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River Dyke - Freelance Pre-Grouping Micro Layout


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After watching Budget Model Railways with their interesting micro layouts, one particular one struck me as the most inspirational:

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This is the standard Hornby track plan you see on train set boxes and in catalogues but what I hope to do is stick the siding on the inside and a station building and platform inbetween a goods siding  along with a signal box on one side and a tunnel going around it.  So, we're talking about 18 to 20 inches wide and 28 inches long. I haven't quite gotten the track yet but once I get it sorted out, the length and width might change as I still have the intention of a portable layout.

 

The name of the layout, as mentioned in the title, is River Dyke which is a fictional South Eastern branch line. The rolling stock used would be the SECR D/E Class Hybrid 4-4-0 I made from a Bachmann Edward and possibly the addition of an 0-6-0 tank locomotive reminiscent of Ex-SER/SECR tank locomotives or 0-6-0 tender goods locomotive mainly similar to the SER O/O1 Class 0-6-0 with a hint of C Class 0-6-0 possibly made from a modified Bachmann James the Red Engine maybe. But we'll see how it goes! The passenger stock is the Hornby 4-Wheel Coaches and also some old style plank wagons and a brake van almost bearing a resemblence to this SER 6-Wheeled one:
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What's a layout without buildings and figures? Well, I will purchase a driver and fireman for the 4-4-0 tender locomotive as well as some Edwardian people and station staff at the time. I was thinking of adding a couple of motor cars namely Daracqs but I will be on the lookout for them. For now, a horse-drawn wagon will have to do. Finally, there's the wiring, the controls and the baseboard. I will be working around that as well. I have plenty of track pins to spare and that's the lot set up!

 

While I work away at it, I'll be singing along to the old Music Hall songs from back in the good ol' days!

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I have just made the measurements of the micro layout I was planning to do and it's 30 inches wide by 44 inches long. Because I don't have any flexi-track to make curves, I might as well order some up as well as points, controller with wires and, of course, baseboard. I was intending to make it 28" long by 30" wide but we'll see how it goes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally, after much planning, here it is:

95938099_RiverDykeFINAL.png.ae42218b60c95cdef210465043f04466.png

The power comes from inside the tunnel and also somewhere to disguise the power wires to the controller. The layout will be a portable one and all the buildings and figures most likely will be glued down for easier transportation without having to set up everything again and again.

 

Any questions?

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  • 1 month later...

Well, well, well! Nothing much on River Dyke has been done except for the work on the rolling stock, and speaking of which...

IMG_20210408_162055_81.jpg

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Just a simple roof-swap I made and I must say that it's not too far off. It compliments my 4-4-0 nicely. I wonder how it'll cope witht he curves on the layout.

 

On closer inspection of the locomotive, I am aware of some areas where they need a bit of touching up on the paint. This I intend to rectify and sort out, hopefully. I was thinking about an LNWR-themed layout originally but maybe one day perhaps. If I find another Bachmann Edward model, I can make that into a simplified version of the LNWR George the Fifth Class 4-4-0 hopefully. For now, I am satisfied with the model and the livery I chose for it.

 

As things are getting back to normal, I am gonna work on the layout, get the track, wiring and controls, get the baseboard made and get the buildings for it. My other layout, Muckford, will soon be in the pipeline by 2022 or 2023. Let's hope for the best!

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