Hill's Cross

[Oncomin5torm]

Almost a year a go I got covid, it destroyed what love I had for the 8x2 layout I was building.

Over the following 9 or so months I have build many a micro layout and some have worked out, others have been scrapped.

I am now building a micro representation of the King Cross Motorail Depot, but repurposed to be a Mail, Parcels, Papers depot but based in the North West of England, as that is where I base all my layouts.

 

 

 

After seeing these images someone captured I was hooked.

Kings cross had a motorail sidings, this has never interested me, but changing it to be a mail or parcels depot really did spark my interest.

The track plan is pretty simple but it lends itself to a small shunting layout.


With that in mind over the last few months I have worked out a plan with a friend of mine for using this as a mail depot set in the early 90s which would be served by GUV, TPO, Parcels Vans, CCV, and the (slightly) out of era Class 128 Parcels Unit, the stock would be BR Blue, Blue Grey, Royal Mail and RES, so it allows for a lot of variation in shock on the scene at once as a lot of this era stock wouldnt have been updated very quickly.

 

 

Using a DCC Concepts 4x2 board I had in the loft from an old layout I lost interest with (See above about covid) I set about removing old track, ballast and making it good for a new plan to be put upon the single board.

I managed to save the threeway point and a right hand medium point from the old layout, everything else had to be scrapped saddly.
 

 

The scenic area will be 4x2 foot, I originally envisioned the layout as 6x20" but found I wasn't happy with the length and splitting into a pair of 3x20" boards wasn't suitable, so I adapted the plan down to a single 4x2 board with a fiddle yard.

 

(Testing of positions and points with a pair of mk1 and a CCT)

The track plan will follow as close as possible the actual layout of the original kings cross motorail area but within the confines of 4x2, I couldn't come up with a name until a friend of mine suggested a homage to kings cross and as my surname is Hill he went for Hill's Cross.
 

[Paul H Vigor]

15 minutes ago, Oncomin5torm said:

Almost a year a go I got covid, it destroyed what love I had for the 8x2 layout I was building.

Over the following 9 or so months I have build many a micro layout and some have worked out, others have been scrapped.

I am now building a micro representation of the King Cross Motorail Depot, but repurposed to be a Mail, Parcels, Papers depot but based in the North West of England, as that is where I base all my layouts.

 

 

 

After seeing these images someone captured I was hooked.

Kings cross had a motorail sidings, this has never interested me, but changing it to be a mail or parcels depot really did spark my interest.

The track plan is pretty simple but it lends itself to a small shunting layout.


With that in mind over the last few months I have worked out a plan with a friend of mine for using this as a mail depot set in the early 90s which would be served by GUV, TPO, Parcels Vans, CCV, and the (slightly) out of era Class 128 Parcels Unit, the stock would be BR Blue, Blue Grey, Royal Mail and RES, so it allows for a lot of variation in shock on the scene at once as a lot of this era stock wouldnt have been updated very quickly.

 

 

Using a DCC Concepts 4x2 board I had in the loft from an old layout I lost interest with (See above about covid) I set about removing old track, ballast and making it good for a new plan to be put upon the single board.

I managed to save the threeway point and a right hand medium point from the old layout, everything else had to be scrapped saddly.
 

 

The scenic area will be 4x2 foot, I originally envisioned the layout as 6x20" but found I wasn't happy with the length and splitting into a pair of 3x20" boards wasn't suitable, so I adapted the plan down to a single 4x2 board with a fiddle yard.

 

(Testing of positions and points with a pair of mk1 and a CCT)

The track plan will follow as close as possible the actual layout of the original kings cross motorail area but within the confines of 4x2, I couldn't come up with a name until a friend of mine suggested a homage to kings cross and as my surname is Hill he went for Hill's Cross.
 

Fascinating, this secret little yard tucked away beside King's Cross!

[Porfuera]

It looks like you have a lot of potential with those photos. Good luck with the build - I look forward to seeing future progress.

[Andrew D]

Love those images! Looking forward to seeing this develop. 

[Sweet pea]

Great pictures of this area at King's Cross. Nice baseboard and a nice start. Looking forward to seeing your layout developed.👍

[sulzer71]

Great to see you back Alex , good luck with the build , fingers crossed I'll be starting a thread for mine in the coming months

Edited January 25, 2023 by sulzer71

[Oncomin5torm]

10 minutes ago, sulzer71 said:

Great to see you back Alex , good luck with the build , fingers crossed I'll be starting a thread for mine in the coming months

 

Thanks. 

 

I've been looking forward to this build for a while. 

 

I'm also looking forward to your build now too. 

[Oncomin5torm]

I've added backscene and end boards to Hill's Cross today. 

 

I've used 9mm ply I had leftover from other projects, so it's not the best bits of ply going but with a wrap round backscene on it I'm sure it'll be great. 

 

[Multigauge]

Those pictures bring back memories of visiting the area as a kid. You could get almost anywhere without hassle back in those days; as long as you were discreet and polite if challenged. 

I've been toying with a similar idea, but haven't got anywhere other than dreaming about it. I seem to remember this area was featured in a magazine in the last couple of years too - it's what got me thinking about it before - with slightly revised track layout. Personally I'd prefer to build my own track - if could - to capture the odd turnouts and check rails. I also like the large buildings close to the track; it really gives a hemmed in look. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Multigauge
Additional word

[Oncomin5torm]

Today I've been wiring up the sets of points for the layout. 

 

 

I am running dcc so have modified the points appropriately, I will power the frog and control the points using MTB MP1 point motors. 

 

On the prototype there is a Y point coming off the other point, but to keep the track geometry right I have opted to use a medium right point over the long Y I had. 

 

It is an homage to King's Cross so I can adjust some aspects to suit. 

[Will Crompton]

I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. King's Cross was one of my favourite spotting haunts in the 70s and this corner was fascinating and atmospheric. You may already be familiar with these RMweb threads which contain lots of useful info and pictures but just in case:

 

 

[Oncomin5torm]

2 minutes ago, Will Crompton said:

I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. King's Cross was one of my favourite spotting haunts in the 70s and this corner was fascinating and atmospheric. You may already be familiar with these RMweb threads which contain lots of useful info and pictures but just in case:

 

 

 

Thank you. 

 

I wasn't familiar with those threads, but I'll scour them for information. 

 

Do you know based on the modern layout of King's Cross, where was it on the map? 

I've looked but cannot find out where it was, my information comes from those 2 photos I have on the first post. 

[Will Crompton]

38 minutes ago, Oncomin5torm said:

 

Thank you. 

 

I wasn't familiar with those threads, but I'll scour them for information. 

 

Do you know based on the modern layout of King's Cross, where was it on the map? 

I've looked but cannot find out where it was, my information comes from those 2 photos I have on the first post. 

Hi, here are two track layout pictures I have (I think downloaded from one of the threads so hopefully there are no copywrite issues). The first is a steam era plan with the parcels/motorail dock to the top left. The turntable marks the site of what became the small King's Cross diesel depot/stabling point of fond remembrance. The second plan is the other way up and shows the diesel depot and motorail dock layout. Hope these are helpful.

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Will Crompton
typos

[Will Crompton]

With regard to the current layout see this image I pulled from Google Earth.  I have marked the position of where I think the dock was using an inelegant big yellow blob! The site is now covered in new buildings which abut the suburban platforms trainshed. I'm pretty sure this is right but stand ready to be corrected.

 

[franciswilliamwebb]

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=17.6&lat=51.53308&lon=-0.12428&layers=173&right=BingHyb

 

Gives a useful comparison.

[Sitham Yard]

On 24/01/2023 at 22:52, Oncomin5torm said:

Almost a year a go I got covid, it destroyed what love I had for the 8x2 layout I was building.

Over the following 9 or so months I have build many a micro layout and some have worked out, others have been scrapped.

I am now building a micro representation of the King Cross Motorail Depot, but repurposed to be a Mail, Parcels, Papers depot but based in the North West of England, as that is where I base all my layouts.

 

 

 

After seeing these images someone captured I was hooked.

Kings cross had a motorail sidings, this has never interested me, but changing it to be a mail or parcels depot really did spark my interest.

The track plan is pretty simple but it lends itself to a small shunting layout.


With that in mind over the last few months I have worked out a plan with a friend of mine for using this as a mail depot set in the early 90s which would be served by GUV, TPO, Parcels Vans, CCV, and the (slightly) out of era Class 128 Parcels Unit, the stock would be BR Blue, Blue Grey, Royal Mail and RES, so it allows for a lot of variation in shock on the scene at once as a lot of this era stock wouldnt have been updated very quickly.

 

 

Using a DCC Concepts 4x2 board I had in the loft from an old layout I lost interest with (See above about covid) I set about removing old track, ballast and making it good for a new plan to be put upon the single board.

I managed to save the threeway point and a right hand medium point from the old layout, everything else had to be scrapped saddly.
 

 

The scenic area will be 4x2 foot, I originally envisioned the layout as 6x20" but found I wasn't happy with the length and splitting into a pair of 3x20" boards wasn't suitable, so I adapted the plan down to a single 4x2 board with a fiddle yard.

 

(Testing of positions and points with a pair of mk1 and a CCT)

The track plan will follow as close as possible the actual layout of the original kings cross motorail area but within the confines of 4x2, I couldn't come up with a name until a friend of mine suggested a homage to kings cross and as my surname is Hill he went for Hill's Cross.
 

The V shaped island platform with sidings around it occurs elsewhere. I am thinking of the original York station and Norwich Victoria. I expect there were others.

Andrew 

[Oncomin5torm]

22 minutes ago, Sitham Yard said:

The V shaped island platform with sidings around it occurs elsewhere. I am thinking of the original York station and Norwich Victoria. I expect there were others.

Andrew 

Its those V shaped platforms that really captured my imagination to be honest.

The initial photos I have from the area dont show how big it actually was, and the motorail area was tiny in comparison, it looks like its a lot more boxed in, which it wasnt.

[Oncomin5torm]

A day of drying times today.

I soldered the track ends to the copper clad sleepers to keep them fixed down whilst I glue the rest of the track, just using copydex.

Most of the track coming off the points is straight, which is why I again opted for the right hand rather than a Y point coming off the lefthand point.
The only one I had to put a bit more effort into and let other bits of track dry first was the front siding, which is one long piece of track from the fiddle yard and is mostly for holding stock and the occasional dmu that visits.
This had to be held in place with push pins whilst the copydex went off, but also using the peco PW gauge tool, nothing fancy but it keeps it lined up with the rest of the track to keep the setup in the correct proportions.

 

When all that was drying I decided to make a start on the bridge that will be the scenic break.
Its a resin kit by Skytrex, I used one on my first layout Oakford Lane, superb kits.
I had to do a fair bit of fettling though as its a resin poured not 3D printed kit.

It has gone together well so far, the far side of the tracks will have a shorter piece, so more cutting, and the front end will have 1 full piece and a smaller one on the end.

[Oncomin5torm]

A morning of wiring, today.

Nothing too fancy as I have done a lash up job temporarily so I can test stock out on the layout.

 

I will be using solder tag strips on this build as I quite liked them on a previous layout I did, and I wanted to keep the wiring neat, in the final positions. The solder tags are on order and will arrive when they arrive, which is why I have done a lash up for now.

 

On test duties today is 08 485.
She ran perfectly over the points and all track is powered correctly.

I had to install the point motors or the frogs of the points would have been dead, so the points are fixed in one direction currently but they work.
I am really happy to have gotten to this stage, considering the entire build is about a week old and that's it, having 2 weeks holiday is always useful for railway builds.

I think the next step is to get the backscene installed before I get the tag strips in the post.

[woodenhead]

This is an interesting little layout which is giving me ideas of my own for the spare baseboard I have and my OO stock sitting idle.

 

And only a couple of points!

[sulzer71]

Great work Alex , coming along nicely

[Oncomin5torm]

1 minute ago, sulzer71 said:

Great work Alex , coming along nicely

thank you vey much

[Oncomin5torm]

Small progress but normally I'd have less time in a day so I'm not rushing this build. 

 

I've added and painted the backscene. 

 

Just my usual roll of wallpaper I've been using for a year or so now to great effect. 

 

 

I used a tester pot from the range in a blue sky type colour. 

 

I've not gone all the way to the base of the wallpaper, as the entire backscene will be covered by buildings eventually. 

[Sweet pea]

This is coming together very nicely. I don't like to rush a build.👍

[Oncomin5torm]

1 hour ago, Kevin Johnson said:

This is coming together very nicely. I don't like to rush a build.👍

 

Thanks. 

 

Sometimes I set myself stupid timetables for getting a layout finished, this has none of that so I'm just enjoying it.