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Lacathedrale

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  1. Lacathedrale

    A Plan Comes Together

    By Lacathedrale,


    Design
    One of my first encounters with realistic model railway design was Cyril freezer’s Minories. His gave a simple and straightforward description of the design and operation of the layout. Up to that point I had felt frustrated with the domain–specific knowledge that was inferred by so much of the literature I had tried to read and understand as a beginner, and this was a real salve. It was natural then for this layout to form the kernel around which my layout planning would focus.  My first attempt was a 'Minories' set in suburban 3rd rail territory:
     

    Godstone Road in embryonic form
     
    The setting was inspired by Purley and Bromley North, with a stone and aggregate merchant in the rear, an island platform in the middle and a coal yard still infront. There were some key problems with this layout, however:
    The roof joists (I'm sitting on one to take the photograph, and one pictured on the right) were high enough and the ceiling low enough to make getting over them annoying, and the fiddle yard was on the 'wrong' side of one of them. The fiddle yard tracks were not perfectly aligned to the entry and exit roads either, so every single train movement would require hurdling followed by realignment of the table to the relevant location. The multiple units while giving a definite flavour were incredibly dull to operate.  
    I think ultimately the problem was not the plan, rather it was the requirement for shuttle operations and the crippled traverser.  I still retained a desire to operate a passenger-oriented layout with lots of remarshalling, shunting and NPCS - and so a slightly extended Minories design evolved with the help of many contributors, ending up as follows:

    Edwardian Terminus
     
    The inspiration is clearly visible, but with some notable tweaks:
    An additional route from P1 to the Up line to permit an exit from P1 while P2 is being entered. This is typical of Pre-group practise  greater number of parallel moves than a more parsimonious grouping or national company might ignore.  The inclusion of the track formation below P3: A runaround to increase the variety of locomotive movements A headshunt into a loading dock, as another destination for head and tail traffic A carriage siding, to increase on-layout shunting opportunities A headshunt 'Old Turntable Road', representing some kind of cobbled hardstanding.  
    One thing that is not resolved however, is the need for almost all movements to end up going off-layout. The initial phase of this project is set up to permit a traverser to bolt on to the right hand side of the layout, the rearmost track being kept clear as a headshunt. More on this particular wrinkle in the plan anon...
     
     
     
  2. Lacathedrale

    Introducing La Belle Sauvage

    By Lacathedrale,


    Planning
    As alluded to in a previous post, the refocusing of the Pre Grouping Minories plan to an SE&CR/SER/LCDR Prototype has its benefits, not least the huge amount of research that went into my original attempt at this project.
     

    A rarely photographed corner of Holborn Viaduct
     
    Track Plan Amendments
    The change of scope from LNWR to SECR demands very little change, for of course the layout was not prototypical but designed. For the track plan, the only potential amendment is to extend the dock track into a departures-only platform, which is both an homage to the original Holborn Viaduct and permits the fitting of a SE&CR overall roof:
     

    Track Plan v2.1.1 'La Belle Savage' circa 1905
     
    Though only two rather than three bays, it has a pleasing similarity to HV - the parallelogram platform arrangement, with the single carriage dock is afforded naturally by the geometry of the throat, as is the rear engine shed.
     
    Scenic Treatment
    The left of the layout is bracketed by an overall roof and substantial station building with a hotel above. At the rear, wall with false archways and a stern victorian warehouse behind the platforms. The middle-rear of the layout is marked by an engine shed with integral water tank, a 'Engine Man's Room', and a coal stage. On the rear-right a low wall protects a the drop down to ground level before the rise of the Belle Sauvage printing works behind. At the front-left of the layout, a spiral cab road descends to ground level and pops out in Bear Alley, with waste ground at the rear of other commercial properties before another alley.  Note that on the front right I have noted the route down to the Widened Lines tracks on their steep drop under HV, but I don't think I'm going to include them as a scenic element - it's all ending up a little too crowded! 
     
    Prototype Inspiration
    Anyway, whether by serendipity or chance, the Minories track layout functionally matches the real Holborn Viaduct very well. Note the lack of crossovers, the engine shed at the end of the platform and narrow and cramped area. Also note the arrival-only and departure-only platforms - the dock track being an homage to this:
     

    Holborn Viaduct 1871 from English Engineering
     
    Inside the station was magnificent, with huge globe lamps. The view below is from the wooden platform extenion of the plan to the opposite corner, and also details the wonderful 'mixed dog boxes' of the LCDR local trains. The big square grey object behind the train in the middle is (I believe) the ladies WC which was perched in a triangle behind the buffer stop.
     

     
    It was originally three bays, I've narrowed to two - but I think the essential character remains:
     

    Profile E-E from 1871 plan above
     
    The very low clearance above the widened lines and girder trackbed over them is evident in the cross section above - A mere 20 feet from the bottom of the tracks to ground level means the spiral cab road from the concourse down to Bear Alley (still a cul-de-sac at the point I'm modelling!) is modelable, as is Seacoal/Fleet Lane. Though not a huge distance, it would significantly compromise the structural rigidity of the modules to cut the valance down to ground level, so I think these will probably end up seen from above and through peep-holes in the side of the valance.
     
    On the original the overall roof only covers part of the tracks, much like Minories - the remainder being handled by individual platform canopies:
     

     
    Note the wooden platform on the left side over the widened lines tunnel approach, and the ringed shunt signals. This picture dates from 1917 and the station has already had the platforms lengthened - the first of many - those water cranes were originally on plain ground in the 1871 drawing. On the far right is the pilot loco engine shed (the doorway void just visible, with 'PEARS' of Pears Soap written above, and above that the water tank.
     
    Hopefully that gives some more context around the layout!
  3. Lacathedrale

    Pragmatism on Trackwork

    By Lacathedrale,


    Permanent Way
    The first axiom for this layout when it was proposed in the Theory of General Minories thread, was one of confined scope that would be achievable in a reasonable amount of time and still provide a degree of operational satisfaction.
     
    Track and the Permanent Way in general fascinates me. I wonder if it is because so many of my layouts have never got past the track planning and laying phase that I've unconciously gravitated towards gleaning as much enjoyment as possible from that aspect of model railways? Either way  - I'm often straight down into the weeds of correct timber spacing, panel length, precise configuration - as can be seen by this entry here . 
     
    As a result of that I did flirt with P4 and built a functioning turnout without too much trouble - but I came to realise that while the work of hand-laying the track wasn't particularly onerous, the re-chassis'ing as well as re-wheeling of most commercially available stock would be a large undertaking. I'm not aiming for a fully RTR layout, but part of the first axiom was to ensure my layout is achievable in a reasonable amount of time, so leveraging those offerings where feasible is a key consideration.
     

    RP25 vs P4 wheels - different, but not as much as I'd thought..
     
    After pondering this for a while, I resigned myself to 00 - until I realised that Peco Bullhead turnouts are permanently out of stock everywhere. I then thought about hand-laying 00-SF, but the only benefit of this over hand laying EM is locos wouldn't have to be re-wheeled.
     
     While looking on the EMGS website, I saw they hold stock and sell some nice looking EM gauge B6 turnouts.  Infact, I could get all of the track required for the layout for just over £300.
     

     
    By using these RTP turnouts and track, I would have the benefit of a much more accurate track gauge and the REQUIREMENT to hand-lay track is obviated. The layout was designed by CJF with 'standard' turnout geometry in mind, so my reservations about using proprietary turnouts is mollified to a degree. Ultimately - 80% of the looks of P4 for 20% of the effort, being able to leverage RTR offerings without re-chassis'ing them. Most importantly - I would be able to move beyond the track laying stage of layout construction, to other aspects: electrics, scenics, signalling, rolling stock construction, etc.
     

    Alea iacta est
  4. Lacathedrale

    Layout Plan

    By Lacathedrale,


    Planning
    Changelog:
    2/12/21 - Initial Draft 3/12/21 - Removal of throat options 15/12/21 - Removal of track standards discussion from this entry  
    Overall View
    Minories is a small urban terminus layout designed by Cyril Freezer to promote TT Gauge, the arrangement of two facing branch crossovers permitting simultaneous arrival and departure to the station, and ensuring they must only navigate one reverse curve. My layout is a fairly as-wrote Minories, the only concession to originality being the additional departure-only platform 1.
     
    The baseboards consist of two 4'6 x 18" station boards shown below, two 45 degree corner boards, and a 4' traverser as a section of main line and fiddle yard. The overall footprint is an 8' x 13'6" L-shape:
     

    Track Plan v2.1 - Updated 15/12/21
     
    From top to bottom - Pilot locomotive shed, P1, 2, 3 4.
     
    With reference to the track plan, P1 (top) was originally drawn as a dock. While @t-b-g does make an excellent point that the dock's use as a non-platform location to store stock is lost - but i am considering the operation of my prototype inspiration, where there are a number of operational kinks that can be adopted to mitigate against losing the unique appearance:
    The original station had distinct arrivals (P4, bottom) and departures (P1, top) platforms. The shorter platform siding (P3) already has a carriage dock, leading to the cab stand on the other side of P4 In later years the station effectively dedicated the two inner platforms (P2 and P3) for newspaper and parcels traffic. None of these are particularly evident on the track plan apart from the departure-only P1, but I hope will make up for the unique look of the dock siding.
  5. Lacathedrale
    I have come to believe that having a connection to a railway that you're modelling is a key way to motivate yourself past the sticking points one often encounters during the construction of a layout. I have built several layouts, none of which have been my core interest, and none of which were able to captivate me beyond the initial period of excitement in them. I think for better or worse, the swing towards LNWR as a subject matter of this layout might have been some kind of unintentional self-sabotage - clearly it is a caprice and doesn't truly reflect my core interests at all - and so in order to give myself the best shot, I'm bringing the focus back to what brought me to the party: The SE&CR:
     

     
    As an aside: I now feel very, very stupid for selling my SE&CR 4mm items a couple of years ago (and I am instituting a policy where I will not be selling any of my stock or components at all going forward - for precisely this reason) and I'll need to reacquire the main items. As part of this process and some potential demands of time in my personal life, I'm also settling on 00-gauge standards for now to get things actually moving rather than mired in years of track building, re-wheeling.
     
    The clear and obvious inspiration is the timeless siren song of Holborn Viaduct. If this is starting to sound awfully familiar, then I don't blame you:
    I'm somewhat fearful of re-reading how much ground I'm covering again, but the reboot of the above project into 2mmFS never happened due to the massive stock concerns. However, the setting still rings beautifully true. The name "Belle Sauvage" was a notorious inn adjacent the site of Holborn Viaduct allegedly named after a prostitute - and seeing as my version of HV will be an unadulterated Minories layout in an even smaller space, why not set it and name it thus?
     
    What is truly wonderful is that the LNWR Coaches, Horsebox and locomotive I have on the go will work perfectly as a cross-thames service in an urban SE&CR environment, and the drop board configuration of the baseboard will allow me to finally model the Ludgate Hill bridge that I've always wanted to do.  Sometimes, these things just have a way of working themselves out.
     
    Please PM me if you have a SECR P- or H-class!
     
    Thank you,
  6. Lacathedrale

    Signalling: Why?

    By Lacathedrale,


    Signalling
    It's no secret that I have found a great deal of pleasure in talking with the frequent offenders of the 'Theory of General Minories' thread, one of the foremost contributors is @Harlequin, to whom I had the pleasure of sending some of the SECR stock from a prior layout attempt, via an ebay sale. He states an eloquent case in a completely unrelated Track Design & Layout Planning thread:
      
     
    I think we have covered the track plan to a greater or lesser degree fairly well already in this entry. But we haven't spoken much about the other - and one thing I absolutely did not expect out of railway modelling was the interest I've found in signalling, interlocking and the operation thereof.
     

     
    I'm sure many people are about to stop reading at the thought of signalling, but I think it is actually something of an unsung hero - you see, if you are to have correct signalling then your track plan will have had a certain degree of rigor applied to it. If you follow your signalling design, then you will by nature be operating authentically.
     
    Block Signalling as a way to operate calmly
    Think of the following scenario of an inbound train at Minories sans signals;
    your train pulls into a platform from one of your double track entry roads as it coasts to a stop the station pilot that was waiting on the other main line road catches up, couples up and pulls off the coaches, immediately pulling back and shunting them into an adjacent platform The pilot then uncouples and heads to the loco pocket again. The main line loco trundles up the platform and out back onto the mainline.  
    Perfectly adequate but completely un-prototypical, but with signals and block working:
    The FY signal box calls attention to the Slaithwaite box with a single beat, then 3-1 bells (is line clear for an ordinary passenger train?) The slaithwaite box reviews the timetable, notes the platform allocation, train length, etc. and sets the route to the relevant platform road via lever frame, noting that the signals cannot be cleared until the turnouts are set, any facing point locks are also set. This blocks any potentially conflicting moves (and also the signals related to them), finally the slaithwaite box then replies with the same 3-1 bell code to accept the inbound train, and moves block indicator to 'line clear', allowing the FY signal box to pull off its starter signal and the Slaithwaite box to pull off it's home signal. As the train passes the FY signal box, the signalman calls ahead 2 bells (train on line) The slaithwaite box sets repeats this back, setting the block indicator to 'train on line'. The FY box is now blocked from clearing his starter signal (i.e. sending more trains) After a few minutes, the slaithwate box observes the train arriving, and once past its home signal, the signal is re-set to danger and the signalman sends 2-1 (train out of (your) section) to the FY box. The FY signalman acknowledges this by repeating it, the slaithwaite box now sets the block indicator to 'normal', so the process can be started again for another incoming train. In the meantime, the train now at the platform is uncoupled by the loco crew while passengers disembark. The train brakes are now fully engaged with no vacuum. Another series of levers are pulled to orient the pointwork for the pilot locomotive to come out of the loco pocket onto the down main up to the limit of shunt, and a shunt signal is cleared for that to happen. The LNWR used calling-on signals from the 1870's, so this is cleared to permit the shunter to enter an occupied section, and the couples up to the rear of the carriages, including building up the vacuum for the brakes to be released. More lever twaddling and a subsidiary shunt signal on the platform starter post is cleared, and another shunt move is permitted to the limit of shunt board on the main line, and as the shunter pulls back, the train locomotive also drifts backwards up to the platform starter, in clear view of the signal box. A final lever flourish sets the route and signals for the pilot locomotive to deposit the carriages in another platform road, before returning to the loco pocket. The main line loco needs coal and water, so the Slaithwaite signalman calls to the FY signal box 2-3 (is the line clear for a light engine?) and the first few steps are repeated in reverse for the light engine to dissapear up the line to the engine shed.  
    I'm sure a cacophony of bells would drive even the most hardened operator to tears, so I am assuming a very soft tapper sound. The beauty of this system is that all the essential information for the exchange is provided: are you ready? what kind of train is it? are the points set correctly? Oh no, don't send another train - I'm still halfway through dealing with this one! In addition, the tempo of movement is kept leisurely and consistent - there is no speedrunning of the sequence.
     
    Signalling for Slaithwaite Road
    CJF in his book 'Model Railway Signalling' handily puts forward a suggested signalling plan for Minories:
     

    Model Railways Signalling credit CJF
     
    Slaithwaite Road obviously has an additional siding, this wil be controlled by the similar ground signal to No. 5 as noted above.  Rather than a semaphore however, 4, 5 and 6 (the notional pilot loco spur) will be the  LNWR Crewe 1881-pattern revolving type as pictured here :
     

    Greenfield circa 1954 credit to @coachmann
     

    Model Railways, June 1910 p185
     
    Interlocking
    Interlocking as described above is the process by which moving a lever in a signal box may lock or unlock other levers. For example, in the diagram below, signal 1 is a distant signal - it can only be pulled off if both signals 2 and 3 are already pulled off. While it is clear, it locks 2 and 3 in their off position as well. Signal 3 and 13 are mutually exclusive, and pulling Signal 3 locks 7 or 12 in whatever position they're in. 7 and 12 both lock Signal 2 (the down home). Therefore, it is not possible to clear the down main home or distant, while either the branch connection or the crossover to the down main are in use. You can follow the chain of cause and effect around here and it's fastincating:
     

    Model Railways, June 1910 p186
     
    The design of interlocking is also interesting - how to determine what blocks which movement and releases what others. It sounds straight forward, but it's not! The grouping of the levers is deliberate - note the down signals at one end, and the up signals at the other, with spare levers bracketing the up and down main turnouts away from the rest of them. Lots to figure out on that one!
  7. Lacathedrale

    Baseboards

    By Lacathedrale,


    Baseboards
    Baseboard Construction
    I've always thought of myself as fairly handy, but if there is one model railway task I have come to loathe it is baseboard construction. With that in mind I have happily outsourced the problem to Grainge and Hodder. They offer custom sizes in addition to those on their website, and so as per the Layout Plan entry, I have ordered them there - they are 100mm tall, 400mm wide (except the station boards, which are 450mm). I've built a traverser in the past, but having it arranged for me to just snap together is making me excited rather than dreading it!
     
     
    I note that as of yet I've paid for but not recieved the boards (ETA: January)
     
    Approach Viaduct or Embankment Considerations
    One of the characteristics of modular baseboard layout design I've found is how flat everything looks, and so to that end I have requested the fabrication of some offset connectors to drop the curved boards down 100mm below the level of the others. This will allow me to build up an embankment, viaduct, etc. and get some Z-axis variation going on.
     

     
    For a London-based layout I'm inclined to think that a viaduct would make the most sense, but something in my heart suggests that a windswept embankment may be more fitting for somewhere north of the Peak District? TBC!
     

    Embankment and retaining wall at Mirfield
  8. Lacathedrale
    Worsley Works is a company which will generally offer to etch anything you've got a drawing for, at any scale. It's a real godsend for people modelling in non-commercial scales, or those who can use these 'scratch-aid' pieces to build slightly more offbeat subjects. While one could hardly call a class of multiple hundreds of EMUs offbeat, there certainly were quite a few variants of them - and given how ephemeral their configuration and deployment was, it's less of a case of picking a specific unit and more a case of having a good set of drawings/models/etc. and just making that be the one you're modelling!
     
    I have always wanted to have some ex pre-group EMU's - they are really evocative, to me! Most of these units were all being fairly comprehensively rebuilt in the 40's, but some lingered on into the 50's alongside more modern stock.
     
    Allen at WW has very kindly agreed to do the artwork for, and etch, the suburban units on my behalf. We had a little back and forth, trying to establish where we might find
     
    Exhibit A, your honour, is a drawing from B. Golding's "A Pictorial Record of Southern Electric Units", showing an ex-SECR-bodied EMU on 62'6" frames.

    snippet of Brian Golding's "Southern Electric UNits: A Pictoral Record"
     
    There are some rather strange points about the drawing when compared to one from Mike King:
     

    snippet of Mike King's "ex-SECR 3Sub drawing"
     
    The main differences:
    The panelling is much more rounded The Guard/Luggage cabin is longer, and the lookout panel is narrower The cnetre of the bogie rests approximately under the grab rail stanchion, and the rear driving axle centre-point is inside the line of the luggage door.  
    Doing some digging, I found the following prototype photographs which may help us:

    snippet from 'Southern Electric: Vol 1' showing an ex-SECR bodied trailer third nee-composite (right) and ex-LBSCR unit (left) circa 1952
     

    snippet from 'Southern Electric: Vol 2' showing an ex-SECR bodied DMBT circa 1950*
     
    * Interestingly, 4492 was one of the batch of 3-car suburban units that was augmented with a steel trailer unit, but in the full version of the above picture, it shows history repeating itself with another ex-SECR trailer unit subbed in.
     
    Clearly, these coaches have the rounded panelling. It is more difficult to establish the relationship of the guard/luggage compartment, but it would appear that the centre-line of the bogie is below the rear rail stanchion, and the panelling to the right of the luggage door matches the design in the King drawing (note: this side of the vehicle doesn't have a lookout, just a flush panel).
     
    I am not sure what happened with the Golding drawing - there was a point that bogies were replaced on these units, which may explain that - but the strangeness around the lookout panel is something new to me. I have ordered the full set of Mike King drawings, so I hope that clarifies
  9. Lacathedrale
    While the majority of passenger traffic at Holborn Viaduct was via multiple units, but between 1935 until the finalisation of the Kent Coast electrification scheme and the end of steam a number of semi-fast passenger services to the coast operated. Due to the axle-loading limitations of Holborn Viaduct (not least that the services with the antithesis of prestigious!) the locomotives used on these services and the pure parcels/newspaper traffic were previously top-link SE&CR passenger locos of Wainright's era such as the E1's,  D1's - as well as the more workaday O1's and C-classes.
     

    C-class on a cross-london freight at Holborn Viaduct Low Level
     

    Not sure on this one, but looks like a D1-class to me!
     

    Though I appreciate it's hard to see, there's a C-class on Platform 1, just above the left hand Metropolitan extension tracks
     

    Another D1 after dropping off a mid-morning Parcels train into P2 in 1958. Without a runaround on P2 it seems a shunting move via the runaround in P3/4 would have been required, backing towards Ludgate Hill.
     

    ex-Wainright E1 No. 31507  on a Ramsgate to Holborn Viaduct service in 1961
     

    Yet another D1, this time in 1960 with a mixed passenger-parcels consist from Ramsgate that continued until the line was electrified, albeit transitioning to the BR Standard 2MT's.
     
     
     
     
  10. Lacathedrale
    It seems that trying to find some concrete information around Southern EMUs is very difficult. Not only is the information scant and spread between multiple volumes of out-of-print books, but the actual prototype information is dense with numbers, names, formations and units constantly changing. This page is my attempt to straighten out that information. Before you ask,  the torpedo-nosed LSWR units will not feature on the layout -
     
    3 Car Suburban Electrics
    It's important to note that the '3Sub' definition was never applied to these units at the time, only retrospectively used to identify them in comparison to the later 4Sub units (which were so named)

    ex-SECR 3-car suburban set built 1927/28 leading a typical '3Sub + 2 car trailer + 3Sub' formation
     
    These units were built on various underframes using various pre-group coaching stock bodies. There are certain 'tells' as to which pre-group company they originated from - rounded cabs denote some of the original LSWR stock, wide bodies with segmented roof corners indicate ex-LBSCR AC electric stock, etc.  Some services could be served by a single 3sub or pair running in tandem, but for any larger capacity an unpowered two-car trailer unit was inserted between. Having no driving cabs however meant that they were not flexible and involved significant 'blind shunting' and the decision was made in 1937 to break up these trailer sets and use those cars to augment the existing units into...
     
    4Sub Augments
    By 1949 all of the original 3-car suburban sets were either augmented into or replaced by 4Sub units. There are two main types, each with two variants:
     
    Type 1 - Pre Group Trailers
    Approximately 80 of the 3Sub units were augmented with spare trailers from war-damaged units, or units that were otherwise withdrawn due to non-standard dimensions

    (Glen Woods' collection of Ex Brighton unit Nº 4506)
     
    Type 2 - Bulleid Trailers
    160ish units outnumbering the 'pure' pre-group 4Subs 2:1 were the slightly odd looking sets that had all-steel Bulleid trailers inserted into them, clearly seen in the second coach below!

    (source: SEMG)
     
    4Sub New Builds
    Phase 1 "Shebas"
    99 units built in 1941-46 of all-steel Bulleid-style bodywork with flat cab sides and multi-segment domed roof - in the range 4101-4110

    (source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/geoffsimages/29798504382/ )
     
    Phase 2 "Flat Fronts"
    77 new units built 1946-48, and full-body rebuilds of the oldest pre-group stock during 48-51

    (source: unknown)
     
    All of the 4sub units were mutually compatible with each other regardless of type or provenance. By the 1950's the limitations of the Westinghouse brake, standard coupling and the low-voltage equipment drove a need to revitalise the fleet which kicked off the production of the 4EPBs. By the end of 1956 almost all of the augmented pre-war 4 Sub units with SR standard underframes had been withdrawn for rebuilding, either as 'new' 4 Sub or as 4 EPB units.
     
    To be continued....
     
     
  11. Lacathedrale
    Our story is set around the nationalisation of British Rail at Holborn Viaduct. The kent coast expresses and the continental boat trains have long been diverted to more prestigious terminals, and it is obviously now  an uncomfortable relic of the Southern Railway's quarrelsome pre-grouping past.
     

    Holborn Viaduct in 1920, already well into decline despite the Edwardian splendour in evidence
     
    The station's relatively light service schedule makes it an excellent candidate for the first electrification of suburban lines under SR in 1925, and  testing (the world's first) four aspect colour light signalling in 1926. The evidence of its tenuous position is readily apparent -  the Low Level station (and cross-London services) wrapped up before the Great War, and Ludgate Hill, less than a stone's throw from the tip of the platforms has been shuttered for a decade - a long cry from the Midland, Great Northern, and LSWR services that terminated from points north in this
     

    An ex-LNER N2 passes a derelict Ludgate Hill, a picture of the colour light signals is visible between the canopy supports
     
    While all suburban passenger services are multiple units cobbled together from pre-grouping coach bodies on modern underframes with the occasional 'all steel' new build - some semi-fast passenger trains to the kent coast are yet still steam hauled (and will be until the completion of the Kent Coast electrification scheme reaches Ramsgate) - and steam plays a vital role in the terminus' newspaper and parcels traffic that benefits from the proximity to the city.
     

    An all-steel Bulleid 4Sub sits cheek by jowl with an unidenfitied steam loco at the unelectrified Platform 3
     
    The station was designed as a mini-terminus by the LCDR on a tiny, narrowly tapered plot of land bordered by the road on one side, the metropolitan extension snaking underneath and Ludgate hill on the other. The already tight environs were further cramped by platform extensions to support eight car suburban trains in the 20's, and were taken further in the 30's which cut off the loco shed and left one island platform as a vestigal stump. The concourse was reduced to a narrow strip a few yards wide, and the outermost platforms were extended at the barest minimum width into the throat in order to support the trains lengths required. Despite that, a pair of 8-car EMUs would need to kiss the bufferstops to give each other clearance at the point formations leading into the station - and even then, would block movements to adjacent platforms.
     

    Two eight-car EMUs on P1 and P4 show just how congested the throat of the station was in this 1940's aerial photograph.
     
    The war has brought down the famous station hotel, and the station building itself limps on as a war damaged and shuttered relic. For long periods the station sits forlorn and impassive, between surges of rush-hour passengers arrive to head out towards the garden of England - and the conveyance newpapers and parcels to places far and wide courtesy of Fleet Street's printing presses and sorting offices of the Royal Mail.  Underneath, the vast amount of cross-London freight rumbles through the Metropolitan Extension:
     

    An ex-LNER J50 leads a freight train past HV in the 50's
     
    The next thirty years will not be kind of Holborn Viaduct, reduced eventually to a single island platform before its unceremonious closure in 1990 - but for now, it's time to take Southern for Speed!
  12. Lacathedrale
    Background
    One of the major challenges I've found with model railways is finding something to keep me interested in a plan or prototype after the initial enthusiasm has waned - I've got most of the way through a number of plans only to completely lose interest. I've decided that a better choice is to keep myself grounded in what was around me as I was growing up - a layout set in the British Rail southern region in the '80s.
     
    Style
    There were MANY little branch lines in the area I'm living - most are gone, but the ghosts remain. My layout is themed around one of these smaller suburban termini. I would like to include some freight traffic, and siting the layout in suburbia rather than an urban location affords that pleasure. Taking great inspiration from Cyril Freezer's Minories and the freight/goods yard from Purley, I think I have come up with something broadly plausible.
     
    Layout Plan
    The following image shows the layout plan as it stands now, two boards of 5' x 16" (the latter so it fits through my loft hatch - scenic bolt-ons will be added in time). Please note, I have decided to add a runaround loop onto the middle pair of tracks since this plan was created:
     

     
    Some notional 3D renders show the view from the station throat, including a potential scenic extension after the crossovers consisting of a bridge over a road:
     

     

     
    Inspirational Photos
     
    Gravel Shed - based on this depot in Ardingly
     

     
    Coal Concentration Depot - just a rough approximation of the heaps/vehicles
     

     
    Station - based on Bromley North
     

     

     
    Some examples of the locomotives and freight:
     
    Two Class 33's at Purley (my local station), the left is on an engineer's train while the right is shoving some HEA (new-ish air braked hoppers) into Platform 6, which was used as a runaround. Between the two you can see the fencing, gravel piles and conveyor of the gravel dealer:
     

    (copyright SED Freightman)
    A Class 37 dated slightly earlier, dropping off domestic coal at the coal concentration depot in (I think) Selhurst - a few miles away from where my layout is set.
     

     
    A double-headed train of Class 33's pulling a heavy stone train en route to the gravel dealer at Purley:
     

    (copyright SED Freightman)
     
    Once the darling of the Gatwick Express (an intercity service running from the airport to London Victoria), soon enough the locos found work on the grimiest of duties. This is another HEA coal train en route via Clapham Junction to Purley:
     

     
    3rd Rail multiple units will form the bulk of the passenger service, such as a 4CEP
     

     
    Shuttle services to adjacent termini are handled by much smaller 2-car 2EBP's:
     

     
    There will, of course, be the rare occasion for loco hauled services - standard BR(s) practise was to use 4TC (four car units with loco controls at the other end to the loco so it can be used effectively as a multiple unit):
     

     
  13. Lacathedrale
    The visible section of what I am calling 'phase 1' of the layout (as detailed in the previous thread) consists of two baseboards, one with a station throat and the other with the station itself. I had a fair amount of wood to use, so I knocked up some extra modules just in case they came in handy. This is what I ended up with:
     

     
    They are formed of 1x3" planed pine frames with a 9mm MDF top. There are cross-braces every eighteen inches or so. This method of construction, along with the dowel and latches later, was to provide a solid base for a station area which is nominally flat by design.
    Here's a mock-up of the track plan on the boards:
     

     
    Here's how I'm joining the modules - originally intended to go to shows with, it was important that the layout could be aligned reliably each time. Now that's less of a factor, but still useful:
     

     
    One really cool space-saving device (particularly if you have a shelf layout) is a traverser - it moves forward and backward to align with incoming tracks without the need for points or turnouts. It's less useful if you want to do computer controlled routing or if you're not hands-on but still interesting. Here's a video I did showing the traverser:
     
     
     
    In terms of lessons learned:
    I should have been more sure about whether I wanted to take this layout out and exhibit it (or even move it around). I think if I had the foresight I would have built the layout in-situ in order to take more advantage of the space. Though stations are technically quite flat places (see Part 1's shot of Bromley North) I think larger elevation differences with more slopes/etc. would have been nice. Any further scenic sections will use open grid/L-girder benchwork to make changes in elevation easier and more dynamic, as well as some bolt-on extensions to the front for the same effect. The layout in-situ feels long and sinuous and has an authentic look about it, but I'm a bit worried it's TOO simple - as a home layout it needs to be extended to include other layout design elements!
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