Layout suggestions 8'x1'

[Deckland1982]

Hi people, I would appreciate some help.

 

I am looking to make a start in the hobby and have a piece of 9mm ply 4'x2' which I was thinking of cutting down the middle to give me a baseboard 8'x1'. My problem arises from trying to put something fun into such a narrow space. I was hoping to do a GWR blt (another one, yes) as I have a 56xx and b-set - my only rolling stock.

 

I understand that I'm not going to be able to do much in such a narrow space, but was hoping to get a cattle dock, end loading ramp and goods shed if possible. I was intending to use a cassette fiddle yard in addition to the main boards too.

 

I would be extremely grateful if someone could point me in the right direction. I have played around with anyrail, but don't really know what I'm doing in terms of how much space I need for platforms etc.

 

Many thanks in advance,

Andrew.

[Shadow]

Hi Andrew,

 

Just a few questions to start.

 

What scale are you thinking about? (O, OO, N, etc)

 

Have you any preference for which end the fiddle yard will be at?

 

What sort of length trains are you hoping for, and what minimum would you settle for?

 

Have a look through these forums on here to see if any thing takes your fancy.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/87-layout-topics/

 

Also, welcome to RMWeb. 

 

Dave

[sigtech]

Hi Andrew, have you looked at 'Ffrwyd Locks' layout on here by Sarah? think it is in the forum and the archive, other places are the 'PSL book of model railways trackplans' - you can view the whole book for free on scribd.com -  you download and save the link in your favourites.

I assume you are modelling in oo?

Other books are '60 plans for small railways' by C.J.Freezer, (Peco) although you have to be aware that this is an old book (1971 ish) and that the trackplans in it were not drawn for Peco streamline, but for the old Triang series 3 track fom the 60's, which had different geometry for its pointwork.

[ginger j]

Have a look on this thread ... on the old RMweb. There are many plans which fit your needs and many which can be alterd

Hope this helps

 

GJ

[Peter Kazmierczak]

I'd avoid the GW country branch terminus approach and go for an town/city small terminus. It's often forgotten the the GW served many urban areas (West Mids / South Wales (esp with your 56XX) / Wirral) yet these are neglected model-wise.

[37114]

Pallet Lane in its original format was 8' x 9" and was fun to operate, link in my signature

[sigtech]

Hi again Andrew, further to my last post here is the link to get the 'PSL book of Model Railway Trackplans'

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/25621693/Model-Railway-Trackplans-1995
Regards

SIGTECH.

[imt]

The thread you were referred to is a wonderful resource, another is http://www.carendt.com/ - all about small and micro layout in all gauges.  If you look at my "Ullapool" in the Signalling Forum you will see my take on a (Scottish) 2.4 mtr by 40 cm layout.  The top right area is for cassettes - where you pre-load up a few trains on a set of "train carriers" and then run them in and out of the station etc.

[Deckland1982]

Hi, thanks for the replies! Yes, would be modelng 00, and looking at max train length of b-set + parcel van/tail traffic. Would love to do urban/suburban setting, as it strikes me as more likely to be a cramped site. Will check out the sites already mentioned when I have a faster conection!

[DCB]

Hi Andrew, have you looked at 'Ffrwyd Locks' layout on here by Sarah? think it is in the forum and the archive, other places are the 'PSL book of model railways trackplans' - you can view the whole book for free on scribd.com -  you download and save the link in your favourites.

I assume you are modelling in oo?

Other books are '60 plans for small railways' by C.J.Freezer, (Peco) although you have to be aware that this is an old book (1971 ish) and that the trackplans in it were not drawn for Peco streamline, but for the old Triang series 3 track fom the 60's, which had different geometry for its pointwork.

The Freezer plans were for Streamline track of the 1970's they cannot be laid with Triang series 3  track or the later series 4/ system 6/  or peco set track.  Modern streamline points need to be trimmed by about 10mm at each end to suit, more seriously the 1970's locos were much more powerful than current offerings and could cope with Freezers sometimes steep gradients, he was also mean with loco facilities as 1970's modellers could seldom afford large fleets of locos.

Freezers Minories is a classic and the version with goods yard lengthened to 8 ft could be ideal for your needs.

[Deckland1982]

 

Ok, this is just a very quick doodle. It doesn't look desperately exciting to me! Am thinking a cattle dock on the siding extending to the right, with a goods shed over the lowest siding. Would a bay platform really be necessary? could it double up as an end loading ramp maybe? I have no idea.

[maunsel]

Hi people, I would appreciate some help.

 

I am looking to make a start in the hobby and have a piece of 9mm ply 4'x2' which I was thinking of cutting down the middle to give me a baseboard 8'x1'. My problem arises from trying to put something fun into such a narrow space. I was hoping to do a GWR blt (another one, yes) as I have a 56xx and b-set - my only rolling stock.

 

Now't wrong with a GWR BLT.

 

On a practical note I am curious if your layout has to be 8ft long - because that's the length of the ply - or whether it is due to a space constraint? bearing in mind however much space you have it will never be enough!

 

9mm ply is fairly chunky, but would probably benefit from some framing, especially if sub-surface operation of turnouts is something you consider later on. It also helps having somewhere to hide the electrickery whizz bang go-go spaghetti!

 

Logistically a B-set, tank loco and a wagon come out to about 3 feet in old money by the time you add a bit or wriggle room each end. So a fiddle yard would probably need to be 3ft long at the minimum. Modelling a complete (albeit truncated) platform could eat up another 4 feet. Then there's the space that you would need for turnouts if you plan to run round your train.

 

As Western Sunset said - rural GWR stations generally used up a lot of real estate - after all it was cheap. An urban station would normally be squeezed into a smaller footprint. Not only that, but small quiet country termini tended to have small quiet timetables.

 

Carl Arendt's site http://www.carendt.com/ may help (as previously noted), not just for plans but for ideas in saving space without too many compromises.

 

One cunning example I would suggest comes from Peco's Setrack n Gauge Plan Book. I think its one of the last plans in the book. It features the end of a platform on a dock side with trains appearing from the fiddleyard through a double track Brunel trainshed into the visible area of the end of the platform. A couple of sidings do the same in the foreground, which also appear out of a train shed. All very effective in very little space.

 

Good luck!

 

Eric.

[maunsel]

As an example of a small GWR branch line terminus I have previously posted this plan to RMWeb. It is a recreation of Aberaeron Station on the Mid Wales Coast, just south of Aberystwyth. It shows the arrangement of end ramp, cattle dock and engine shed, and is totally unprototypical as it has a river running right through the middle of it. It's also in the town. I don't know what the GWR were thinking!

 

 

Hopefully it might spark some ideas about where all the bits and bobs went. It was drawn using Peco N Gauge Setrack for getting an idea of the space needed rather than as an actual layout. This layout as it is 10 feet x 3 feet and that's in n gauge! A space eater indeed!

 

 

Regards

 

Eric

[Deckland1982]

Hi, the only reason for 8x1 was that I had a piece of ply that I could use! In terms of available space, I could, theoretically, set up a layout about 36'x 4'! Not sure the wife would be hapoy mind, nor am I sure where I'd keep it. Am thinking that scenic boards at 8x2 would be better. A 3' FY sounds ok as well. Now I just need to find a plan. And I understand I would need bracing etc to mount point motors underneath.

[maunsel]

The only reason I asked about the space constraints was to understand your limitations. Thinking about the pure logistics - At an 8ft length a 3ft fiddle yards leaves you 5ft for a station, scenery, crossovers etc. While a through station of 5ft plus a 3ft fiddle yard at both ends comes out at 11ft.

 

Even 8ft is a good size to fit everything into, and lots of exhibition layouts are around that sort of length.

 

Going back to your original post I think you may find an image search through Google quite useful, or a few books from the local library. It's amazing the affect one photo can have in delivering that "Eureka!" moment. Looking at You Tube clips of past model railway exhibitions is also handy for spotting good ideas or suggestions.

 

The other suggestions I normally put forward is to list the things you really must have, and would like - then whittle that list down (saving them for the next layout), and weave these "must haves" into some kind of back story. Once that's done I usually find that the trackplan tends to create itself in the mind's eye.

 

Finally, if you decided on a through station then a 4x1 ply sheet cut 3 ways gives a nice shelf layout of 12ft x 8ins...........

[PaulRhB]

Start small and you can incorporate into a bigger layout later, even just add scenery in front and behind by extending the frames later.

Full size templates you can print to try it out full size here, saves time and money

http://www.peco-uk.com/page.asp?id=tempc100

 

Google (images) Uffculme for a classic minimum track branch station with some interest.

[maunsel]

Google (images) Uffculme for a classic minimum track branch station with some interest.

 

Which I just did. I searched for "Uffculme GWR" and one of the links lead to a rather natty EM gauge GWR terminus in just over 8x2 called "Hemlock Down" at

 

http://www.shmrc.co.uk/layouts/Hemlock_down/Hemlock_down.htm

 

It may have all the bits and bobs you're looking for, while the double slip could easily be replaced by tow "Y" turnouts.

 

Just an idea!

 

Eric

[Katier]

Definitely look at Urban/Suburban, as mentioned previously Branch lines while very popular are actually a poor choice as they would typically see little variation in traffic. Once an hour you might get a passenger train, with a daily goods service - hardly rivetting viewing!!

 

Urban take up less space and have the capability of much more varied traffic. I'm currently working on an n-gauge layout that is 6ft long including fiddle yard - so 12ft including fiddle in OO - and has the following features :-

 

3 platform station, double track approach, creamery, Parcels siding. Similarly minories could be adapted into the same space easily enough. 

 

In both cases you get future operating capacity without having to adapt the layout, so you could run push-pull services from branch lines, express loco hauled milk services, GWR railcars and other suburban sets. 

 

The fiddle yard is a traverser with normally 25" sidings (so 4ft in OO) although one has a small extension. This allows 4 coach loco hauled, or 5 car multiple units, which is long enough to represent urban services.

[Deckland1982]

Did a quick search for minories, since everyone likes that design! Found this (2nd post)

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/78492-minories-holborn-viaduct/page-3

 

Quite like the idea of adding the loco depot module, and running a private siding along the far side. Presumably would have to remove the loco stabling point? Or would this hold a pilot loco? If doing a GWR urban layout would all traffic be tanks, or could I run a small tender loco? Just thinking if I have a turntable...

 

Also, if doing this type of layout, presumably I'm going to need to run longer trains. I'm guessing a bset wouldnt warrant that much space. So 4 or 5 coaches?

 

This is my problem by the way. I see something, and want to do it. Then I think, wouldn't it be better if I used an extra 3/4 feet and did this instead! I think if I could store it out of the way, I could probably get away with a layout about 18 feet in length including the FY. 5 coaches plus tender loco = 60 inches? 5 feet? So 5 foot FY would leave 13 ft scenic?

 

Is minories a good starting point for a GWR layout? Is there something of a similar size? I have no idea where to begin looking, tried googling for small urban GWR stations but not very useful.

 

Thankyou again. Really was planning to do something small to learn the ropes!

[jon_1066]

I think you are on the right lines with sticking with something smaller and more manageable.  If only on cost grounds - a single five coach train is likely to cost you upwards of £300.

 

What about something like this?

 

 

It is 8' by 18".  Max train length would be 2 coaches.  It has some goods facilities, a two platform station and loco facilities.  For operations it also has some carriage sidings.  Basic operations would be a two coach train waits to depart in the top platform.  Another arrives freeing the line and the waiting train departs.  The newly arrived train pushes back the carriages into the carriage sidings before the loco takes on coal and water.  The outgoing train would then be taken from the carriage sidings, run around and pushed back into the departure platform.  The next train would arrive and the waiting train then depart.  Repeat as desired.

 

Throw in some auto coaches arriving and departing (via either platform) and goods trains (which would need to be run around, shunted and reassembled) and there is potential for a variety of operations.  

 

Initially you could operate it without a fiddle yard assembling trains on the incoming line however  I would suggest a cassette system would work well with such a layout.

 

Scenically there is all the railway infrastructure to keep you busy plus you could try and model some low relief urban buildings for the backscene.  Perhaps have the layout in a cutting with brick walls at the back supporting a road and shops or industrial units.

 

An advantage of something like this is you can easily extend it via the open ends of the station or turn it into a through station (though it may be better mirrored if you plan to do this to avoid facing points).