how to scale a layout

[whizzo]

HI all, I require help if it is possible -I am erecting  a shed come snug, so that I can model in the winter  insulated and heated etc --  the size is 15ft  long  -9 ft wide  in an L shape   4ft side ways (walkway) my question is -- I am looking to model a GWR terminus station in oo gauge  like ashbuton or  ,Morton hamstead - as published in Branchline termini  to fiddle yard -please can someone explain how to scale  from the drawing plan to fit the base board  ( so I can work out the width size of the board + the length including the bend into the fiddle yard ) I hope this makes sense -many thanks for reading  wital

[Chimer]

Well, if the published plan states the scale (say perhaps 1:10000) you just have to measure the length and breadth of the bit you want, multiply by the scale and divide by 76.  If the answer for the width is more than about 3 feet, you may have to compromise unless you will be able to get at it from both sides, as 3 feet is just about the sensible limit for reaching things.  The amount you need to add to the length for the bend depends entirely on the radius of curve you're happy to use - the bigger the better visually, but the bigger it is the less room you have left on the straight sections for station and approach on one leg, and fiddle yard on the other.  2' 6" might be a reasonable compromise given the space you have available.

 

Don't be surprised if the original answer comes out too big in both directions - it's usually necessary to compress things to suit your circumstances, but given your choices of prototype and having 15' available, the cuts may not need to be too brutal.

 

If there isn't a scale given, you might have to try fiddling around with layout planning software or Peco pointwork templates to see how big some fairly standard track formation (like a crossover) which you can identify on the plan comes out, then compare that with the size on the plan and use that as your scale ratio.  Alternatively someone on here will probably know a real-life dimension (like the size of a goods shed) which would enable you to calculate the scale of the plan.

 

Hope that helps a bit - apologies if I've misunderstood the question!

[F-UnitMad]

Layout plans for Ashburton abound, surely? Wolverhampton MRC built Moretonhamstead to scale in 4mm. An impressive task and a big layout - you realise how 'spread out' these "small" branchline stations were, but boy I found it as dull as ditchwater to view at Exhibitions!! I think they run the "real time" timetable, as well.... zzzzzzzzzzzz....... (just my opinion!)

 

Anyway digression aside, the point is that the actual sizes of these Stations is almost immaterial for the space you have. The essence of the trackplan and buildings is more important for the portrayal of a real place in a reasonable space.

[seahorse]

Try www.old-maps.co.uk

 

As it happens, there are 1953 plans for both Ashburton and Moretonhampstead at a scale of 1:2500, in metric editions with 100 metre squares marked. The former comes in at 300 metres, the latter at 500 metres. ( amost as long as King's Cross!!) Divide this by 76 to get your 00 scale length

Measure these squares on your screen, and they will also apply to non-metric maps at this scale without the squares.

 

Hope this helps

[DCB]

There is little point in even trying to scale  plan to fit your space, the important thing is to capture the essence of the track layout and any idiosyncrasies of the station so as to make the model instantly recognisable.   Of the GWR branch Termini I would have thought Kingsbridge would have been a front runner. with Bodmin being the most interesting to operate with most trains arriving then departing almost immediately, almost if it was a through station.  

 

Modelled and operated prototypically Ashburton needs one controller and no isolators as  with no signal box it was strictly one engine in steam. (boring) and even worse the train shed obstructs the cross over for the run round.

 

A mistake I made was putting in a kick back siding, it is a pain to shunt and not particularly prototypical, in fact even if a kick back siding was provided the wagons would normally be shunted by muscle power, either shunters Porters or a horse.

 

 

A decent terminus can be just four points,  a loop and two sidings, I think Blagdon was like this, a terminus arranged so the tracks can be continued on beyond the station if required as was Highworth I believe though oddly a decent model of Highworth was operated with LMS stock rather than the small panniers, 58XX 0-4-2T,and 03 class Diesels which actually ran trains.

 

There were a great many good GWR Branch Terminus layouts in the 1950s and 60s model magazines, based on recent memories of those stations and as a result they had that sense of authenticity often lacking in today's models.   14XX and auto coach leaving from the Bay plaform, the goods arriving in the loop are recent norms which have become accepted as prototype practice, in reality the Bay platforms were seldom signalled for arrivals or departures and neither were the loops so almost invariably the goods drew into the platform before shunting.

[Theheretic]

Hello Whizzo,

 

I don’t see your question raised on the forum very often but I think it’s a very important part of the process of developing and building a model railway that probably needs a higher profile.

If you have not seen it already I can thoroughly recommend the little book by Barry Norman, “Designing a layout” (ISBN 1874103 39 9) it’s a few years old now but it covers many points in the design philosophy and can open your eyes to different ways of thinking about the model railway design process.

 

In the past making a scale drawing on graph paper was one way to see if/how your design might fit into your space, now that we have computers, using one of the track layout design programs is probably the way to go (if you have some basic skill with a PC).

 

Some of the rural termini were quiet spread out and would need a good deal of compression to be accommodated  in model form. If its railway operation that is your aim in building your layout, then perhaps you need to look at prototype examples that had good levels of traffic.   You might like to look at a  terminus like Bodmin General, small and relatively busy.

 

Best regards,

Pierre

[RailWest]

>>>Modelled and operated prototypically Ashburton needs one controller and no isolators as with no signal box it was strictly one engine in steam.....

 

Not so. Prior to 1958 it was a block post, with train-staff-and-ticket working to Buckfastleigh, so it was quite feasible and legitimate to have more than one train there at once. Not that they did, mind you, except on fair days etc :-)