New Ideas for 2mm Finescale Layouts

[Snow White]

I am getting the urge to try a new 2mm Finescale layout after several years of trying other things. I am really looking for something practical, but just that little bit different - mainly for home use, but exhibitable too. I have no strong bias towards any one region, company or period.

 

We must all have come up with great ideas that never got fulfilled. Given a reasonable amount of experience, sensible expenditure and an average sized home, what would you do?

 

Extra marks for originality!

[edcayton]

Midford. Already discussed in another thread on here (sorry, too stupid to do links). I've seen an N gauge model of it, and it really lends itself to the "trains in the landscape" possibilities of the scale. You wouldn't need to build many points even if you included the goods yard, depends if you enjoy shunting or watching the trains go by.

 

Ed

[nigelb]

harborne has lots of scenic and operational potential

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrh2200.htm

[Donw]

Jas Millham's Yaxbury has always impressed me. The idea of modelling a complete branch could well be feasible in 2mm.

Don

[Snow White]

Many thanks for the ideas - even if there were so few

 

I didn't want to pinch someone else's good ideas, just get an idea of the potential of 2mm modelling at the moment, to set my mind off on its own creative path. I was finding it difficult to get into a 2FS frame of mind and what I can realistically achieve on my own these days.

 

Never mind, all is not lost. I will work something out somehow!

 

Many thanks again to those who did contribute - I will certainly take your ideas into consideration!

[Revolution Ben]

Hello Snow White,

 

If you were to give some ideas of the available size, and any strong wants you might have (station, freight, shunting?) you might find people more willing to spend time thinking about and posting suggestions.

 

I did read your request but I didn't offer any ideas because the brief is so vague. I suspect that many like me are unenthusiastic about putting effort and time into a lengthy and coherently argued posting only to find that it was pointless suggesting, for example, a modern era layout because you are not keen on diesels.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[Snow White]

.... it was pointless suggesting, for example, a modern era layout because you are not keen on diesels.

 

Too be fair, I did say "I have no strong bias towards any one region, company or period", but I take your point. Thanks for being honest making everything so clear.

[Graham R]

I suppose one big change in the 2FS space over the last five years is the ability to produce high quantity, high quality plain track far faster than before; and (if you stick to diesel outline) high quantity, high quality motive power to run on it by drop-in rewheeling of new-generation Farish motive power or painless wheel reprofiling (via the 2mmSA members' service) of Dapol.

 

What can you do for less time and money than before? Train-in-the-landscape layouts from long thin segments, either end-to-end or continuous-run, built in bits, stored upright in sections, and set up quickly for running sessions when you have the space and freedom from other distractions; urban double line or single line through Highland moors, it's up to you. Who said you need pointwork to make a layout interesting?

 

If you are in the 2mmSA or know someone who is, and can access the magazine archive CD, there was a series of articles in 1977/78 by David Towers, "Mallerstang in miniature", which caught my imagination when I browsed the CD and sticks in my mind as a nice illustration of what's possible. He made a 20'x4' double-line continuous-run in an 8'x5' garden shed, cut it in half lengthways and stuck lean-to fashion against a garden wall. In solder-and-sleeperstrip days this would be a major time investment: much less so now.

 

Another trend, with exhibitions in mind, is circular layouts, which work nicely in 2FS. For example, Alan Whitehouse's Mini-MSW (video at http://2mmsmrv.blogspot.com/ , along with several other 2FS classics) or Tony Simms' Brafferton (in the Blogs section, http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/602-2mm-modelling/).

 

A final suggestion: Henk Oversloot's approach to finescale, though not UK prototype or 1:152, is always provocative and interesting: http://www.fs160.eu/

 

I am not UK based, am a very unproductive modeller, and don't get much exposure to exhibitions, model press, and so on, so I may well be off on a tangent here. If so, someone please step in and shut me up!

 

Graham

[Snow White]

Thanks Ed, Nigel, Don, Ben and Graham

[Alan76]

I've thought for a long time that a great 2FS railway could be a model of the elevated section of line across central Manchester from Platforms 13 and 14 at Piccadilly to Oxford Road. You'd do looking from West to East, so you'd have the line on its viaduct in the foreground, with a blackdrop of the backs of those huge office buildings. There are a couple of bomb site car parks and smaller buildings, one or two in a semi-derelict condition, all of which would be a good modelling challenge. A couple of large buildings could form view blockers to end the scenic section. If you absolutely must have a station (sigh), then Oxford Road itself with that fantastic roof would be a nice project. You could use a bit of selective compression and do Oxford Road bounded by the overbridge at Castle Hill Junction (chopping out Deansgate and all the inconvenient stuff in between) and the bidge over Oxford Road, using the pair of large buildings on either side of the tracks to mark the end of the scenery. It's one of the few things that I also think would work well as a post-privatisation model with a wide variety of TOC liveries as well as two freight companies (at least) working to and from Trafford Park. And it would have to be straight - not a circle!

 

Alan

[Scottish Modeller]

I've thought for a long time that a great 2FS railway could be a model of the elevated section of line across central Manchester from Platforms 13 and 14 at Piccadilly to Oxford Road. You'd do looking from West to East, so you'd have the line on its viaduct in the foreground, with a blackdrop of the backs of those huge office buildings. There are a couple of bomb site car parks and smaller buildings, one or two in a semi-derelict condition, all of which would be a good modelling challenge. A couple of large buildings could form view blockers to end the scenic section. If you absolutely must have a station (sigh), then Oxford Road itself with that fantastic roof would be a nice project. You could use a bit of selective compression and do Oxford Road bounded by the overbridge at Castle Hill Junction (chopping out Deansgate and all the inconvenient stuff in between) and the bidge over Oxford Road, using the pair of large buildings on either side of the tracks to mark the end of the scenery. It's one of the few things that I also think would work well as a post-privatisation model with a wide variety of TOC liveries as well as two freight companies (at least) working to and from Trafford Park. And it would have to be straight - not a circle!

 

Alan

Hi Alan,

 

I had a similar thought for a layout - not exactly the same spot as you but...

 

 

Lifted straight from Google Earth.

 

Thanks

[Snow White]

Many thanks again for the ideas. Manchester sounds a really great idea - but probably for a group layout, rather than an individual modeller - especially with that dramatic urban landscape!

 

After careful thought, I think a small test track and a bit of stock ought to be my first priority. That will give me a little more time to think about what I want to do in the long term.

 

I have made a note of the very good ideas put forward though - and may yet choose one of them or something very similar in the future.

[nigelb]

snow white one thing may be to have a pertty good idea of what you eventually plan to model then your trial stock would not be wasted ..... even if its like mine a cripple for a siding lol

[Chrislock]

One idea which I've been mulling over for some time is a section of the electrified Midland line between Lancaster - Morecambe - Heysham circa 1910.

Way too ambitious for me at this stage, but a fascinating railway.

 

A more realistic answer would be probably to attempt a section of the old Midland mainline through Whatstandwell/ Bridge, complete with stone wharfs and canal.

[Snow White]

snow white one thing may be to have a pertty good idea of what you eventually plan to model then your trial stock would not be wasted ..... even if its like mine a cripple for a siding lol

 

I guess for locos, I could consider RTR stuff that is currently available, easy to convert and fairly recently introduced, to give me quality appearance and running. That narrows things down quite a bit. Looking at the conversion wheel sets available, there really are only a handful of choices at the moment - basically a few diesels and 1st generation DMUs from Farish, if I understand things correctly. To match, I would then have to buy RTR coaches and wagons, as 2mm scale ones will look a bit small next to converted N gauge equipment.

 

The alternative is scratch-building nearly everything to 2mm scale, which would definitely make it very important to choose a specific railway right from the start.

 

Oh decisions, decisions......!

[Gingerbread]

I guess for locos, I could consider RTR stuff that is currently available, easy to convert and fairly recently introduced, to give me quality appearance and running. That narrows things down quite a bit. Looking at the conversion wheel sets available, there really are only a handful of choices at the moment - basically a few diesels and 1st generation DMUs from Farish, if I understand things correctly. To match, I would then have to buy RTR coaches and wagons, as 2mm scale ones will look a bit small next to converted N gauge equipment.

 

The alternative is scratch-building nearly everything to 2mm scale, which would definitely make it very important to choose a specific railway right from the start.

 

Oh decisions, decisions......!

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the "smaller" size of 2mm against N - it's about 3%, and in most cases won't be very obvious.

 

However, using the more pragmatic criterion of availability you would probably come to a similar conclusion. Modern image is more readily available in N than in 2mm (and generally fairly easily convertible by re-wheeling), whereas older stock (particularly in the pre-Grouping era which I prefer) is probably more readily available in 2mm than N, and much of what is available for N is older designs of poorer quality and significantly over-scale, even in N.

 

Perhaps look at the crossover period for your first trial, which is probably early BR with a mixture of steam and diesel traction (hence some easy conversions) and a mixture of stock from both 2mm and N ranges, covering post-Grouping and early BR.

 

David

[IanLister]

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the "smaller" size of 2mm against N - it's about 3%, and in most cases won't be very obvious.

 

However, using the more pragmatic criterion of availability you would probably come to a similar conclusion. Modern image is more readily available in N than in 2mm (and generally fairly easily convertible by re-wheeling), whereas older stock (particularly in the pre-Grouping era which I prefer) is probably more readily available in 2mm than N, and much of what is available for N is older designs of poorer quality and significantly over-scale, even in N.

 

Perhaps look at the crossover period for your first trial, which is probably early BR with a mixture of steam and diesel traction (hence some easy conversions) and a mixture of stock from both 2mm and N ranges, covering post-Grouping and early BR.

 

David

 

Good advice, I think. You get something running fairly quickly, and it doesn't just run, it runs well, which means you can play with uncoupling, shunting and all those other interesting things that rely on basic good running quality. If you're testing your first handbuilt turnout with your first scratchbuilt loco and it doesn't work, where do you start looking to put it right? A rewheeled diesel or two means when you've built some track you can play happily while deciding what to do next. My layout will be well underway before I even think about stock building; I've got enough stuff to learn without making it even more complicated!! If you go for the transition period, then you can introduce steam when you're ready to move up a gear.

I spent an hour shunting Spittal Yard last night, and enjoyed it immensely; no stalling, falling over or failing couplings. Tonight it's back to making buildings with an enthusiasm boost from last night's success. Doing the easy bits first is a good confidence booster when you're starting out.

[Roygraham]

How about Titley Junction on the Leominster-Kington line, trains coming from four directions and not too many sidings.

 

 

roygraham

[Snow White]

How about Titley Junction on the Leominster-Kington line, trains coming from four directions and not too many sidings.

roygraham

That looks a very simple, yet busy place. I will definitely add it to the list of locations to consider. Many thanks.

[StuartM]

May I suggest you try your hand at a depot or shunting plank first as this will allow you to hone your skills and actually finish something in a reasonably short amount of time. Plus the playability of watching locos running across pointwork or moving wagons or parcels vans from one siding to another is an enjoyable way to waste an hour or so.

And in doing so you might get an idea for the larger layout you metion or realise that it would be quicker to build it in n ?

[Snow White]

Thanks for your encouragement Stuart. My current idea for a test track is to build something like a very small terminus or diorama that can be added to in the future. The impression I get is that it takes a long time for most people to do even quite small projects in 2mm scale. The last thing I want is to have to discard my work in a year or two's time and start afresh, in order to achieve something more ambitious.

 

I now have a few ideas that seem pretty sound. I just want to take some time thinking them through very carefully before I commit to spending money and starting construction.

[Alan76]

Might not fit in entirely with your idea of doing something that can be added to later, but a realtively simple project would be to build the calssic CJ Freezer plan 'Minories' in 2FS. Six turnouts and a few lengths of Easitrac. I've fancied having a go at this a few times - but with longer platforms to take five coaches and a short loco. I think I worked out that it would all work quite well if you built the two hinged sections three feet long. A third three-foot section would give a simple fiddle yard and could even be hinged to fold back onto the two folded scenic sections for transporting it. Not surprigingly, my plan was to run a mix of black EM1 Woodhead electric and steam locos. I've more or less got the stock - just need the railway! But this would work just as well as a straight steam or transition period model or even a BR Blue job predominantly run by DMUs with the odd loco hauled passenger or parcels train.

 

Alan

[Snow White]

Alan,

 

I don't envy you trying to make a model based on CJF's Minories. I just don't have the talent or the imagination to convert a basic track plan like that into a convincing finescale layout. There is so much left to the imagination, like signalling, architecture, surrounding scenery, finer details of the trackwork etc etc - and no photos to work from. Far from being simple; for me it would be a huge challenge, I think - and I doubt if I would be satisfied with the final result.

 

I think my personal preference would be to at least start with a real location, even if I have to modify it slightly to turn it into a practicable layout. With Google, disused-stations.org.uk, old OS maps for the UK and Ireland and a host of other photos and information on the Internet, there is much available about real locations - plus books and magazines, of course.

[queensquare]

Im not sure I "get" this thread at all :/

 

Nothing suggested suits, it needs to be prototypical, you are aware of a wide sources but cant or dont have any imagination to convert them to a model

 

 

Please explain as they say......

 

Here here, the thread seems pointless to me

 

Jerry

[Oldddudders]

Im not sure I "get" this thread at all :/

 

Nothing suggested suits, it needs to be prototypical, you are aware of a wide sources but cant or dont have any imagination to convert them to a model

 

Please explain as they say......

C'mon chaps - be fair. Snow White has a yen to do some Real Modelling - 2mmFS ain't for the half-hearted, I'm sure - but has limited affinity for any prototype. The Seven Dwarfs (nothing personal!) have come up with some ideas, and SW is distilling those. The practicalities of scale and product availability are even more critical in such a less-than-universal scale, so impinge upon prototype choice as well. I bet SW has a shorter list of possibilities now. Do we really begrudge her the thread-time?