Danemouth OO

[Danemouth]

From an earlier incarnation of RMWEB those of you with long memories may remember I put plans of “Danemouth†up for comment.

 

http://www.rmweb.co....hp?f=66&t=37358

 

I’ve prevaricated for a while, but now started work on it, actively encouraged by SWMBO who wants me to have an interest (other than photography & music) in retirement (2 years away) – I think she is ensuring I won’t be under her feet!

 

Where’s Danemouth?

 

“Danemouthâ€, somewhere on the South Coast, is one of those seaside resorts that became fashionable in the Victorian/Edwardian eras. I see it at the end of a single track secondary line; say Kingswear or possibly Newquay but on a much smaller scale. It’s BR(W) with visitors from other Regions, I do like Southern green stock and will probably acquire some eventually

 

If the name seems familiar that’s because it’s from the Agatha Christie novel “The Body in the Libraryâ€.

 

My main interest is passenger and parcel traffic at a terminal station in the late crest steam and green diesel period so I’ve selected 1956 to 1964 as my timeframe.

 

I see Danemouth as having a reasonably busy passenger service except at weekends when all hell breaks loose. The goods traffic is mainly inwards, comparatively little does out as it is a seaside town, so it’s going to be mainly vans and GUV’s – mineral traffic such as coal is handled elsewhere.

 

Layout Size

 

The layout, which is located in the garage, is on 3 boards each 1200 mm by 600 mm with a sector plate (1900 mm by 600 mm) at right angles at the left-hand end.

 

My carpentry skills are somewhere between awful and truly dreadful so the boards have been expertly made for me in 9 mm ply by another member of the forum.

 

Track and Control:

 

Gauge 00 Peco Code 75 with Electrofrog points laid on cork. All the stock will be new – I’ve some old Hornby and Trix stuff – I will re.-wheel them if I decide to run them for sentimental reasons.

 

Train control will be DCC, probably NCE Powercab including point control using Seep solenoids with frog switching.

 

Rolling Stock:

 

B Set with 45xx or 2251

 

Autocoach with 57xx

 

The passenger trains taken off an express at the “junction†will include Collets and Hawksworth stock well as the ubiquitous Mark 1’s in Blood & Custard, Maroon or the BR(W) Chocolate & Cream pulled by a Grange, Hall, Manor, Warship or Western.

 

Couple of rakes of vans, GUV’s etc. for the Goods.

 

Green DMU

 

 

 

Track Plan

 

The link to the old forum shows plans based on Beale’s Colstead, a nicely compact terminus. I still like this plan having created several variants on paper and also the perennial Minories but am not sure what will look right in the space available. So, I’ve decided to take the approach the Bay MRG in Cardiff, to which I belong, is taking with the new club layout. A box of straight track, a pile of paper point templates and lay it out until I get something I like. I expect that to take a couple of weeks, once it’s done I will post the plan here. In the meantime some photo’s:

 

The garage before SWMBO and I attacked it:

 

 

 

 

The boards arrive and are erected:

 

 

 

Backscene boards added and I am starting to play with track layouts:

 

 

 

 

Well my project is underway at last

 

Regards,

 

 

 

 

Dave

[br2975]

A'ha

.

I wondered why you were peering over my shoulder as I was tracklaying last night David.

.

And is that not the steel rule you threatened to use upon my person, in some surgical process that would get me treatment at Holby A & E ?

.

Joking aside, good to see things are under way.

.

Brian R

[gwrrob]

Good luck with this project Dave.I like your spotlamps.Where did you get them as I could use a few myself.

[Danemouth]

Rob,

 

The lamps were in a sale in B & Q last Saturday - £6.98 each! (including 9w bulb)

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[Kris]

Those spots do look good. How hot do they get?

[Danemouth]

Those spots do look good. How hot do they get?

 

They do get warm but not hot enough to burn your fingers.

 

Dave

[Kris]

Thanks for that Dave. I suspect that they might be to warm for a confined space then.

[trains12]

Hi David

The baseboards are looking good. Were the spots just on offer at your B&Q or are they on general offer. A little tip just get some say .010" plastikard and place it under the legs to stop any damp from the concrete floor coming up the legs.

Peter

[Danemouth]

Hi David

The baseboards are looking good. Were the spots just on offer at your B&Q or are they on general offer. A little tip just get some say .010" plastikard and place it under the legs to stop any damp from the concrete floor coming up the legs.

Peter

Peter,

 

Glad for the tip about putting plasticard under the legs - will do that.

 

I can't find the spotlights on the B & Q website so they may be in some stores only - they had a pile of them at the Cardiff Pontprennau store last weekend.

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[Danemouth]

The lights are "Kappa Single Clip Spotlights". As I said they are not on the B & Q website but Cardiff certainly has lots of them - marked price is £9.98 but they charge you £6.98 at the till

 

Dave

[Oldddudders]

Implausibly finding myself in a B&Q a few weeks ago, LED bulbs, apparently mains powered, are now begining to appear on the shelves in number, and with a range of effective wattages. Those who need lots of light in confined areas should check these out, perhaps, because I imagine heat will not be a feature of their operation. They are not cheap, yet, but will be.

[Danemouth]

At the Cardiff Show today bought a Heljan Hymek and a couple of Hawksworth coaches in maroon

 

Still playing with track plans on the baseboards - I've decided Danemouth will have one long platform and a bay. Currently looking at goods and loco facilities. Ho-hum!

 

Aim to complete the plan by the end of this week if poss,

 

Dave

[Danemouth]

I've been playing with straight track and Peco paper point templates on the baseboards. I've now transferred the design to AnyRail and this is how it looks. One word of warning: the curve off the mainline into the main platform is not as steep as it looks; on the baseboard I used a curved point template to establish the radius

 

 

This plan gives me what I want:

 

• Passenger Traffic - will take 4 plus a Grange in the main platform (or 3 & Grange if you don't leave stock on the release point)
• Plenty of scope for parcels and van traffic, and
• A loco facility similar to Kingswear - I don't have space for an engine shed for the branch Pannier

Your comments are most welcome.

 

Dave

[Kris]

Dave, you have managed to build in a lot of operating potential, but the layout looks rather cramped. I have some ideas as to how this could be changed but I'll pop those up later if you have no objections. I think I might be able to get you space for your Pannier shed.

[Pete Harvey]

Dave

 

This looks like it will develop into a very nice layout.

 

Have you got any plans to exhibit the layout at all?

 

Pete

[Kris]

Right I've mucked about with the plan and have come up with this.

 

 

 

What I have done is to place the goods facilities on the left of the plan and have used the goods shed to help hide the main line's disappearance. I have assumed that the goods shed is served by an access track that goes under the road. I have shown this coming out on the other side of the road as if it has crossed the main line but there is no need for it to do this. having the road at an angle gives you that extra length that allows you to use more of the space that you have. It all so removes some of the linear feel of the plan.

 

Putting the station at a slight angle to the front of the baseboard gives the space to add the kick back engine shed (in light blue) and allows for the loco facilities to be at the station building end. I have lost one of the loco storage lines but have added in a siding for loco coal wagons. I would assume that the coaling point would also have watering facilities on it. I have based the TT on the Peco model.

 

If I wanted to make the plan more complex I would consider running a kick back siding off the fish dock road possibly this could be quay side line. Operationally this would be a right pig but you would assume that the station site is very restricted.

 

This is only an idea that I feels makes better use of the space that you have. It's by no means perfect and I won't feel offended if you ignore it or modify it.

[Danemouth]

Right I've mucked about with the plan and have come up with this.

 

 

 

 

Kris,

 

Firstly many thanks for taking the time and effort to prepare the revised plan; there are several features I do like

 

I have paper templates and straight track laid out on the baseboard - I will try your ideas out later in the day and see how they look! I hope to produce a revised plan within a few days,

 

Dave

[Danemouth]

Dave

 

This looks like it will develop into a very nice layout.

 

Have you got any plans to exhibit the layout at all?

 

Pete

Pete,

 

This is my first layout in many years so progress is liable to be on the slow side. I am being supported and advised by my friends in the club including Brian ( BR2975) and John (Minster)

 

Yes, I would like to exhibit it at some point but see that 2-3 years away as a minimum.

 

Dave

[Kris]

 

I have paper templates and straight track laid out on the baseboard - I will try your ideas out later in the day and see how they look! I hope to produce a revised plan within a few days,

 

 

 

I'll keep my eye open for that one Dave. What you are looking to create rather appeals to me.

 

 

[Danemouth]

Sorry for the delay in coming back with a revised plan - in the interim I've bought a NCE Powercab and I've been busy playing familiarising myself with it.

 

I really liked Kris' plan and spent some time trying to make it fit. Unfortunately there were problems with baseboard joins and space for the backscene I envisage - If only I had another four inches depth!

 

So in the end I fiddled with the track and templates and came up with this:

 

 

I rather like this plan and gives me what I want operationally. The coal ntraffic will still be handled further up the line so coal facilities are limited to loco coal only.

 

Any suggestions please

 

TIA

 

Dave

[rovex]

I remember being interested in your layout on the old RMweb and its good to see you're still going for it. I've a couple of suggestions to make , and I hope the attached somewhat rough sketch plan gets my idea across. I've added another point on the mainline to give a longer run round loop, hopefully this will allow you to run your four coach train without fouling the release point. You shouldn't need to extend the platform as the train can run into the station, once empty the engine can push the coaches back, to free up the release points and then run out, be turned and couple up to the front and push the train back into the platform. Hope that makes sense. it also allows you to extend the sidings a little. For the sake of clarity the original the crossed out points are removed.

 

 

Another thought but this time for an unusual scenic feature. My very first layout after many permutations ended up with a beach running alongside the edge of the baseboard with the station on an embankment above. It was only about a couple of inches high and the beach and promenade was on a piece of plywood cantilevered off the baseboard. You could do something similar here and as well as being a feature which is not that often modelled, would give a reason for the cramped nature of the site and definitely mark it out as a seaside terminus.

 

Happy modelling

 

Rovex

[Kris]

Shame that the BB joints got in the way, but as I didn't pay any attention to these I suppose that this is only to be expected.

 

The addition of the extra point and loop section that Rovex has suggested makes a lot of sense. If this were to be done, I would consider removing the three way point and replacing it with a pair of normal points. You would have the space in which to do this and it would make the flow of the line to the fish dock siding better.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Hello,

I'd make a couple of adjustments as shown on the diagram attached.

 

Alter the turnout to the bay, so that the route is straighter to the main platform.

 

Add a headshut to the yard; at the moment it looks like you have to shunt almost into the engine shed.

 

Put the signalbox on the other side of the line so that you can see the front, rather than the rear of it.

[Danemouth]

Firstly can I thank both Rovex and Western Sunset for taking the time to comment of my plan. Apologies for the delay in responding as I am still suffering the after effects of a decidedly dodgy pasty I had for lunch yesterday - don't ask

 

I actually laid Rovex's plan on the baseboard and realised the only way a loco could run around a goods train was for the train to arrive into the main platform, engine run around, draw the train back onto the main line and then propel it into the goods yard. Pity, as I particularly liked the way the sidings were lengthened and the effect it had on passenger operations.

 

I will lay out the alterations suggested by Western Sunset hopefully this evening. I find that putting the track in place with paper point templates lets me envisage more easily not only how it looks but also how it operates, which is my primary interest.

 

I made the mistake on my last foray, N gauge almost 20 years ago, of not planning properly and I ended up paying the price. On the other hand I don't want to end up with planning paralysis, so I've decided to finalise the plan by the end of next week and order the points

 

Again many thanks to you all for your invaluable help,

 

Dave

[Kris]

Hope the pasty related illness is improving Dave.

 

Here is another suggestion for you, just to help with over planning syndrome.

 

This one started with me wondering what could be done if the bay platform was on the yard side of the station and the main platform on the other side. Doing this gives space for a 4, maybe 5 coach train in the run round (if things are really squeezed). This also allows for the development of a dedicated goods loop with head shunt to allow for shunting that does not interfere with the main line.

 

Initially I had thought to put the loco yard where the coal yard is now, but this just did not work. The layout became far to squashed. So where to put this? There appeared to be some dead space at the top left of the plan that I could fit the TT in but this would then be away from the loco yard, again not ideal, then I thought roundhouse off TT, and in doing this would allow an extra exit to your fiddle yard to allow for the swapping of locos - i.e. more stored than seen in shed. The way that I see the shed is that it has several false doors that can't be opened and some office area next to the road, coincidently nicely hiding the sharp curve of the main line. I have only shown 1 line into the shed but 2 or 3 would be better. If the shed could be made to have working doors this would improve things even further.

 

The main line disappearing into a bridge is not great but if done correctly the minds eye should accept this bit of deception.