Ultimate Dream Layout?

[pirouets]

Pixie, what would I see at Reading in 1992?

 

2001 I know as I commuted from their for 5 years to the delights of Newbury.

[definate maybe]

Pirouets, Reading 1992, i assume (IIRC) he is refering to the 47's & 50's on the Newbury & Oxford services, First generation DMU's including bubble cars on the locals. A 205/ 207 DEMU on the Basingstokes, 1st Gen EMU's on the Waterloo services. Double headed 33's on departmentals, 47's & motley rakes on parcel services and a large variety of 37, 47, 56, 59 & 60's on all manner of freight services including oil, stone & freightliners. Then you just have to throw in the normal HST's & the odd 47 hauled cross country service, all in a real mish-mash of colours. Reading used to be a favourite day trip for me and my dad around that time.

[Worsdell forever]

The last time this subject came up and my dream layout hasn't changed, its still Bowesfield Junction to Redcar, perhaps refined now to 1920. All the steelworks, shipyards, Newport and Erimus yards. Middlesbrough and Newport sheds and Middlesbrough dock. Part of it will have overhead electrics for the Newport - Shildon line. I wonder how many points (all hand made of course) and yards of flexitrack it would take?

[Pixie]

Pixie, what would I see at Reading in 1992?

 

Mostly as DM said, Steve. It'd be a complete nostalgia trip from when I was knee high and the sun was always shining. Individual memories have long been overwritten but Swallow HSTs screaming their way out of the station towards the West Country left a real impression, as did the NSE VEPs with their dugadugaduga noise of the air compressor. There's a series on Youtube that is very good (start here

)... if I had a can of TAB clear cola (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tab_Clear) and a Secret bar (http://en.wikipedia...._(chocolate_bar)) I'd be in nostalgia heaven!

 

I'm planning on getting myself up to Reading soon to cover the entire station in detail photos before they bulldoze it, just in case the oppourtunity does come up to model it all.

 

Pix

[37277]

Dream layout......Pontypridd 1913. Coal trains followed by coal trains, and even more coal trains!

[shortliner]

Port of Palm Beach layout by Lance Mindheim - and find a custom painter to paint their switching loco

[Invicta]

Dream layout......Pontypridd 1913. Coal trains followed by coal trains, and even more coal trains!

 

 

I can see the appeal in that- though I might pick slightly different geography and period.

 

Dream layout? Hmm, let's see, my perfect 'Pete Waterman' layout scenario (ie the money, space and access to all the extra pairs of hands and modelling skills needed) would be a piece of Leicestershire, the area where I cut my trainspotting teeth, but in LMS days rather than the blue diesel era I grew up in. A decent main-line run to allow for scale-length trains, linking reasonably-to-scale representations of a couple of real-life stations (Coalville for one) and other locations around that area, including a colliery to generate those coal trains and a branch line modelled on the Leicester West Bridge branch. Add in all of the appropriate locos and stock for that area, plus a few indulgences for those days when I just want to invoke the 'It's my trainset' regulations... Oh yes, and maybe throw in a little bit of Narrow Gauge as well, based on the 2' system that served Cliffe Hill quarries for good measure...

 

Nothing a lottery win and a spare aircraft hangar couldn't accommodate!

[bike2steam]

Bescot,shed,station, and marshalling yard - circa 1959, break of scene at first road bridge in each direction, plus need about 6 other helpers to build, and operate.

[pirouets]

Pixie, Youtube video's are great, The secret bar I get and I had to eat a choclate bar just thinking about it (I'm weak), but Tab clear cola? Nah. Out of interest, at the end of 1993 part 1, what class is the 3 car leaving?

 

Would you include the "Energis" building next to what is now the new Yell building? That would be a challenge to build.

[Tom Bayford]

The whole of the Bodmin and Wrenford Bridge branch all the way with Wadebridge and all the way up to Padstow. Mind you i ould happily have have the whole of the BR Souther Region circa 1960 in a garden with the ilse of wight lines modeled on a seperate island in the middle of my duck pond!

 

Ok that was too much wasnt it...

[Pete the Elaner]

Crewe.

[R.Langley]

Reading, with or without the depot, between 1990 and the present day. So much scope for freight and passenger services.

 

One day, one day...

[KevinWalsh]

Mind you i ould happily have have the whole of the BR Souther Region circa 1960 in a garden with the ilse of wight lines modeled on a seperate island in the middle of my duck pond!

 

Ok that was too much wasnt it...

 

 

It's only too much if you are talking about doing it in anything bigger than O gauge :lol:

 

I like your thinking though, especially having the isle of wight in the pond

 

Kev

[Ian J.]

(Please take the following with a pinch of salt )

 

I've just been thinking that it might be worth having a thread where how all these dreams would be realised had to be explained!

 

For most of us I don't think the dream has been followed on with practical thoughts on how you would go about making such a model, or how it would be maintained, or how it could be viewed by people, or how it would be operated (though some posts have mentioned that, I will concede). Bearing in mind just how wide some of these ideas would be if modelled in say 4mm scale, it would be impossible to reach over all the scenery, etc, to rerail a derailed locomotive, let alone work on scenery or get underneath to work on wiring...

[jonny777]

Yes, that is very true Ian.

 

I would love to build a model of Spalding in the 1950s (East Lincs line, GN&GE, with the M&GN going over to the south of the station.

 

But the problems would come in what to do about the 'ends' of each set of tracks. The land is as flat as a pancake round there, so no tunnel mouths leading to fiddle yards. The lines diverged to almost all points of the compass which would mean six exits to hide from view.

[Pixie]

Pixie, Youtube video's are great, The secret bar I get and I had to eat a choclate bar just thinking about it (I'm weak), but Tab clear cola? Nah.

 

Secrets were the daddy of chocolate bars - I live in hope they'll make their return one day, like good ol' Wispa Golds, or I'll find them in some far away land. Can still get Peanut Butter Kitkats in Germany and Astroids in South Africa so there may be a chance...

 

Out of interest, at the end of 1993 part 1, what class is the 3 car leaving?

 

I think it's a 117, although I'm sure someone can confirm.

 

Would you include the "Energis" building next to what is now the new Yell building? That would be a challenge to build.

 

To be hoenst I've not really got past the 'Mmm, that'll be nice' stage yet. I've got a feeling Nigel Burkin might of done a little bit of it on his Platform 4A/4B so I'm sure it's do-able.

 

Pix

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Another vote for Midhurst - c.1900 with both LBSCR and LSWR stations in 2mm. Lots of D1s, C2s and T1s... hmmmm!

 

Additionally, something like this... http://www.japanrail...urtlayout3.html

 

Not too big, or too complicated to operate, just a nice way to watch the trains go by with a little extra operational interest.

[great northern]

I would take great care to stop the dream turning into a nightmare.Bigger isn't always better - David Jenkinson found that out many years ago. It has to be something that can be maintained, and for me something that I can operate single handed if I wish to. It would be East Coast main line of course,I'm too far down that road now to turn back, but where? Grantham would be favourite, but very wide if I included the engine shed, and just not right if I didn't.

 

Actually, I think my answer would be two layouts, both 00. One would be ECML, perhaps somewhere like New Southgate. The other would be GE based, allowing me to use the B17's and D16's I can't do without. However, as I have entered the lottery every week since it started, and never had more than four numbers, and that only once, I shall not be holding my breath....

[Kris]

(Please take the following with a pinch of salt )

 

I've just been thinking that it might be worth having a thread where how all these dreams would be realised had to be explained!

 

For most of us I don't think the dream has been followed on with practical thoughts on how you would go about making such a model, or how it would be maintained, or how it could be viewed by people, or how it would be operated (though some posts have mentioned that, I will concede). Bearing in mind just how wide some of these ideas would be if modelled in say 4mm scale, it would be impossible to reach over all the scenery, etc, to rerail a derailed locomotive, let alone work on scenery or get underneath to work on wiring...

 

I quite agree Ian. It was taking the dream that extra step that made me realise just how unobtainable it was. That was fine though, it just gave me a reason to recreate my dream.

 

 

 

[Kris]

Looking through everyones thoughts on their dream model I find it fascinating that nobody has stated that their dream model is of a fictional location.

[Guest jim s-w]

Hi All

 

I do have to ask is all this talk of modelling "the southern" or the entire WCML actually something someone really wants to do? My local line is Bham - Shirley - Stratford upon Avon. I have hardly ever been to stratford and while Shirley might appeal I wouldn't want to model the whole line just so I can spend an hour driving a class 116 from one end to the other - I cant think of anything more tedious if I am honest.

 

Its all a bit Miniture Wunderland if I am honest, which might be interesting for a while but...

 

Cheers

 

Jim

[John M Upton]

Late 1960's Brighton in N Gauge bordered by Preston Park, London Road and Hove which will require three fiddle yards, one for each main line in addition to the MPD, EMUD and Pullman Car works!

[Simon Moore]

Pondered this one a few time's & each time i always come to the same choices so here goes;

 

WHEN i win the euro millions i plan to have a large building erected to house 2 layout both in P4 & it would be one of those kind of builds like Pete Waterman is doing with his Lemmington Spar project i.e not on his own

 

My First choice would be Tinsley yard as it was in about 1986 so i had a very good array of loco's running from peaks to 47's & huge selection of rolling stock but with added modelers license so i could keep the hump working & it would work too with class 13's shunting the hump. I actually measured it up on the computer & used Templot's metric calculator to see how big it would be & that came in at about 200ft long x 16ft wide. This would be a great layout to operate by your self because although it is a very large layout it could be computer controlled & shunting only needs one operator in quite periods

 

The second layout in this very large building would be the whole of the east Lancashire line from Colne to Preston circa 1955 with each of the major stations on the route with more or less half of Burnley modeled. I would feature Colne station & sheds , Nelson station & yard , Burnley central station & yards, Burnley viaduct , Rosegrove station, yards & depot which is over 90ft alone & then Accrington , Blackburn , Lostock hall & the whole of Preston.

 

Hopefully i win a double rollover & its the biggest haul ever then i think i might even have it housed on the site of Tinsley depot since that warehouse there has been a big flop.

 

Aghhhhh we can dream

[Guest jim s-w]

Nah!

 

Having it supplied for you isnt modelling, its closer to shopping!

 

Cheers

 

Jim

[Andy C]

Oldham Mumps to Oldham Werneth / Clegg street in the early 60s to include the PCD. the OAGB line and the Lees / Greenfield line - with the rest of the Goods yards as well.

 

This should get Coachmann salivating as well!