Jump to content
 

Airport idea


Recommended Posts

Hi

I am wanting to build a small modern regional airport on my layout. Something to service aircraft such as a320, e175 etc. I have seen the one at miniture wonderland and dont wont anything that extravagant. However from what I have seen there isnt really anything available in the market. So i am wondering if anyone has come across any kits that could be modified or any information that may be useful. As I may have to coinsider stratchbuilding one.

Thanks 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

You’ve not mentioned what scale, if working in N the Kato range of station and office buildings might work. If working in 4mm take a look at the Wills modern supermarket kit. If it’s a regional airport you can reasonably not bother with airbridges. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

I would suggest you can 'get away' with H0 buildings at 1:87 on a project like this easily enough.  But the a/c models are TMK 1:72, which works very much against you especially if you want to at least appear to be able to tug an A320 into a maintenance facility.  The building must have doors wide enough to accommodate the wingspan and high enough to clear the tail.  Another problem is that it is vital if you are modelling an airport, even a small local place like Newquay or Valley, the ambience of the place requires lots of open, empty, space, so such a/c, vehicles, buildings and so on will draw attention to themselves; I don't see how trains fit in unless you are thinking about something like Gatwick, which even just as a railway model would be huge and is hardly a 'local' airport.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

I have a large raised area above the tracks on my layout. I'm wanting to put something different in this space. I am thinking the best way would be a small part of an airport with a half relief terminal building etc. I am hoping to include the trains with a small branch line  station which would be something like the Newcastle airport station. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

@The Johnster @Feoffee2 PssssssT !! ............. have a look at this: https://www.google.fr/maps/@50.5143041,1.6238131,424m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

No, it's not a dirty postcard - it's Le Touquet airport (northern France). See the pale line curving through the taxiway, the (now condemned) runway and terminating at the airport building? That - that was a passenger railway line that crossed the runway on the level. There were signals to hold the train if an aircraft was about to take off. There is a picture of a diesel passenger unit waiting to cross when the runway was 'live' - I don't have the picture but I remember seeing it some time ago - it may well be available on t'intertubes.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

PS: Not forgetting Stansted has had a brand new station under the terminal for electric stock going to Cambridge/London.

Edited by Philou
PS
  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Philou said:

PS: Not forgetting Stansted has had a brand new station under the terminal for electric stock going to Cambridge/London.

 

There was a Plan of Month in RM some years ago with ideas for a Stanstedesque layout. Single track through a tunnel, relatively simple station throat and platforms mostly under the roof make for an interesting layout in a small space. A couple of extra sidings were added to the plan for added operational interest, including the idea of bringing in aviation fuel by rail. Heathrow gets its fuel by rail, although it is delivered to Colnbrook.

 

There are a fair number of 1:72 scale aircraft models available so if that's close enough to scale that might work. However in that scale the length and wingspan of a 737/A320 is around half a metre which is a lot of layout real estate to take up. If that's a problem there are models of smaller regional jets (BAe 146, ERJ-135/145, etc) and larger turboprops (Dash-8, ATR 42/72, etc) available too.

 

Another option could make it an RAF base with even smaller aircraft. Possibly a shared base with a mix of RAF training aircraft (a 1:72 scale Tucano would be only 13cm long) and general aviation with light aircraft and possibly small business jets.

 

Cheers

David

Link to post
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Philou said:

@The Johnster @Feoffee2 PssssssT !! ............. have a look at this: https://www.google.fr/maps/@50.5143041,1.6238131,424m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

No, it's not a dirty postcard - it's Le Touquet airport (northern France). See the pale line curving through the taxiway, the (now condemned) runway and terminating at the airport building? That - that was a passenger railway line that crossed the runway on the level. There were signals to hold the train if an aircraft was about to take off. There is a picture of a diesel passenger unit waiting to cross when the runway was 'live' - I don't have the picture but I remember seeing it some time ago - it may well be available on t'intertubes.

 

 

You don't even need to look that far away. The Henbury loop crosses a (now decommissioned) taxiway at Bristol Filton.

 

Even better are Wynyard, AustraliaGisborne, New Zealand and Manakara, Madagascar where they cross active runways. EDIT: and used to at Peshawar, Pakistan.

 

Cheers

David

 

Edited by DavidB-AU
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold
43 minutes ago, DavidB-AU said:

including the idea of bringing in aviation fuel by rail. Heathrow gets its fuel by rail, although it is delivered to Colnbrook.

 

One of my regular link jobs at Canton in the 70s was this train, from Canton to Swindon for relief.  I doubt much aviation spirit is needed nowadays as jets/turboprops burn paraffin, but I suppose there is still some piston engined traffic; it was already in decline in the 70s though.

 

47 minutes ago, DavidB-AU said:

There are a fair number of 1:72 scale aircraft models available so if that's close enough to scale that might work. However in that scale the length and wingspan of a 737/A320 is around half a metre which is a lot of layout real estate to take up. If that's a problem there are models of smaller regional jets (BAe 146, ERJ-135/145, etc) and larger turboprops (Dash-8, ATR 42/72, etc) available too.

 

Possible problem with this is the maintenance terminal idea.  Basing it on what I've seen at CWL (Rhoose), where there is a British Airways building for this, it is an enormous structure bigger than the passenger terminal, and capable of taking a 747 and possibly an A380.  These are sizeable lumps in 1/72, and the building has to be big enough to have a door capable of accommodating them.  

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, The Johnster said:

One of my regular link jobs at Canton in the 70s was this train, from Canton to Swindon for relief.  I doubt much aviation spirit is needed nowadays as jets/turboprops burn paraffin, but I suppose there is still some piston engined traffic; it was already in decline in the 70s though.

 

Jet-A is delivered by rail to Colnbrook. In fact British Airways owns some of the new tankers.

 

Cheers

David

  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

A Ukrainian company called BPK (Big Plane Kits) do the 737-200, CRJ-100, 200 and 700 and soon the 737-800 in 1/72 scale.

 

Welsh Models do the A320, 737-100, 200, 700 and 800, BAE 146-200 and DC-9 also in 1/72 scale.

 

All quite expensive kits.

 

Southampton Airport and the South Western Main Line are in close proximity to each other with various buildings parallel to the line and the terminal building a stones throw from Southampton Airport Parkway station, somewhere to look at for inspiration maybe?

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

A little closer to home this was RAF Ballykelly my Dads last station.  as you can see only a small section of the runway is now used for helicopters and light air craft . But when we were there , air traffic control had to contact the signal man to close the railway for Shackletons to land. In 2006 an airbus wrongly landed there thinking it was Derry airport...

I've looked at modelling just a small part of Tiree airport in N gauge.. it would take a large space even for a small aircraft..

Capture.JPG

Link to post
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Feoffee2 said:

Hi

I am wanting to build a small modern regional airport on my layout. Something to service aircraft such as a320, e175 etc. I have seen the one at miniture wonderland and dont wont anything that extravagant. However from what I have seen there isnt really anything available in the market. So i am wondering if anyone has come across any kits that could be modified or any information that may be useful. As I may have to coinsider stratchbuilding one.

Thanks 

Make it an RAF station, 

low relief hangar and a corgi hawk or something small,  then you  can deliver fuel by rail like leuchars used to 

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Model Railway Constructor published an article on modelling airports back in the 1960s: Dibber 25 of this parish was involved, IIRC.

The problem is that all but the smallest commercial aircraft are large; at the time, the largest aircraft  in 1/76 scale were the Fokker Friendship, the Hawker Herald, and the DC3, small in comparison with most airliners, but dwarfing any train in proximity.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Birmingham airport is next to the railway and there is hardstanding near the fence line

 

You may not need a terminal building, just the taxiway and stands. You could use smaller aircraft, rather than  large airliners. Maybe even a smaller maintanance hanger  to suggest a larger airport beyond

 

Also remember where the jet wash will go. Across the railway is probably not a good idea.

 

Andy

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, SM42 said:

Birmingham airport is next to the railway and there is hardstanding near the fence line

 

The threshold of Runway 02 at Shoreham Airport aka Brighton City Airport is right at the railway. One of the taxiways is parallel for a short distance.

 

Cheers

David

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

As has been pointed out, airfields are generally large wide open spaces with not much crammed together (let's ignore Heathrow and Gatwick!). In a model railway setting, what may work is to have part of the fence line near the tracks and some associated equipment near the fence line like navigation aids, red and white buildings/structures (approach landing lights could even cross the tracks), if you want some hard standing/taxi way then most airports are built on redundant ww2 airfield formations and there is often single (circle shaped) aircraft pans radiating off main taxi ways which could be used to position an aircraft on for light maintenance rather than in a hangar.

 

The rest of the airfield/airport could be shown in silhouette form on the back scene of the layout, I.e. the shape of the control tower in the distance, terminal buildings, some tail fins of other aircraft, etc. There's exceptions to every rule, but it's worth considering positioning of items too. For example if you modelled the approach lights crossing the fence line into your backscene, then don't have them in line aimed at the painted on terminal or tower. Also, airfield surveillance radars are often near the perimeter, but not likely to be found near a fuel discharge point or fuel tanks if you're thinking of adding those.

 

 

  • Agree 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
11 hours ago, DavidB-AU said:

 

The threshold of Runway 02 at Shoreham Airport aka Brighton City Airport is right at the railway. One of the taxiways is parallel for a short distance.

 

Cheers

David

And of course at Southend Airport the runway end is just 35 metres from the rail line.....

  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...