Compressing trains to fit the space.

[MJI]

Like many, I cannot run full 8 to 12 coach trains, I did try 4 but no, 6 is the minimum.

 

So how to compress?

 

I will be talking BR and not anything older due to experience.

 

Short trains such as multiple units.

 

Leave as is but to shorten, drop a unit if multiple coupled together. A 3 car DMU is fine, 1 SR EMU is fine, SR 3 x sets drop to 2 x

 

HSTs

 

These I have my own logic again, and my bottom limit is 4 trailers. My own set is currently 4 but may go 5.

 

Using recent Hornby trailers.

 

Drop TGS as ex Lima and anyway the set was built with no TGS so I can get away with it.

Drop one TFO

Drop one or two TSO.

 

LHCS

 

The logic here is to retain the essence of the train you are modelling, so same locomotive and key carriages. To me this means same buffet, brake, and also at least one first and one second. However if you have a mix of styles take that into account, that odd air braked mark 1 in the mark 2 set is part of the essence.

 

WCML Mark 3 sets in the late 70s.

 

These were often BG 4 coach Restaurant/Buffer 4 coach, without looking at my records I cannot remember which were firsts (with regard to BG), but often there were 5 seconds and 4 firsts. I am looking at the air con sets, mainly 3A but some 2F.

 

Anyway drop to 2 of each class - 6 coach train.

 

ECML Deltic plus 8

 

Normally all 2D stock, a random restaurant/buffet and a BG

 

Easy, just remove depending on first and second mix, drop either 2 TSO or a TSO and a FO.

 

Cross country sets.

 

I have seen lots but a couple of samples.

 

2 ABC sets, I am modelling 2 of these one was 10 another 12.

 

In one case I lost a 2A TSO and 5 x 2C TSO

The other I lost a Mk1 SO (ex FO) and 3 x 2B TSO

 

easy to do, drop to one first and remove seconds until the train fits.

 

Long mark 1 sets

 

Often were brake lots of seconds, composite or first, seconds, brake.

 

Easy to compress to 6.

 

West of England sets

 

Often they had 2 brakes in the middle, either 2 x 2A BFK, or 2 x 2D BFK, remove one and use the same methods as above to shorten to fit.

 

 

To recap the rules.

 

1) Obvious vehicles, such as brakes, buffets, different styles, keep as many as makes sense, if two same model brakes drop one.

 

2) Firsts, if more seconds drop to one first, if 50/50 drop both to same amount.

 

3) Seconds, these take brunt of compression, for a final length of 6 you will have between 2 and 4, depending if there is a buffet or not. Mine are worst case 2.5

 

All of my sets are based on real observations and use the correct numbers and vehicles.

 

[Kubes]

I find that odd numbers of coaches make a train seem longer. I run a four coach SR Maunsell set and even adding a 4 wheel van makes a marked difference.

Kubes

[john new]

Breaking the scenery into chunks so you don't see all the train at once also helps trick the mind into thinking it is longer.

[The Johnster]

I agree with john new, a lot of smoke and mirrors can be accomplished with scenery, and with curvature of track as well.  I work to the principle when designing the layout that platforms should be at least a coach length longer than the layout's longest passenger train, and that the entire scenic part of the layout should be at the very minimum 3 times longer than the longest platform, or 5x if we are talking about a through station.  My tiny BLT has room under this rule for a 3 coach passenger train and a 10 wagon plus van goods/mineral, using 'traditional' steam age wagons.  All coaches are reckoned to be 64' for this planning purpose whatever their actual length.  Locomotive release headshunt to be able to accommodate a 64' coach, which is much longer than any of the tank engines on my layout; you may need to re-examine this point if you want to run 1Co-Co1 diesels.

 

All of my track is laid to a very gentle freestyle 'S' curve, ostensibly following the geography of the narrow valley my railway is purportedly laid in, which means that there are sightlines in which a train standing in the platform viewed from a fairly head on perspective disappears around this bend, so that the fact that it is only 2 or 3 coaches is not immediately obvious.  I would avoid dead straight tracks for several reasons, unless you are modelling a prototype which features them, and one of the bonuses of such an approach is this sightline thing.  Also, dead straights IMHO tend to draw your eye to the ends of the layout, and you usually want it kept away from scenic breaks and sharp curves into your fiddle yard, both things which affect how long or short your trains look.

 

The idea that odd numbers of coaches look longer is interesting; the conversion of a B set on my layout to a B set with one strengthener train is of course of such a massive percentage increase in length that I cannot comment on the perceptive difference of 4 to 5, or 6 to 7 mk1, 2, or 3 coaches.  But it looks wrong to me if the strengthener is a longer vehicle than those in the strengthened train; my B set looks fine (to me, anyway) with a 57' BR standard compartment second attached, but would not look so convincing (again, to me, anyway) with a Hawksworth 64' one, not that I possess such an item but I do have a Hawkworth BG.  I cannot explain why this is, it 'just is'.  I also cannot be doing with the look of a strengthener with a brake compartment, despite this being a perfectly acceptable prototype practice;  I think this is because I think that a series of windows in the side of a coach breaks up the apparent length of it in a way that the plain van sides do not.  So, to me, a 57' BG as the only brake van on a rake of 64' mk2s, as per most WR Bristol and South Wales expresses in the period prior to the introduction of HSTs, looks to be the same length as the other vehicles in the train, though it isn't.  My Hawkworth BG is a 64 footer, in lined maroon which makes it look even longer, and looks hopelessly wrong against any of my passenger stock, and usually knocks about in a parcels train next to a vanfit; I like that sort of juxtaposition...

Edited June 21, 2017 by The Johnster

[Steven B]

I try to keep the proportion of first and second class accommodation the same; Trains with equal numbers of first and second class seats are/were few and far between.

 

e.g. a common train from/to Cardiff in the mid 1980s was SK CK BSK SK SK.

To reduce to a four car train I'd drop a SK: SK CK BSK SK

If I were reducing it to a three coach train then the CK would be next to go: SK BSK SK

At this stage the BSK might get replaced with a BCK.

For a two coach train the second SK would be dropped but I'd marshal the train with the brake compartment inner-most to maintain the over-all formation of the original train.

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[DCB]

I don't think you can make a shortened HST look right, the 2+7 WR formations are about as short as looks ok to me even the shortened full size Virgin Cross Country HST units looked odd, however a 25 wagon goods can easily masquerade as a 60 or 80 wagon train.

I think a train of uniform livery and uniform profile coaches looks longer than one of different profiles, a Mk 1 or Gresley Buffet jars in a Mk 2 set

There are some tricks you can  play with track layouts to squeeze in capacity, quite often run round loops are shorter than they might be, the loop point was very often the first on the approach to the station in full size but seldom so in models.

Not modelling BR saves a lot of space with many 57' coaches not 64';  8 X 57' = 7 X 64' = 6 X 76' on my layout, 50' pre grouping stock or 40' pre 1900 saves even more space!

Through station platforms don't need to be as long as the trains passing through, 8 coach trains passed 1 platform halts, 10 coach trains passed 180 ft 3 coach stations and on occasions called at them!

In the old days a  WR B set would be strengthened on occasion at times of heavy traffic by another B set or some old coach kept as spare, a Collett 57' or Churchward 70' maybe a Dean clerestory , however if the additional coach was a through coach you could be talking brand new Mk1 Brake Composite, New Centenary or whatever finishing its run from Paddington to Little Bumstead on Sea.

 

Keeping the proportion of 1st and 2nd provision correct for your era also helps, 1st seems to have reached a peak in the Mid 70s with 2 firsts to 4 seconds plus catering in the first HSTs.   Firsts barely existed pre 1950 on the GW, as they had a liking for compos especially brake comps and all 3rds, but it was rare for the GW to have uniform sets of as many as 5 coaches, most long distance trains were made of different portions detached and attached, it needed Nationalised stupidity to run almost empty HSTs to Penzance instead of leaving half the train at Plymouth as in GW days

[JZ]

I'm luckily able to run 10 or 12 coach sets, double heading anything less would look silly. However I do have one or two present day items and find that a Class 66 with 7 HHA or TEA can look convincing.

[28XX]

Which is why I don't like box files

[RexAshton]

I find that odd numbers of coaches make a train seem longer. I run a four coach SR Maunsell set and even adding a 4 wheel van makes a marked difference.

Kubes

Agreed and an odd number looks more balanced.

[The Johnster]

One of the reasons that Peter Denny modelled the Great Central was their preference for short coaches; there is no doubt that a train of 8 short coaches looks longer than one of 7 longer ones even if the trains are the same length or the 8 coach one actually slightly shorter.  

[Sam Moss]

Who said GC trains were short.....

 

[robert17649]

As I model the GER Small locomotives and short coaches work well. I guess you could get away with say a4-6-0 and four disguised old Hornby clerestories .

 

A visual trick which really only works with eye level viewing is succesive visual breaks check out Kings Pancreas on the old carl Arendt site.