Latest ideas on O gauge layout

[Halton Boy]

Hello everyone

I have started this new thread because my previous one on a small O gauge layout has changed so much.  It is now a medium sized O gauge layout.  I was concerned that the previous designs were not prototypical.  By chance I saw a track layout for Shillingstone Station on the S&D Jct Railway.

The original track plan is like this:-

 

I do not want to model the station so I have redone the track plan to remove most of the station leaving the ends of the platforms and the loading/carriage dock.  The long middle siding would go behind the station and across the road to a private user’s yard.  This would likely be the agricultural dealers as I recently bought an O gauge plough kit.

 

The other option would be to adapt the layout for Edington Jct on the S&D.  Again I would cut off the station end.  The two sidings would go into the fiddle yard at the station end.  The lower up siding would be extended into the other fiddle yard so that less room is required.  So lots of shunting from the UP main and Down loop but not much detail in the goods yard.

 

I wonder if I drew these plans out on old wall paper in OO gauge I could get an idea of how good they would be to operate.

Lots to think about

Bye Ken 

 

  

[MarshLane]

Hi Ken,

All appear to have their pros and cons. I guess the initial questions are what are you trying to achieve? A small 'shunting' layout, fiddle yard to fiddle yard or is this part of a bigger roundly rounds? Ie is the aim to watch trains going by, or to shunt, or are you more into prototypical operation?

 

In my case, once I've identified what the key aim is, I put a more detail - so for example, if the aim was primarily shunting but with the odd train passing bye, then are you shunting and making up freights, or just shunting those wagons destined for this station, in which case what are the traffics that you want to see? Also think how long your trains will be - use 6inches as an average for a 2-axle wagon, 18 inches for a coach or average diesel loco, 20 inches for an average steam, each should give you some lea-way unless your only using three axle locos of course. Once you know what lengths you want to run, will they fit in the sidings, fiddle yard and space you have?

 

Having answered that one, I would sit at the computer, or sit down in a chair with a rough plan of the proposed layout and run through each movement that could possibly be made in my mind. Running trains through junctions, freight trains arriving, how are they shunted, where do the locos stable, etc... That would then allow you to come away thinking, yep that works for me, or ah! No that isn't going to provide the variety or allow me to do what I want.

 

Not a set in sand way of doing it, but one option that works for me.

 

Rich

[Halton Boy]

Hi Ken,

All appear to have their pros and cons. I guess the initial questions are what are you trying to achieve? A small 'shunting' layout, fiddle yard to fiddle yard or is this part of a bigger roundly rounds? Ie is the aim to watch trains going by, or to shunt, or are you more into prototypical operation?

 

In my case, once I've identified what the key aim is, I put a more detail - so for example, if the aim was primarily shunting but with the odd train passing bye, then are you shunting and making up freights, or just shunting those wagons destined for this station, in which case what are the traffics that you want to see? Also think how long your trains will be - use 6inches as an average for a 2-axle wagon, 18 inches for a coach or average diesel loco, 20 inches for an average steam, each should give you some lea-way unless your only using three axle locos of course. Once you know what lengths you want to run, will they fit in the sidings, fiddle yard and space you have?

 

Having answered that one, I would sit at the computer, or sit down in a chair with a rough plan of the proposed layout and run through each movement that could possibly be made in my mind. Running trains through junctions, freight trains arriving, how are they shunted, where do the locos stable, etc... That would then allow you to come away thinking, yep that works for me, or ah! No that isn't going to provide the variety or allow me to do what I want.

 

Not a set in sand way of doing it, but one option that works for me.

 

Rich

Hello Rich

Thank you for your advice.  I have been thinking about what you said.

I want to build a large layout in the loft where trains would go round and round, but before I do, and whilst saving up the money, I wanted to build a portable layout, one board at a time, so that I could learn how to model.  I want a shunting layout, but I would like it to be operated as near to the real thing as possible.  I would be using a 0-6-0 tank engine or class 3 diesel and open wagons. It would be good to have operating signals if they were available, although on my plan there would not be room for many.  So the plan is to have a mixed stopping goods on the up line and then another goods on the down line, plus a train of farm machinery for the private siding.  Its less about wagons in the goods yard using cattle docks and sheds, but more about the use of the up and down sidings and the marshaling of trains in the yard for departure.  In O gauge space is a problem so it will short trains.  Following your advice I am going to print out the two versions of the plan and using Lego bricks as locos and wagons I will operate the trains on each plan.  I am sure there is an opening here for someone to produce software to do just this job.  So now the trial phase.  Ken.

[nigelb]

As you seem to like the S&D  blandfords  got potential  

if you want a through station  with shunting potential

[Halton Boy]

As you seem to like the S&D  blandfords  got potential  

if you want a through station  with shunting potential

Hello Nigel

Thank you.  I have reserved the S&D track layouts and illustrations book from the local library, so I will look out for Blandford.  I am not a fan of the S&D or any railway in fact, but the S&D stations seem quite compact which is good.  Ken  

[MarshLane]

Hello Rich

Thank you for your advice.  I have been thinking about what you said.

I want to build a large layout in the loft where trains would go round and round, but before I do, and whilst saving up the money, I wanted to build a portable layout, one board at a time, so that I could learn how to model.  I want a shunting layout, but I would like it to be operated as near to the real thing as possible.  I would be using a 0-6-0 tank engine or class 3 diesel and open wagons. It would be good to have operating signals if they were available, although on my plan there would not be room for many.  So the plan is to have a mixed stopping goods on the up line and then another goods on the down line, plus a train of farm machinery for the private siding.  Its less about wagons in the goods yard using cattle docks and sheds, but more about the use of the up and down sidings and the marshaling of trains in the yard for departure.  In O gauge space is a problem so it will short trains.  Following your advice I am going to print out the two versions of the plan and using Lego bricks as locos and wagons I will operate the trains on each plan.  I am sure there is an opening here for someone to produce software to do just this job.  So now the trial phase.  Ken.

Hi Ken,

All sounds logical. My advice would be not to rush this phase. Everyone is different, but I've been drawing and sketching ideas on the back of envelopes for about 15 months! I've finally got something that works for me, for the main layout and also the separate shed. Some get their quicker, some longer, just make sure your happy before going to the next phase.

 

I like the idea of going one board at a time, almost allows you to make it modular, so you could set it up in a variety of configurations!

 

Perhaps one step now might be to take that list, up and down sidings, private sidings etc... And okay about with the order of them. Are you just looking to 'play trains' or replicate 'real flows', in the case of the latter, what traffic could be generated or served by the up and down sidings? If you doing a small portable board first, does that change the requirements to start with?

 

For me, I just keep asking questions with anything I come up with, until I'm happy with the answers!

 

Rich

[Halton Boy]

Hello Rich

I have read the S&D books, seen the great layouts on RM Web and looked through loads of web pages.  I will not try and build Shillingstone as others have done it better than I will ever do.  I keep coming back to the Shilligstone track plan.  I am going to remove the station and have only two up sidings.  One will go to the agricultural suppliers and the other to the station goods yard.

I can have passenger trains of one carriage passing through causing the freight trains to stop.

This is the layout plan:

Freight will consist of:

Agricultural suppliers- Farm equipment on flat trucks.  Seed bags in vans.  Lime in wagons. Plus much more.

Railway yard- Coal wagons. Vans.  Goods in wagons.  Plus much more.

The problem now is how do I find out how they would have shunted the yard?  The track plan is basically Shillingstone:

Thank you for your help

Ken

[John R Smith]

Hello Ken

 

Well the first question is what is the down siding supposed to be for? At present it does not seem to have a function. As laid out now, it is likely that only up goods trains would call at the station, so it would only ever get shunted one way and you don't really have a lot of variety in your operations. At most, you would likely have just two freight trains a day calling here, and more likely one. So your predominant traffic would be up and down passenger trains, plus a down freight which passes through and an up freight which shunts the yard, places loaded wagons and picks up empties. Also on the up side it is much more likely that, typically, the connection to the public yard would be the inner one, and the private siding on the outside.

 

John

[MarshLane]

Hi Ken,

Please don't take this as criticism in anyway, but I'd agree with John's comments. I think your Down Siding is currently fulfilling the role of a Down Recess road, where freights can be backed into to layover allowing passenger services to pass, rather than as a shunting role?

 

Rich

[Halton Boy]

Hello Ken

 

Well the first question is what is the down siding supposed to be for? At present it does not seem to have a function. As laid out now, it is likely that only up goods trains would call at the station, so it would only ever get shunted one way and you don't really have a lot of variety in your operations. At most, you would likely have just two freight trains a day calling here, and more likely one. So your predominant traffic would be up and down passenger trains, plus a down freight which passes through and an up freight which shunts the yard, places loaded wagons and picks up empties. Also on the up side it is much more likely that, typically, the connection to the public yard would be the inner one, and the private siding on the outside.

 

John

Hello John

I don't know but it was there.  In one of the S&D books from the library it said that it sometimes held a number of carriages.  Would freight on the down line be carried past the station to another station, then be shunted to be picked up by a up goods and dropped off at Shillingstone?   I assume that freight traveled from and was delivered to Shillingstone in both directions.  You are right about the private siding, I just wanted to be different. 

Ken

[Halton Boy]

Hi Ken,

Please don't take this as criticism in anyway, but I'd agree with John's comments. I think your Down Siding is currently fulfilling the role of a Down Recess road, where freights can be backed into to layover allowing passenger services to pass, rather than as a shunting role?

 

Rich

Hello Rich

Don't worry about the criticism, I appreciate all comments as I do not know how the railways worked in detail.  As I replied to John would they have put goods into the down siding to be pulled out later and put in the up siding by moving across or via another station?  

I have revised my plan three ways:

The first moves the private siding onto the down line, but would they allow this connection?

The point and short track is now protecting the down line.  Do I need this?

Its getting large now and the cost has gone up so plan 3 tries to make it cheaper without loosing interest.

 

After not a lot of thought I think I like this plan with seven points.  But does it look real?

I have a number of books on freight working but none of them really explains how things were done at small through stations.

Ken

[John R Smith]

Hello Ken

 

Well I don't know anything about Shillingstone in particular, I assumed that you were just borrowing the track plan. If you want to model Shillingstone itself then of course you would base your operations on the real thing, and you would need to get hold of a copy of the working timetable (WTT) for the appropriate period and use that to work up your own version of events.

 

I took it that your layout was an intermediate crossing station on a branch line or secondary cross-country route and in a rural area. So the up direction would lead to a junction station with the main line (call it 'J'), your station is a crossing station (call it 'C') and the down side leads to a market town terminus (call it 'T'). So then the normal practice would be for the daily freight from J to T to convey full wagons and empties for C. It runs through C on the down trip but does not stop or shunt (although it might cross an up passenger train). When the train arrives at T wagons for C are set aside, and added back to the train when it has finished the shunt. You can do this in one of two ways - the wagons for C can be added back at the front or the rear of the train, depending how you want to work things at C and following instructions in the Sectional Appendix to the WTT. When the train arrives back at C on the up the crew will shunt the yard at C and place full wagons and empties inwards and pick up outwards traffic. Then the assemblage toddles off back to J and on to who knows where. This is normal practice on rural single lines where the yard (or just one siding) at a small station is laid out on the up side.

 

What you didn't tell us is where in the UK your layout will be located and the period and context for its setting (rural, urban, coal mining, agricultural etc). These factors could make a huge difference to the traffic on your line - for example, in a colliery area you could have long coal trains just passing through, in the west country you might have milk trains and so on. Remember, the real railway was (and is) run for just two purposes - to handle traffic and to generate revenue. If a model is to convince it must reflect that in some way.

 

John

[Halton Boy]

Hello Ken

 

Well I don't know anything about Shillingstone in particular, I assumed that you were just borrowing the track plan. If you want to model Shillingstone itself then of course you would base your operations on the real thing, and you would need to get hold of a copy of the working timetable (WTT) for the appropriate period and use that to work up your own version of events.

 

I took it that your layout was an intermediate crossing station on a branch line or secondary cross-country route and in a rural area. So the up direction would lead to a junction station with the main line (call it 'J'), your station is a crossing station (call it 'C') and the down side leads to a market town terminus (call it 'T'). So then the normal practice would be for the daily freight from J to T to convey full wagons and empties for C. It runs through C on the down trip but does not stop or shunt (although it might cross an up passenger train). When the train arrives at T wagons for C are set aside, and added back to the train when it has finished the shunt. You can do this in one of two ways - the wagons for C can be added back at the front or the rear of the train, depending how you want to work things at C and following instructions in the Sectional Appendix to the WTT. When the train arrives back at C on the up the crew will shunt the yard at C and place full wagons and empties inwards and pick up outwards traffic. Then the assemblage toddles off back to J and on to who knows where. This is normal practice on rural single lines where the yard (or just one siding) at a small station is laid out on down or up side.

 

What you didn't tell us is where in the UK your layout will be located and the period and context for its setting (rural, urban, coal mining, agricultural etc). These factors could make a huge difference to the traffic on your line - for example, in a colliery area you could have long coal trains just passing through, in the west country you might have milk trains and so on. Remember, the real railway was (and is) run for just two purposes - to handle traffic and to generate revenue. If a model is to convince it must reflect that in some way.

 

John

Hello John

I am just borrowing the layout of Shillingstone.  My layout will be set in 1950 and will be on the edge of a small town or large village in Buckinghamshire with no coal pits or dairy.  I understand what you are saying concerning the freight movements.  Thank you for making that clear.  So goods trains did not run round and shunt the down line too the up line yard.  Were run round crossings in the station for passenger workings only?  The one thing that I am not clear about is if a wagon load had to go from C to T, would it go on the up to J and be put with other wagons going to C.  Would they then go past C and on to T.  It sounds right that BR would take stuff past where it had to go then bring it back again.  Ken

[John R Smith]

Hello John

I am just borrowing the layout of Shillingstone.  My layout will be set in 1950 and will be on the edge of a small town or large village in Buckinghamshire with no coal pits or dairy.  I understand what you are saying concerning the freight movements.  Thank you for making that clear.  So goods trains did not run round and shunt the down line too the up line yard.  Were run round crossings in the station for passenger workings only?  The one thing that I am not clear about is if a wagon load had to go from C to T, would it go on the up to J and be put with other wagons going to C.  Would they then go past C and on to T.  It sounds right that BR would take stuff past where it had to go then bring it back again.  Ken

 

Hello Ken

 

Thanks for setting the scene a little more clearly. Please note that I am not saying "you must" or "the railway always did it like this" - there are general rules but they often got broken! If your station plan goes to single line at both ends (or even double to single) then the loop in the platforms is not for running round but is for crossing trains. It might serve as a run-round in an emergency or if a train sometimes terminates here, of course. Loads from C to T would be quite unusual, and even in the 1950s would be more likely to go by road for a short-haul like this. If there was a full wagon load booked from C to T then normal procedure would be to collect it on the up goods, leave it in the transfer sidings at J, and bring it back down to T on the next day's freight. It's up to the shunter and the guard to sort these things out, and that's what wagon labels are for, too.

 

John

[Halton Boy]

Hello Ken

 

Thanks for setting the scene a little more clearly. Please note that I am not saying "you must" or "the railway always did it like this" - there are general rules but they often got broken! If your station plan goes to single line at both ends (or even double to single) then the loop in the platforms is not for running round but is for crossing trains. It might serve as a run-round in an emergency or if a train sometimes terminates here, of course. Loads from C to T would be quite unusual, and even in the 1950s would be more likely to go by road for a short-haul like this. If there was a full wagon load booked from C to T then normal procedure would be to collect it on the up goods, leave it in the transfer sidings at J, and bring it back down to T on the next day's freight. It's up to the shunter and the guard to sort these things out, and that's what wagon labels are for, too.

 

John

Hello John

Thank you for making it all clear to me.  I found a passenger WTT for 1920 which shows a train in each direction on less than hourly intervals.  I expect that the freight working was only once a day.  I could ignore this and have lots of freight workings but the way they operated as you have explained I feel could not be changed.  This would make things boring to operate.  I want to keep the fiddle yards at each end with a simple track plan in between to keep the cost down.  My main interest is in building kit loco's and wagons.  So what can I model as a simple starter layout that would not be boring to operate.  I am sure that this what everyone is looking for.  Can you have an Inglenook with a fiddle yard at each end or does this defeat the object?  I don't know what to do now.

Ken

[railwayrod]

Just a quick though regarding operation of freight trains. My understanding is that sometimes wagons were taken on to the next station and then returned on the next freight going in the opposite direction. At Torre station the coal yard was only operated by trains coming from Paignton so wagons had to go through Torre and Torquay to Paignton and then attached to the next freight going up to Newton Abbot. Not entirely sure how long this arrangement lasted by my late friend (who was a fireman at NA) said this had to happen to minimise the blocking of the "main line".

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

Rod

[Halton Boy]

Just a quick though regarding operation of freight trains. My understanding is that sometimes wagons were taken on to the next station and then returned on the next freight going in the opposite direction. At Torre station the coal yard was only operated by trains coming from Paignton so wagons had to go through Torre and Torquay to Paignton and then attached to the next freight going up to Newton Abbot. Not entirely sure how long this arrangement lasted by my late friend (who was a fireman at NA) said this had to happen to minimise the blocking of the "main line".

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

Rod

Hello Rod

Thank you for the information.  So to recap, on branch lines freight trains are infrequent and are only shunted in one direction to minimize the blocking of the line for passenger traffic.  If the yard was on the up line any siding on the down line would be to hold stock or allow a passenger train to pass a slow goods train.  The double track in the station is to allow passenger trains to pass each other or for the engine to run round if that service terminates there.  I will print out my track plan and see how well this plays.  I may have to buy two carriage kits so that I can have passenger trains running through.  Does anyone make good small carriage kits in O gauge?

Ken 

[Halton Boy]

Hello everyone

After lots of internet searching I have come up with a new plan after learning from everyone's replies.  This is the latest plan:

 

The docks and branch go into a cassette fiddle yard.  The Up, Down and Bay platforms are formed by a cassette fiddle yard.  Points locking and some signals have been omitted.

Operation

The docks traffic is workers trains that stop at the up platform in the morning and the down platform in the evening with freight passing through during the day.  At noon there are ferry boat trains in each direction to and from the docks which do not stop at the station.  These are made up of two coaches and engine.  

The branch traffic is mostly passenger with workers trains in the morning and evening meeting the dock workers trains.  In the morning and evening the branch engine and coach run into the down platform.  If a train from the docks is due the branch train will back into the down siding otherwise the engine will run around and back into the bay using either the branch or docks track.  The branch train leaves the bay and runs straight onto the branch. 

During the day there is a branch through service made up of two coaches and an engine which stops at the up platform before continuing on down the branch.  On its return it stops at the down platform before continuing on.   

Freight for the station is sorted in the yard by the pickup goods engine which then goes off with freight down the branch.  On its return it makes up its train with any freight from the branch and departs on the down line.  I hope this sounds reasonable.

Ken

[Simond]

Ken

 

I think the first thing to consider is the (in)famous "Rule 1" - it's your railway and you can run what you like when you like.

 

Rule 2 might be a bit more controversial - if you don't believe in it, you'll probably not be satisfied. (I just made this rule up)

 

That's a bad thing, so you probably want to give the whole planning process a deal of thought before you commit. That said, there might be something to be said for some experimentation, so you could think in terms of trying out a few plans & their operation before you get going on the scenics. Track fixed down with "art glue" will stay put but can be removed pretty much without damage with the aid of a kettle full of hot water (though it does make a dreadful mess on the floor!) so at worst, it'll cost you a few cut lengths of Peco flexi, which go in the bits box and get reused "next time" anyway. If you do buy a left hand point where you eventually want a right hand, well, eBay, the Guild sales, or your local club... Wiring can be similarly "surface mounted" and temporary until you are happy, and can be hidden later. This helps find shorts and missed bits, but obviously costs in waste wire. Point motors are a bit of a pain to install, and therefore doubly so to change, but if you can live with manual operation for the trials, that's not so much of an issue.

 

Of course this all slows down progress, but it doesn't matter, there isn't a deadline, and you're doing it for fun.

 

John's first hand experience is hugely valuable, but I'd expect a couple of freight workings per day would not be completely unreasonable. You might consider mixed trains as an alternative, offering lots of opportunities for pleasant messing around at C.

 

I realise that you are probably restricted in space, as are most modellers, particularly in 7mm, but doing everything you can to lose the linear layout of tracks parallel to the baseboard edge will probably aid the illusion too. Less may very well be more.

 

I hope this is helpful - if it all seems a bit "teaching granny", please feel free to tell me to mind my own... Please see "Rule 1"

 

Best

Simon

[Halton Boy]

Ken

 

I think the first thing to consider is the (in)famous "Rule 1" - it's your railway and you can run what you like when you like.

 

Rule 2 might be a bit more controversial - if you don't believe in it, you'll probably not be satisfied. (I just made this rule up)

 

That's a bad thing, so you probably want to give the whole planning process a deal of thought before you commit. That said, there might be something to be said for some experimentation, so you could think in terms of trying out a few plans & their operation before you get going on the scenics. Track fixed down with "art glue" will stay put but can be removed pretty much without damage with the aid of a kettle full of hot water (though it does make a dreadful mess on the floor!) so at worst, it'll cost you a few cut lengths of Peco flexi, which go in the bits box and get reused "next time" anyway. If you do buy a left hand point where you eventually want a right hand, well, eBay, the Guild sales, or your local club... Wiring can be similarly "surface mounted" and temporary until you are happy, and can be hidden later. This helps find shorts and missed bits, but obviously costs in waste wire. Point motors are a bit of a pain to install, and therefore doubly so to change, but if you can live with manual operation for the trials, that's not so much of an issue.

 

Of course this all slows down progress, but it doesn't matter, there isn't a deadline, and you're doing it for fun.

 

John's first hand experience is hugely valuable, but I'd expect a couple of freight workings per day would not be completely unreasonable. You might consider mixed trains as an alternative, offering lots of opportunities for pleasant messing around at C.

 

I realise that you are probably restricted in space, as are most modellers, particularly in 7mm, but doing everything you can to lose the linear layout of tracks parallel to the baseboard edge will probably aid the illusion too. Less may very well be more.

 

I hope this is helpful - if it all seems a bit "teaching granny", please feel free to tell me to mind my own... Please see "Rule 1"

 

Best

Simon

Hello Simon

You are right about rule 2.  I would like to think that what I am doing could have happened.  And now some good news.  I have found the Tollesbury branch in a book.  This had GER class J69 loco's with six wheel carriages.  The branch supplied a jam factory and a pier.  The revised plan below:

I would like to reduce the number of points used but keep the essence of the train workings.  Thank you for your advice.  Ken

[Nearholmer]

Ken

 

Seeing your nom de plume, I wonder whether you've considered a layout based on the Halton Camp Railway.

 

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafhalton/aboutus/haltonrilway.cfm

 

Kevin

[MarshLane]

Hi Ken,

Sorry I've not chipped in lately. Without wishing to throw a spanner in the works, I think it might be wise to go back to Stage 1. Let's consider the first question, which is key in my mind .... What do YOU want to achieve. Every one can chip in ideas and suggestions, which is good, but it needs to be kept in context, and I wonder if given the indecision, your aiming a little high?

 

I want to keep the fiddle yards at each end with a simple track plan in between to keep the cost down. My main interest is in building kit loco's and wagons. So what can I model as a simple starter layout that would not be boring to operate. I am sure that this what everyone is looking for. Can you have an Inglenook with a fiddle yard at each end or does this defeat the object? I don't know what to do now.

Ken

You've said you enjoy building locos and kits, thats fine. Now unless your thinking of putting track down and not bothering too much about scenery, the track plans you've suggestion are going to take you a fair while to complete. Is that acceptable? Remember that time working in the layout takes you away from building stock. If you look at my thread - I've generally spent an hour or so each day on my O gauge shed, I started that on 20th May and look where it is now, then think about the work involved in building a layout, laying track, the electrics, scenery etc. I'm not in anyway trying to put you off, I just want you to think about what you want and what you want to spend your time doing.

 

So, a few questions then follow:

A) do you want to model a backwater, an industrial location, a branch, a key single track route (i.e. Somerset & Dorset) or a double track main line. The higher up that list you go, by its nature the bigger the layout gets!

 

B) Having decided on the type of layout, we're then back to facilities and track plans. What type of stock have you already built and is there anything you specifically want to build? Is a fiddle yard at both ends a must? Do you want to replicate a real place or a fictional place? Remember even fictional places can be made to look like a real life location, and whatever you want to do, chances are it exists somewhere! Also one other query, sorry if you've said this and I've missed it, but what kind of space do you have available?

 

I'm not in anyway trying to tell you what to do, just point you along some helpful lines. I'm thinking from what your saying that something smaller, with plenty of operational interest, that you could expand in the future might be the way forward, and that trying to replicate an existing location is actually giving you more confusion or quandaries than you started with?

 

Hope the above is useful and thought provoking - tell me to shut up if you wish! You asked about small coaches - two spring to mind the LMS/GWR style 4 or 6-wheel vehicles produced as plastic kits by Slaters or the etched brass (I think) models produced by Connoisseur Models.

 

Rich

[Simond]

Ken

 

I'd second Rich's advice here.

 

If you look back at my Greater Windowledge railway, (link below), you'll see it was primarily a limited space test bed for my rolling stock, and when I built it, that was fine as I had "running rights" on a huge, and wonderful, model of Swanage. It evolved into a test bed for all sorts of things, electrics, scenery, building construction, road vehicles, and so on, and it did offer the opportunity to play shunting puzzles too, and also formed a reasonable backdrop for photos.

 

But it was never going to satisfy my ambitions for running, nor for the kind of layout I wanted, which is beginning to take shape in my Porth Dinllaen thread. That will be a very long project indeed.

 

Please don't think I'm trying to say "my way is right". Like Rich, I'm suggesting that prioritising your objectives, and then trimming your plans to meet as much/many of them as you can in the space, time and money that you have available, is likely to give you the most satisfaction.

 

Hoping that this offers food for thought

Simon

[MarshLane]

Ken,

I was thinking about your layout situation at lunchtime, while doodling over some scraps of paper!  I'm not sure if either of these options may interest you - and feel free to ignore them completely!

 

Obviously, I don't know what space you have available, what period you want to model, or what stock you have, so i've made a couple of assumptions.  One that your working with small diesels or steam tanks/small freight tender locos.  You want a layout that would hold your interest optionally, but not take up a huge amount of time or cost to build.  Give your comments about freight trains and small coaches, i've assumed your not looking at a double track main line location. Also as I was at work, I haven't drawn them to scale, but I'm sure they could be adapted to whatever space you have available.

 

Therefore, I came up with a small branch terminus, and a small through station both of which could have one fiddle yard or two - these could be point operated yards, traverser, sector plates or cassettes.  The Branch Line Terminal (top plan) is  based around a minimal number of points - obviously you can add or remove sidings as you wish.  It allows a platform road for passenger operations (either loco or DMU), which if loco hauled, would allow you to run the loco round.  Freights would run into the loop, and could be shunted.  The goods yard, provides the ability for a variety of wagon times, carrying general and local merchandise.  The warehouse would require various box vans or open vans for shipping goods in or out, and then various coal wagons could be shunted into the coal yard.  Equally the headshunt (top right) on the plan could be extended to a fiddle yard if you wanted.  This could also form the basis of a small industrial layout if you wanted, in which case you might want to lose the station and just have one approach line from the fiddle yard, rather than two.

 

The other thought I had was a small country through station.  Again the platform road gives passenger options, and it has pretty much the same facilities, coal merchant, goods shed, private sidings etc as the previous plan, just in a different way.  Its obviously a little bigger, and based loosely around Beamish station which has been created at the Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham - type Beamish Museum station into Google, there are loads of photographs if you want some thoughts/ideas! This plan gives you two fiddle yards, but again, you could lose one of them if you wanted.  Either plan can be adapted to give you an engine shed if necessary, or other facilities.

 

Might not be what you want, but just some thoughts going off the small bits of info we have.

 

Rich

 

 

[Halton Boy]

Ken

 

Seeing your nom de plume, I wonder whether you've considered a layout based on the Halton Camp Railway.

 

http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafhalton/aboutus/haltonrilway.cfm

 

Kevin

Hello Kevin

You are right about the Halton light railway.  I have all the track, points and buildings, mostly Skytrex, to build the layout.  But what I do not have is the space to build it.  I am now looking at another house move in 18 to 24 months time.  This will be my last though.  Until then I just need to build something to run a train on.  Ken