Like many kids back in the day I had a train set. In my case my dad got my brother & me a Hymek Freightliner set from Hornby. It was setup on an 8' x 4' board and stowed under my bed when not in use. We got bored of it pretty quickly and eventually it died a horrible death like some of the figures in the original Toy Story! Fifty odd years later and along bought of illness & enforced rest and I suddenly got the urge to look at the train again, like the ones my dad used to ride on. He went to St Olave's Grammar School and there's a loco named after it which by coincidence was designed by Richard Maunsell to cope with the hills and turns on the line to Hastings where I grew up. I saw that Hornby had made one of these, Chartehouse for the era I wanted (Dad's Army meets Foyles War) and that these could be electronically controlled and adapted to make noise as well - I was hooked.
The question then was where to put a largish 00 layout that would do justice to the advances in technology and build quality in model railways. The only two options being shed, or loft. The loft won because we needed to properly insulate and board it anyway for storage. as you can see
This meant the on cost of a layout would really be the those extra modifications needed - Velux windows, eaves insulation and electrical work to put certified wiring for lights and mains.
I had to wait a while for our builder to carry out the modifications as mucking about with lofts like this is best left to experts. He fitted loft insulation and clad that in 5mm ply to a basic standard rather than leaving us with the mylar space ship look - it is a loft after all! I also asked him to add more structural timber (100x50mm) to the stretchers which would support my layout and avoid it affecting the roof.
While I was waiting I had plenty of time for research and planning and also for retail! So as well as lots of good ideas and draft layouts I have a lot of the rolling stock I wanted:
I am well kitted out with SR stock as it was 1935 -1945, I have a couple of Schools, an Adams radial, Wainwright, Terriers , Greyhound and T9s and a brass kit of an air-smoothed Merchant Navy by PDK to make from scratch. I have also the necessary Maunsell/Bullied coaches and wagons to suit I also decided to collect the key streamlined trains of the period - my layout my rules! I have acquired the Duchess of Hamilton (R3339 as preserved) and Silver Fox (R3309)both with six of the relevant but rather badly modelled coaches (the Hornby jubilee coaches from LMS and LNER). We honeymooned on the Orient Express so a few Pullman coaches as a reminder of our best train journey ever Mrs Deepfat loved the SECR Rails D class when she took me to the NRM in York so I have that and SECR birdcage coaches to suit
Given this rolling stock I'd need a sizable layout with lazy curves but at least I had the space now!
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