Var City South

[jon_1066]

This is what I have started building.  Got the two front base boards built in between watching Andy Murray on Sunday (though did get shouted at for drilling the holes for the wiring when he was serving for the match!)

 

 

 

It's inspired by the south half of Cambridge station set 1948-56.  It has the two bay platforms of the ex LNWR Bletchley lines and one part of the main platform (all half length).  In this alternate reality Cambridge will be transformed into a terminus with suburban trains from Kings X and Liverpool St plus the Oxford trains and an express service from Liverpool St.  Lob in a few goods trains and it becomes quite a hectic timetable.  I have crunched a 1947 LNER timetable I found on the net to give an idea of the running order for trains.  A full weekday will be 58 arrivals and departures without the goods so more than enough to keep me busy.  If I get running rights over more of the room I can extend it to create a loop to allow through trains to Ely, Yarmouth and Peterborough.

 

I have intentionally not provided run-arounds so a station pilot will be very busy.  In essence it is a shunting layout with coaches being the main things being shunted.  It is nearly all Honby set track and flexi as that is what I have.  All the wiring is pretty much confined to one board.  All points will be hand of god and the odd stall will be remedied likewise.  Construction will be 9 mm ply with 2 by 1 bracing underneath.  The fiddle yard will be by cassettes of various lengths. The express will be four coaches with a buffet (MK1s or the forthcoming Bachmann Thompsons), suburbans will be three coaches (I have some Mark 1s but may invest in some more variety - eg ex LNER Gresleys) and the lowly line to Oxford two ex LMS coaches.

 

Motive power will be a mix of tanks (N2s and L1s for the King X suburbans), 4-4-0s (for the Liverpool St suburbans - probably have to be a stand in as no ready to run Holden D16s available) and B1s and B17s on the express with perhaps the odd appearance of an A4 (as I really like them).  Also a couple of midland 2MT and 4MT for the Oxford line so a nice mix of motive power.

 

The goods and loco facilities are obviously woefully small so the theory is the main ones are off scene and these are sub sheds.  Carriage storage will be on the lowest road.  Parcels can be shunted into the siding above the station.  Also scope for cutting out the buffet car for servicing on this siding.

 

It should hopefully keep me modelling for some time as I intend to try scratch building the station buildings, road bridge and the low relief warehouses and a flour mill.  If I feel really brave I may try to build a D16 from a kit.  But I should also be able to play trains relatively quickly since there is not that much track.  

 

It will also hopefully have enough to do to allow all four of my children to be involved in a session.  My thinking is one is the train dispatcher so making up trains in the fiddle yard and breaking them down again.  The next is the engine driver who brings trains in and out of the station.  The third is the pilot and controls the pilot loco for the shunting.  The final will be the signalman and controls the points and signals. They can take turns and should stop them arguing too much!

 

[Pacific231G]

This is what I have started building.  Got the two front base boards built in between watching Andy Murray on Sunday (though did get shouted at for drilling the holes for the wiring when he was serving for the match!)

 

Var City.jpg

 

 

It's inspired by the south half of Cambridge station set 1948-56.  It has the two bay platforms of the ex LNWR Bletchley lines and one part of the main platform (all half length).  In this alternate reality Cambridge will be transformed into a terminus with suburban trains from Kings X and Liverpool St plus the Oxford trains and an express service from Liverpool St.  Lob in a few goods trains and it becomes quite a hectic timetable.  I have crunched a 1947 LNER timetable I found on the net to give an idea of the running order for trains.  A full weekday will be 58 arrivals and departures without the goods so more than enough to keep me busy.  If I get running rights over more of the room I can extend it to create a loop to allow through trains to Ely, Yarmouth and Peterborough.

 

I have intentionally not provided run-arounds so a station pilot will be very busy.  In essence it is a shunting layout with coaches being the main things being shunted.  It is nearly all Honby set track and flexi as that is what I have.  All the wiring is pretty much confined to one board.  All points will be hand of god and the odd stall will be remedied likewise.  Construction will be 9 mm ply with 2 by 1 bracing underneath.  The fiddle yard will be by cassettes of various lengths. The express will be four coaches with a buffet (MK1s or the forthcoming Bachmann Thompsons), suburbans will be three coaches (I have some Mark 1s but may invest in some more variety - eg ex LNER Gresleys) and the lowly line to Oxford two ex LMS coaches.

 

Motive power will be a mix of tanks (N2s and L1s for the King X suburbans), 4-4-0s (for the Liverpool St suburbans - probably have to be a stand in as no ready to run Holden D16s available) and B1s and B17s on the express with perhaps the odd appearance of an A4 (as I really like them).  Also a couple of midland 2MT and 4MT for the Oxford line so a nice mix of motive power.

 

The goods and loco facilities are obviously woefully small so the theory is the main ones are off scene and these are sub sheds.  Carriage storage will be on the lowest road.  Parcels can be shunted into the siding above the station.  Also scope for cutting out the buffet car for servicing on this siding.

 

It should hopefully keep me modelling for some time as I intend to try scratch building the station buildings, road bridge and the low relief warehouses and a flour mill.  If I feel really brave I may try to build a D16 from a kit.  But I should also be able to play trains relatively quickly since there is not that much track.  

 

It will also hopefully have enough to do to allow all four of my children to be involved in a session.  My thinking is one is the train dispatcher so making up trains in the fiddle yard and breaking them down again.  The next is the engine driver who brings trains in and out of the station.  The third is the pilot and controls the pilot loco for the shunting.  The final will be the signalman and controls the points and signals. They can take turns and should stop them arguing too much!

Hi Jon

I only just found this. Interesting plan but with no dimensions I was wondering what the overall size of the layout is and also how  it's construction is going ?