oh what to do.....a winter project on a complete blank canvas, a few ideas in my head

[big jim]

i recently picked up a set of baseboards through the classifieds on here which ive decided to wait building a layout on until i have built a shed rather than sit in a cold garage. however the seller also gave me a few extra bits and bobs including a nice large diorama sized board...

 

its approx 4ft x 1ft in size, built on short legs so i can put point motors, accessory decoders etc in with ease, however i have no clear ideas of what to do with it

 

well ok i have a couple of ideas but they involve the cliche'd urban terminus with small yard which i want to avoid if i can, also i want to avoid a "mini warmington" depot scenario

 

the stock i want to use on it is the stuff off warmington, mainly sound chipped locos and units, as well as my new stuff including the Bachmann mpv and flask wagons

 

here is the board....

 

 

 

i want to do something with no backscene so it can be viewed and operated through 360 degrees, i will however add a small fiddle yard/run off board

 

i was thinking of a slightly elevated (maybe only 1 inch high) curved track going from right rear to left front into a 2 or 3 coach single line platform terminus (maybe use the Heljan tackley station) with a spur down into a flask unloading point towards the rear left, the points being to the rear right where the track would enter the board, the right front could simply be scenics of some description

 

i dont want to make it a shunting puzzle with lots of points and turnback moves etc, would rather hone my scenic and electrical skills on it, i was thinking of having a semi rural location, think aylesbury vale parkway crossed with valley flask terminal, due to size restraints i recon flasks would have to be topped and tailed in as looking at it there is no realistic room for a run round loop

 

i will do a quick sketch of my idea when i get a chance

 

any thoughts or other ideas?

 

 

[big jim]

decided to go with the semi rural station and flask terminal....

 

got hold of a few woodland scenics polystyrene risers today to make a start on the scenics.....

 

2" high ones for the what i want to be the curved embankment/station part

 

1" thick panel for the base to what i want to be the flask terminal

 

1" inclines which i will use to drop the track down from the embankment into the terminal and also to drop what will be a roadway from the 1" polystyrene down to the wooden base

 

not much to see yet but i will get some pics when i can.

[Classsix T]

I was going to suggest a tiny part of Roberts Road Jim, but it looks as if you've made your mind up!

 

RR would make a fascinating model though, all them differing wagons, a passing mainline and Grids of course!

 

C6T.

[big jim]

i suppose a model fastline jarvis depot would have been prototypical........ id have spent hours working on it, put my all into it only to get nothing back for my time and be out of pocket!

 

 

[Donw]

Whatever you choose no doubt someone has had a similar idea. Choose something which inspires you. Your idea for a small platform and a flask unloading spur sounds ideal. regard it as a self training for the bigger project. You will learn a lot and have fun.

Don

[rob D2]

Similar dilemma ! I have a 5'x 1.5' board to put something on but am struggling for inspiration.

 

I like both the early EWS years, and the BR blue era, but finding something to put on this board is tricky. I don't want a bog standard MPD (doen to death), and I don't want loads of trackwork - but without enough track it'll be as boring as sin to operate,

 

I was thinking maybe a parcels platform, with some stabling siding and stock, with a kind of high low relief back drop. 'Somewhere in london' but my EWS stuff wouldn't really fit that.

 

Catch 22

[big jim]

not put any of the risers on the board but to give an idea of how tight the space is on the board here are my drs 20s with 2 flasks and a 2 car 165.

 

 

been having a think about the siding area and i'm now thinking of having it as a shared terminal, as well as the flask scenario i was thinking of having it as an MOD headshunt, that way i can have in things like my shenker 66 running with a couple of Container flats of supplies or even have a couple of wagons with army tanks on etc

 

location wise it could then be based somewhere around bicester (with an imaginary nuclear power station in the area!)

[big jim]

hopefully these few pics should give you an idea of what im trying to achieve...

 

not going with the flask terminal now, like the idea of the MOD interchange, that way i can run all sorts of traction and stock, maybe even have locos and stock going into store on site!

 

ive just placed the risers on the board for now, not cut anything yet...

 

the 1" thick board at the front will go to the end of the board

 

here are the inclines, what ive decided to do is rather than my original idea of a roadway going off scene is to have a rail connection going off scene running from a set of points just within the yard area

 

 

the left hand incline is the station embankment

the centre one is the drop down to the exchange yard

the right one is the drop to the MOD terminal

 

 

 

i may well have to get the MOD 08 from modelzone!!

 

any thoughts or comments?

 

 

 

[rob D2]

Its a good concept.I was thinking of the 'half runaround' idea as modern freight in 5' looks, a bit, short.