Boco_D1

In the past I have had a tendency to start a layout get so far and for some reason end up ripping the whole thing up. The only evidence of its existence being a thread on a modelling forum, that is why this time I had decided not to start anything until I actually got somewhere with my layout. So here is where I've got so far... (Sorry it is bit of an epic read, might best making a cuppa before starting.) My Layout Build The development of my layout is what I call organic in its design, the original plan was a wall hugging U shaped layout around 3 walls of my shed. But testing of the Dapol HST on my Helix had unsatisfactory results and so it was back to square one. This time I considered the future not wanting to start a layout and have to rip it up due to a house over I wanted something I could take with me. The resulting baseboard size is 2 sections of 4ft by 3ft. Originally I had intented 4 sections of 2 by 3 but the resulting woodwork was not to my satisfaction the strength of the baseboards was lost and an excessive amount of legs was required. With the size selected I went through many ideas, Aynho junction was a strong contender, my chosen modelling period being 1989- 1997 but has since expanded to around 2003-4 maybe a little further. I eventually decided on a 4 track GWML split level layout with a southern/midland freight interchange above. So how I got to a WCML themed layout is the reason why I call the design organic. As I progressed with my GWML idea I realised that the roundy roundy of the fiddle yard wasn't going to satisfy me. If a train travels in one direction then it should (under most circumstances) come back rather than from the same direction. So I played around with the points I had purchased, I also wanted to run the layout and view it from the front and so to avoid having to keep going around the back I decided to build the fiddle yard on the side (although eventually it got to the back as well) Eventually I came up with a design which would allow end to end operation and roundy and roundy when I just want to sit and watch the trains go by. There are four 'through roads' two dead end roads at the station end and 3 at the London end (or will be) This design led me away from GWML and I found myself inspired by the layout Dudley Heath, I decided to use a half station to hide one end of the fiddle yard with all 3 platform lines Bi-Directional, somewhere along the line I decided to switch to the WCML (a Dapol 86 helped) despite my western region stock. The layout under construction, the many objects holding down the track whilst the copydex cured. With the station planned out I decided on the next part of the layout, I really wanted a junction, again I planned and replanned with the points I had, I felt it was best to have a branch or secondary line come in from a higher level but I didn't feel the line coming in on the inside of the loop worked so decided to join from the outside. The line would join the main lines and feed across the Up and Down lines into a bay. The junction would also allow trains to work bi-directionally in and out of the platforms. The bay line would also join up to the DMU depot. With the junction decided phase one of the layout would be finished with the line curving round and joining back up with the fiddle yard. The fiddle yard was built first, using seep point motor control and the track pinned down, the shorter of the two dead end roads can hold 4 MK 3's the longer road can hold a 7+2 HST. The final 3 roads are to b installed at a latter date two of the three will hold 7+2 HST sized trains. The scenic part of the layout has been glued down with copydex, the points will be controlled with dcc concepts slow action point motors. The curves have been canted to add a bit more realism to the rather trainset looking curves, this was achieved by cutting mount board to shape and gluing underneath to elevate. The fiddle yard is a mixture of code 80 and 55 whilst the scenic side is all code 55. As it stands with the track down I'm wiring the layout for dc use but will build in a switch to allow dcc use later on. With the layout now underway I decided I needed a location, for those planning a layout and feeling a bit stuck I would really recommend using Google Earth and just follow the railway lines of Britain, they can lead to inspirational ideas and even older dismantled lines can sometimes be followed by using the scars it has left in the land. There is is even a timeline and depending on location you can roll back the clock to look at old aerial photos, I know in particular at looking at the lines around Oxford you can see the smoke and steam of locomotives working along the line. This is what I did I started at Euston and followed the line North, initially I was looking for ideas of the type of freight terminals there are on the line when I reached the Northampton loop line I had my idea and inspiration for my layout. I always felt Buckingham was never adequately served by the railway (and possibly sub consciously inspired by Peter Deny) I decided it needed its own loop line off the WCML. But rather than model Buckingham I decided to create two extra fictional towns to justify the line and model one of the towns. Studying google maps I looked for suitable locations for my fictional towns and picked my route, below are my fictional Wikipedia articles, for my chosen fictional location. By doing this I have opened the opportunity for myself (or others if you wish) to model the other towns later on. The Mainlines finished. Githley The historic town of Githley is situated north of Aylesbury along the A413 and north west of Leighton Buzzard along the A4181 in Buckinghamshire, it's name comes from the Anglo Saxon Gytha's Woodland. The market town grew in the industrial revolution and was known for its wool products and local clay pits north of the town, produced from the local brick making industry but now days flooded to form man made lakes know as 'The Wades'. Excluding the most northern pit which is used for landfill. It's prosperity led to a diversionary course from the Grand Union Canal to a basin east of the town. Nowadays Githley is a commuter town there are several local and national businesses on the industrial estate, although nearby Milton Keyens is a large source of local employment, the town's large population still supports a retail park and high street stores. There is also a scrap dealer and an aggregates distribution centre. The town also has a railway station, the station is situated on the Buckingham loop line of the WCML. It is also the terminus of the short branch off the Oxford to Bedford line. Githley Railway Station The original station was a small terminus built of the edge of the town branching off the Buckingham Railway's Banbury to Bletchley section which opened in 1850. When the LNWR absorbed the Buckingham Railway in 1879 it used the opportunity to build a new station on its new loop line from Soulbury Junction north of Leighton Buzzard to Hanslope Junction near Roade. Completed in 1882 the station was a rather grand affair for the town but the line had seen great support and investment of Local Landowner Sir Henry Handle Duke of Githley and it was his only demand for his support as a gift to the town he loved. The previous terminus was demolished and the line was diverted into the new station. Githley had a large goods yard, small MPD which was a sub shed of Bletchley and carriage sidings. The line had a rail-served gasworks and an extensive network of sidings north of the town which served the brickworks. Traffic from the brickworks made great use of the LNWR branch to Dunstable where traffic to London would continue on the GNR branch to Hatfield. Passenger services ran to Leighton Buzzard and onto London, Oxford (changing at Winslow for Bletchley) north to Buckingham (Stratford Road), Stowe Castle and Towcester before rejoining the West Coast mainline heading North. There was also a service to Dunstable. Later on the Banbury service on the Buckingham branch was extended to Githley. Nowadays Githley is run by London Midland with services from Rugby, Northampton and Stowe Castle to Leighton Buzzard and London Euston. Services to and from Oxford and Aylesbury are run by Chiltern Railways with GWR running addtional peak services from either Paddington or Reading. The station is also served by Virgin West Coast trains and Thameslink run a Stowe Castle to Luton Airport Parkway service via Dunstable. The former engine shed is now occupied by a DMU Depot. The Buckingham Loop The Buckingham loop was started after the LNWR's acquisition of the Buckingham Railway in 1879. The company felt two branch's from the Bletchley to Oxford line to Buckingham and Githley where insufficient to the needs of the Town's requirments this with the opportunity to reach the important town of Stowe Castle which was surprisingly untouched by railway mania, the local land owner Lord Gordon Marston had also put up fierce opposition to any building of the railways on or near his land. The closest being a light railway from Towcester which ended 3 miles north of the Town. The loop diverged from the LNWR's main line a Soulbury Junction North of Leighton Buzzard heading west with a station at Stewkley, which was closed in 1964. The line then began heading north to the town of Githley, which was important for it's brickworks. A new station was built to the east of Buckingham to differentiate from the original station it was named Buckingham (Stratford Road). The line then headed directly north to Akeley which was closed in 1964 and onto Stowe Castle, before continuing to Towcester before returning east and joining back up to the mainline at Hanslope Junction. 67019 "Winston Churchill" propels a Glasgow to Euston service out of Githley towards Leighton Buzzard.

This is a great layout and always seems to be the way in rmweb I've only just discovered your thread. I'm wondering what is the wagon next to the 153 in the 8th picture of post 37. It looks very similar to the ones I occasionally see behind a colas 60 heading for Wales (IHA?) and wouldn't mind a few myself. Thanks Jimmy

Sorry to read about your disaster with the water leak hopefully you can get back on track asap

The station is coming along nicely I'm really liking the look of it.

I am delighted with news of the B12, but I'm not sure why they duplicated the Q6 when there are still plenty of locos to chose from: E4, N7, J69, J20, J17, J70 :-p

Thanks Graham, yeah I think that is the problem mine is a 7 car i also added the alternative couplings, they look nicer but think they might be a factor. Maybe a bit more testing is needed. Anyway that's the end of my hijack of your thread, back to the layout, I am rather looking forward to seeing the results. Your previous layout was one of the reasons i was inspired to return to N. Jimmy

Looking good, does make me question why my HST won't climb my helix, is yours 3rd radius like you said or did you go larger?

The grey sky has come out nicely it looks really good.

I'd like to echo the opinion of that moody sky (shadow) will your backscene painting be something similar or do you have something else in mind?

This layout gets better and better everytime I have a look at your thread. I particularly like the van body shed.

The track is looking excellent, I think I'm going to have to have a go at that method myself.

I know what you meant about the bordem of the repertive tasks, I still have around 80 passengers to paint for my OO stock and 160 for my n gauge stuff, drives one potty. The other problem is the ever increasing list of projects to do, at least it's nice to know I'll never run out of stuff to do.

It's interseting to see this layout evolve, I'm sure you've mentioned the DAS ballast before, but what is you technique for using it, i'm intrigued I've never really been convinced by the oversized senic stuff. Is it just the clay and paint or do you do anything else to it? Cheers Jimmy

A little late to add, but the HST does, as other have siad, look fantastic. I'm about to take on a 'Merlin' n gauge HST so look forward to seeing yours, although when I say 'about' there's no gaurantee it will be anytime soon but have purchased required parts for the task, slow and steady wins the race and all that. Anyway keep up the good work. Jimmy

Great pics, those Tornado's shook my whole house when they flew over on Friday morning! I was fortunate enough to be in the garden to catch them fly by.

Fantastic, need I say anything else.

Was going to ask what you intended to do with your LNER J15 when I got mine I was somewhat surprised to find out that Hornby had opted for one that was scrapped before it reached BR days. I have two of these lovelies and intend to renumber.

Ruddy marvelous always thought 009 Thomas would be nothing but a pipe dream I look forward to seeing how these turn out, certainly got potential and the red coaches in the HO range they've announced also look like they could be useful for a light railway. Also if this is what Bachmann has on the cards over the pond who's to say that the chassis and body won't be used over here in the upcoming 2015 announcemets, skarloey might be under license but doesn't mean we can't have a Talyllyn.

I did exacly the same (although if Hattons ones do come in March I can get myself another). I'm not sure why they are getting stock later than everyone else but my dad did put a theory forward in regards to Hattons stepping on Hornby's King size toes.

That HST looks ruddy gorgeous, nicely done.

Thanks for this fantastic thread, living in the areas photographed and working the Didcot signalling area it's great to see how different it was, the MGR on west curve in particular is a great interest to me as that swamp in the triangle is now TVSC. Keep 'em coming.