Modelling a Hypothetical Magnum Opus

[Guius]

Since we have delved into '12" : 1 ft' - money no object paradigm, I would rebuild the Penrith to Cockermouth Railway.

 

I might even let other people use it occasionally!

 

Guy

[PatB]

Newcastle Central, the main bridges, Gateshead, a decent length of each radiating line, and the surrounding quayside lines, along with Dunston and Redheugh Staithes (and any others within range). Probably mid-60s so as to encompass interesting steam, transition diesel, Tyneside Electrics, DMUs (I assume), lots of freight and shunting, a variety of liveries and plenty of northern grit. I'm not particularly social so a high degree of automation would be required. If I start today and live to be 100 I can probably just about get the Eastern diamonds built .

[westerner]

Gloucester from Barnwood Shed over Tramway crossing, including Horton Road shed through Central station at least to o Dr bridge over London Road, modelling the junior school I went, London Road Junior almost next to the bridge, and of course through Eastgate station to at least Barton crossing. Castles, Halls, Granges, Panniers, Praires, Jubillies, CrabS, Couple of named expresses, what more would you want. Oh and set in the period 1958- 1964, could also include hydraulic and Peaks.

[APOLLO]

I agree with the point stated that some of these pipe dreams would be unweildly and difficult to build / operate single handedly, especialy my Chicago twin station idea - probably best to just do one - Dearborn for me. As we get on in years these big pipe dreams become simply just that !!

 

Whatever, it would be O gauge for me. 

 

Brit15

[johnarcher]

A couple of further thoughts.

Penzance in mixed gauge days (c1880), with a lot of approach and a good deal of the town?

 

I recall, I think (can't check it I haven't got the book any more), that P D Hancock said that, given the space, he would like a scale mile or two of single line (NG in his case) just running through landscape, the occasional farm, river etc. That is basically my taste too, though I'd like a bit of attractive townscape too.

I've always liked the Clun plan in Iain Rice's first layout design book (driving through Clun on a lovely day yesterday reminded me) - so basically that, either actually Clun town or a freelanced closely-based-on version, railway a sort of combination of Shropshire & Montgomery and Bishop's Castle, that scale mile or so of single track in landscape, maybe one attractive small through station (Horderley?). Yes, I think that would be it for me

[bbishop]

Falls, a through station in Oberbayern with a branch line to Gefrees. In Spur Null. I've built the baseboards and am fettling them and laying the underlay. It will be called Höchstädt - mark 2, because I'm re-using the station building (see avatar).

 

Scenic length = 32ft, plus two 12ft fiddle yards, one fronted by a pastiche branch line terminus.

 

Bill

Edited May 15, 2018 by bbishop

[Talltim]

For my garden railway I’d have a nice детская железная дорога

http://www.dzd-ussr.ru

[Rowsley17D]

 

Mine would be the twin stations at Buxton with the MPD and the Ashbourne branch or, a little less ambitious, the triangular station at Ambergate.

[Allegheny1600]

In the highly unlikely event I could win a rollover lottery(!), I would head to the Peloponnese in Greece and buy the entire metre gauge system there.

I'd have the sun, scenery, food, friendly people, . . . . It would cater for my loco of Alco's too

 

Please excuse the pasty white legs!!! (It was a VERY hot day!)

I gather the Italian state railways have beaten me to it but they might consider a small section at least.

 

In strict modelling terms though, Chicago's North Western station to the Upper Peninsula with a branch over to Rapid City, S.D.

OR present day Hamburg and environs, all in H0 scale.

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

I'd just have a shunting layout...............................KINGS CROSS.  

 

manna

[Edwardian]

From the western portal of Dainton Tunnel to the west of Brent, so Totnes, Brent and some long swathes of Devon countryside in between. July 1935, just at the changeover for stock on the Limited, running prototypical full-length formations and reproducing the entire 24-hour timetable.  

Edited May 16, 2018 by Edwardian

[Barry O]

I would rebuild an old Leeds MRS OO layout.. Leeds Victoria, Dewsbury Midland and Bradford(London Rd).

 

Great fun to operate..sensible length trains, lots of goods yard shutting, an MPD or two...

Baz

Edited May 15, 2018 by Barry O

[The Johnster]

Or Cwmmer Afan, with substantial portions of the R & SB and SWMR Glyncorrwg branch.

[PatB]

If we're allowed to nominate 12" to 1' fantasy projects, I'd have Tasmania's 3'6" gauge system. It's pretty run down and truncated and so should be fairly cheap, but some of it is gloriously scenic. The line along the north-west coast. for example, is wonderful. I rather like the elderly diesel fleet too.

[tomparryharry]

Space & scale no object? Oh dear...

 

To keep it real, then it's Pontypridd, from Rhondda Cutting (the north end) down to just above Treforest Estate.. Any period, up to the 1960's. All in 4mm scale, but if I'm honest, then 00, or, EM. If I'd narrow it down a bit, then it's late 1940's. The Taff Vale was pretty much still there, and still working to near capacity. The Barry Railway had been relegated to near closure, but still had a lot of traffic. Banking work was handled by Abercynon shed, so it's a set-up dominated by tank locomotives, never -ending rakes of 4-wheel wagons. Traffic awaiting to cross over the junction. PC&N junction, and the transition from AB working to permissive. 90%-odd freight, with about 10% on passenger work. 

 

You couldn't run it by yourself, so you'd need a group of friends to come along and enjoy it as well.

 

A man can dream....

 

Ian.

Edited May 17, 2018 by tomparryharry

[johndon]

Newcastle Central, the main bridges, Gateshead, a decent length of each radiating line, and the surrounding quayside lines, along with Dunston and Redheugh Staithes (and any others within range). Probably mid-60s so as to encompass interesting steam, transition diesel, Tyneside Electrics, DMUs (I assume), lots of freight and shunting, a variety of liveries and plenty of northern grit. I'm not particularly social so a high degree of automation would be required. If I start today and live to be 100 I can probably just about get the Eastern diamonds built .

 

Same here but I'd model it in the mid 1970s before the Metro came along and the bay platforms for the coast closed...

 

John

[Bill_J]

The entire southern section of the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway. Running, as originally planned, into a terminus by the Southampton town walls. Including the proposed branch to Aldermaston. As an independent company, pre-grouping, with its own stock and locomotives in its own liveries.

 

My personal favourite "might have been - if only..."

[Jongudmund]

If the line West of Bridgnorth hadn't been lifted, the Severn Valley would have run through the Ironbridge gorge into Shrewsbury. I'd model that, as if the SVR extended, connecting Kidderminster and Shrewsbury 'today'. A mix of stock. Occasional sidings to park wagons I like the look of. And the house I grew up in on the outskirts of Shrewsbury on the backscene. (Maybe little versions of me and my brother watching the trains with my dad)

 

It would be fairly simple to operate as it would be single track most of the way. Shunting opportunities at the stations.

[tomparryharry]

The entire southern section of the Didcot, Newbury & Southampton Railway. Running, as originally planned, into a terminus by the Southampton town walls. Including the proposed branch to Aldermaston. As an independent company, pre-grouping, with its own stock and locomotives in its own liveries.

 

My personal favourite "might have been - if only..."

I can relate to that. I used to travel regularly up & down the A34, from the M4 down to the M27. The portion below the M4 is directly built upon the DN&S for the first few miles south. In winter, you can parallel the DN&S, as its just there in the undergrowth. I'm pretty sure there is a small portion of land next to Enborne Junction, as you cross over the Newbury-Westbury line.

 

I always feel rather sad when I need to travel down there.

 

Ian.

Edited May 24, 2018 by tomparryharry

[Poggy1165]

Several projects spring to mind. The trouble with this sort of exercise is that it's very hard not to keep within some sort of mental restraint.

 

I'd be quite tempted by Ashburys (Manchester) circa 1914. GC, but with lots of Midland goods trains and a few LNWR ones. Also the odd Midland passenger train working to Victoria, and Belle Vue excursions of various sorts. 7mm scale of course, preferably S7. Wow, you wouldn't half need a lot of track. As for the stock, you would really need to hire at least two full time scratch builders, although the Slaters range could provide a fair few Midland wagons. 

 

The bonus would be that you would have GC Manchester area pneumatic signalling and points. You would need a hissing device every time a point worked, as per prototype. Of course every GC light engine working to London Road or Ducie Street, or working back to Gorton would pass through. The frequency of movements would make the average exhibition layout look like a sleepy branch in Mid Wales.

[sir douglas]

the Transandine in 16mm working ABT rack and live steam Kitson meyers

 

Los Andes in Chile 154 miles to Mendoza in Argentina through a summit tunnel at 13082 feet altitude and 3463 yards long, maximum adhesion working of 1 in 40 with rack going up to 1 in 16

[298]

As well as Keddie, I'd use part of my hangar to build Skykomish, where the Great Northern electrification through the cascade tunnel ended. Boxcabs and W1s handing over to lovely green steam locos, maybe some F units pulling the Empire Builder to herald the imminent end of the interesting operations...

Edit - got the W1 and Little Joes mixed up. The Joes were obviously Milwaukee road, not GN...

And the Joes never operated on the Coast division. Somewhere like Avery on the Milwaukee Road would be nice, or the entire Yakima Valley system that I could operate on my own. Basement empire layouts are nice, but what's the point in building something that needs half a dozen people to move one train...?

[Meglomaniac]

For me it would have to be Norrisesque and be MR 1920's with all those wonderful clerestory coaches and beautiful engines.  7mm I guess to get the best of it.  Computer control and a section of 10 (scale) miles or so allowing a couple of stations to potter around in.  One would be junction with a branch to something like Grassington.  Storage yards would hold 50 trains so that I can get a real sense of "watching the trains go by".

 

Good question demanding a serious response - how do you get everything you want into a layout and stay sane/married/solvent????  Perhaps on another thread.............

[John B]

If I had an aircraft hanger and a lottery-win budget, plus unlimited time and a team of like minded idiots, I'd model Hull. All of it.

 

1920's-30's probably, with the H&B line built around the city, Cannon St still in use as a passenger station as well as Paragon (NER), Alexandra Dock as the Eastern limit (too early for Saltend), Inward Yard as the western extremity. Railway Dock and other assorted Town docks as the southern boundary, the H&B line looping around the northern suburbs as the northern limits.

 

MPDs - Dairycoates, Botanic Gardens & Springhead (plus Springhead works). NER lines radiating from Paragon to Selby / Doncaster / ECML, Beverley & Scarborough, Hornsea and Withernsea. H&B line from Barnsley to Cannon St and Alex Dock. Swing bridges, level crossings galore, trams. Goods depots (several).

 

Plenty of operational scope, don't think I'd get bored. Or anywhere near finished.

[Northmoor]

if time, money, space and skillset were not limited: what would I build?  

 

1. Woodford Halse, from the first convenient scenic break to the North to the South far enough to include all the junctions.

2. Dinting to Woodhead Tunnel