Andrew Cockburn

That derelict building is excellent, very realistic.

@ Booking Hall Thanks for that! My next update will (hopefully) see the diorama completed - watch this space!

At last! A bit more progress on my own cakebox offering! The track has been ballasted & weathered, the van body/store, the abandoned buffer stop and stone support for the yard crane have all been fixed in place with trusty UHU, while one or two small details (without which no layout or diorama would be complete) such as pallets and a dustbin have also been glued in place. So its starting to look a bit more like a loading dock/goods yard, next tasks are to do a bit more weathering/painting, plus the addition of one or two more small details. Watch this space for further developments ….

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, limited space/”micro” type layouts are my speciality, due mainly to a lack of household space. I currently have six such layouts, all of which follow the theme of industrial shunting, one of is in N Gauge, the rather quaintly-named Nutt & Bolton. Why is it called this you may ask, well because the layout is based around a small, fictitious engineering firm, Nutt & Bolton, whose name is derived from the fact that nuts and bolts feature rather prominently in the world of engineering. My chosen era is the BR blue period of roughly late 1970’s - early 1980’s, occasionally also BR black/green, and the layout is completely contained, as it manages to squeeze Nutt & Bolton works, a warehouse, goods/coal yard, diesel refuelling point and the controls/fiddle yard into a space of just 3’ x 1’, which tends to illustrate the potential of N Gauge rather well. Nutt & Bolton took about six months to build, and has given me many hours of pleasure, both in it’s construction, and from an operational point of view, and for me at least, it is perhaps proof that a layout which is small and simple can be just as interesting as something larger/more complex. Nutt & Bolton is also my current oldest layout, and is now in fact approaching it’s tenth birthday, having been built at the back end of 2007. And as it’s served me well/been more or less fault-free for almost a decade, I now look forward to ten more years of the same.

In the March 2017 issue of BRM I had an article entitled “Clean Sweep” featured in “Inbox”, which looked at how I constructed a OO gauge road sweeping vehicle, by kit-bashing a Langley Models Ford D lorry kit. I’ve also gone one better, or rather one (or several) smaller, by constructing similar vehicles in N Gauge, utilizing Dornaplas Ford Cargo flatbed lorry kits. The construction method is similar to that for my OO model, ie the chassis is shortened slightly, then assembled along with the cab as per the instructions, before a scratch-built rear body (this time formed from balsa/plasticard) was added, followed by small details such as pipes brushes etc. formed from scraps of plastic, balsa etc. The two pictures below show the models on my N Gauge layout Nutt & Bolton, one of the vehicles is “at work”, and actually features a working flashing light/LED (although its not actually flashing in this instance). In the other picture are two other sweepers, one with a raised body as it undergoes some routine maintenance, while a gulley emptier can also be seen, this was constructed using a similar principle to the sweepers. All-in-all then, something I feel is a little different/interesting , and which adds a new dimension of sorts to my layouts.

Just a brief update. Haven't done much of late, due to one or two other commitments, while I've also been waiting for the ballast which laid earlier this week to dry (takes longer in the cold weather). However, I do hope to do a bit more this weekend, hopefully even get it something like near finished - watch this space for further developments ....

@ crazynitwit Thanks for that, and you're right, you can indeed fit a fair bit into a small space, particularly in N gauge, which is a great "space saver". But as an advancement on this particular offering, which is of course in N, I may just try Z gauge in matchbox, may just be rather interesting!

I’ve long been a fan of “limited space” type layouts, dioramas etc., and as such BRM’s cakebox challenge seemed right up my street. But on a similar sort of theme, I previously came up with Clark’s Yard (so-called because it is built inside an old Clark’s shoebox), in an attempt to see how far I could push the “limited space” concept. The layout is fictitious, and in common with most of my other past/present layouts, follows my favourite theme of BR industrial operation, and features a private siding serving a factory and warehouse, also a small goods/coal yard. Track is from the Peco range, mounted on a wooden sub-base, which fits inside the box, this arrangement being necessary to facilitate the coal drops, while the track plan is in fact rather similar to the Inglenook Sidings configuration, and incorporates a small fiddle extension to the right, which makes the layout completely self-contained. The electrics are about as basic as you can get, with a single track power feed the sole electrical connection on the entire layout, most of the buildings and other structures are scratch built from the usual materials, i.e. balsa wood/plastic sheet/brick & stone sheet/paper, the only two exceptions are the small garage, which is a Hornby Lyddle End product, while the small row of terraced houses is from the Metcalfe range of kits. Others details such as cars, people etc., are from the Modelscene, Peco, and other contemporary ranges. Clark’s Yard took about a month to build, measures just over 1’ x 8”, and is this very compact and portable, and I hope that it may just serve as a source of inspiration for the railway modeller who is really space-starved, while a layout of similar size to “CY” may also make a good table-top “toy” for the business executive, either in the office, or possibly while travelling on a long distance train journey!

Well we’re getting there (didn’t they used to say that about British Rail at one time?), progress is being made, a bit slowly but still surely, this photo shows the work now completed to date. The “matchstick-like” objects on the left represent sleepers/supports formed from strips of balsa on which will rest the van body/store, I’ve also installed a stone wall at the rear, and painted the sleepers/rails a sort of grimy colour in preparation for it being ballasted, a task I find onerous/time consuming at the best of times, though I suppose on a project this size it won’t be too bad …. This photo gives a better impression of how the finished article will (hopefully) look, with the van body/store, hut & crane placed on the loading dock. I may also add one or two small details, ie figures, crates, possibly even a small vehicle or two ….

So work continues unhindered on my cakebox project, as the first photo below shows. But re the second photo, just who does the Hillman Imp belong to? The site foreman perhaps? And just what is that rather strange-looking silver-coloured creature? Re the latter, my guess is that the construction workers could be in for a bit of a shock!

Looks rather interesting , quite a fair bit squeezed into a small space, I quite like the Scalescenes buildings, they look rather effective. I myself am thinking of doing something in N Gauge once I get my current cakebox project out the way, but still a fair bit to be done, maybe another week or so's work, while like yourself, I've also got an exhibition to attend/exhibit at next weekend, but NOT with my cakebox layout I must add!

Often a good idea to do a rough mock-up, even for something small, though I personally have just taken the plunge/"eaten the cake" in one go as it were re my own effort! Still, it will be interesting to see how Gateau (hope I've spelt that right ) Road TMD progresses, I'm sure it will prove to be rather tasty offering!

These latest uploaded pics show the yard hut and what will (eventually) be the grounded van body/store. The latter is an old redundant Hornby goods van, and in order to achieve a weathered, run-down effect/the appearance of rotting wood/peeling paint, I first of all applied some artists masking fluid, then when this was dry I added some Humbrol matt white/grey/black paint. I wasn’t 100% sure if this particular method would work out, but having tried it, I feel that the effect is quite convincing, next task is to removed the chassis & axles, add a bit more weathering ie rust etc., the van body will then be located on some old planks/sleepers formed from balsa & actual spare plastic sleepers. As for the hut, this is a Ratio kit, weathered for effect, I’m not as yet 100% as to just how this and the van body will be located/positioned, I’ll have a better idea once the loading dock is complete. Further updates will appear in due course ….

Hi all, this is my “debut” on RMweb, even though I’ve had one or two articles featured previously in BRM. As I tend to specialize in “micro” layouts of an industrial shunting “flavour”, and have also previously constructed one or two small-scale railway-based diorama’s, I therefore felt that BRM’s cakebox challenge would be right up my street, and that it would fun to have a crack at my own “miniature”. My own offering is fairly straightforward, ie part of a goods loading dock, which will include a crane, hut and grounded van body, while an added effect will be a piece of abandoned/rusting track in the foreground. I’ve decided to call it, somewhat rather appropriately, “In the dock”, it is still very much in it’s infancy, these first three photo’s show the work I’ve accomplished so far, further updates will follow as work progresses. Watch this space ….