Port Bredy to Sherton Abbas - Design for Operation in ‘N’

[Josie]

Evening all!

I’ve been a long time lurker on here, and finally got round to joining. This coincided with starting a new project which will be documented (when I remember to!) on here.

 

Overview

It’s been nearly 20 years since I first received a train set (Hornby’s ‘Rambler’ if anyone is interested) but have consistently failed to actually build a layout. After finding some N track from a previous project, I set about combining a scheme from one of my notepads with the space I had available.  
 

Trackplan

The layout plan takes a lot of cues from Awdry’s ‘Ffarquar’, but with the addition of a passing station on the main circuit and replacing the Fiddle Yard with a dockside station. The idea is not to be super scenic, but in effect a big shunting scheme allowing point-to-point freight and passenger workings. The board is 5ft x 2.5ft, folding into a 2.5ft square for storage and transit. Please excuse the quick sketch, the original seems to have gone walkies! 
 

Track & Electrical

Peco Code 80 (Setrack and Flex) is used throughout, with a large number of power feeds to allow DCC to be used. Points on passenger lines will be motorised, with all others hand operated.

 

Operation

The intention is to have the ability to run a complete ‘system’ to a sequence with all stock for the sequence being held on the layout (no Fiddle Yard required). I am in the process of working out a game style dice driven system to generate traffic for the Passenger services (Tail Traffic, Parcels etc) and an American inspired ‘Car Card’ system for the Freight work. Various industries are scattered between locations to hopefully give variety and keep it interesting & challenging to run.

 

Aesthetics

From failed attempts in the past I am confident that I am not much of a scenic modeller therefore I am, in the short-medium term, intending to have a selection of key railway buildings and scene-breaks but otherwise bare boards. That’s not to say it won’t develop eventually but my fun comes from running trains! 
 

Progress to date

So far the boards have been built, the dockside station and most of the passing station track laid and the first 3 cross-board joints put together. The central station and rest of the main circuit is waiting a trip to the model shop for some additional pointwork before it can be laid and tested. 
 

 

It may not be pretty or a professional job, but I’m certainly happy with the fact it seems to be sustaining my interest more than previous schemes! 
 

Jo

Edited March 10, 2023 by Josie

[Josie]

Progress

This evening saw a small amount of visible work, mostly connecting wiring blocks underneath the board and attaching a temporary DC power supply. 

The remainder of the Passing Station was laid, another cross-board joint built up and then the relaying of a siding that had turned out to be somewhat bumpy.

 

 

The most exciting moment (and always a very satisfying one) was the movement of the first train! 
A Rapido Cl28 did the honours, and worked beautifully on almost every siding and section of track on the fully laid half. 
The key instance of poor running is not the fault of the loco or wiring, it’s due to a slightly tighter-than-spec joint midway round the inner line of the Passing Station which will take a bit of teasing to correct.

 

 

Before anyone gets ideas - the Leffe was being used to weigh down track…honest! *hic*

 

Time for bed now

 

Jo

[Josie]

Hello all!

 

it’s been a little while but progress is ticking gently along. Tracklaying for the 2nd board is soon to start, along with the central station so things aren’t a huge way off being ready for intensive testing. 

Away from the layout itself, I’ve been considering names and hope to update the topic title with something slightly more inspired!

 

Finally a photo of the plotting out of the central station (with a few tweaks from my sketch) to give an overview of how it all fits together in reality. I’m finding it to be very close to what I’d hoped for but only time will tell if the design time paid off

 

 

Until the next time!

 

Jo

[Matloughe]

I really like what this layout is going to become, Ffarquar is a great plan and the addition of the passing station and docks will certainly add to operating interest and just allow for more scenery. I too like the idea of 'point to point' workings, and getting a sense of where the model is in the real/fictional world it inhabits.

Keep it up - I've subscribed to see more as it happens.
Kind Regards,

Gary

[Josie]

Thank you @Matloughe for the kind comments. 
 

My scenic thoughts are mostly targeted at hiding the Board Hinges for the time being, although a mental image of the Dockside Station is developing. I hope to share some sketches at some point so that later along the road there can be a comparison.

 

This evening’s first job has been to grey around the inner station area which received cork last night. I must sing the praises of B&Q tester pots - £4 for two that have made a great base, and they have their own brush included! 
 

Tonight’s aim is a little tracklaying but that’s dependant on whether the paint dries quick enough to move it outside and drill for droppers before sunset…watch this space!

 

Jo

[Josie]

And just like that, we (almost!!) have a railway! 

 

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted the stray point on the main circuit, for which I’m still debating the formation of the associated siding. Otherwise the droppers are in, the track is down, and the wiring puzzle can commence. 
 

It’s been a learning curve and my finger ends will take some recovery from fishplate shenanigans but I have to admit to enjoying the process more than I expected.

 

I finished a little late to do any test runs, so that’s excitement for another day

 

Jo

Edited February 7, 2023 by Josie
Rewording re missing siding

[Josie]

Evening all!

 

A pleasant half hour of work this evening included wiring up the droppers for the new track, and fitting some temporary cross-board jumpers.

 

 

The result of this work was a period of testing using mostly my partners modern image stock (whilst I slowly rebuild my steam/diesel transition era fleet) and was thoroughly enjoyable! 
A particular highlight was being able to move wagons from A to B, shunt around, drop them off at C and so on. A great taste of what will be possible once the industries are located.

 

A minor amount of scenic work has started in the form of a pair of Peco Rail Bufferstops. A great little item which took all of a minute per piece to assemble

 

 

Tonight should see some work on a couple of Metcalfe kits whilst enjoying a film, hopefully they turn out reasonably!

 

Jo

[RichardT]

This looks like a great little layout. Very taken with your concept of designing in end to end “operations as a game” from the very start. The US fraternity does this a lot more and I do think it enhances the play value significantly.*

 

Watching developments with interest.

 

Richard
 

* In fact it occurs to me that this would make a very good US N layout - with the advantage that you can have passenger stations with ground level/non-existent platforms, enhancing the perceived spaciousness of the plan.

Edited February 12, 2023 by RichardT
Adding another thought

[Josie]

Thanks Richard for the kind words. The US style of modelling and layouts have been major influences for this and I’m glad it shows. Indeed I had a false start with On30 in the early days of COVID which is where a lot of the guiding principles I used to modify this plan came from.

 

My return to kitbuilding tonight has been successful, with a Metcalfe Signalbox from start-finish (save some tidying and detailing) within 2.5hrs. It’s no wonder the kits are so widespread and popular; the price combined with the ease of assembly and thoughtful design made it a delight to put together.

 

 

The location for this structure is still not quite decided, and I plan to place it temporarily along with some other basic items to get a feel for the scene.

 

In the meantime - time for bed and some time away from glue fumes!

 

Jo

[Josie]

Evening all,

it’s been a while since the last update, mostly thanks to a trip away to Europe by rail. Very fun but now I’m back I’ve been itching to get at this again!

 

The gentle restart came with putting together some proper board-jumper cables. I might get a noise complaint for drilling at this time so the Panel-Mount sockets will have to wait for tomorrow.

 

 

I make no claims to be neat and tidy with electrics, and will have to wait and see how long these last 

 

 

Jo

[Josie]

Tonight the final piece of track went down on what is most likely going to be a Bay Platform

 

 

What is also partially on show is the result of bulk-building Peco Buffers (also shown below on the end of the inner station yard, the RAIB don't need to find out about the derailment in the background…).

 

 

Progress on the wagon fleet expansion is doing well and combined with some early buildings has allowed a first concept setting of the scene. To see it coming to life a bit more at a time is so rewarding, and I’m glad I’ve stuck with it rather than bowing to lows in inspiration.

 

 

In Ops Planning terms the last bit of track has allowed some major development for capacity studies; assuming use of all sidings (but keeping headshunts, platforms and run-rounds free) the total wagon spaces hit 50!
 

 

This fits (surprisingly!) well with my initial thoughts of around 25-30 wagons in use on the layout at a time maximum to give some breathing space for the stock as well as allowing variety in Passenger service.

 

Combined with now knowing what the maximum freight capacity the Station and Passing Loop(s) can handle this means a sequence and total daily carriage can be worked out, to then feed the traffic generation spreadsheet.

 

Jo

Edited March 7, 2023 by Josie
Amending ‘Totally’ to ‘Total’

[Josie]

A little more progress has occurred. The electric connections across boards have been completed and ready to test:

 

The wagon fleet continues to expand thanks to secondhand suppliers and PECO kits:

 

Which has led to the first samples of Waybills for the rolling stock. I intend to test for a period with this small selection, and make relevant tweaks/adjustments before producing the full stock list of them:

 

The final update is the decision of location names - all drawn from Hardy’s Wessex.

 

Dockside Terminus: Port Bredy

Passing Station: Casterbridge Jn

Country Halt: Ivell

Country Terminus: Sherton Abbas

 

 

Until next time!

Jo