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Eskborough, under new ownership


Craig G

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Hello and thank you for dropping in,

 

Firstly an introduction. My name is Craig and I recently purchased Eskborough from d winpenny from this forum. I collected the layout roughly a month a go and it has now taken residency in my garage. The layout transported well however there are one or two bits of scenery which need tidying up which I will attend to as and when I get a chance.

 

Eskborough is a modern image layout which has been built, in my opinion, to a very good standard. The layout measures approximately 14 foot by 2 foot and is operated by DCC. For further information please see David's original thread here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/58212-eskborough/. The layout consists of a small station with run around loop, head shunt, small wagon repair shop, and 2 stabling sidings. As for era and location this is where I am completely stumped as to how to run the layout. My main interests are the Inverness area in the late 90s and also the North East of England from post privatisation to modern day. The majority of my stock is from either of these areas and eras.

 

As a small taster here are some pictures I took today whilst I had a quick half an hour in the garage (sorry some pictures are out of focus and completely unedited).

 

Here we see 37698 and 60007 stabled at Eskborough ready for a light engine movement back to Tees Yard:

 

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Driver starts up 37698 and prepares to shunt onto 60007 as the 37 will be leading:

 

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Pulling away:

 

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60007 left in the sidings:

 

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37698 appearing from under the road bridge and onto the head shunt:

 

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At the end of the head shunt:

 

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Points set and onto the siding with 60007, eased up and coupled together.

 

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Final checks complete and ready to depart:

 

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and finally on their way:

 

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I hope you've enjoyed this brief introduction and I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions.

 

Happy modelling,

 

Craig.

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Firstly a thank you for all the likes and comments it is very much appreciated.

 

I have found today fairly frustrating. In my previous post I said I was unsure as to where and when to base the layout so today my brother came round and we got some stock out to see if we could come up with a solution. We soon came to the realisation that the layout simply isn't big enough to accommodate the trains I had wished to run. The station and run around loop could only just accommodate a small sleeper rake (x2 mk3, a mk2, and a mk1) using a class 37 as power however this would not fit in the fiddle yard or be able to shunt into the sidings. A similar result was found for an auto ballaster rake plus class 66. This put an end to the idea of running a train into the station, detaching the loco and running round, and finally shunting in to the stabling sidings. After several cups of tea and some head scratching my brother suggested why not make the most of the wagon repair shop. Drawing inspiration from the small wagon maintenance shed at the cement works at Oxwellmains the idea was hatched that a small cement works similar to that at Craiginches in Aberdeen was just off scene and that wagons requiring attention, in the form of cargowaggons and PCAs, would be tripped to the maintenance shed by the main loco which would either be a Freightliner class 66 or 70. Other freight would be a small engineers train made up of open wagons such as coalfish which are short enough to shunt into the stabling roads. Seeing that these operations wouldn't fix the location too much passenger workings could be changed to suit desired locations. However our initial idea is to run a XC voyager and ScotRail class 170 for the time being. Other interest would be provided by light engine movements to and from the stabling sidings with the idea that a man in a van could gain access to said light engines via the Network Rail yard at the front of the layout, and also a test train could also run to the station and possibly stable in the sidings if desired allowing DRS class 37s or DBS class 67s to make an appearance.

 

With this master plan now in place an effort will be made to sell off my unwanted stock to fund new purchases to fit the criteria mentioned above. After a somewhat disappointing start to the day my inspiration and enthusiasm is flowing and I am really looking forward to getting the layout how I want it.

 

Sorry for the large block of text and no pictures I will try and take some more over the next couple of days if I can.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Craig.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello all, sorry for the long wait between updates.

 

I have been getting to grips with some stock but it seems to be taking a while for the items I want to come up for sale seeing that a large amount of models are now discontinued. I have been very busy of late therefore the layout has taken a bit of a back seat however over the next few months I am hoping to be able crack on with jobs that need doing.

 

Had the house to myself this morning which is a rarity so managed to fit DCC to my class 70 and have a little play. Also managed to take some pictures.

 

Freightliner 70006 arrives into Eskborough under the road bridge with a single cargowaggon destined for the wagon repair shop.

 

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70006 draws past the points and awaits for the ground staff to operate the points

 

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With the route set 70006 begins to propel the cargowaggon

 

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Awaiting permission to enter the wagon repair shop

 

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With the cargowaggon in place 70006 is uncoupled

 

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A successful trip complete and 70006 heads for the stable sidings

 

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Hopefully won't be as long for the next update. My brother has bought me some cars for the layout which I wish to add to along with a few other small details. Stockwise I am still on the look out for a XC voyager however these seem to be fetching a good price at the moment.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Regards, Craig.

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I never liked them when they first came to these shores (might have been the garish all over green on 70099) but they've really grown on me. Very powerful and purposeful looking engines

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