Haston Green

[Chris Gilbert1]

Here is Haston Green, a small project I started last weekend at the beginning of the lock down. It’s an imaginary branch line  somewhere on the south coast of England between Poole and Exeter and set in the early 80s. 

The scenic part is four and a half feet long while the fiddle yard which is still to be built, will be three and a half feet long. The track plan is the same design as my North Haston layout from a few years ago, but I’ve removed the warehouse track from the rear and replaced it with a platform. 

The idea is to represent a branch line which is hanging on by the skin of its teeth. It still retains its passenger service, although it has been cut back and now terminates here. The remaining branch line past the level crossing was taken out of service. 
The passenger traffic is in the hands of a two car Bachmann Class 205 DEMU.  

The signal box, that controlled the crossing gates, is still open although not for much longer. The Dapol signals will operate once it’s all wired up. 

I’m still undecided on the freight traffic. The small goods yard was originally going to be a nuclear flask transfer point, but these wagons are quite long, which seem to over power the layout. 
I’m now looking at either a small heating fuel terminal or domestic coal unloading point or possible both. 

All the wagons are by Bachmann and have been fitted with Kadee coupling and I’m currently fitting under track magnets to allow for some hands free operation. 

The main locomotives with be a couple of Heljan Class 33s, although I am on the look out for a blue Dapol class 73 as they are both small enough to fit between the point and the level crossing. 

Despite building numerous American layouts, I’ve never managed to build a British one. Something usually manages to pee my off before I get very far into the project but I’m going to try and persevere with this one.

[Calidore]

Hi Chris, this sounds like a nice plan and the visuals already look like the blocking / sightlines will be effective when it's done. I like your idea of time period and vague location -- specific enough to give it some character but general enough to avoid the paralysis-by-analysis which I tend to get myself into, especially with SR topics when something isn't 'right'! 

 

This is giving me quite a vibe of either the Fawley or Hamworthy Goods branches, particularly the latter, so it might be worth doing some research on these if you've not before. There are a couple of really evocative videos of Hamworthy on the Unseen Steam youtube channel, which are slightly before your time period but the area is already sufficiently run-down that I think you might find them helpful. The theme of the videos is pretty much 'grey coastal grot':

 

 

 

Your goods yard area looks great with the amount of depth you seem to have on the board. My only slight suggestion would be to ask do you really need the inner home signal right next to the loop points? From a visual standpoint I wonder if it's blocking the signal box slightly and looks a bit close to the advance starter facing the other direction, and from an operational perspective I think it might have been more likely positioned before the level crossing rather than immediately after it. Up to you of course.

 

I'd definitely encourage you to persevere with this one, hard as we all know that can be -- I try to remind myself that it's ok to lose interest for a few weeks and leave it alone until I actually feel like making progress again, rather than forcing myself when I'm not really in the mood. Good luck!

 

Adam

[Chris Gilbert1]

Hi Adam, 

Thanks for the clips, very inspiring. 
 

Regarding the home signal, yes it’s probably not required or prototypically correct but I quite like the feel of it plus it will add a little operational interest. 
 

It’s very early days at the moment, and once the other details start to be added it might look too crowded there, so it may well be moved. 

[Alcanman]

Looks like an interesting project, Chris

 

I liked your original US version  - North Haston, and the track plan should work well as you've outlined.

 

I like the idea of a small coal depot with the HEA hoppers. I've seen photos of coal depots which were quite small. Something, I've had in mind myself for some time.

 

I'm also taking a break from US modelling at the moment and building several layouts. Currently trying my hand a small TMD layout.

[bodmin65]

Hi Chris,

Very interested in how you made the platform? What timber was used? if you don't mind me asking?

 

regards

 

Martin

[Joseph_Pestell]

Very interesting film clips of Hamworthy. I had not realised that the station was right on the waterfront. These days, it is some way inland with all the ferry terminal area between it and the waterfront.

[Chris Gilbert1]

10 minutes ago, bodmin65 said:

Hi Chris,

Very interested in how you made the platform? What timber was used? if you don't mind me asking?

 

regards

 

Martin

Martin 

Its 15mm by 36mm soft wood from B&Q which just happens to fit inside the clips on the peco platform edges. More by luck than judgement. I need to add some mounting card to represent the top

[bodmin65]

thanks for the info Chris.

[long island jack]

And your not finished yet!!!!

[F-UnitMad]

44 minutes ago, long island jack said:

And your not finished yet!!!!

Not American, & Not Finished.... sure this is THE Chris Gilbert, or just an imposter??

Otherwise, I'm checking the date - it's not April 1st, just yet!!!

 

Looks good so far, anyway Chris!! cracking weathering on that 33.

[d&h]

This looks very interesting. Regarding freight I seem to recall there was an article  in SMT many years ago about a small coal depot at Yeovil which used the HEA hoppers, in addition MOD workings might be an option

[Chris Gilbert1]

Well that idea failed, so what next. I need to crack this BR modelling lark. 
I wonder if I can get Shortliner’s Box Street to work. 

Working signals and live frog points, it’s all new to me. 

 

Edited April 14, 2020 by Chris Gilbert1

[Chris Gilbert1]

On 30/03/2020 at 18:19, F-UnitMad said:

Not American, & Not Finished.... sure this is THE Chris Gilbert, or just an imposter??

Otherwise, I'm checking the date - it's not April 1st, just yet!!!

 

Looks good so far, anyway Chris!! cracking weathering on that 33.

Good evening F-UnitMad how the devil are you? Long time no speak. 
Yes it’s British and no it’s not finished, this British malarkey takes a lot longer. 
 

[long island jack]

10 hours ago, Chris Gilbert1 said:

Well that idea failed, so what next. I need to crack this BR modelling lark. 

 

 

 

 

 Stick to modelling American, i've tried and better tried to get back into British modelling with very limited success, started a small industrial layout got as far as track down ,but was quickly over taken by my new American layout East Jackson, which is now 85% done, the pull of the darkside is just to strong!!!! 

[Chris Gilbert1]

Funny you should say that Raymondo 

[F-UnitMad]

11 hours ago, Chris Gilbert1 said:

Good evening F-UnitMad how the devil are you? Long time no speak. 
Yes it’s British and no it’s not finished, this British malarkey takes a lot longer. 
 

Still upright & breathing, mate!

 

Trouble with modelling British is having to stick to all the rules - prototype track plans, a forest of signals to control every move, space-eating station platforms, miles of fencing etc etc....

The total lack of an equivalent to Short Lines - even in this Privitisation Era - doesn't help, either. No one 'freelances' a British railway company - it's all got to be spot-on, "this is loco 123 exactly as it was on June 31st XXXX" 

 

If my layouts have to be nailed to a date, it's always June 31st. Because it doesn't matter what decade it was, there's never been a June 31st in any of 'em...

Edited April 15, 2020 by F-UnitMad

[Allegheny1600]

8 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Trouble with modelling British is having to stick to all the rules

Ha, ha!

Even if you say "I don't give a fig for the rules", there's always some smart alec who comes along and takes great pleasure in pointing out what you've done ''wrong'' !!

 

I do actually very much like Chris' idea here, I wish you every success with it and I was wondering if you had a plan for how to use Kadees & magnets etc with the steel axles as fitted to most British rolling stock?

Not to mention buffers getting in the way, mutter, mutter.

John.

[47137]

On 15/04/2020 at 09:46, F-UnitMad said:

Still upright & breathing, mate!

 

Trouble with modelling British is having to stick to all the rules - prototype track plans, a forest of signals to control every move, space-eating station platforms, miles of fencing etc etc....

The total lack of an equivalent to Short Lines - even in this Privitisation Era - doesn't help, either. No one 'freelances' a British railway company - it's all got to be spot-on, "this is loco 123 exactly as it was on June 31st XXXX" 

 

If my layouts have to be nailed to a date, it's always June 31st. Because it doesn't matter what decade it was, there's never been a June 31st in any of 'em...

 

There are people making models of freelance railway companies, but they are relatively quiet folk who don't make a lot of noise on the forums. There are examples to follow, like systems at steel works and quarries. When I make or repaint an engine I keep it anonymous, no running number - this helps me.

 

Maybe Chris has an update on his layout?

 

- Richard.

Edited April 24, 2020 by 47137

[BigBountyHunter]

14 hours ago, 47137 said:

 

There are people making models of freelance railway companies, but they are relatively quiet folk who don't make a lot of noise on the forums. There are examples to follow, like systems at steel works and quarries. When I make or repaint an engine I keep it anonymous, no running number - this helps me.

 

Maybe Chris has an update on his layout?

 

- Richard.

Hi, totally agree with you on that, ive not posted any of my projects on here for a while i build uk based micros and alot of them are freelance railways, i take great pleasure in creating my own worlds and scenarios for these systems, im of the opinion that if my models bring me pleasure in building and operating then thats good for me, whether they are industrial or quarries or docksides or agricultural there is alot of pleasure in building and creating that world fictional or real theres alot of scope old and new its meant to be for fun and relaxation at the end of the day and its what brings alot of people together. Right im off to lurk in the background again keep up the great work and take care all 

[rodshaw]

I'm sure American rule books are and were just as thick as British ones. And going by the pages of Model Railroader, there are lots of American modellers who like to stick to them! Even industrial operations have lots of rules.

If you're in the UK, modelling a British passenger scene for a predominantly British audience, it doesn't mean you have to stick to the rules but you'll no doubt feel more inclined to 'do it properly'.

[F-UnitMad]

Reading some articles in MR, operating a US Basement Empire sounds to me more like hard work than relaxation, but that's just me.

I think we have to be careful what "rules" we are talking about, and which we might ignore. I wasn't thinking of 'Rules' in terms of operating procedures, but more in terms of the appearance of our trains. For US outline no one will criticise if we invent our own Company livery for a Short Line, as it happens in real life. Similarly no one minds if you run a Geep in, say, a western road livery on a layout set on the east coast; somewhere in the real USA it will have happened. But if I painted some Class 26s in my own livery and ran them on a layout set in Cornwall, I think I'd be roundly mocked and jeered by the vast majority of UK modellers, because they just wouldn't "get" the Freelance thinking behind it....

[47137]

2 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Reading some articles in MR, operating a US Basement Empire sounds to me more like hard work than relaxation, but that's just me.

I think we have to be careful what "rules" we are talking about, and which we might ignore. I wasn't thinking of 'Rules' in terms of operating procedures, but more in terms of the appearance of our trains. For US outline no one will criticise if we invent our own Company livery for a Short Line, as it happens in real life. Similarly no one minds if you run a Geep in, say, a western road livery on a layout set on the east coast; somewhere in the real USA it will have happened. But if I painted some Class 26s in my own livery and ran them on a layout set in Cornwall, I think I'd be roundly mocked and jeered by the vast majority of UK modellers, because they just wouldn't "get" the Freelance thinking behind it....

 

Well - I painted my ex-BR class 11 in a mid-green, trying to match the colour it carried during its service at Day Aggregates. My back story is simply, the loco went from them to my railway instead of into preservation. I think some kind of back story is necessary, but we can set its complexity and plausibility to suit our own imaginations.

 

- Richard.

[F-UnitMad]

2 hours ago, 47137 said:

 

Well - I painted my ex-BR class 11 in a mid-green, trying to match the colour it carried during its service at Day Aggregates. My back story is simply, the loco went from them to my railway instead of into preservation. I think some kind of back story is necessary, but we can set its complexity and plausibility to suit our own imaginations.

 

- Richard.

When I modelled British HO for a few years, I converted the Roco 'Dutch 08' to a Class 11. It was black, with wasp stripes (decals from the British HO Society) and I thought it looked very smart like that - no idea how prototypical it was, if at all..!!

I run a Barclay 0-6-0 diesel shunter in O as a freelance private railway loco that exchanges trains with BR locos; it has no number & I've never come up with a name for this fictitious railway either. I agree freelancing UK Industrial railways is common enough with modellers, but no one freelances a 'main line' sort of company - I haven't either!! But if I did I'd do something like "West Midlands Freight Railway" with some 60s in my own livery, or another idea that appeals is taking a very old Company name and pretending various inconvenient facts like Grouping & Nationalisation didnt happen. With my Forest of Dean interests, a layout with diesels like 37s lettered for the "Severn & Wye Joint Railway" set in the 1970s & 80s would be something different!!

[Chris Gilbert1]

Morning all 

Interesting comments, I can already report that I’ve been politely told that Thumpers only ran east of Portsmouth or something like that, by a number of (former ) friends.

Your right F-UnitMad rules have to be adhered to. 
One thing that never fails to amaze me, is the British modeller will complain if things don’t quite look right, from the curve on the nose of a class 37 to the idea of using the wrong class of loco in the wrong area. Yet will put up with poor standards of running, god awful coupling and narrow gauge track. 
 

The layout is at the ballasting stage now , but I’ve spent the last few days rearranging the railway room, to find space to store it. 
It’s now at eye level and I’ve noticed a slight bow in the baseboard
Not sure what it do about it now. 

[Geep7]

58 minutes ago, Chris Gilbert1 said:

I can already report that I’ve been politely told that Thumpers only ran east of Portsmouth or something like that, by a number of (former ) friends.

That's rather interesting, as the Thumpers ran on both the Swanage and Lymington branches, and the last time I looked, they are very much to the west of Portsmouth. They even, on occasions, ended up in Cardiff, besides, its your model railway, rule 1 always applies.

 

I like the idea of the layout and the track plan looks interesting. I see you mention about possibly using Box Street as inspiration. I must admit I've been toying with doing a small British layout based on it as well, since I did my first US layout based on it.

 

Keep up the good work, sorry to hear about the bow in the baseboard. Any chance you can add in some additional crossmembers to try and counter it?