RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 9, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2014 Right, as some of you may know I have been working on these boxes with Tim Horn, and have a show booked for the first one in June. No actual physical progress has yet been made on ‘Boxhorn Lane’ a cliché Micro layout, TMD… because that’s what fits! Those that know me, I like to push boundaries a little, a TMD in a 3 foot box will make a nice little layout but it’s hardly pushing any boundaries… What I really fancy is Birmingham New Street in the 1990’s… Now that’s pushing boundaries! Ok, ok I concede, there are going to have to be compromises. I will only have space for 6 platforms and I will only have enough length for 6 coach trains, ONLY! On a 3ft scenic board! Now where did those boundaries go!!! Boxhorn Lane will probably still get built at some point but this plan has me exited, this will demonstrate everything that is ‘big’ with micro layouts. It will prove that you don’t need bags of room to model a realistic location. It will show that you don’t need to go down the cliché route and have a GWR BLT, a BR Blue Highland terminus or a modern TMD if you have less than an acre to play with and finally it will show that a micro layout can be about more than shuffling a few wagons about. The Plan: Courtesy of Pete on here, who brought my attention to a plan from Model Rail 161, I started scribbling, a scenic box, with a fiddle yard either side initially. I am keeping options open in closing the U shape with another scenic section at the back, which will with the right connections being made enable 3 separate trains to ‘loop’ the layout but also enable a train to run from the bay platform, perform a 3 circuit spiral and finish in the fiddle yard to the right without covering the same track twice! How cool is that! City U shape by Steve Purves, on Flickr Transposed in to the box… I printed some Peco turnout plans and cut some stripe of paper to represent plain track. Placing them around the box and I can see that it pretty much fits, a few tweaks here and there and she’ll be ‘reet… City box by Steve Purves, on Flickr Mocking it up… With a basic trackplan in the box, its time to get some toys out. I have a pack of cheap thin card that I can cut up to represent things like bridges and structures a lid off my stock box to represent ‘street level’. I can imagine looking under the poorly lit roof, at trains across multiple dingy plaftorms, light penetrating from the open end. I only have freight stock at the minute so replace the HAA’s with some intercity liveried mk2’s awaiting to depart on a cross country service whilst a HST (the steel train in reality) winds its way in from the north. A local cross city train is waiting over on one of the back platforms for access to the ‘main’ whilst the station pilot awaits its next turn of duty… City mock up by Steve Purves, on Flickr City mock up by Steve Purves, on Flickr Phew, that’s the excitement over, now to start buying some track! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Great start, Steve. I'm guessing that now would NOT be a good time to tell you that I got hold of a copy of the original magazine article and the track plan's a bit completely different...? Oops. I think I like yours better though... Crack on, mate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted December 9, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hi Steve Interesting project. Have you seen Jim Smith Wright's New Street in P4 project? He's done quite a lot of research on the prototype location, which he is depicting as it was in the late 1980s I believe. See here: http://www.p4newstreet.com/ cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 9, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 9, 2014 Yeah, been an avid follower of JSW's work for a while... Simply stunning, Not enough superlatives in stock to do it justice! Exactly the kind of dingyness I want to recreate! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 15, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 15, 2014 Small step forward, Trackwork ordered and a request for suitable stock has gone out... I have 6 months to build and stock the layout to exhobition standard, Let Battle Commence! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 Hi Steve, Great Plan! For what it's worth - given that you're going to have a space of 3' x 5'6" I would go for the full circuit rather than a U shape if at all possible. You can get plenty of parallel tracks round a 3' radius in N and it would allow you to run much longer trains and handle the stock a lot less, it also gives you the option of just letting 2-3 trains go round if you've enough power supplies. Looking forward to watching this one develop. I guess I'll crack on with the TMD/EMD plan now you've moved on! Cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 By uncanny coincidence, there's another (similar) Paul Lunn plan in this month's BRM based on the Merseyrail system. I'm itching to build something other than a BLT that can handle 6 coaches, and a continuous run with hidden platforms is currently ticking all the boxes for me. N or OO? Might have to blag a spare room. Keep us posted on this one Steve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimleygrid Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Very good idea, your plan will make for a nice layout. I look forward to seeing this progress. Cannot help but feel that the steel and coal trains look rather nice on the layout, shame they have to be replaced by passenger trains! Sorry, whilst I do like HSTs, I am a big freight fan! May be you could still have a pair of 37/5s or a Metals 60 passing through on those lovely BAAs?!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 16, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hi Steve, Great Plan! For what it's worth - given that you're going to have a space of 3' x 5'6" I would go for the full circuit rather than a U shape if at all possible. You can get plenty of parallel tracks round a 3' radius in N and it would allow you to run much longer trains and handle the stock a lot less, it also gives you the option of just letting 2-3 trains go round if you've enough power supplies. Looking forward to watching this one develop. I guess I'll crack on with the TMD/EMD plan now you've moved on! Cheers Thanks David, I have sketched a plan I will attach later, there are two real options for 'joining the loop'. one which I have sketched results in a route from the bays on the inside right, around the circuit 3 times before terminating on the outside right. This will also have the possibility of running two trains on seperate circuits. The other option doesnt have the 'A to B' possibility but enables me to run 4 trains on 4 seperate circuits. The devil is in how I join the fiddle yard roads as you will see... I'm leaning towards the first option to be honest. I hope you do do a TMD, as what you have done with exchange square is inspriational and I'm sure it will look fab! By uncanny coincidence, there's another (similar) Paul Lunn plan in this month's BRM based on the Merseyrail system. I'm itching to build something other than a BLT that can handle 6 coaches, and a continuous run with hidden platforms is currently ticking all the boxes for me. N or OO? Might have to blag a spare room. Keep us posted on this one Steve. I did read those plans Pete, Looks good, a little more complicated than this one. Have a dabble in N, you know you want to! Croydon is coming along superbly and soon will be coming towards completion, time to start working on the domestic authorities and planning the next! We can have an 'urban-off' to see how we each interpret similar ideas into reality! Very good idea, your plan will make for a nice layout. I look forward to seeing this progress. Cannot help but feel that the steel and coal trains look rather nice on the layout, shame they have to be replaced by passenger trains! Sorry, whilst I do like HSTs, I am a big freight fan! May be you could still have a pair of 37/5s or a Metals 60 passing through on those lovely BAAs?!! Many thanks, I have sold a lot of freight stock recently but have deliberately kept the BAAs and HAA's for use on here as something to break up the Sea of IC... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 16, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 16, 2014 Here's the sketch with the links in place. The back box I am thinking of an urban railway cutting, a web of bridges and nests of buildings.. if you look hard enough you will see a train kinda thing... City roundy by Steve Purves, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted December 16, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hi Steve The concept looks interseting, I look forward to seeing how it delevelops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I think this was always destined to be a roundy, Steve. Plus when it's done you can sit back with a cuppa and just trainspot... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Hi Steve, I think I would do the concentric rings idea with points instead of plain track. If you have a ladder of points somewhere so that a train can go from front > back in a few loops, you can still set the points so that two or more trains can do circuits independently. As it's drawn at the moment you can only to the front > back move and trains can't just run unsupervised. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 16, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 16, 2014 I understand the concern David, here's a bit of colouring to show what I mean... Concentric Circles... City roundy atob by Steve Purves, on Flickr Roundy... City roundy loops by Steve Purves, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Ah, got it! Hadn't spotted that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogauge83A Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Wonder if something like this would work on an 8 by 2 board, I would think I wouldn't get the fidle yard area on the right but I did put some track down to see Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddletank Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Looking forward to this one! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Robert Shrives Posted December 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 20, 2014 Hi, Check out Steve Farmer`s Tanners Hill in Dec 2014 Railway Modeller - operational what you are up to. The fiddle track plan is fiction on the article diagram. All tracks lead into a pair of points back to back with kick back stock sidings. This being a one man layout the points mean effectivily one feed and one train at a time but with slick work it does not show as emus shuttle siding to siding via station and only freights kick back. It is stunning to watch - rail ballet I guess. Given the short nature of 323/158/170/ 220 /350 operation this v easy to replicate on BHM plans, It would be worth perpaps making provision for a Pendo - given a 5 car option on the pledge site- just £195 check www.ngaugependolino.com . The XC Hst option is a 7 car but a 5 car would work As I run trains into and out the station as my daily task it is good to see layouts based on BHM - at least these will run on time !! Robert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 21, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 21, 2014 Thanks guys. Updates will be brief over christmas, mostly consisting of photo's as I am on my phone. Firstly a couple of pics of some new arrivals. A rake of Mk2s for NESW services. I am still on the look out for suitable locos... Secondly a package arrived from Hattons containing the track for the box. Last night I got most of the station throat area laid, And got the ends marked up for cutting exit holes. Once I cut the holes later I hope to get the rest of the track laid tonight. Heres a couple of pictures ti give you an idea what I am trying to achieve... Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Station throat and other new aquisitions by Steve Purves, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 21, 2014 Share Posted December 21, 2014 Looking good, Steve. I was going to ask what the things that looked like etched birdcages were... then realised I was an idiot... Nice tablecloth, btw. I do think a 47 in IC or large logo blue would look good on the front of those Mk2s... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 22, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 22, 2014 Got one on the way Pete! Managed to geth the track finished last night. Next job is to put the DCC bus in and wire up the droppers! Permanent way by Steve Purves, on Flickr Permanent way by Steve Purves, on Flickr Permanent way by Steve Purves, on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
big T Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Nice and ambitious Steve, I'll keep my eye on developments! Im going for some of Tim's boards for my next layout, they are well worth the money. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub39h Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Cracking stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steve Purves Posted December 23, 2014 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks! I'll probably be having a few days off as there's apparently something happening this week? I am having a bit of a clear out of surplus this week as I have found a loco I want/need for this project! I also have a class 87 on the way to go with the theme. Not so much on the theme is an FGW 47 and rake of 5 FGW mk2 which will be swap fodder for correct era stuff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Clive Mortimore Posted December 23, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 23, 2014 I feel a real pillock, I was thinking "How the hell is he going to get all that in within those dimensions?" when I saw the track plan..........whoops I thought it was going to be 00 not N. It looks like it will be a fun layout to operate as well as view. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.