Johnson Street IEMD

So, my grand yo-yo loco plans constantly ebb and flow, no diesels, no 66s, one 66, two 66s, tweaked 66s, and my nicely fledged AC loco fleet looking all pristine, only to find out Bachmann are making a 90 arrgghhh... so anyway, having missed out on a DB red 66 needing maintenance, I have only gone and done something rather questionable - I now have a DRS 68, totally pointless for a DB depot.

I have, today, photographed some of the catenary that i'm going to be using @ Johnson Street IEMD. Bear in mind, the main style will be the PECO wiring - and also their single track gantries, not snapped today. The multi-track sections will use the gantry style catenary masts where as the single track sections will use the single track masts, all fairly obvious, right?

3rd November OK, sensible cap on, my plans to re-brand 90018 into 90019 DBC are on hold. The Bachmann 90 will be worth the wait and she will be going to be going to DB in one form or another, I have the decals ready for this and 90037, so these are likely to be the first to be repainted. On a brighter note, the 08 has been serviced by the boys in the know and the decals have arrived from Precision labels for the first re-numbered 66135 is going to become 66002 in Ex-EWS DB. The boys in the know have managed to recycle two pieces of layout accessories for Johnson Street, a long section of retained walling - and a pair of inspection pits for shed 2.

My loco fleet as of 2/11 currently stands @ EWS 66135 (Bachmann) DCC fitted and weathered 86261, (Hornby) DCC fitted 90017, 90023 and 90035 (all DCC fitted) 92017 (Lima) DCC fitted and weathered DB Schenker 08907 (Bachmann DCC fitted) 90018 and 90029 (DCC fitted) 90018 is weathered also. Its my intention to move towards Bachmann (08, 66 and 90), Heljan (86), Dapol (88) - ''here's hoping'' and DJ Models (92) brands only, with the exception of a Class 60 in one of the more recent Hornby efforts. 2018 is going to see the arrival of the Bachmann Class 90, a loco for which I personally cant wait to get my hands on, although my first one(s) will definitely be off to the paint shop as Bachmann's first trio of liveries doesn't meet my own layout plans as such. In time, I would like to have a healthy stable of 90s on my layout and loving liveries, as I do, I have, in recent time had 90017 (EWS), 90018 (DBS), 90019 (FSR), 90020 (EWS), 90023 (EWS), 90029 (DBS), 90034 (post DRS DBC), 90035 (EWS) and 90036 (DBS) in Hornby form. Ideally, I would like to showcase the varieties of DB livery the 90 wears to date, so EWS, Post EWS DB, First Scotrail, Post DRS DB, DB Cargo red, and not forgetting Malcolm Logistics.

Good News with my plans for Johnson Street IEMD in full steam ahead... A good man in the know of making model trains just that little bit better is going to transform 90018 into DB Cargo 90019 and my recent acquisition of 66135 EWS into DB Ex-EWS 66002. As with most layouts, there will be a little creative licence on show. Most of it will be really subtle, there will be one or two ficticious liveries, but most of them will be real world and up to the minute.

Picture One shows the proposed catenary masts, which are going to take the form of the original WCML style gantries, alongside a mix of Peco and scratchbuilt single track masts as well as gantries to take the 25kv wires at the ends of single and multi-track sections of electrified track. I have managed to find inspiration for these in the form of different pieces of masts already available out there to modellers and shouldnt be too hard to replicate. Picture Two shows the area which will have a town scape scene going on above retained wall-arching features Picture Three shows the main depot area where mostly AC traction locos will arrive and depart and be maintained, there is a yard shunter in the form of a DB 08 and there is going to be at least one, maybe two DB sheds also. Yes, 66s. I am not a shed person, but i do love the whole variety of liveries in the DB loco portfolio especially the subtle differences between this or that loco and they will be there to be seen.

Saturday 21st October 2017 Saturday gone, the model shop guru, my partner and I went for a meeting to nail down the final agreed track plans for Johnson Street IEMD. The track plans have always been 95% the same from day one, but today was a chance to explore what actual space was on the layout for additional scenic space, the layout wasn't created with any fancy track planning software as such, it was created by the power of my Jedi mind power and the brilliant work of the model shop guru, so I wasn't actually sure what real space we actually had for landscaping etc. Further discussions with the guru allowed for ideas around how the depot is accessed, whether from the road deck which crossed the layout or from beyond the boundaries of the actual layout, allowing for creative interpretation. The latter was agreed upon, but further more a proposal to have a covered fiddle yard which holds a town centre theme on it is on the table here and now, this will allow for a variety of shops, pubs and zebra crossings with lighting in this as well as a T-Junction with traffic lights on a rolling rotation of light sequences. There will be a lighting rig under the base to accommodate this as well as planned traffic light sequencer down on the layout for the access to Shed 2 (which will be controlled by a single road access either side of the roadbridge), the railway signals on the layout where two or three signals are planned (and are already purchased) and also the proposed lighting for the inspection tunnels, the depot lighting and other associated lighting for office buildings etc. I also got to have a look at some other completed club standard layouts for inspiration as well. The attached images below show the depot images as of here and now, and the planned location of the town scene as well.

I have just started a blog today, with the first post on there today, having been to see my fledgling layout in its early stages of construction.

I am looking for a bodyshell for the above, 66065 or any other reliveried number 66XXX for the DB Ex EWS look. I could even swap the one I have, which is weathered, as 66135.

Saturday 28th October 2017 Ok, so, today, I got to see my fledgling layout in its infancy. The overall track layout hasn't changed much since its original plan back in the spring, since then the layout has gradually come to the fruition, and now, with the discussions I have had with the project director today, that the layout track plan is now finalised and the other parts of the layout not shown. The main part of the layout is going to be electrified with the reverse head shunt to be electrified up to the bridge entrance to the second shed area. The mainstay class of the depot will be DB's various liveried Class 90s. There will also be a presence of 92s, 86s, the occasional 66 (as one cant get away from them and an 08 shunter in DB Cargo red. Picture One attached, shows roughly where the catenary masts will probably go on the main side of the layout. Picture Two shows the proposed town scene area which will be built on top of the fiddle yard, which would lift off. Picture Three shows the three tracks into the main shed plus the two nearby sidings, all five are to be electrified Picture Four shows where the raised town scene will be - the video boxes represent the retained walls which will feature arched office and stores space for the second shed area

Good to see the Bachmann 90 forthcoming arrival has caused so much of a stir, my first one will be off to the paint shop alas

I see Bachmann have just announced the 90 is going to be with us next July/August, at last, we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel on this one. I am modelling up to the minute AC traction and am a bit disappointed not to see a DB 90 of some kind. I guess it was always going to be that or Freightliner and they opted for freightliner Powerhaul to go with. I guess my first 90 will be off to the paint shop when it arrives in August/Sept 2018. I have already written to Bachmann about this already. I envisage having at least half a dozen 90s in one DB form or another. Hopefully, the first one they do in DB is the Malcolm Logistics 90024, fingers crossed.

Hello, I'm Kat, I have lived alongside the railway network all my life and it has left a stamp on me for which I cannot remove, I have decided, instead of trying to deny it, to just get on with it. I am fascinated with AC traction and my favourite locomotive without doubt is the Class 90. I grew up watching the Consett to Sunderland line being lifted and its remains became my playground and subsequently lived alongside the line at different points before a move a long way south finds me now living on the edge of a busy junction of the WCML on the south side of Stafford. I get to see my favourite loco several times a day if I play my cards right. I am in the process of having a DCC operated end to end model railway built by my local model shop. The theme is an Electric Maintenance Depot, like Crewe EMD but on a much smaller scale. It is an eight foot by two foot layout, with backscenes hiding the fiddle yard and there is an elevated road which runs across the layout and gives an element of scene scaping with the depot entrance. It is set somewhere along the west coast, to support DB Cargo's AC traction objectives whilst also serving some other AC traction operators from time to time as well. The mainstay at the depot will be DB's Class 90 fleet for which ongoing maintenance of the Class will happen. There will also be additional DB Class members such as the 92, 66, an 08 shunter, the occasional 60 and in the not so distant future, a pair of Class 86s will be re-joining DB reliveried appropriately, obviously with the increase of electrification across the network, the increase in the provision of electric traction only increases the scope for such a satellite EMD such as Johnson Street. I have half a dozen DB 90s already and did have more, but have been working to cull my current Hornby 90 fleet in readiness for the completion of the layout alongside my plans to acquire Bachmann 90s from late next year, Heljan 86s and DJ Models 92s as well. I envisage the only Hornby locos on the layout in time will be the Class 60 which will be a future acquisition. It will feature WCML style catenary gantries combining the PECO catenary single masts and their wires along with the multi-track gantries I recently found on ebay. I have attached a recent track plan image, there are several amendments to this since this was taken.