After many false starts I have finally started making some substantial progress on my new layout, Emsworth.
It's about time too, it's promised at Spalding in 2015 - no pressure.
Emsworth is going to work out at about 16' long and 46" wide (based on the spare wardrobe door that forms the main scenic board). There is a fiddle yard at each end and a station in the middle with a small EWS servicing point running alongside. Track is C&L Finescale with Peco code 75 points, don't tut, it will look okay once it's ballested and painted, while the power will come from my trusty Gaugemaster Prodigy Advance system.
Emsworth is a largeish town in former Midland Railway territory somewhere around the boundary between South and West Yorkshire. The station has three platforms, an island and a bay off to one side. The station buildings sit on an overbridge. The up and down main lines are rationalised into a single line just past the station while a similarly reduced branch line trundles southwards, probably in the Sheffield direction.
The single road servicing point, Bachmann, has a fuelling point to one side and can be accessed from either end. There will be a single road wagon servicing shed on the second scenic board.
Emsworth will have a mix of modern and steam age buildings which should give a flavour of the Midland Railway heritage while Northern Trains units and EWS locos provide the movement.
This is looking across the station throat. The unit is on the Up Main and passing under the old Midland signal box which has been recently fitted with UPVC windows and had its lever frame replaced by a panel.
The track behind the signal box will be the bay platform and the island platform fits between the track with the unit on and the one behind the servicing shed.
Don't be fooled by the modified Metcalf building on the bridge, the station building sitting up there will be a modern structure formed from a modified Peco office buildings kit.
This is looking along the station site. From left to right the tracks are: Platform 3(bay), Platform 2, Platform 1, servicing road and fuelling road. The pair of 66s are sitting in a siding and the access to the servciing point is alongside that siding. The scenic break at that end will be a single line railway bridge that may be a modern tram line or a freight branch.
Electrically, the layout is fully operational and the scenic work will progress once I've finsihed building the paltforms and other civil engineering so it all looks properly bedded in to the ballast/clutter.
Woodworking experts will spot that the board is an old wardrobe door. Anybody who knows me will understand that this represents the limit of my carpentry skills. It looks rough, but my current layout, Cottleston, is built on similar foundations and has survived many exhibtions and too much rough handling with no problems.
More pictures and updates will follow as I get on with construction.
Cheers,
Ben.
Hi, I have 1 of your side loading containers, 3 x PFAs working in two mixed consists and a Warflat on the way, that will probably be loaded with a FV432 until I can sort out a cradle for the Warrior I've made. The layout is called Cottleston, but unfortunately amongst all the poctures I have there isn't one with the PFAs on it. I'll try and rectify that the next time I get it out, it's boxed up at the moment while I work on its successor. Cheers, Ben.
