, card and matchsticks. 

 

Like the look of what you have done so far.

 

Martyn

[NXEA!]

For a small halt why not look at Wighton on the Wells line for inspiration, a station in miniature with a brick platform only one coach in length. The Wills hut could be adapted to look like the platform building as could the building at Bartlow on the Saffron Walden platform. Mill Lane on the Thaxted branch would also be an interesting build. However, Norfolk buildings don't tend to be built out of timber, though I stand to be corrected. Any East Anglian light railway will yield inspiration for buildings and they do have quite  distinctive character not easily replicated without serious modification of kits/ ready to plant or scratch building.

 

East Anglian halts tended to have sleeper built platforms, I've built numerous versions over the years mainly using balsa, card and matchsticks. 

 

Like the look of what you have done so far.

 

Martyn

 

Thanks for the suggestion of Wighton. I'd not looked at it before, lovely little halt. I had looked at Mill Road, but I think it's slightly too light railway'ish for what I have in mind. That might change though! There were some lovely low-platformed halts on the M&GN too. Bartlow has figured prominently in my research, lovely colour shot on Disused Stations: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bartlow/bartlow_old2.jpg   

 

My favourite however, is Wickham Bishops on the Maldon branch (fairly interesting track plan for a halt): https://www.eastanglianrailwayarchive.co.uk/Railways/Abandoned-Lines-and-Stations/i-gf9NZ6J

 

The Wills kit isn't intended to be used on this layout, I built it a while back and got it out of the spares box temporarily. I'm intending to build something out of coffee stirrers, similar to Chris Nevard's effort on Brew Street, that should be a bit more East Anglian.  

 

I need to get a move-on, I've not done anything to the layout for a while. Thanks for the kind comment. 

Edited August 26, 2018 by NXEA!