RMweb Gold tractionman Posted January 3, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 3, 2012 [Edit: for the BR Blue incarnation of Spencer Park see the first page and a half of posts, for the latest NCB incarnation see from post #40 onwards, thanks!] hi folks,‘Spencer Park SP’ is an attempt to model a small loco stabling point located somewhere in the Midlands during the 1970s. It’s 00 gauge on a 4’ by 1’ chipboard plank and is my first effort in railway modelling to come to fruition since the early 1980s! The layout has taken me just over a year and a half to get it to the stage you see it at here:I wanted to have a go at something small and manageable that fits (temporarily) on my dining room table, so I can do some modelling in the evenings without waking the children upstairs and at the same time not abandoning my wife downstairs! Why BR Blue? See http://www.rmweb.co....-model-br-blue/“Spencer Park SP” as a layout is far from an attempt to reproduce a specific location, though the name is a significant one for me, and connects the layout’s period with my own past. There is a real Spencer Park just to the west of Coventry station, overlooking the junction of the Coventry-Nuneaton and Coventry-Birmingham lines. I used to go there train-spotting in my youth, in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Back then there was a large but under-used freight yard at the junction, crossed over by a long footbridge (which is still there). Leaning my bike on the metal parapet of the bridge I could see all the comings and goings below. A class 25 and an 08 shunter were normally stabled by the main running lines though most of the passenger traffic I saw was electric hauled, along with electric- and diesel-hauled freights.My layout is focused around a single road depot and a fuelling point – both Bachmann items. There is a through running line for local freight traffic. It’s been great to build and I’ve had lots of help from RMWeb folk during the course of its construction for which I am very grateful. I was keen to try and get that late-‘70s BR yard atmosphere, with a mix of the old and the new. The recent Strathwood 1970s Spotting Days books have helped a lot in looking at the details of depots and yards in that decade and for trying to get the character right on the layout. I’m thankful to those photographers who recorded those now long lost scenes.The scenic breaks at either end of the layout are provided by cut-down versions of Scalescenes structures: a halved single over-bridge at one end, and the front portion of the low relief warehouse at the other. At the back is a Gaugemaster backscene – ‘housebacks’ – in N. I like the buildings that are shown in this scene – they have the look of suburban semis ‘somewhere in the Midlands’. I need to place some trees and vegetation in front of the backscene to soften it a bit but I think using an N gauge backscene helps force some perspective. It sits above a retaining wall running the length of the layout that I made from a mix of Slaters and Wills sheets, painted and weathered. This was the first scenic item I began work on and my wife says it’s the most unconvincing part of the layout! I may replace it in due course – it is stuck in place using Velcro tape, as is the backscene board too, so both can be removed easily when the time comes.When I first started the layout – in summer 2010 – I had already built a Peco two-road loco shed:The kit went together well but when I put the shed in place it looked just too big and dominated the tiny board. So I removed it and thankfully, at about the same time, Bachmann announced their single-road shed – and this I think fits the bill perfectly. I can run locos through it, so the layout has two entry/exit points at each end. I have yet to add two short fiddle yards but these are in progress. Once done this will enable me to run light engine moves in and out, as well as operate some short freights – all suitable for a stabling point location on a freight-only branch.I also wanted a track plan that would also allow me to use the plank as a module in a larger project – a planned loft layout (maybe this year… unless I get distracted by another plank project). In the meantime, building Spencer Park SP has helped me learn a few new things and to build my confidence too. The track is all Peco 100, with insulfrog points. Painted and weathered I think the track looks ok, and I am in the process of toning down the ballast with weathering powders. I really enjoy fiddling about with weathering the scenic items (and lately my stock and locos too).I need some figures on the layout and will source these soon – I especially want a bicycle leaning against the parapet of the footbridge, with some spotty kid looking over the side at the various comings and goings beneath…Cheers,Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
McGomez Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hi Keith. Congratulations on a great layout. Midlands BR blue is my favourite era so I'm looking forward to more pictures. I think the back scene looks the part but my prefered image has to be the 03 parked up infront of the closed shutter door. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treggyman Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Hi Looking really good. You seem to have caught the atmosphere spot on! As McGomez says; the pic of the class 03 is superb.... more pics please Cheers Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
60163 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Keith, What a fantastic layout you've got for yourself! You've more than made up for your previous lack of productivity with this, a superb effort. I love the overgrowth on the walls, and you have done some amazingly good weathering. All these dirty blue diesels are starting to tempt me! I can't wait to see what else you plan on doing and of course, more photos if you please! All the best! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tractionman Posted January 4, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks very much Andy, Bill and "60163" for your positive comments on my layout - very much appreciated! I'm chuffed. I have wielded the camera again today and taken a few more shots - see below. My Gaugemaster order for a couple of hoppers has been just dispatched (they're so quick!) so it'll be nice to add these to the collection - with the same order I have also got some wire coming to get the fiddle yards powered up, so fingers crossed it should all soon be properly operational. My next few scenic jobs include getting the lamp ladders glued into position - boy were they fiddly things to get the loops attached to! Buffer stops need to be fixed too, and a few more grass clumps placed here and there. I like doing these sorts of tasks in the evening - quite theraputic! all the best, Keith View through the servicing shed: View from the footbridge: Waiting at the signals: Summer blue skies, grubby blue loco: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSE DAZ Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hi Keith, What a superbly detailed layout thanks for sharing with us. I think the last set of pictures are so realistic your fleet and stock weathered really well. All the best Darren NSE DAZ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
puck Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hi Keith That looks to be a fun and versatile layout. Not so sure the 3aspect signals would be there but then it's your layout not mine (still in the planning stage) regards Puck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
0O00 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Very nice indeed - like it a lot! I revisited the idea of a plank that I could take in and out of the loft... best of all worlds without inconveniencing others in the house! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparxD428 Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hi Keith, I must echo most others sentiments and congratulate you on a fantastic layout. Incredibly realistic and detailed. I think the backscene is great too, trying to get that "immediate" perspective is difficult and I think you have it spot on. Can't beat BR Blue on a Summers day !! Cheers, Stu. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunmar Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hi Keith, Must say I like the way you have approached your layout 'Blue's my colour' the weathering on the stock and the weathering on the scenics compliment each other really well and the colours really blend together. Bill. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Russ (mines a pint) Posted January 6, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2012 I think the saying is 'much greater than the sum of the parts' . I dont think you are wrong with the n scale backscene. It looks great on the track level photos, perhaps a viewing surround at the front I think the term is proscenium arch or something lie that but cant spell it? might help force perspective and cut out any whacky viewing angles. I like the pic of the 24 through the shed particularly. The idea to go with the smaller shed I think was a master stroke, not only gives a 'way out' but also suggests the siding behind is much longer somehow. - more pics please! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caradoc Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Excellent layout Keith, which answers the question in your other thread - This is why we model BR blue ! The N gauge backscene does look good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonergan Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Great layout Keith. Like the idea of doing the modeling on the dining room table to keep the wife happy! Have been building a few Scalescenes kits to that end recently. Remember Spencer Park well. My last memory of freight in the yard is around 82/83 - a Class 25 with 'Anderlecht' on the side shunting an open wagon with tractor tyres and a van with vegetables from Spain. Happy days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Good stuff Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted January 6, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2012 Just come across this, I was a stoodent at Cov Poly back in the early '80s and lodging at Earlsdon I walked through Spencer Park at least twice a day and over "Anarchy Bridge" as it was known. The graffiti was quite often bordering on serious artwork, although the pink panther footprints that ran along the top of a wall and then over the roof of a nearby factory always made me smile. The area has been redeveloped now and although a footbridge exists, it's a modern replacement and the factory buildings have been swept away for a carpark. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=coventry&hl=en&ll=52.402036,-1.518043&spn=0.000769,0.001827&sll=53.149586,-1.221292&sspn=0.006048,0.014613&vpsrc=6&hnear=Coventry,+West+Midlands,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.402036,-1.518043&panoid=zo18U8C-4TcuzwTwtg7JkQ&cbp=12,343.53,,0,0.13 There is still a stabling point though that our OTMs use sometimes ..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tractionman Posted January 6, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks very much folks for all your comments and interest in my layout - really appreciated. Glad that others too remember the real Spencer Park and the yard. I never knew that the footbridge was called Anarchy Bridge back then - but I do remember always feeling slightly exposed there while watching the trains - I guess I was quite young really (about 12/13), and 'punks' were still scary! I'm pleased too that my various weathering attempts pass muster as this is something I have only begun to experiment with very recently - my Gaugemaster package (qv) arrived today so two more hoppers will be added to my small wagon fleet, hopefully suitably weathered and with loads added over the weekend - if I make some progress on this I'll take some more pics and post them up. I can get cracking on the wiring of the 'fiddle yards' (too grand a term for what they are!) as well. Three feeds will power the whole thing (it's DC). It's good to hear the backscene gets a thumbs up - not least since I had to scrap the first attempt because my glueing went wrong and I got a very wrinkled looking backscene as a result - but at less than a fiver for a new Gaugemaster 'housebacks' all was not lost. I'm curious about the signals (Puck's point) - I have to confess I am not well-informed on signalling matters so simply plonked in two 3-aspects! Perhaps I ought to lop off their heads and replace with double aspects? Having such a small board to work on has been dead handy on a practical level - my wife is very understanding, though is suggesting, now the layoutlooks complete, that it migrates up to the loft (so we can eat at the dining table - whatever next?). I know however that if it goes upstairs it'll see less work, so I am holding out for a tad longer (I keep saying to her there's more to be done on it!). It does make me wonder though how (and when) I am going to tackle the 'big one' that is slowly moving closer to reality - in the converted loft - a roundy-roundy measuring about 12 feet by 8 - it'll be a bit different to working with just a 4 by 1 plank! In the meantime Spencer Park keeps me quiet and content, and getting such positive feedback is a great boost so thanks again. cheers, Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonergan Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Just come across this, I was a stoodent at Cov Poly back in the early '80s and lodging at Earlsdon I walked through Spencer Park at least twice a day and over "Anarchy Bridge" as it was known. The graffiti was quite often bordering on serious artwork, although the pink panther footprints that ran along the top of a wall and then over the roof of a nearby factory always made me smile. The area has been redeveloped now and although a footbridge exists, it's a modern replacement and the factory buildings have been swept away for a carpark. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=coventry&hl=en&ll=52.402036,-1.518043&spn=0.000769,0.001827&sll=53.149586,-1.221292&sspn=0.006048,0.014613&vpsrc=6&hnear=Coventry,+West+Midlands,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=52.402036,-1.518043&panoid=zo18U8C-4TcuzwTwtg7JkQ&cbp=12,343.53,,0,0.13 There is still a stabling point though that our OTMs use sometimes ..... It's all flooding back now. I'd forgotten it was called Anarchy Bridge. Never thought why it was called that, just assumed it was the name of the bridge! Here's a nice shot of the bridge and yard in the 1970s. http://earlsdon.org.uk/history/anarchybridge.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold RedgateModels Posted January 7, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 7, 2012 NIce link, yes that's the bridge I remember. Amongst the usual graffiti there were two other notable mentions - a very good rendition in spraycan of a Weetabix man and a missive proclaiming that "Marie smells of brie" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Very nice layout, always good to see another BR Blue fan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backtor Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Looks a fantastic little layout, just oozes atmosphere! Do you do your own weathering? Regards, Cameron Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
67A Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Lovely layout, the detailing is superb. Gives me inspiration for my next major task - weathering!!! Cheers Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tractionman Posted January 10, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 10, 2012 That's a great archive shot of the footbridge - brings it all back! Thanks for posting that. Thanks very much for the positive words on the weathering efforts, too, Mike and Cameron. I have been playing around with Modelmates and some acrylics, with dustings of Tamiya weathering powders - my latest wagon consignment - two Bachmann hoppers - have been likewise treated over the last weekend. Some shots below. I have added loads too, but think I need to add a bit more rust! I am a complete weathering novice - having only just started, but am pleased with the effects of using the dyes and powders. I do it in front of the TV in the evening, on my lap, though only next day - in daylight - do I get the chance to see properly how things have turned out. I think the photos also make the results look a little better than they really are! Still need to get those lamp ladders positoned and glued... oh well, perhaps it'll happen this weekend. cheers, and thanks for looking, Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tractionman Posted January 15, 2012 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted January 15, 2012 Another sunny day at Spencer Park, and a chance for a few more photos of the comings and goings... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRealistic Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Blimey Keith, those hoppers look superb... and I mean SUPERB! A clear case of just a little practice making perfect. Did you 'just' use Modelmates... and if so, what colours? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Hi Great little Layout... Love it... Weathering look excellent... Do you have any Sound Loco's...? Cheers Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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