Brickingham

[sean hpw]

OK guys,

 

I have got huckwood Mk11 well underway now, so I ahve started planning my perminent layout, this is to be a very long term project, i want as much feedback as possible in the planning stages so that when it comes to building time there is no clatting about with changing things at the last minite (or at least as little as possible) the layout is fictitious, and for a while things will be quite wordy, please bare with me, as alot of buildings/trackplans are still in the very early stage of development!!

 

Description of layout
The Brickingham layout is a fictitious junction located as a fictitious London suburb of Brickingham, to the south west of the city of London, Brickingham is served by a substantial station with a pair of large sheds for both the Southern Railway (SR) and Great Western Railway (GWR) the time line of the layout follows a path where by world war two was averted and locomotive design carried on with development at a similar pace of the 1930’s, along with several designs that were not built for economic reasons.
Points of interest on the layout include a steel mill, large city station, underground train links, a large Motive power Depot, (MPD) nine oaks depot, with diesel re-fuelling facilities, along with locomotive repair facilities on shed, two branch lines, a medium sized town, several small villages, a departmental depot and a canal leading into the city via the town.

The main lines are usually 4 tracks wide, two up lines, running clockwise, two down lines, running anti-clockwise. Most of the branch line sections will be single track with the exception of the joins to the main line and at stations.

Proposed route description

The route of the line is going to follow is as below; leaving Brickingham station (name to be decided) heading up on the outermost up line (second from outermost line) leaving the station passing through the suburbs of Brickingham district, crossing the junctions for the two passing goods loops (one up one down), soon after the suburbs give way to rolling countryside, criss crossed with hedges and streams, reaching the curve of the layout the first branch line splits off into the country, crossing a river as it goes. Continuing along the mainline, also crossing the same river on a girder bridge, the railway passes a dairy farm, with a small siding on the inside of the mainlines. The town of Lower Wilmington is on the lower corner of the layout, with a 6 road station, market and engine shed of mainly southern railway locomotives. Leaving lower Wilmington the train passes a milk bottling plant served by a small branch off the outer most (down) line. Crossing a viaduct over a valley with a village nestled on one side, served by a minor branch line, as the train rounds the third corner the departmental depot is passed, with two roads crossing over all four of the main lines allowing departmental access to all main lines, a gravel quarry is visible behind the departmental depot served by road, re-entering city’s industrial sector now; continuing on the lines curve towards the centre of the layout, avoiding the large goods shunting yards (SR/GWR join owned) and the carriage and wagon and Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) sidings. The steel works and several bonded warehouses dominate the final corner, both served by a two road industrial exchange line. Now entering the station throat a two road spur crosses the main lines from the underground network, entering the station to platform one and two, the entry lines to the MPD cross over four and three lines respectively, crossed by the two goods passing lines, which link to the industrial exchange lines, the outermost up and down lines split and form the lines to platforms five, six and seven, the centre two lines pass through between platforms three and four, the outer line (down) serves platform five, the inner line (up) serves platform three. Two pilot sidings are in the station, locations to be finalised. Outside of platform sevens line (branch line services only) pass the two goods lines.

Lower Wilmington station layout
Lower Wilmington station is a 2 platform town station with goods handling facilities, one station pilot serves the station, a pair of banking locomotives are on standby just outside the station to assist heavy trains up the incline of the valley to the viaduct. The layout of the station is simple; three main platforms linked by foot bridge two lines (the inner up line and outer down line) serve the platforms, the centre up and down lines pass through between the two platform lines. To the inside of the station two loops branch off the inner two main lines, running around, the outermost serving platform three the innermost serving the goods shed. A signal box is just outside the station limits, before the station is reached (from the up direction) there is a single road cross over to the engine shed, two sidings offer limited facility to house coaches by the station.

Podcaster Village branch
This branch is the first after leaving Brickingham, the outer most up and down lines branch off forming a single track line, crossing a river on a stone bridge, ending up at a small village station, two roads with a small turn table, a cattle dock and small goods office are served by a short siding, and a passing loop to allow locomotives to run around the trains to run around the train and return to either Brickingham or Lower Wilmington.





March village branch
The March village branch is a steeply graded line that climbs the valley side and joins the mainline just before the departmental depot as a single line the whole route, primarily served by DMU units, the grades lead to some very server restrictions on the speed and weight of locomotives used over the section, a simple one platform station with a very short siding for pick up goods wagons and cattle and sheep to be loaded, Addams type tank engines are also in regular use on the March branch
Departmental depot
The departmental depot is a complex web of sidings, workshops, and road vehicle maintenance facilities. One siding houses a pair of steam breakdown cranes; a small shed houses two shunting diesels, several sidings are filled with wagons with a mixture of 40 ton bolster wagons loaded with new rail, varying designs of ballast wagons and spoil wagons, along with a few lowmac and well wagons for transporting machinery and crew coaches. Two lines run under loading hoppers and a third runs into the larger workshop, a large open sided shed is sited nearby to house road borne vehicles used by the departmental teams. The yard is cluttered with the usual assortment of mess and oddments of machinery; by the entrance of the depot is an office complex and mess rooms for the departmental workers. Next to this is a stores building, and a second lean two with larger equipment stored inside

Brickingham station
Brickingham station is the most complex station on the layout, eight platforms and long enough to accommodate an eight coach train on the longest three, two station pilots are accommodated here, along with a through underground service and links to the Podcaster branch originate here. The station throat starts very soon after the carriage sidings, the four main lines are joined by the 4 road entry point to the carriage sidings, then the two underground lines cross the mainlines, to platforms one and two, a banking siding is directly opposite the carriage sidings, serving both the station and carriage sidings. The underground lines are followed a short way by the industrial exchange lines, which link up with the up and down goods loops. The MPD entrance roads come up next, crossing the industrial exchange lines, then four and three main lines respectively upper two main lines are joined by the two goods loops and this forms a cross over to all four main lines. The two industrial exchange lines join up to the goods loops level with the point of cross over, also the two goods loops form the third and fourth road into the MPD. Shortly after this the outer two main lines split off and form the loops to platforms five six and seven, platform eight is served by the Podcaster branch line and other slow services, and has no through links to the MPD end of the station and is just long enough to accommodate a three coach train. The main lines run through platforms three and four, the centre two lines running through between these platforms. A second pair of station pilot sidings are just off the line into platform eight. Goods loops run through a sizable looking unloading facility all lines re-merge into the 4 main lines soon after the station limits are reached.

 

Anywho thats where I am at the moment, OO gauge and at least 30ft long and 18ft wide...

 

Thoughts anyone??

 

Sean

[class"66"]

Sounds very very interesting!!

[Talltim]

Podcaster! Brilliant!

[Saddletank]

Wow, have you just taken out a lease on a small warehouse?

 

Following, good luck!

[westerner]

A plan would help those of us who find visulizing a layout through words difficult.

[Southernboy]

Yes, I'd love to see a plan too (please and thank you).

 

The aspect that most interests me is:

" ...the time line of the layout follows a path where by world war two was averted and locomotive design carried on with development at a similar pace of the 1930’s, along with several designs that were not built for economic reasons."

 

I'm curious to know your thoughts and plans in this respect?

 

eg:

 

So WW2 has been averted - but how far in time after that is the layout set? 10 years, 20 years, or an alternative 2013?

 

Does streamlining predominate locomotive design?

 

Or maybe you are thinking more abstractly?

 

Without the intervention of war does the modernist 'City of Tomorrow' become a reality?

 

I have to say you've certainly set my imagination flying! And you did ask for 'as much feedback as possible' ... and those are the questions that immediately pop into my head if I were considering such a layout.

 

Whatever your approach - I think the concept is interesting to say the least.

[sean hpw]

OK, thanks for the encouragement, I am working on a physical plan (im finding it VERY hard to fit onto papaer at the mo) but i hope to have one drawn up before to many weeks... honest :-)

 

I am not quite ambitious enough to follow through to 2013 on the time line, but i am looking at setting the model in the 50's (I have read the book 'locomotives that never were, thats where the idea stems from) so locos got more powerful, streamlining was developed further, several designs of very powerful loco's were built, Hawkesworth (GWR) got his wish of a class of passifics for the GWR for example! so yes it is something that captured my imagination, and i chose to do something with it (i'm only 20, so i have plenty of time to complete this monster project, along with my Huckwood portable layout) so ambitious? Yes it is but what a layout to build (not trying to sound poetic here honestly gang!) also the branchline DMU/EMU/railcars of the SR/GWR would be developed, so i will be putting my engineers hat back on... alot of scratch building and planning to do yet guys, as i say i will try to get a plan drawin up ASAP.

 

No i have not got the lease of a barn, but soon enough me and my family will be looking to move to scottland, and i do intend to build a substantial space to house Brickingham...

 

Thats all for now guys

 

Happy modeling and keep these creative juices flowing!

 

Sean