Biged4412 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 Evening Everyone After looking for inspiration for a while for my next layout and fliting between ideas I think I have settled on an idea thanks to the plan of the month in Railway modeller. My plan is to design and build my layout based upon a station on the unbuilt ilse of skye line however my idea is to assume that they built the line as a standard gauge light railway with a train ferry connection to the mainland to reduce handling. (due to the current stock that I posses and have no need intention or changing scale) My question is are they any plans of buildings/bridges or track plans of the proposed line for ideas? My other one is what kind of standard gauge locomotives would be used on a light railway. I'm aware of a few such as 0-6-0, 0-4-0 and the odd rail car but what other standard gauge could be used? Would some small tender locomotives such as a J21 or something of that size be acceptable?? The plan is to produce my own stock and wagons in my own livery for the railway. Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you in advance. Thanks Ed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green too Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Just do an interweb search for 'Colonel Stephens' and you should get plenty of inspiration ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 There is a topic here about light railways in Scotland, including the proposed lines on Skye, which gives references to books and other sources of information: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100647-light-railways-in-scotland/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
burgundy Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Wickham Green too said: Just do an interweb search for 'Colonel Stephens' and you should get plenty of inspiration ! Just suppose that there had been a Scottish version - Colonel MacStephens - what do you suppose the equivalents of his standard locos would have been? What would have taken the place of the Ilfracombe goods and Terriers that ran on English light railways? Or were the Scottish companies less inclined to sell off spare locos with a few years life left in them? Best wishes Eric Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold phil_sutters Posted March 21, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2021 When you have mainline locos like this, anything could turn up on a light railway. Of course there are loads of industrial locos now on the market which could be used anywhere. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green too Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 4 hours ago, burgundy said: Just suppose that there had been a Scottish version - Colonel MacStephens - ....... Ilfracombe goods and Terriers ....... More likely Mac(Louis)Stephenson .......... but that's bye the bye ye ken. Don't forget the proto-Terriers were a Stroudley design for the Highland ...... the 4-4-0 tankies that came later would be ideal light railway material - not to mention English machines such as Great Eastern 0-6-0TTs and Great Western 0-6-0PTs ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Don’t rule out Terriers! The Admiralty purchased five for use in Inverness in 1918 so they would have been in the right area once they’d done their bit. Beyond that you might want to consider engines from the smaller classes of pre-grouping engines made redundant by grouping. Engines from the G&SWR were culled fairly viscously by the LMS and might be useful (if you can find any models). Cheers, David 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) Stroudley Tank No.56 was renamed "Dornoch" and used to work the Dornoch Light Railway, so these proto-Terriers, and the 4-4-0 Yankee Tanks, which were used on the Fort Augustus Railway, seem about right. There weren't many to go round though. But, how long is this imaginary railway? If more than say 10 miles, you might need to start thinking about tender engines. The Highland was withdrawing 2-4-0 goods engines at about the right date for LR construction, built originally by Sharp Stewart, and rebuilt by the HR themselves, so somewhat similar date and history to Ilfracombe Goods. Edited March 21, 2021 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 4 minutes ago, Nearholmer said: ... the 4-4-0 Yankee Tanks, which were used on the Lauder Light Railway, seem about right. Highland Railway/LMS Yankee Tanks on a NBR/LNER branch line? NBR 4-4-0Ts such as the D51s (LNER classification) were used on the Lauder Light. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 You will see I corrected it already - for some reason my brain thought one railway, and my fingers typed a completely different one! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green too Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 The trouble with Scottish light railway layouts is you need a LOT of space - even narrow gauge : - ............. just sit back and imagine breathing that heather-scented fresh air ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biged4412 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 Hi Guys Thanks for all your comments your firing out some great ideas in terms of locomotives and where to gain information. I must admit I do have a thing for 0-6-0 tender locomotives and having had a look through i have a couple of locomotive drawings for Hull and Barnsley locomotives that where scrapped in the 1913 so as a back story the purchased a couple of the E class. I'm thinking of the terriers and possibly a sentianl as I am a big fan of those and possibly my own take on some of the colonel steven designs. In answer to the question the line planned was 52 miles long so maybe some slightly larger locomotives would be a good choice i assumed that light railways had a weight limit but i imagine it's more to do with speed restrictions. But some 2-4-0 would be a good choice. The plan is to run the line at around the 1919/1920 Mark with the Isle of Skye having its own livery of locos, rolling stock etc probably a sky blue colour representing the nature of the island. If anyone has any thought would be greatly appreciated as I am quite excited about this idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biged4412 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 5 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said: The trouble with Scottish light railway layouts is you need a LOT of space - even narrow gauge : - ............. just sit back and imagine breathing that heather-scented fresh air ! I have been contemplating that my plan is to use one of the larger towns to produce a small/town or remote settlement look I have a space that's 12ft x 3ft but with some clever breaks/ veiw blockers and forced perspective I'm hoping it will work im looking at either Portree or Dunvegan as an early idea but I'm open to suggestions. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 44 minutes ago, Biged4412 said: i assumed that light railways had a weight limit but i imagine it's more to do with speed restrictions. Light railways were generally built cheaply, that being the whole point, so had light-weight track, and often used tight curves and quite steep gradients to avoid the cost of major earthworks and structures. The speed limits were a function of these things. So, you do need to look for locos with low axle-weights, maybe c10 tons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biged4412 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 47 minutes ago, Nearholmer said: Light railways were generally built cheaply, that being the whole point, so had light-weight track, and often used tight curves and quite steep gradients to avoid the cost of major earthworks and structures. The speed limits were a function of these things. So, you do need to look for locos with low axle-weights, maybe c10 tons. Thank you for that ill have to have a look at the locomotives I intend to use for the scheme and see what locomotives I can in theory use on the line. Rolling stock can be pretty much anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green too Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 1 hour ago, Biged4412 said: .... Rolling stock can be pretty much anything. ..... once you've decided whether it'll be a 'conventional' line with high platforms - or more of a roadside tramway thingy with end-balcony coaches or extra steps such as the W.C. & Pee. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biged4412 Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 8 hours ago, Wickham Green too said: ..... once you've decided whether it'll be a 'conventional' line with high platforms - or more of a roadside tramway thingy with end-balcony coaches or extra steps such as the W.C. & Pee. Im struggling with that atm can't decide between either of them tbh looking around for inspiration atm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davknigh Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 19 hours ago, Wickham Green too said: The trouble with Scottish light railway layouts is you need a LOT of space - even narrow gauge : - 19 hours ago, Wickham Green too said: ............. just sit back and imagine breathing that heather-scented fresh air ! Sigh.....that brings back memories. But also of wandering up Glen Sligachan while the rain was coming down in sheets. A bit hard to model that. Cheers, David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckymucklebackit Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Fascinating fact that I learned over the weekend was that there was a railway on Ailsa Craig of all places! Just a short line to bring rock for curling stones down to the slipway, Jim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
doilum Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) 19 hours ago, Biged4412 said: Thank you for that ill have to have a look at the locomotives I intend to use for the scheme and see what locomotives I can in theory use on the line. Rolling stock can be pretty much anything. You can make up your own backstory but the ex GE J15 and E4 classes might tick the box. Another interest line of research would be small tender locomotives built in Britain for export. Manning Waddle better known for tiny tank engines, built quite a few tender locomotives in the 1860s. Nos 185-190 were a cancelled order for the Cambrian Rly that ended up with the LB&SC. Google image have the pictures. Others ended up in Bombay Belfast and Russia. Also have a look for the 2-6-2 tank engines built by Kitsons for the Mersey Tunnel. A pair ended up at Whitwood colliery in West Yorkshire. Edited March 22, 2021 by doilum Additional information Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngusDe Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 A personal flight of fancy of mine is, the Highland built their light railways on Skye and Lewis and had a rail ferry service from Kyle. Just let your imagination run wild with the ideas that then allows Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickham Green too Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 1 hour ago, davknigh said: .... the rain was coming down in sheets. A bit hard to model that. ......... nor the - most of the time - alternative : the MIDGES ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pH Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 1 hour ago, luckymucklebackit said: Fascinating fact that I learned over the weekend was that there was a railway on Ailsa Craig of all places! Just a short line to bring rock for curling stones down to the slipway, Jim It’s got its own topic on here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/61244-ailsa-craig-tramway/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Bus Driver Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 On 21/03/2021 at 20:19, Nearholmer said: Light railways were generally built cheaply, that being the whole point, so had light-weight track, and often used tight curves and quite steep gradients to avoid the cost of major earthworks and structures. The speed limits were a function of these things. So, you do need to look for locos with low axle-weights, maybe c10 tons. Didn't the good Colonel buy a lot of Contractor's locomotives as these were often cheap? Things like Sharpthorne at the Bluebell come to mind. Not to mention the old Ford petrol railbuses he liked using. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biged4412 Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 Just thinking out loud but would the railway have bought ex petrol auto cars or ex steam powered rail cars? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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