New N Gauge Layout

[Calnefoxile]

Right Guys and gals,

 

Thought it about time I started committed myself to build the N Gauge layout I've been harping on about for a while, mainly because Mike Walker has invited it to the Oct Cheltenham GWR Modellers show in 2013 It is going to be set roughly in the BR Blue era to Railfreight, merging into Triple Grey (If I get a reasonbly priced 60 this weekend at TINGS).

 

Anyway, here's the trackplan

 

 

The Loop between the Station and the Sidings does not serve the Station, it used to, but is now a freight loop for the sidings. (See Question 2)

 

And here is a grainy photo of the boards it is all going to fit on, as you can see the fiddle yard is already built.

 

 

Right now the questions:

 

1: Umming and arring about whether to use the stack of Code 80 I have, or flog it and buy Code 55?? (No I am not going down the Easitrac route B) B) )

 

2: What Industry do I use the 2 sidings above the Station for???

 

3: Name??? I have provisionally thought of Sellman Lane (Think about it )

 

Anyway, something for you chaps and chappesses to think about whilst I'm at TINGS this weekend, your time starts...........NOW!!!!!

 

Many Regards

 

Neal.

[MrSimon]

hi,

 

It looks quite big - what size is it? Looking forward to seeing it develop

 

Simon

[pirouets]

What sort of passenger traffic are you having on the line with the freight, or is the design allowing you to vary that?

 

Code 80 - Flog it and get code 55.

Industry

1. How about a gravel crusher site that supplies building in teh surrounding area, but gets its raw materials by rail?

2. Some kind of inner city oil site?

3. A small industry that manufactures something for the railways. You may want to add an extra line into a shed if you did this. I was thinking of the place that makes the Tamping machines which is on the way to Paddington.

 

Have a scoot on google maps for lineside ideas. I used to look between Reading and Paddington for ideas as there are loads of spurs on the way. (As a result i'm building a layout in the middle of the countryside)

 

Name

Buymans Bridge? (Assumes I got Sellman right :-) )

Pratts Lane (Cos at the start of 2013 you may just being thinking this for committing to the show with 300 jobs still to do)

Octenham (your turn to think)

[Kris]

Ditch the code 80.

 

How about a small speed link terminal for the station?

[37058]

Looking forward to watching this develop. Fiddle Yards look awesome.....Thats what i like to see, large fiddle yards to accommodate full scale length rakes of stock.

 

I also say "yes" ditch code 80 and go 55 Finescale, looks so much better

 

Anthony

[pirouets]

Out of interest, how much code 80 are you talking about? I have a 10 road fiddle yard envisaged in my next plan.

[eldavo]

How about a virtual quarry? Lots of bulk ballast trains in and engineers trains out.

 

Definitely lose the code 80. The latest highly detailed N gauge models look plain odd running on girders and the running qualities are none too special. IMHO of course.

 

Cheers

Dave

[Revolution Mike]

Code 80 for fiddle yard and 55 (or preferably Easitrac) for viewing side with either 55 (or Easitrac to 9mm) points.

[Calnefoxile]

hi,

 

It looks quite big - what size is it? Looking forward to seeing it develop

 

Simon

 

It is 12' x 5'9", the reason for the odd size is the the Fillet boards, or *FBB's* as they are colloquially known , are 1m in length, whereas the other boards are 4' x 15".

 

FBB= Fat B!"£$%^ Boards

 

Regards

 

Neal.

[Steadfast]

I notice you haven't followed my duck tape lead mate!

Looks interesting, very interesting. Never come across the FBB boards before though.

Seeing the length of the sidings, and their proximity to the station engineers sidings and stabling room would seem to be an obvious solution, like Westbury and Eastleigh for example. Would it be possible to provide access from both ends, to at least one of the roads, to allow extra flexibility with shunting and running round etc. A short loco spur in the opposite direction could also allow for stabling units between services as well as the locos for the engineering locos.

cheers

 

jo

[Calnefoxile]

Right after TINGS and nattering to people I have come up with answers to some of my questions, well one of them anyway

 

I will be using Code 55 track!!!!!! Sorry Mike, no go on the Easitrac....

 

Still haven't decided on the usage of the Sidings yet, but I do like the Inner City Oil terminal, as I don't have to worry about empty and loaded wagons going in or out. For the same reason I also thought about a small Freightliner type or terminal, but I don't think I have enough room between the loop and the sidings for that.

 

Jo's suggestion of Engineers sidings is also a feasable one, but that means I have to get lots of Salmons, Seacows and other engineers stuff, which means lots of kit building and going by my efforts at TINGS this weekend, that'll take me from now until eternity.

 

My other idea, is based on what I have lots of at the moment, and that is PGModels Military Kits, it could be an MOD terminal, now there's an idea!!!!!! I might have to thinks about that further

 

Anyway keep the ideas coming, especially the name. I don't think anyones worked out my temporary name yet, SELLMAN LANE.

 

Regards

 

Neal Mansell

[Steven B]

Still haven't decided on the usage of the Sidings yet, but I do like the Inner City Oil terminal, as I don't have to worry about empty and loaded wagons going in or out. For the same reason I also thought about a small Freightliner type or terminal, but I don't think I have enough room between the loop and the sidings for that.

 

Jo's suggestion of Engineers sidings is also a feasable one, but that means I have to get lots of Salmons, Seacows and other engineers stuff, which means lots of kit building and going by my efforts at TINGS this weekend, that'll take me from now until eternity.

 

My other idea, is based on what I have lots of at the moment, and that is PGModels Military Kits, it could be an MOD terminal, now there's an idea!!!!!! I might have to thinks about that further.

 

MOD terminals tend to be either hidden away behind a large fence on a MOD site (like Ashcurch), or hidden away in the middle of nowhere (behind a big fence).

 

I'd be tempted by a cement terminal. You could have bagged cement arriving in Dapol ferry vans and bulk supplies in Farish PCAs (and the new bogie wagons on show a TINGS last weekend). Bachmann do some suitable buildings in the N Gauge Scenecraft range.

 

Depending upon what era you intend to base the layout in, another option could be a household coal terminal - supplied by 16 or 21t minerals or perhaps one that has the infrastructure needed for hoppers meaning you can use 21t hoppers (Dapol) or HEA (GraFar or TPM).

 

Happy modelling.

 

Steven B.

[Calnefoxile]

mmmm looks like we're getting there

 

Right I have definately decided to go Code 55 for the front of the layout, but I have one question( I think I already know the answer ot this, but!!!) Going Code 55 will this mean I need to replace the wheels on my early Grafar sruff?? I.E. Like the Brass geared 20's that I have, for example???

 

The 2 sidings are either going to be:

 

1 an Inner city Fuel point, or

2 Cement works, (but I think there's been too many of these around recently)

 

Any other ideas for the 2 sidings???

 

Regards

 

Neal.

[Kris]

When I was modelling in N rather than 2mm I used code 55 and ran old brass geared Farish stock with no issues.

[PaulCheffus]

mmmm looks like we're getting there

 

Right I have definately decided to go Code 55 for the front of the layout, but I have one question( I think I already know the answer ot this, but!!!) Going Code 55 will this mean I need to replace the wheels on my early Grafar sruff?? I.E. Like the Brass geared 20's that I have, for example???

 

The 2 sidings are either going to be:

 

1 an Inner city Fuel point, or

2 Cement works, (but I think there's been too many of these around recently)

 

Any other ideas for the 2 sidings???

 

Regards

 

Neal.

 

Hi

 

No problems as there arn't any chairs on the inside of code 55 track. Peco code 55 is actually code 80 in height but with about 25 thou sunk into the sleeper base and with a double foot profile.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Perhaps you could have a small coal yard in the two sidings beside the platform? The most immediate example I can think of (in my own limited way) is the one that was at Hove...more or less opposite the platforms. You just need some sort of JCB-type machine and a few small buidlings/coal straithes etc. as well as piles of coal. Wagons would be the Bachmann HEAs...I assume they are still available?

[theunborn]

Hi thats a nice size layout for n gauge baseboards looking good to cant wait to see how this turns out.

 

cheers

[grahame]

What a nice big plain canvas to built upon. Lucky you. I'm expecting great things.

 

G

[Chrislock]

Sellman Lane is obvious enough.

 

How about .... Lanselm Lean?

 

 

Code 55 is fine as long as you've not tried easitrac - then there is no going back.

Turnouts are a pain though.

 

Regards

 

Chris

[Calnefoxile]

Aaaarrrggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

 

Today I thought I'd better start organising myself and work out how much track and what points I'm going to need for my layout, so I printed the track plan out, got some lining paper and made a start transferring the track plan to a full size drawing.

 

THen all of a sudden something didn't look right and then I realise what it was, the track plan has been designed for a 16' layout when I have 12' worth of boards. Why I didn't realise this before I don't know

 

So I need a favour from a kind soul out there in RMWeb land. Can someone please redraw the track plan by taking out the 3rd board but still keeping the basic plan, and producing a new track plan on either XTrkCad or Anyrail. I have tried to do this myself but I'm useless at using CAD programs, believe me I've tried I can send the original plan if it is required.

 

TIA

 

Neal.

[shortliner]

For inner city - what about a rail-fed supermarket, a supermarket container hub (Inverness for example?) or a catalogue warehouse?

[Stuart A]

Another promising N gauge layout, set in the best era1 (IMHO!)

 

For an industry, how about a rail fed warehouse. What came to mind is the old warehouse just before you come into Manchester, which was still in use in the late 80s, the link for the google maps image of the site is below.

There were 2 warehouses, and a single line went through both if I remember, and at one end I think there were a couple of sidings inset into the concrete apron. A headshunt would be useful to shuffle the vans in and out- it would even give you an excuse to run an 03 or 04 as an industrial.

 

Dapol cargowaggons and Farish VGAs would be all you would need. I do like cement terminals too though

 

Google Map

 

 

[Kris]

To shorten it would it be worth relocating the station to the curve so that you can still keep the majority of the length of the sidings and the loop which give this plan a lot of character.

[Calnefoxile]

To shorten it would it be worth relocating the station to the curve so that you can still keep the majority of the length of the sidings and the loop which give this plan a lot of character.

 

Kris,

 

I have been considering that actually, but I'm not a fan of modelling stations on curves, because in N the gap between Coaches and Platform edges looks a bit daft.

 

I might just move the siding access point to the right hand board, ut doing that shortens the distance between the sidings and the crossover to the mainline. this would also make the station the focal point of the layout, which considering it won't be having major passenger trains stopping, just locals, is something I was trying to get away from.

 

Regards

 

Neal.

[Pete Laxton]

Hi

I looked at the pictures and thought why has he made it flat board. I hope the rest will be open plan> I think you should always raise about 1" abouve bench level so you have some scenic below track level.

Pete Laxton

B)