The universal BLT

[Guest Jack Benson]

Many years ago, I was searching for a simple solution to build a BLT that would fit in a Mk2 Golf, be transportable by two shifters and require a minimum amount of stock. ‘Minories’ was always an option but I am right handed therefore fiddleyard on my right side and rural rather than suburban - a loop seemed essential, so did a ‘kink’ in the track to bring the exit road as close as possible to the near edge but a feeling of space was also priority.

 

The plan is so simple but subtle, a gently curving platform and large radius ‘wye’ on the local release are essential as they distract attention from the size of the layout. Enough for an 02 and two 58’ Maunsell rebuilds or whatever else takes your fancy. We ran two passenger trains and two goods, it was enough to keep both the public and operator amused.

 

So, there It is, no attempt to fix a location or period, the choice is yours.

 

Cheers and Stay Safe

 

 

 

[Danemouth]

Danemouth is the samr size , a similar plan with an extra siding

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134246-danemouth-a-seaside-blt/&do=findComment&comment=3684944

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

Edited July 6, 2020 by Danemouth

[Nearholmer]

I like it, because it looks plausible, and is enough for gentle one-person operation.

 

Some will argue with the plausibility of the loco shed, but many branches began as independents, with their own engine, and some hung on to a shed to the very end.

 

Because many (most?) branches began as independents, I've thought that a "universal" in typical rather than well-known-company colours, and with widely-use contractor-provided signalling, would be particularly plausible as a pre-grouping thing, set during the period when many branches were either leased to, worked by, or recently collapsed into the arms of the big companies. It could be operated with GWR stock, then LSWR stock, then LNWR stock etc in rotation.

[Flying Pig]

@Nearholmer's Desin Your Own BLT thread might be worth recalling here:

 

 

[Guest Jack Benson]

Nearholmer,

 

It began simply as a set of simple requirements rather than a copy of anything:-

 

1. Platform

2. Run round+loco release

3. Lock-up on platform.

4. Cartage track.

5. Storage siding.

6. Loco shed with fuel+water

 

The subtle curve, big wye and kink are all tricks to please the eye and get the exit as near to the operator as possible. For the station building, we tried cricket pavillions (one was a laser-cut kit from Oz), the lock-up was Peco and the loco shed was Airfix with a corrugated plain roof.  It looked perfect for a Colonel Stephens affair or something in the North of Scotland, just nice and gentle to waste some time. 

 

I implore folk to play around with the idea, it can be flipped horizontally but operating from the front needs a bit more though so that the exit is always next to the operator.

 

Cheers and Stay Safe

[Keith Addenbrooke]

4 hours ago, Jack Benson said:

Many years ago, I was searching for a simple solution to build a BLT that would fit in a Mk2 Golf, be transportable by two shifters and require a minimum amount of stock. ‘Minories’ was always an option but I am right handed therefore fiddleyard on my right side and rural rather than suburban - a loop seemed essential, so did a ‘kink’ in the track to bring the exit road as close as possible to the near edge but a feeling of space was also priority.

 

The plan is so simple but subtle, a gently curving platform and large radius ‘wye’ on the local release are essential as they distract attention from the size of the layout. Enough for an 02 and two 58’ Maunsell rebuilds or whatever else takes your fancy. We ran two passenger trains and two goods, it was enough to keep both the public and operator amused.

 

So, there It is, no attempt to fix a location or period, the choice is yours.

 

Cheers and Stay Safe

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Danemouth said:

Danemouth is the samr size , a similar plan with an extra siding

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134246-danemouth-a-seaside-blt/&do=findComment&comment=3684944

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

One thing I really like about this plan, which Danemouth also demonstrates really well, is having a longer platform than needed to help with the illusions of a) space, and b) this is a country branch terminus operating well within the capacity originally envisaged.

 

In both cases the fiddle yard is shorter than the platform and 2/3rds of the total length or more is scenic.  The instant I see a plan like this we’re out of the city, life is generally lived at a slower pace, and I for one would like to stay and watch a while.  Excellent.

[steve1]

Reminds me of Shipston-on-Stour.

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss3104.htm

 

Which I've never seen modelled.

 

steve

[brossard]

Back in 2013, Hornby Magazine ran a series of articles called "Operation Build It".  A fairly generic BLT was covered by the series.

 

John

[wagonman]

I would have put the engine shed behind the platform and gained an extra goods siding, possibly with a side or end loading bank.

 

 

 

[Guest Jack Benson]

The essential difference is that the plan is both based on a prototype and it exists as a successful model, which should please* armchair pedants.

 

Thank you

 

*or infuriate, which is more likely.

Edited July 24, 2020 by Jack Benson
The horror of predictive text, thanks Apple.

[wagonman]

Sorry, I thought we were talking about British prototypes. My bad.

 

 

[Guest Jack Benson]

1 hour ago, wagonman said:

Sorry, I thought we were talking about British prototypes. My bad.

 

 

The clue is in the title ‘The universal BLT’

 

Cheers and Stay Safe

[wagonman]

Given that the associated infrastructure is so wildly different, this does seem a rather pointless exercise. But it's your train set, not mine.

[DCB]

I suppose you could model the middle of a station between two over bridges if you wanted a pointless station,  For myself I think you need a loop and two sidings for 1880s on and 1860 -1880 add a loco shed and a short stub road leading to a buffer stop both so locos can't escape to the main line from the shed and for somewhere to buffer up to so the driver could slip the wheels and pump some water into the boiler in the days before injectors.   I know Banff (Scotland) did very well without a loop.   Where to put the platform is then to taste. The OP is more Highland  (Wick) than GW but I like Looe. Modelled at high tide with the water almost lapping at the rail ends, save a fortune on static grass.  Static seaweed anyone?

[The Stationmaster]

3 hours ago, wagonman said:

Given that the associated infrastructure is so wildly different, this does seem a rather pointless exercise. But it's your train set, not mine.

Hmm, maybe things don't change too much layout wise overseas - the plan below is an (East) German n.g. branch terminus but note it does have a 2 road engine shed at extreme right (the hatched area.  So effectively an extra run round line and two more crossovers but otherwise it is still a fairly classic branch terminus.  so maybe one size does fit all when it comes to some small stations?

 

 

[wagonman]

Mike. The basic requirements of a small terminus:  a means to run round the train, accommodation for passengers and freight – and locos/railscars – would seem fairly universal, but I was making the point that the infrastructure would be very different. I remain bemused by the apparent uselessness of the 'search'.

[roythebus]

One thing people tend to forget is that on the prototype there's very little straight track. A gently curving platform always looks better than a straight one, especially on a small lyout.

 

[Guest Jack Benson]

9 hours ago, roythebus said:

One thing people tend to forget is that on the prototype there's very little straight track. A gently curving platform always looks better than a straight one, especially on a small lyout.

 

Roy,

 

Apart from the headshunt, there is no straight piece of track on the plan. There was entirely intentional from the outset, taking the cue from the subtle curves of a magnolia bloom, the curves please the eye as does the reverse curve on the exit road.

 

It was simply an exercise in artwork and later transposed as a simple trackplan. Most of these parameters are lost on those with no eye for style or of a parochial mindset.

 

Cheers and Stay Safe

 

 

[Metropolitan H]

On 30/07/2020 at 13:51, The Stationmaster said:

Hmm, maybe things don't change too much layout wise overseas - the plan below is an (East) German n.g. branch terminus but note it does have a 2 road engine shed at extreme right (the hatched area.  So effectively an extra run round line and two more crossovers but otherwise it is still a fairly classic branch terminus.  so maybe one size does fit all when it comes to some small stations?

 

 

Actually the Loco shed at the bufferstops end of Radeburg terminus is a three (3) road shed - at least it was when I visited on an RTC trip in April 2018.

 

 

Regards

Chris H