Jump to content
 

A dream layout- would it be possible


Loch Ectary1

Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Gold

Chris Turnbill's Cromer is to my mind a brilliant modern layout but so simple. I have yet to see a really good big modern layout. These sort of things take time and money. Either that or most of my friends are old steam nuts.

Don

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is mine (and I've been sawing and banging away and now have the main baseboards down). This is just a schematic. The actual diagram with positions on is overlaid over a google map at one end and over a copyright set of drawings of the station as was the other so I can't really share that version. I still need to go over it in detail and check all the movements so any howlers do enlighten me !

 

hill.jpg

It's Birmingham Snow Hill (Llivery street top, four lines into two and tunnel offscene left), only in this case I've modelled it as if it was rationalised but not closed and kept the link to Wolverhampton (although presumably low level still became parcels only), and then as New Street began to creak it saw all sorts of interesting services. Where possible I've kept sections of the original track alignments and point positions but trimmed it down a lot.

 

As a modern era location I think it's excellent. In that imaginary world you've got

 

- HS2 (which naturally was routed into Snow Hill and the station spruced up and electrified) including Eurostar services, Nightstar (once I have time to build all the bits), and a few trains on to Wolverhampton in the kind of intelligent urban renewal planning that HS2 has totally flunked in reality. Maybe even the Ice service to Berlin (but not at the price Arnold want for the ICE4 set)

[The real Snow Hill of old was long enough for a full Eurostar but fortunately I'm modelling one end]

- Local DMU services down the old line to Leamington

- Kidderminster services

- Marylebone services including the funky new loco hauled stuff

- WSMR prior to that (and when I was designing it WSMR was the assumption)

- Arriva services to Wales via Shrewsbury (150 available in N, 175 built, need some 158s for the Aberystwyth train)

- Arriva loco hauled to London (clearly an enlightened move)

- A few voyagers

- Electrified services out to Wolverhampton (313 already built) and diesel ones to Shrewsbury (LM 170 etc)

- Anything interesting on the HS2 freight side (92 - when it appears, 86 etc)

- Steel trains to Wolverhampton

- All sorts of other plausible and less so freight routings

- Railtours plus the Shakespeare express (I'm still trying to decide about the turntable)

- Mail trains late at night

- Diversions from Birmingham N/S etc.

 

(and optionally depend what else you assume survived the FGW HST service from the Midlands to South Wales via Stratford upon Avon)

 

Activity wise there was also the remains of the depot which seem a plausible fueling/servicing point, storage etc

 

It works pretty well for late 1960s interest (Hydraulics and reduced mainline services) and early 1970s. Late 1970s is more of a problem as it really ought to be an endless tedious procession of Tysley DMU stock but most of the right units aren't available.

 

The plan also keeps one line mostly disconnected. In current mode it will have a gratuitious tram on it - because 8), with a second stop roughly where St Pauls is today but the other side of the line, and in 1970s mode the tram stop will vanish under a removable EMU servicing shed - at least that is the idea

 

I couldn't fit the other outside line into the space (the real old station is about 55cm wide in N and I'm a spot under that in room) so the back of the station will become the 'Livery Street Office & Shopping Complex' on the basis part of it was redeveloped.

 

The other end of the station conveniently doesn't have to exist as it'll vanish under the big roof (god knows how I shall build that !)

Link to post
Share on other sites

This is (about half of) my Templot effort based on a location in the South East.

 

In 2mm the whole thing would be about 20m x 40m (so far, with more to come), but in my dream world it is P4.....

Giggles madly and wonders why the men with white coats are knocking on the door... :sarcastic:

 

post-12874-0-87215000-1317071769_thumb.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Can you guess what it yet, mate?

 

When I was younger I spent hours poring over a London street map, so I immediately recognised it. You've missed Bricklayers Arms out though!

 

When I was very small, I used to imagine that it might be possible to model the entire British railway network, to scale, in 4mm. Sadly, when I was older, I worked out that the whole thing would be somewhat over seven (real) miles long. God knows who I thought would operate it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

When I was younger I spent hours poring over a London street map, so I immediately recognised it. You've missed Bricklayers Arms out though!

 

When I was very small, I used to imagine that it might be possible to model the entire British railway network, to scale, in 4mm. Sadly, when I was older, I worked out that the whole thing would be somewhat over seven (real) miles long. God knows who I thought would operate it.

 

Indeed! Modern image with the new New Cross Gate depot et al. Sadly the "long slope" will be rather redundant....

 

In reality I recon I can do one end of one station in the vicinity. The question is which one?

 

Decisions decisions.... :no:

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...