Round the back of the shed

[IncorrectlySpelt]

Im not sure if this is the right place for this but here goes.

 

I've started a small layout/diorama which Ive decided to call "round the back of the sheds". I've planned out the layout already and started building it .

 

From left to right, parcels depot and headshunt, then 2 lines coming out of a maintenance shed and the feed line into the scene. The green lines are part of the fiddle yard which will be hidden by a scenic break of some sort

 

Ive started building the layout, it will be DC but im not settled what controller to use so for the time being I'm using a H&M Duette which is a bit overkill. The board splits into 2 in the middle which will make the wiring a bit tricky as I'll need to toggle each line across the split. Add in the fact that I dont have much room to store my layout so the base board is just a board wiring this will be interesting, im just resting it on some wood so I dont squash the wires for now 

 

For scenicking I'm not sure what to do around where the track rubber is in the above picture, I was thinking some kind of storage, so a grounded goods van or carriage but im not sure. For the parcels depot I'm stumped by what to build there, I cant find any pictures of a dedicated parcels depot not on a station, I dont have much room so it'll have to be quite small. 

Progress might be slow as I've got to juggle this, college and work for a bit but Im not sure what will happen in september, I may not have time or room for trains at uni

Thanks for looking 

 

[luke the train spotter]

Sounds like an interesting layout. I'll follow with interest. About your joint, you may want to invest in some micro connectors.

[HonestTom]

Re the parcels depot, you might consider Paddington. While it's not completely separate from the rest of the station, it is fairly removed from the main part of it. You could recreate something similar in low relief.

 

I understand York also had a separate, small goods/parcels station, and in fact I think someone did a layout a couple of years ago that was in Railway Modeller.

 

I looked into a similar concept myself, but for various reasons I never did anything with it. The basic idea was that, like Paddington, it would be on the outskirts of a larger urban terminus. The idea was that while the focus would be on shunting parcels and goods traffic, I could also have carriage stock or larger locomotives being stored awaiting their turn at the main station, located "offstage." Premium land prices would be my justification for a small, cramped setup.

[Jerry1975]

The York layout HonestTom mentioned is called Hudson Street, it's EM gauge and a very nice little layout it is, I saw it at the Scarborough show a few weeks ago.

 

Jerry.

[HonestTom]

That's the one, many thanks. Yeah, it's a great example of a realistic urban micro-layout.

[andyram]

This looks like an interesting project. I look forward to seeing further progress.

[IncorrectlySpelt]

While looking around for inspiration for the shed and era I found this image of the SR (?) basingstoke depot in 1965. It suits the aesthetic that I have in mind for everything, Im currently planning on using a Hornby 2 road engine shed (R8004) and building on top of it with plasticard for the funnels or what ever they're called on top of the shed.

 

Sounds like an interesting layout. I'll follow with interest. About your joint, you may want to invest in some micro connectors.

Thanks for this tip Luke, I have bought some micro connectors, they are a bit smaller than I was anticipating but they should be alright to use.

 

Also on the list of purchases was a GEM point lever starter set and 2 more levers from antics for all my points, they'll be used on points 1 and 3 (left to right on the track plan) and I'm planning on using an old H&M 2 way switch for the middle point to switch both the power and track together.

[Rivercider]

There have been a few layouts that feature a smallish parcels depot, the inference being that the main part of the major station is off-scene.

 

 

There was also a thread discussing possible prototype locations that could be used for inspiration

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/104777-small-terminii-with-parcels-depots/

 

cheers

[andyram]

Sounds promising.

[Vallon]

Nice start. What's next ?