Leeds Victoria, Dewsbury Midland and Bradford London Rd a never finished oo layout

[Barry O]

Mike Coles' Falcon on his Pullman car set.

 

Yes I must have built the signals but can't find a diagram for them.. lost in time no doubt!

[Barry O]

The track plan was quite interesting. (sorry for the "faded " bit its where the extra boards were spliced in the running lines at each end.

4 platform faces, a 60' turntable so anything needing to be turned on a bigger turntable had to go back to the MPD. The warehouse has a crossover in front of it for goods reception. Notice the dmu/carriage sidings - you couldn't run stock into them via the turntable road.

 

I think that one or two of todays layout operators would struggle with this..no timetable, no sequences but after a day at a show with the layout you would be mentally tired.  I am sure @LNER4479would have loved this layout.

 

Baz

[LNER4479]

3 hours ago, Barry O said:

I think that one or two of todays layout operators would struggle with this..no timetable, no sequences but after a day at a show with the layout you would be mentally tired.  I am sure @LNER4479would have loved this layout.

 

Baz

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

no timetable, no sequences but after a day at a show with the layout you would be mentally tired.

Exhilarated would be the word I would choose. And thirsty...

[lofty.ian]

The track plan shows the interestingly shaped road bridge across the station throat.  Having built the bridge at Dewsbury Midland I was 'asked' to build this one (I couldn't think of an excuse quick enough). 

Unless it was built as a toy-train plank straight across in one span, it needed three spans.  Unfortunately the track (already laid) was a bit restricted regarding the position of bridge supports.

This added to the plan shape but it managed to look not too improbable.  I learnt a lot - plan bridge design and supports before laying track.

[Barry O]

Out of the Blue we have been sent a photo of the Layout ta Leeds show. While all of the baseboards are in place (less those for Bradford) it is an interesting shot..

 

 

Could be 1980.   The photo includes one of Mike Cooks layout (?Kingswear) as well as Mike Cole and his "Q Sound" display layout.

 

The site for the future MPD is in use storing locos and stock.. and the tracks going off towards Bradford are in place 

 

I notice her indoors is threatening me with her very large knitting needles!   Lights are on bits of 2" by 1" (and very necessary in the Corn Exchange).  Usual corrugated cardboard to go around the layout to stop people seeing what  was going on under the layout (Fireproofing was not required back then). It also stopped the wind from the entrance trying to blow through the layout.

 

We seem to have "borrowed" some of the dealers tables (it was still, as a building being used to hold auctions in those long lost days)

 

The layout visited the Corn Exchange in 1977, 1978 and 1980 .. each visit had more layout on show.

 

Thanks to John for his Photo!

Baz

Edited January 24, 2021 by Barry O

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, Barry O said:

Out of the Blue we have been sent a photo of the Layout ta Leeds show. While all of the baseboards are in place (less those for Bradford) it is an interesting shot..

 

 

Could be 1980.   The photo includes one of Mike Cooks layout (?Kingswear) as well as Mike Cole and his "Q Sound" display layout.

 

The site for the future MPD is in use storing locos and stock.. and the tracks going off towards Bradford are in place 

 

I notice her indoors is threatening me with her very large knitting needles!   Lights are on bits of 2" by 1" (and very necessary in the Corn Exchange).  Usual corrugated cardboard to go around the layout to stop people seeing what  was going on under the layout (Fireproofing was not required back then). It also stopped the wind from the entrance trying to blow through the layout.

 

We seem to have "borrowed" some of the dealers tables (it was still, as a building being used to hold auctions in those long lost days)

 

The layout visited the Corn Exchange in 1977, 1978 and 1980 .. each visit had more layout on show.

 

Thanks to John for his Photo!

Baz

That's a cracker! Yes, it looks like Kingswear.

 

I think you're right about 1980.

 

Looks like Steve Noble investigating a derailment. Rossi at the MPD? Can't pick the others. Not sure whether the one with his back to the MPD is me.

 

Might be worth posting here:

 

 

[Barry O]

7 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

That's a cracker! Yes, it looks like Kingswear.

 

I think you're right about 1980.

 

Looks like Steve Noble investigating a derailment. Rossi at the MPD? Can't pick the others. Not sure whether the one with his back to the MPD is me.

 

Might be worth posting here:

 

 

Cliff Enever at the "mpd". Motters talking to her indoors

Baz

 

Ps and yes, i will do

[Michael Edge]

I think that's me at top right leaning over the baseboard at the end of Victoria carriage sidings.

[Michael Edge]

Is that Nick sat at the goods control panel?

[Andy Ross]

I think it is me with the back to the camera. 

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Trams and Locos said:

I think it is me with the back to the camera. 

You may well be right - in which case I might have been in the pay box (brrrr...)

[Barry O]

Well her indoors has obviously escaped from the paybox so someone would be in there. 

 

Baz

[Barry O]

and then....

 

having "finished" Bradford other things started to happen in the Club. While some of those involved moved away from Leeds, others wanted to have their own layouts finished...  We did take the almost completed layout (including an unfinished MPD) to a show in Nottingham and to Leeds again) 

 

 

Sadly we were "evicted" from Dock Street as our Clubrooms would become a very, very expensive penthouse flat.

 

We had to move our goods and chattels into storage - thanks to one of our Members (Ken Nelson)  we borrowed some of his workplace to do so.

 

We couldn't get everything into the storage space.. so we left behind.. Leeds Victoria and Dewsbury (Bradford went to @SGJ, we also left behind the O Gauge Distillery built by Dave Walker, the remaining sections of Lydney and odd bits of other furniture.

 

It is a shame we had to move.. but layouts of this size and nature need to have continuous maintenance, continuing stock development (which did happen) and operators who knew how to operate the layout.

 

Our next club OO layout was of Hartford Junction .. which didn't last long as we had serious problems with the plywood used to build it... but we finally got around to building a "new" layout - Chapel en le Frith which is detailed on RMWeb.

 

Individual Members involved in the layout have since produced very good layouts including Denroyd, Windermere, Cwmafon, Herculaneum Dock, Linfit West, St Endoc, and are moving onto new scales and gauges.

 

I doubt that such a layout will appear again.. problem is, once you operate such a layout the roundy roundy design gets very boring very quickly. Shunting the yards, or moving empty stock around stations.. and having to organise "paths" for passenger movements is quite entertaining!

 

What is left? Well some of the signals, some of the buildings were stolen from one of our club rooms.. and we still have a lot of stock..including (for me)

 

 

a Wills A2 built by my late father and recently reweighted to operate trains on my new home based layout.. Leeds (London Road)

 

Baz

 

 

 

 

[Andy Ross]

We just need one of us to have a lottery win. We could rebuild it again with everything we have learned over the years. 

[Barry O]

1 hour ago, Trams and Locos said:

We just need one of us to have a lottery win. We could rebuild it again with everything we have learned over the years. 

It would be lighter, more easily moved around, would be complete with Led lighting in lightweight fascias...yes if someone wins the lottery... (we could afford to build a larger clubroom to fit it in!).

 

Stocking the layout would not be a problem. Operating it would be fun. But how many places could afford to exhibit it?

Baz

[St Enodoc]

13 hours ago, Barry O said:

O Gauge Distillery built by Dave Walker

...from a set of the original plans for Aberfeldy Distillery - my late Dad's employment in the whisky industry did have one or two benefits (hic).

[St Enodoc]

13 hours ago, Trams and Locos said:

We just need one of us to have a lottery win. We could rebuild it again with everything we have learned over the years. 

I had a lottery win on Saturday. $8.35.

[St Enodoc]

11 hours ago, Barry O said:

But how many places could afford to exhibit it?

Who cares? We'd just run it ourselves and go to the pub afterwards.