Work has now started and the main baseboard and some of the points have been built. The layout is due to be shown at EXPO EM at Bracknell in May 2010 so I have a little tighter deadline than most entries!

Inspired by various dock/quay layouts I have seen recently, including that of our glorious leader, my thoughts turned to a "quicky" project to keep me (and my partner in crime Ken) busy between more significant layouts. I had been wanting a J63 (GCR Dock Tank)for some time and having just built one for a friend a Great Central fish dock layout seemed to fit the bill. I have mentioned to one or two people and please don't send for the men in the white coats but I actually had a dream that I had the layout, which set me off down this path. When I woke up I could remember the dream clearly and what is being put together now has no carefully drawn plan. It is all in my head in the minutest detail!

The LD&ECR intended building a dock at Sutton on Sea to compete with the GCR one at Immingham. In the event it never happened (usual cause - no money!!!) and the LD&ECR was taken over by the GCR. So the model is a "might have been" corner of a larger dock complex, portraying a typical fish handling facility as well as a more general quayside siding. Although only about 6'3" by 1'3" in total, through running is possible to the "rest" of the docks, allowing traffic which cannot be handled on the modelled section.

The period will by around 1912 so when I have built appropriate stock, the main traffic will be worked by a J63 plus a J60 (ex LD&ECR 0-6-0T) in GCR livery. As there is nothing to give the layout away as being GCR and we have some suitable LNWR rolling stock, we may play fast and loose with history and decide that Sutton is really in the North West (the LD&ECR tanks did end up at Wrexham!) so we can have LNWR and GCR locos alongside each other. Sutton is a vague enough name to get away with such things!

I will post some pictures of progress so far as soon as I have taken some and possibly a plan too.

I have decided to enter my current project into the contest. It started about 6 weeks ago with the usual "what can I put on this piece of plywood?" - said piece of plywood only 66 inches by 9 inches.

Having purchased a Hornby class 153 "bubble car" in Wessex black and gold colours a few months ago, the West Country came to mind.

The layout portrays a small halt in the country surrounded by trees with a small (you've guessed it!) china clay operation in the background.

However, here is the difference - it supposes that the branch is a remnant of the old LSWR lines in Cornwall.

This is what inspired the idea in the first place:

I spent much time trying to configure how to squeeze a main running line, station and sidings into the small space. It finally dawned on me that the running line and sidings didn't necessarily have to be connected and this made it a lot easier to get it all in.

Here's the trackplan:

Photos of early construction and progress:

Still much to be done and I'm waiting for the weather to inprove again so I can get some decent pictures outside.

It should hopefully mean I get a layout finished in a reasonable amount of time instead of the 5 or so years it took for the last one.

So far my plan is for a rectangular layout measuring 20in by 100in. It will be formed of two boards each 50in by 20in.

This means I'll be using 2000 of the 2010sq in allocated.

As for the plan itself It's basically a small Speedlink yard set in the late 80's early 90's just before the winding up of Speedlink. Geographical area is currently undecided but it's somewhere in England.

Below is the current track plan design although it may change:

The black rectangles are platforms. The longest one being a reopened station, this will therefore be of 'rationalised' appearance.

The second platform is an unloading platform which backs onto a small warehouse.

The fiddle yard will be a single track sector plate feeding two lines under a town scene. Trains enter the yard from under an over bridge/tunnel.

The sector plate also forms the second point for the run round loop.

Other then all that I'm also going to be using the layout to try out Kadee coupleings and operating the points using DCC control rarther then switches.

The only thing needed now is permission from my dad to build the layout.

Scale: undecided (decided on 4mm)

Gauge: undecided (decided on OO)

Size: 2010 something or other within the rules (1950 including FY and growning)

Baseboard material: undecided (but less prone to warp than the last one) (decided on 18mm ply on 12mm ply frames)

Motive power: probably electric (12V maybe) DC more likely than DCC - but ya never know

Track Plan: There will be one .... but maybe .... several evolving

Shape: well have I ever let you down yet? let's just say not your normal rectangle. - Wedgy

Now to go rummage in the loft and see what spares are gathering dust ....

Scale 3.5mm/ft

Name Harlem Station (my version of the Eire Harlem Terminal Yard) Per plan on Carls site Scrapbook 91

Current size is intended to be 48" x 32" with an optional double length Peco Locolift fiddle yard to represent the carfloat

Locos - Alco Boxcabs + possible GE 44 tonner

Cars - all freight almost certainly all 40' types

Power- 12v DC

Minimum Radius - 12"

Prototype details to follow:

Kind regards

Thanks for any advice

Chris

It is to represent a US eastcoast city´s harbour with a car-float operation. The time period is

supposed to be the late 40´s, early 50´s.

It is replacing my old layout that is now sold.....so....

Now it's serious!

I have made the framework (300x42 cm) and had the electric work done, I opted for a built-in switch so I can turn on and off optional features.

A picture of the basic construction

The framework is built using 90x20 mm pine with 9mm MDF as a top.

I glued 20 mm pink-foam as a sound-dampener on top of the MDF.

Everything is glued with "No-Nails" from Pattex, which I think is a really good glue.

I used Pelly-consoles to attach the layout on the wall, it does it´s job well.

It was very easy to mount the background and the shelf above the layout.

The backdrop is 3 mm masonite with wooden stiffeners glued to the backside:

The shelf serves as the holder for the flourescent tubes and the light-valance.

The background is plain 1/8:th masonite glued with 18 x 18 mm strips on the back for stiffening it up.

I have also started painting the background and primed it with a blue color fading down to a light, almost white color:

I prefer to let the "chaos theory" rule when I paint my backgrounds, it gives me a bit to play with when I start with the detail painting (the clouds, etc.).

I want to get a framed effect when looking at the layout, and as it is in our living room,

I want it to have a certain "elegance furniture", which is difficult because I'm not a carpenter [].

I have painted the front of the valance a neutral gray color (NCS 6000 N), it provides a rather neat appearance.

I have also primed the foam in an earth color to make it a little nicer in appearance than the original pink color.

I had some luck when the local "cheapy store" in the city sold matte latex paint in last years fashion-colors for $5 quart [:-bigeyes2].

On top of it all it was the colors that was great to use as "earth" that was on sale [].

I wanted to see how the buildings look "in situ", so I've placed them temporarily before commencing with track laying:

Now I'll just have to nail and glue the masonite on the fascia and cut it to match the landscape contours, then I´m ready to make some trackwork and landscaping.

I don´t want to do one thing at a time and running the risk to get "blind" .

This is the mockup of buildings I made before tracklaying:

I have also started the tracklaying, I really enjoy this.

I use Peco code 75 track and turnouts as I think it is a very good looking and well functioning track system.

I opted for all Electrofrog turnouts (& crossings),

as I hate it when short wheelbase loco´s stall on the turnouts.

I glued the tracks directly on the foam using No Nails glue.

After that I painted the track:

I decided after some pondering that I wanted manual turnout controls,

and as I use Electrofrog turnouts,

I needed some way to switch the frog polarity.

After some searching on the web and in my old mags,

I found that the most usual way was this:

A DPDT switch coupled to the switchbar with a 1 mm piano wire.

I used a 2 mm pianowire as a pushrod from the front of the layout,

where I use a 20 mm wooden ball as a knob:

As can be seen I have also started ballasting.

I wanted the look of the rails almost buried in fine gravel,

so I thought that some fine sand would be fine,

but as ordinary sand contains quartz here,

making it shimmer, it is a no go.

I decided to try something else.

As Woodland scenics ballast is made of colored nutshells,

I started to think about some alternatives.

I have a history as a zookeeper for tropical animals,

and we had some Chinchillas that we used a special soft sand for.

I bought a bag and tried it. BINGO!

It is irregular in size and has sound dampening qualities as well.

I use Diluted Matte medium to glue it and it works a charm.

I have also started on the roads,

and as an experiment I tried to use a wall repair compound.

It doesn´t shrink and is easily sanded,

so I had to try it .

Here is the first attempt:

Here it is just primed to get rid of the white:

Really fun stuff this!

I have finished ballasting all the tracks with "Chinchillasand", which worked very well.

I would however like to have some tracks embedded in the road, so I decided to use brick between the rails, as it makes it more interesting visually.

Here I have made some "finger-joints" in the brick sheet (from Will's):

I painted the bricks before I plastered up the road surface:

I painted the surface with a gray-beige hue, I used the same paint but diluted to paint the joints in the brick surface:

This is the result after a wash with the "India-ink":

It also shows the Quay wall, that I built using brick-sheets and some dark wood strips that were left over after a boat-build.

I've also started on parts of the city. I want some different elevations, because it makes the layout look less "static". I've used a 20 mm styrofoam which I´ve primed and embossed with the texture:

I have also built me an old Model-Power kit (Burned townhouse), but with some modifications:

As can be seen, I have gotten a little bit farther; but much remains before I can devote myself to the infinite detailing [].

I got a package with "Basket-liner" from Mr Bob "Blackcloud" Hughes (from the AMR forum), it was not without a certain curiosity I opened it:

It is impossible to get "Basket-liner" in Sweden, so I´m very glad that Bob gave me a package.

After an initial visual inspection, my curiosity to try it out was on top. I cut out a piece and trimmed it lightly to get rid of they longest straws. The liner has a distinctive backside that is smooth and takes glue well. I glued it on with ordinary wood glue, and this is the initial result:

I'm very pleased with the result so far, and with a little extra detailing, it may be quite good I think.

Hope you like my progress this far.

This project was first strted a while ago and was documented here, on the old RMweb. Virtually no progress has been made since the last post in that thread, and this competition was a suitable kick up the bottom and encouragement to get on.

So, I started by buying Templot, (previously I was relying on the help of others for track layouts, but decided it was time to become self sufficient, especially as the bit I'm working on now has some tricky alignments.), a great program, and worth every penny. After a day or so playing, I was able to get up and running, and tracklaying has recommenced. Here's a couple of pics of progress so far:

Those familar with the old thread will notice I've added a placeholder for a works narrow gauge line, I may add a little FY for it so I can shunt small works trains on and offstage. Still not sure what gauge to build it, protoypically they seem to be 18", but I may well go for 009, we'll have to see what budget and practicality allows.

There's still lots to do, but hopefully all fully achievable within the contest timeframe.

There are a number of forthcoming releases Class 14,15 23 and the lone 17 i have which i would like to see running on a layout, but obviously they look out of place alongside the EWS stuff i have on my 'round the loft' layout.

I have a number of Hornby set track second radius curves and some points at my disposal that were used for running in duties.

7 curves were used along with a point. By accident i closed the circle instead of adding the half curve alongside the point. All the Bo Bo locos i had ran round it with ease so too did the larger co co's.

Once measured it was discovered it would fit onto a 36''x36'' board and slide behind a bookcase. Perfect!

The board was 12mm plywood with some softwood screwed to it for framing. I have made a start on ballasting.

I intend to have a platform opposite the siding. The siding will be for coal traffic. The otherside will have a retaining wall on top of which i hope to put some terraced houses.

I am looking for a 'bricky' suburban look. Wether i get that far remains to be seen.

Not sure on the houses though. Scalescenes card models run the risk of getting damaged each time i slide the layout from behind the bookcase, so plastic kits look to be the favoured choice.

Okay so it's not going to win any prizes for operation but if i have a working layout on which to run my dinosaur diesels then i am happy.

Paul

On the assumption that it's OK, the project is a post-privatisation layout set in East Anglia, not all that far from where I grew up at Witcham Toll. I built a couple of boards with a simple track plan intended to offer a small Inglenook with an add-on bit to provide run-around facilities and a stabling point. There is also DCC and sound, sorry to those that don't like this trend So this isn't breaking any new ground in terms of typical D&E fodder, but it's new to me - I haven't done any UK or indeed OO/4mm modelling since I was a lad.

Having settled on boards, plan and theme I went looking for inspirational prototypes and found the rebuilt Whitemoor Yard. I know this is the wrong order but I think it's close enough in some ways to use for inspiration. There's some more about this part of the process here. I think the plan sort of works, with the Norwood Road bridge at the left-hand end, and for the moment a fiddle yard (as yet un-built) acting as the yard sidings accessed under the bridge. Not like Whitemoor, but much smaller since the same sector plate can represent the yard and the rest of the network. Eventually, if I can find some more space at home I'd like to swap this around and have the rest of the yard at the right-hand end as it should be, but that's going to be much too big at the moment. I still can't quite get over how much space a 66 and a few modern wagons take up. Thank goodness for rusty Limpets etc.

Since getting the boards together, track laid and wired up, I've mostly been ballasting. There's only a little bit of this left to go and then track weathering. After that I can get onto the fun green bits, such as they are, plus I really need to stop being a coward and weather some locos. I have a handful of suitable wagons ready bar Sprat and Winkles, plus some more unweathered which require attention.

Whitemarsh has an exhibition deadline at the end of November, so my plan is to "complete" the layout for the challenge with a handful of stock, and then work on remaining stock in a mad panic before the show.

Not a whole lot to show so far, but this gives a fair overview:

There's a bit more detail on my RMWeb blog. How are people with blogs managing the challenge posts, do you just post everything twice, or link blog entries from the thread, or is there a more cunning approach?

Cheers,

Will

Well after 20 years of various bodged starts, grand ideas, endless sketches and designs my wife finally got the ball rolling and got me to start our first model railway.

Initial plans (by me) were for something larger, but after showing my wife "Circle Street" and the equally as excellent "Littleton Curve" something similar was the order of the day.

Small, practrical, affordable and above all "accomplishable"!

I'd have liked to have gone a little larger than 2ft by 2ft, but that was the size of board we had to hand. Thus with an Xmas gift of a Jigsaw (thanks Mark) and previous Xmas gift of a Drill (thanks mum and Dad) the two were swung into action to produce a small baseboard. (pics to follow)

A mad dash to Total N Gauge (Arnold near Nottingham) saw us purchase most things that we thought we needed, but another trip is planned ASAP.

As can be imagined in 2ft square there isn't a lot of room for too much and the mantra is "less is more".

Just one 1st radius circle of track, two points to form a loop (for hidden stock) a small platfrom, and a small coal siding at the front.

Not the worlds most prototypical layout, but it's a first attempt and the aim is to finish it and see what sort of job we've made o fit before attempting something larger.

RE: Coal staithes, this question has been asked before, but has anyone got a prototypical picture of a small coal yard in the diesel era?

RE: Peco platform edging, anyone know if it's possible to warm and bend them to form the edge of a platform for Farish first radius curves (outside of the circle)?

Pics to follow,

Alex and Amy.

Well, i guess i better make a start here and now, seeing as the rules are decided. Yippee! I'm quite excited about all this, i've never entered any kind of modelling competition before, never finished a layout before - i have no ambition to win, merely to finish the layout!

What i have so far is a space of 86 inches by 16.5 inches (") - this is the amount of free room i have in my 'stock room/modelling room', even then if i want to gain access to a couple of cupboards, the layout will have to come down! This also gives me the criterion of the layout being very lightweight and very easy to take down and put up again!

Hopefully obviously, i already had this space when talk of the challenge opened up and this area equates to 1419 square inches so i was in had the rules stated 10 square feet (1440 square "). Now that i have an extra 591 square inches to play with, i can also build me a little fiddle yard although that won't be part of the layout at home.

I will almost certainly be using 00 gauge, unless i weaken and go American again in which case, it would be H0!

Definately be using DCC control as i have a weakness for sound equipped locos - though i don't think my future release for 2010 from Heljan/Hattons (hint!) will be available with sound!

As long as i remain true to my British theme, the era will be the late sixties as i love the mix of green and blue diesels.

Other things are definately worked out for certain, like baseboard materials. For me it has to be 6mm or 9mm plywood construction all round. I've experimented physically and theoretically with all sorts of super lightweight materials including foam, plastic, aluminium etc but always found that usually where you lose weight, you often lose strength - having said that, Pauls boards on "Claverton Engineering" look brilliant - well done, Paul!

The trestles are already built for another, stilborn project - this dictated the width of 16.5" - the viewing height will be just over 4 feet. I make no apologies for this A; i get a very bad back from too much stooping and B; the layout has to clear my workbench!

Well thats it for this evening, i'll add more as i either think of something to discuss or actually make some progress!

Cheers,

John E.

Well i havent done any real modelling for quite some time and this will be my first layout ever so i figured having a time limit or target to aim for was a great idea to kick start me, i have an idea of what i want to do just need to set up a paper template the boards and play with the trackplan. Because this is my first layout i will stick with OO gauge track although would like to delve into EM in the future.

Basically the layout will be a former 2-track through station on a route which has been curtailed so it is now a single facing terminus with the other platform face still present but in an unused and derelict state. There will be a three track goods yard which has had one siding recently upgraded with hard standing. The layout will be in an urban setting (im thinking west end of Edinburgh, Gorgie area with some lovely tenements as the backdrop) with a tunnel to the off scene area and at the other end of the layout another tunnel but this is purely scenic and disused with no track in it.

The off scene area will be purely a single track casette ( although i will build around 4 of these ). I hope i have sized this up properly bynthinking that i can have 9ft by 1.5ft scenic area and 1in by 66in casette, if my calculations are correct that is the entire 2010 sq inches (fingers crossed).

Working with the stock i have the layout will operate in any time period from 1985 to 1993 on the ScotRail network with passenger services using anything from a Type 1 + Load 3 or 4 to 1st or 2nd gen multiple units, maybe some 37s and 47s could make a turn on the passengers too. Freight will be in the hands of 20,26,27,37 and 47 with mostly van and open traffic but some grain and coal too.

Once i finalise the track plan i will post it

Cheers for reading and if you have any questions feel free to ask

Bry Shaw

My 2010 challenge entry is my capstan shunting layout.

I had started construction prior to the challenge announcement although it fits within the rules.

A thread showing my initial progress is on the previous rmweb:

http://www.rmweb.co....php?f=9&t=49877

Overall size: 48" x 9" (432 square inches)

Scale: OO gauge, 4mm/foot

Era: Big 4, approx 1930's onwards

Locos: small 0-4-0 shunters

Wagons: small vans and opens (either 9 or 10 foot wheelbase)

Power: 12V dc

Baseboard: 6mm ply with 1"x1" framing

Legs: 2"x1" timber 3'6" high

The layout comprises 2 points and 2 wagon turnatables accessing 5 sidings and the 'fiddle yard', although only 1 siding is directly accessible with a loco, hence the capstans and ropes.

All of the track is laid and the layout 'runs'. The next jobs to do are sorting the position of the buidings and loading docks and then inlaying the track.

I will post pictures of current progress later this week

Mike

Being a modeller in larger scales this is a new venture into 2mm for me. Firstly i must congratulate all those people who work in this scale, looking through other people threads and the stuff on "The 2mm Association" website http://www.2mm.org.uk/index.shtml their is some absolutely cracking work and i take my hat off too you all, how do you see what your doing?

With all the recent stuff coming out in N gauge, I was quite taken by the Bach/Farish class 37 when released and opted to purchase one, which followed with a few other locos and the odd bit of rolling stock. This was followed a couple of months ago by joining the 2mm association along with purchasing a few wagon kits and some of their "Easitrac" components to build my own track, which is too a much finer scale and is something I have always done in others scales.

I've now started a seperate blog covering the same progress of the layout to run along side, which will basically be a tidied up version of this, for anyone who prefers to follow in a blog format. http://www.rmweb.co....wales-the-blog/

Were as this thread will continue to have all the progress, along with any comments and discussion from those who wish too interact along the way.

I decided that i needed to do something layout wise and with joining the 2mm association, i received with my members pack a flyer mentioning their GJ layout challenge, I thought this would be an excellent opourtunity to get something built, nothing like a deadline (July ), then with the announcement of the RMweb 2010 , the chance was given too run the two alongside each other, thanks Andy. So with a few days holiday over the festive season a start has been made on the layout.

Anyhow onto the layout, the scenic section will be 4' x 18" deep with two small end to end fiddle yards, which consists of a two track branchline with a small good yard and two other sidings for something else possibly a coal yard or something similair, whilst it will be based somewhere in South Wales around 1969/70.

As soon as i get an exact location and name for the layout I'll post it on this topic.

The trackplan of the scenic section using Templot

And a couple of pictures of the the constructed scenic board with the printed Templot track template stuck down ready to lay the track, although the runroud has now been changed for an extra siding in the goods yard and the crossover is now trailing instead of facing.

Trevor.

This is one of my first posts on the new and improved RMWeb, as some of the good chaps here know I lost my partner to cancer over the summer which has knocked me for six. But I am now starting to gain my spark back again and think that I might just have a go at this challenge and get back to a 'normal' service again. Thank you to everyone who sent cards and emails of support, it really did mean so much to me. (Your all great really! )

I've decided that I will model something to do with the LBSCR in about 1910-1918, I'm not sure whether I will model a goods yard, or a station at the moment, but a trip to the library will soon get the old creative juices flowing again. I rather fancy some brightly coloured locos and stock!

Anyway I'll update again soon.

Best wishes,

Nick

• Introduction (this post)
  
• Signalling Diagram & Discussion
  
• Drawings of Booking Office
  
• Signal box construction
  
• Start of Booking Office consruction
  
• Disaster strikes during house move
  
• Pressing ahead against 2010 Challenge deadline
  
• Track painting and ballasting
  
• Printing stone in DAS modelling compound
  
• More work on Booking Office
  
• Time's up! 2010 Challenge deadline
  
• Layout outside for photos
  
• Life after the 2010 Challenge: Railway room completed
  

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Original Post:

The small layout I've been slowly building for the last couple of years seems to neatly fall within the parameters of the 2010 challenge. This might provide the spur I need to actually get it finished....

Dimensions/Track plan

I regularly work away from home and when the challenge was first announced I was away from home and I wasn't sure if the layout was eligible - but once home a quick check shows that the size is well within limits:

Scenic Board = 2300mm x 500mm overall - (300mm x 700mm/2) triangle

Traverser Board = 90mm x 500mm inlet section (included) + 1200mm x 350mm table (not included in size calculation)

Giving a total scenic area of 1090,000 mm2 or 1689,5 in2 in old money.

The layout is built in 0 Gauge finescale, so the fiddle yard is excluded from the size calculation, but the Traverser board has a short section of inlet track which I'll ballast, so I've included that as scenic-section in the size calculation.

The concept:

One side of my railway room is allocated to the 7mm layout and the odd shaped baseboards were decided upon as the best use of available space. I did the original planning in 4/7ths scale in full 3D - that is to say I made a cardboard template of the layout to 4mm scale and had a play about with some 00 gauge track and models to optimise the layout and clearances of the trackwork and the overall look of the layout.

I wanted to avoid straight lines and parallel sidings and eventually came up with the idea of an S-bend running through the configuration which suggested a possible location for the layout - The track plan is completely fictional and the sweeping S of the main lines is sadly underscale, but has at least a nod towards the actual topography of the area.

Paisley Canal No.2 is the name of the signal box around which I'm building the layout. The box is set to the east of the old station, using the wooden station building on the bridge as a scenic break to the main fiddle yard. On the prototype the attractive wooden booking office was on a road overbridge with with stairs leading down to the platforms. I shall need to greatly reduce the importance of Causeyside Street to avoid too much modelling of tarmac or cobbles on my limited area.

1 or 2 fiddle yards will be used to feed the layout via the main lines. A short traverser has been built for home use at the right hand "Ayrshire end". Possible future exhibition use could use a fiddle yard at the Glasgow end too. Even with one short fiddle yard, possibilities for shunting are quite reasonable - certainly much better than no layout at all.....

Trains can reverse on the double crossover on the main running lines (although the likelihood in reality of Ayrshire Coast trains terminating at Paisley Canal instead of Glasgow St Enoch in 1968 are admittedly slim).

In addition to the crossovers, I have added a lay-by siding and a siding into an as yet undesignated industry for interest. There was once a whisky distillery with sidings quite near this location - which might provide some varied traffic possibilities - but this was in reality well outwith the station area.

An excellent history of the line can be found on the RailScot website with some nice photographs of the line. This one of the Booking office was the most useful to me.

Declaration of Progress to Date:

As can be seen from the photographs, the baseboards are complete and almost all track and points have been laid.

Wiring (with the exclusion of the control panel - which has not been started) is complete. I'm using DCC for sound - but took the unusual step of wiring the layout on the old cab control principles - this will allow me to switch some/all sections over to a DC controller or to the programming track output.

Those of you who are MIGO+1 members may have already seen the layout here http://migoforum.co....&st=0&sk=t&sd=a . [sorry - the link only works if you are registered on the MIGO website - but I know a lot of you are....]

I've started to make some CAD sketches for the station buildings and was fortunate that one of the members of the G&SWR Association could provide me with dimensions he took from the real thing before demolition.

To make up for my head start with the layout, I'll chronicle the building of a loco and some stock to run on it. I'm currently working on a Right Price Railway Company Class 06. Progress on this and any stock I manage to cobble together shall be covered in my Blog

Very simple track design of a single track main line with 2 sidings which come off of a passing loop which is off scene, which will make for interesting shunting given the off scene track layout which would have to be taken into account when planning manuvers with of course passenger workings mixed in.

I'll post some piccies of progress when I take some. The layout name reflects the small nature of the layout which could be said to be able to be kept Outon Road when not in use!! I really just wanted to build something while I get the loft done and it will be nicer to be able to photograph my stock on a nice layout than an old draw front with track on!!

More to come

Cav

Paul

Now came the thought on what track plan to use, and this is where I always went wrong, I always adapted some elses track plan into the space I had thinking it was what I wanted cause I liked the layout. And that was it, it was the layout I liked, and I wanted to copy it, which is why I think I've never completed a layout!! This time I thought I'd do things differently. I have spent many hours going through pictures looking for ideas for a layout and I have finally come up with something!

The layout it's self will be 4mm scale with 00 gauge track, Branch line terminus based in the 1980's down on the Southern area. There is inspiration from lots of areas of the country, from Salisbury and Pwhelli, these being the most noticeable. I will sketch a track plan down and post it up.

As the Timber place I get my wood from has been shut over the Christmas and New Year I haven't been able to build the new baseboards, which will be 7' of scenic area and 3' for a fiddle yard by 14". The Scenic board will be split into a 3' and a 4' board and will be build completly out of 3/8" ply. More on this in the next couple of weeks when I get all the wood.

While I have been waiting I have been building myself one of the Ratio timber signal boxes for the layout, here's a pic for tasters...

Thank you to each of the entrants for taking the time and trouble to document each of the entries and interact with the membership in the process.

I'll look forward to seeing a number of these entries in the flesh in due course but ahead of that I'd like to add my personal thanks to the participants.

Anyway, enough of the opening speech.

Operational Interest Category

Well done to M Graff for his M - K & Eastern RR entry which took first spot by the most slender of margins. I had to look at the calculations to 3 decimal places to call the photofinish with a score of 3.965 to the runner up spot at 3.960 in eldavo's 'Waton'.

The top 6 in the category are shown below:

Visual Interest Category

Well done to eldavo for taking the first place in the visual interest category with Waton with 72% of the votes being in the 4 or 5 mark. Superb work Dave, well done too to RBE with the runner-up spot for Outon Road.

Prototypical Interest Category

Eldavo strikes again in the prototypical interest category achieving a high degree of operational interest on a layout giving a nod to a real-life location in Water Orton. Congratulations to RBE for the runner-up spot in this category too with Outon Road.

Overall winner

Unsurprisingly with such broad appeal eldavo takes the overall prize with Waton, a superb credit to a 2mm offering which has caused many readers to question the scale. I shall be arranging for a trophy and presentation to Dave in recognition of his hard work, documentation of the project and entertainment.

Worthy congratulations to RBE and Will Vale for taking 2nd and 3rd spots overall.

An .xls file with a breakdown of the voting is available to any participants wishing to see the data in more detail, please drop me a PM if you'd like this.