Richmond Park - the final years of SWT in the London suburbs alongside the District Line

[Richmond Park]

Hi all,

 

Richmond Park is the name of my forthcoming OO gauge model railway which is currently in the early phases of construction.  The layout will occupy a space approximately 4.7m by 2.3m and feature a central operating well.

 

The layout is to be set in South West London on the Waterloo to Reading line (also sometimes referred to as the Windsor Lines).  The layout will depict the twilight years of train operating company South West Trains (SWT), which operated the South Western franchise between 1996 and 2017.

 

When complete, the layout is to depict the fictitious station of Richmond Park, a suburban station served by both National Rail services and London Underground's District Line. Reflecting my interest in London Buses, the layout is also to include a bus depot operated by Go-Ahead London.

 

The Waterloo to Reading line runs through the London suburbs and is predominantly used for commuter traffic.  SWT suburban services on the layout will be formed of Class 450 Desiro EMU and Class 455 EMU.  The line sees some freight services and occasional charter workings, which use the connecting line at Reading to join the Great Western Main Line or the Chertsey Loop/Branch Line to connect to the South West Main Line.  These will be depicted on the layout alongside Network Rail test trains and engineers trains.

 

Richmond Park is to be my second 'proper' model railway, having previously built and exhibited an English, Welsh and Scottish Railways traction maintenance depot (TMD), known as Clay Cross TMD during the early 2000s.  Clay Cross TMD, pictured below, appeared in the July 2006 issue of Model Rail magazine.

As the construction of Richmond Park progresses, I look forward to sharing regular updates here on RMweb.

Thanks for your interest.

Matt

 

[Richmond Park]

Inspiration for the layout is to be primarily drawn from the Waterloo to Reading line around Richmond and Twickenham.  Since the arrival of Bachmann's S Stock models in 2015, I have been keen to construct a layout where National Rail meets London Underground.  To this end, I plan to create a fictitious scene similar to West Brompton, where London Underground's District Line fleetingly meets the West London Line before disappearing back underground.

 

Some inspiration...

 

[Richmond Park]

Back in the Autumn the layout room was starting to take shape.  It's the first time I've had a dedicated space for a layout.  My wife has been most accommodating, I think she said something along the lines of, "you can do whatever you like in there".  Does she realise that she may not see me for days on end! 

 

 

 

[Richmond Park]

The layout room is now a very different looking beast from that shown previously, with the walls and ceiling plastered and painted.  A laminate floor has also been laid and LED lighting installed in the ceiling in addition to a sun pipe which will bring in some natural light.

 

I have wasted no time in filling the walls with various pictures, many from the London Transport Museum and Stuart Black.  Also taking pride of place is my decommissioned London Underground luggage rack which came from the withdrawn Metropolitan 'A' Stock.  This is being used to support a dot matrix sign from UK Departure Boards.  The luggage racks are still available in two sizes from the London Transport Museum online shop at the time of writing.

 

Most importantly, baseboard construction has also commenced.  Given that the layout will be built around the room, it will be viewed from the centre and therefore not ideally suited for exhibitions.  Given this, I have opted to make the layout a permanent construction and support the baseboards with wall mounted batons, rather than with freestanding legs.  The fact the layout will not need to be portable, should hopefully make it simpler when it comes to building the underground aspect and laying track.

 

[Stan68]

Looking great! Can’t wait to see this layout develop. Following with interest!

[BusDriverMan]

My old stomping grounds! Following with interest.

[Nearholmer]

Unusual, and interesting, choice of setting, and your man-cave conversion looks to be really high-quality, so you should be comfortable in it.

[Richmond Park]

With baseboard construction underway, naturally I have been thinking about the stock which will eventually run on the layout.  This evening I have been working to enhance my London Underground S Stock models which will run on the District Line aspect of the layout.  As you may be familiar, the S Stock models were announced during 2015, being produced by Bachmann exclusively for the London Transport Museum.  At the time of writing the models are not currently in production and have sold out, however, a re-run seems likely at some point in the future.

 

More information about the models can be found in this thread;

 

I am fortunate enough to own three sets of S Stock, which I have arranged into seven car formations for use on the layout.  Judging by how much the S Stock has been selling for on eBay recently, I am grateful that I brought my sets when they were first announced!

 

For those unfamiliar, there are two types of S Stock train, the S7 and the S8.  The S8 version has eight cars and is used exclusively on the Metropolitan line.  This features a mix of both longitudinal and transverse seating, acknowledging the line’s longer distance services.  The S7 version has seven cars and is used across all sub surface lines - namely the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines.  The S7 version has fewer seats arranged longitudinally. 

 

The Bachmann models released to date depict the S8 version with a Metropolitan Line destination.  The interiors are also a mix of longitudinal and transverse seating.  While not strictly accurate for use in seven car form on the District Line, neither of these factors are particularly noticeable - the main thing is that both S7 and S8 variants have the same outward appearance.

 

For the time period the layout will be set (2015 to mid-2017), you would expect to see the S Stock working alongside their forerunners on the District Line, the D78 Stock or D Stock as it is commonly known.  The last D Stock set was withdrawn in April 2017 and is pictured below at West Ham.  In time it may be possible to model at least one train since Metromodels offer the D Stock as a 3D printed kit, however, that's for the future should funds allow.  I best get saving!

 

 

 

Back to the S Stock, I have fitted passengers, drivers and interior lighting to each set.  I have also painted the floor areas around the door vestibules dark grey as per the prototype.  For the lighting I have used the Train-Tech battery powered LED lighting strips.  I am not usually a fan of coach lighting but these bring a real enhancement which should look good as the train runs in and out of a tunnel section.  In time the sets will need a light weathering to remove the out of the box appearance.

 

[Richmond Park]

I am pleased to report that the main baseboards are now largely complete save for some final bracing.

 

My previous layout Clay Cross TMD was designed to fit in a specific space within a club room. It was also made to be taken to exhibitions and so a simple end-to-end design was adopted.  Since the primary focus of the layout was the depot, the fiddle yards at either end of the scenic area where designed to be small.  The downside to this was that it prevented trains of a decent length to be run along the main line, which ran along the rear of the layout.

 

With Richmond Park, I have opted to have baseboards around the edge of the room. This will enable a continuous run arrangement, with one side of the layout to become a fiddle yard.  The likely length of the fiddle yard tracks should enable  scale length trains to be run, perhaps with some compromise in respect of freight trains.

 

Again the layout room is approximately 4.7m by 2.3m.  Along one side of the room I have opted for baseboards which are 73cm wide or approximately 2ft 5" in old money.  To the opposite side of the room, where the fiddle yard will be, the boards are narrower at 61cm or 2ft in width.  This affords a decent central operating area with a width of circa 86cm.  The boards to either end of the room are also 73cm wide.

 

Mindful that I intend to have the Underground tracks going down beneath the main baseboards within the scenic section, I have intentionally left a gap of circa 10cm to the wall behind the fiddle yard boards. Within this space, the Underground tracks will need to come back up in order to reach baseboard height again.  I’m working on the basis that the Underground tracks will form a continuous loop.

 

Next steps are to consider possible track plans and what I would like to include scenery wise.

 

[dogbox321]

On 11/08/2020 at 10:58, Richmond Park said:

Back in the Autumn the layout room was starting to take shape.  It's the first time I've had a dedicated space for a layout.  My wife has been most accommodating, I think she said something along the lines of, "you can do whatever you like in there".  Does she realise that she may not see me for days on end! 

 

 

 

 

Looks like the room is coming on well.

 

With lockdown etc., if anything like my wife - she will be glad to have the rest of the house to herself sometimes!  Plus know where hubby is in case there is a spider, wasp etc., that needs removing.

 

Best Wishes,

 

C.

[Squirrel Rail]

On 18/08/2020 at 21:27, Richmond Park said:

With baseboard construction underway, naturally I have been thinking about the stock which will eventually run on the layout.  This evening I have been working to enhance my London Underground S Stock models which will run on the District Line aspect of the layout.  As you may be familiar, the S Stock models were announced during 2015, being produced by Bachmann exclusively for the London Transport Museum.  At the time of writing the models are not currently in production and have sold out, however, a re-run seems likely at some point in the future.

 

More information about the models can be found in this thread;

 

I am fortunate enough to own three sets of S Stock, which I have arranged into seven car formations for use on the layout.  Judging by how much the S Stock has been selling for on eBay recently, I am grateful that I brought my sets when they were first announced!

 

For those unfamiliar, there are two types of S Stock train, the S7 and the S8.  The S8 version has eight cars and is used exclusively on the Metropolitan line.  This features a mix of both longitudinal and transverse seating, acknowledging the line’s longer distance services.  The S7 version has seven cars and is used across all sub surface lines - namely the Circle, District and Hammersmith & City Lines.  The S7 version has fewer seats arranged longitudinally. 

 

The Bachmann models released to date depict the S8 version with a Metropolitan Line destination.  The interiors are also a mix of longitudinal and transverse seating.  While not strictly accurate for use in seven car form on the District Line, neither of these factors are particularly noticeable - the main thing is that both S7 and S8 variants have the same outward appearance.

 

For the time period the layout will be set (2015 to mid-2017), you would expect to see the S Stock working alongside their forerunners on the District Line, the D78 Stock or D Stock as it is commonly known.  The last D Stock set was withdrawn in April 2017 and is pictured below at West Ham.  In time it may be possible to model at least one train since Metromodels offer the D Stock as a 3D printed kit, however, that's for the future should funds allow.  I best get saving!

 

 

 

Back to the S Stock, I have fitted passengers, drivers and interior lighting to each set.  I have also painted the floor areas around the door vestibules dark grey as per the prototype.  For the lighting I have used the Train-Tech battery powered LED lighting strips.  I am not usually a fan of coach lighting but these bring a real enhancement which should look good as the train runs in and out of a tunnel section.  In time the sets will need a light weathering to remove the out of the box appearance.

 

Looks like I will be getting some S-Stock to do in the near future then  Look great with the passengers in, Cheers Jerry 

[simontaylor484]

The man cave looks good. Has the sun pipe lived up to expectations i have considered having one fitted to get light on the stairs as an alternative to fitting part glazed doors to some rooms. 

[Richmond Park]

8 hours ago, simontaylor484 said:

The man cave looks good. Has the sun pipe lived up to expectations i have considered having one fitted to get light on the stairs as an alternative to fitting part glazed doors to some rooms. 

It certainly has, I can thoroughly recommend.  Had it been possible I would have added a second one. It’s a great way of bringing in natural light even on a dull day.

[Richmond Park]

I have started to consider those features I would like to incorporate on Richmond Park.  It would be good to include a station where the Underground and National Rail meet. However, taking into account my desire to operate scale length trains, I am keen to avoid a situation whereby the majority of the layout simply becomes a large station scene.  To avoid this, I am going to explore the idea of modelling a half station, potentially where the ends of the platforms extend out from beneath a road bridge and the station building sits above.

 

The Waterloo to Reading line forms the core of a group of lines and branches heading generally westwards from Waterloo. Much of the line is a simple two track railway.  Having studied various stations along the route, the country end of Twickenham Station provides an interesting track plan to model. Here the main line meets the tail end of the Kingston and Hounslow loop line.

 

In the images below the Class 450 Desiro and GBRF Class 66 are approaching Twickenham heading London bound. The westbound Kingston and Hounslow loop line can be seen curving off to the right. This then crosses over the main line. The eastbound loop line curves off from the main line to the left, just beyond the red signal in the Desiro picture.

 

In the space I have available I shall explore whether it is possible to model a similar track layout to that at Twickenham, with a line joining the main line to create the impression of a junction.

 

Twickenham station itself provides three through platforms as pictured below. Typically two platforms are used for westbound services and one is used for eastbound services. I like the idea of this arrangement since it would offer greater scope operationally than a typical two track line. For example, having two westbound platforms would allow for a stopping service while another passenger service or freight passes through.

 

I am keen to try and strike the right balance between creating something which is visually and operationally interesting and something which appears unrealistically cramped.  There is often a temptation to incorporate a lot of features within a small space but this rarely reflects reality, particularly in the modern era.
 

Time to get planning...
 

[Squirrel Rail]

Don't forget a very large stabling point for all your Class 57s

[Richmond Park]

September is shaping up to be a busy month and so I'm not sure how much layout time I will have in the coming weeks.  Today, with a few hours to spare, I have started to put down some track to see what might be possible in the main scenic area. Call me old fashion but I find it easier to visualise what works by using sections of track and some rolling stock. To start, I have laid down wallpaper lining over the boards in order that I can mark out features and make any notes as I go.

 

In the first image below the stacked Bachmann boxes represent a road bridge where the station building would sit above at street level.  I am thinking that this end of the layout would have the station building and a town scene on a raised area which would run the full width and depth of the layout.  By raising the scenery over the track at this end of the layout, I could hide the curving tracks to the fiddle yard beneath, giving the impression that the railway continues straight on rather than curving round at each end of the scenic area.

 

My initial thoughts are for a track layout similar to Twickenham with a single eastbound track (furthest to the right) and two westbound tracks (those in the centre). To the lefthand side are two Underground tracks. I am favouring a half station arrangement (if that's the correct term) where the platform ends would project out from under the bridge. This would allow for two or three carriages to be visible, with the remainder hidden from view under the raised area.

 

 

The image below is looking in the opposite direction.  The Twickenham style track plan is clearly evident, with the two mainline tracks converging to the left of the signal box and continuing round the bend out of view.

 

I have also laid out a single track going off to the right of the signal box. I am thinking this would be akin to the tail end of the westbound Kingston and Hounslow loop line. I am still considering how to treat this end scenically.  Given the available space, I am not convinced at this point that it would be possible to model the tail end of the eastbound loop line.  If the mainline crossover was pulled back towards the camera, then a further single track could branch off to the left opposite the signal box, where the MPV is stood.  However, this could all appear too cramped and it may be best to leave it as though the eastbound loop line is joined out of view around the corner.

 

Should space permit then some form of small engineers sidings for stabling track machines and MPVs would be good. I am thinking something akin to the sidings which are situated to the north of East Croydon Station.

 

 

Finally, the Underground tracks to the right hand side in the above image would start to descend immediately at the end of the platforms as with West Brompton. By the time they reach where the single track loop line crosses, they will need to be below baseboard height.

 

 

I shall have a further play around as time permits and see what I can come up with.

 

[Oldddudders]

I so applaud your method of track planning, in situ with real track or facsimiles. It enables real-world evaluation of lengths and radii, giving full confidence that the layout is feasible. No pen and paper exercise can assure that. 

[Stan68]

It’s looking really good! May I ask where did you get your kit of the 455 as there isn’t an Rtr model? 

[Richmond Park]

On 29/08/2020 at 15:40, Stan68 said:

It’s looking really good! May I ask where did you get your kit of the 455 as there isn’t an Rtr model? 

 

Hi, I currently have two 4-car class 455/9s which are good to go and will run on the layout as an 8-car set.  They were brought as kits from Bratchell Models and built for me by Peter at Britannia Pacific Models.  I can highly recommend both the kits and the services of Britannia Pacific Models.

 

I also have a Bratchell Models 4-car class 455/8 which still needs building.  Once the 455/8 is built, I will explore the installation of directional lighting.

 

https://www.bratchellmodels.com

 

http://www.britanniapacific.co.uk

 

Best regards,

Matt

Edited October 7, 2020 by Richmond Park

[stivesnick]

Like the track plan idea. 

 

The station building over the tracks is a bit like Richmond, Wimbledon or Ealing Broadway stations, but not sure how far the paltforms would extend under "the town", although there  may be examples from other places. 

 

Nick  

Edited August 29, 2020 by stivesnick

[Richmond Park]

2 hours ago, stivesnick said:

Like the track plan idea. 

 

The station building over the tracks is a bit like Richmond, Wimbledon or Ealing Broadway stations, but not sure how far the paltforms would extend under "the town", although there  may be examples from other places. 

 

Nick  

 

Hi Nick,

 

Thanks for your comments. I wanted to include a station to add some additional interest but also to provide a reason for trains to be slowing down rather than just wizzing through. I’m not entirely happy with my initial plans so will give this aspect some further thought.

 

Cheers

Matt

[Stan68]

16 hours ago, Richmond Park said:

 

Hi, I currently have two 4-car class 455/8s which are good to go and will run on the layout as an 8-car set.  They were brought as kits from Bratchell Models and built for me by Peter at Britannia Pacific Models.  I can highly recommend both the kits and the services of Britannia Pacific Models.

 

I also have a Bratchell Models 4-car class 455/9 which still needs building.  Once the 455/9 is built, I will explore the installation of directional lighting.

 

https://www.bratchellmodels.com

 

http://www.britanniapacific.co.uk

 

Best regards,

Matt

Thanks for the info! Good luck with the 455/9 too. Also, I saw on Britannia Pacific Models they are making a GatEx 387 via 3d printing. Might suit your era and location just about

[Melangoose]

I like your ideas for the layout. The track plan you have devised is typical of the maze of tracks that you get on the “Windsor Lines”.  I do drive through the area when diverted away from the mainline.  Will follow with much interest.

[Richmond Park]

I am continuing to play around with the track plan. I am broadly happy with the position of the underground where it will descend and with the general configuration of the main running lines.  I also like the idea of the branch coming in to join akin to Twickenham, although haven't quite got my head round how this would work scenically yet.

 

The engineers sidings are still under consideration, with them potentially makes the board look congested but without means there would be limited interest in the main scenic area aside from the passing trains.  The pictures below show without the sidings and with them but in a different position to my previous post.  I have also been exploring how the track layout will work through the fiddle yard area.

 

[Squirrel Rail]

Hi Matt, all looking good - could you put the engineers sidings over between the LTE lines and the back wall with an access line before the line surfaces or direct from the fiddle yard and then through the bridge at the end? I’m sure you’ve already considered  it and ruled it out!!!