RedGemAlchemist

Sem has just mentioned something which has scared the bejeezus out of me. It's something that I've been on about on my workbench thread before but now it's actually going somewhere what he said brought it back into incredibly sharp focus. Nearly all my stock and three of my locomotives are Triang. If I can't get something track-wise that all of that will work on I'm screwed because I can't afford to rewheel it all. Help?

I'm aware of that, and sorry. I just couldn't think of the term I meant. I mean the larger stuff will do the main line and the smaller locos run the little branch to the quarry. I just used the term express because I couldn't think of a better one.

An excellent suggestion Northroader, but I really like Mr. Harrison's idea. I'm probably going with that once he gives me more specifics.I'll definitely read that blog though. Every little helps.

Wow, someone's excitable! Yeah, I just prefer being able to do my own thing. Though I do have a specific region in mind to model aesthetics-wise - my home area of East Anglia namely.

Just been looking at the Whimshire stuff. M8 looks very much like the sort of scene that might be seen on my own KLR

More of sem34090's goodies painted, this time two livestock vans and a shunter's truck.

That is a very good idea, especially that last note as I already have several locomotives for specific jobs. Plus by the sounds of it it'd still give me space to maybe expand a little if I wanted to. Kelsby was meant to be a terminus anyway, though not as a junction. Might even put Hewe near the quarry as having the main trains going to a station that small doesn't make a huge amount of sense. The length of plain running I could even add a third mid-sized station on to go with the workshops (using one of the unused names). And yes, a small Colonel Stephens style halt is EXACTLY what I intend Hewe to be, serving a miniscule hamlet sitting on the River Thet. Might need a diagram though as it's a bit hard to visualise that all. Current locos in my roster and their jobs, in case you're interested, or even if you've seen them already on my workbench thread (probable) so you have them here for quick reference: Bulldog (Triang "Nellie" refurbishment) - light mixed traffic rota; also specials Wild Rover (Triang LNER B12 rebuilt into 0-6-0) - express rota Peter (Dapol L&Y Pug bashed into Beyer Peacock saddle tank) - Kelsby station pilot Mastodon (Hornby Dublo 0-4-0 starter tank heavily bashed into Hudswell Clarke style heavy industrial 0-6-0) - resident loco for the quarry Geoffrey Lake (Hornby Thomas bashed into freelance 0-6-0) - light mixed traffic rota Wanderer (Airfix GWR 14xx) - light local rota Gremlin (freelance bash of about four Triang and Hornby starter locos into tiny 0-4-0) - Alnerwick station pilot Eastern Rambler (Slightly modified Hornby LMS Fowler 4P) - express rota Edward Bradleigh I (Slightly modified Bachmann LNER K3, actually No.16 - at least at the moment, considering the size of the layout probably not now) - express rota And that's the KLR fleet so far. Eastern Region steam freelance, Route Availability Rating 5.

Blasphemy! BURN HIM!

Hmm. Definitely a thought. With that extra space there's a lot you could do with it. I'll keep thinking, but some adaptation of that is a possibility. And I never said the lifting flap or any complex carpentry was totally off-limits, just that it would be awkward. I can live with awkward, assuming it's doable. And as stated I'm definitely considering doing at least one other layer to allow for more usage of space and possibly even get a third station in there.

I might do something like that to get more "bang for my buck", to coin an Americanism. Two levels would make it easier to get more into the layout, maybe even get in a third station (Kelsby is essential and Hewe is so tiny it won't require much room at all). Yeah. I'll have to tone down my ambitions a little. The space is fine. My plans... were unrealistic. The KLR will have to get downsized a little. Mum keeps telling me I have to. I'm trying to strike a happy medium between creating the layout I want and not p*ssing her off too much (really I think it's more so she can still get in if she needs to rather than any sort of convenience, but that's just me .) Remember we do share a house. Also, the fact that the side of the door is literally totally flush with the wall and the fact I'm playing this by ear as I'm learning how to do this as I'm going along might make the flap approach a bit awkward.

But... You can barely see the locomotive behind the E1. 1748 is clearly the focus of the picture.

For those expecting more track plan concepts on here, sorry to disappoint but the building and planning of the actual KLR permanent way and the layout proper has it's own thread now! Link in the sig or click here! Sorry for the interruption, we now return to your regularly scheduled programming of... me making kits of buildings. Wow, that sounds kind of boring when I put it like that.

Very charming, I think. I'd say go for it Gary! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!

Our sheep here in the East are normal, what the ~@*# have you been feeding yours?

Here's my original (very rough) KLR layout plan. Given your input Nearholmer... yeah, might have been overestimating what I can do with the space. Admittedly doing it like this would give me about 8.90m (about 29' 2") in running length at a rough estimate from the combined length of the walls minus the needed gap for the door, which is... actually not bad. But if I wanted to do it like that it'd need some serious adjustments. So I'd need to do some reworking now I'm actually starting on the planning phase proper. With these thoughts in mind I've been doing some research. I've found several layouts here that are actually around the size I'm working with (as noted, 2.55m x 2.40m, or approximately 8' 4" x 7' 10".) This one, by Joe Roberts, in particular caught my attention. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRsb0vpL7DU (If you are a member of RMWeb Mr. Roberts, apologies for using your video. Just it really got me thinking about the sort of stuff I'll be able to do with the space I have, and I needed to use it to illustrate my thought process.) Also the available room is a bit more complex, as a roughly 40cm x 60cm square will have to be left by the door so I can still get in. This means that I can't use a small part of the right-hand wall. I also want to leave the shelves up for storage reasons as it's convenient. That's not an issue with space, it's just saying there is a silver lining. Not that I'd have a real choice of where to build as there's nowhere else on the entire property I can work in. Sorry for getting overly serious, I'm just really wracking my brain here trying to work out how to get the most of the space I have to work with. Now that I've had my overeagerness knocked down a peg I can start on actually thinking about this like the adult I really should be acting like rather than the kid finally getting to achieve his long-term goal.

Judging from the book though, you can do quite a lot with a 2.55m x 2.40m rectangle of space. Just need to work out an effective method of getting in as much of my ideas as possible.

Oh. Well, that would be a shame. Means that the fleet of locomotives I've been building will mostly be sitting in the wings, especially my larger locomotives like Eastern Rambler and Edward Bradleigh I. I'm just looking to get the most I can out of the space without making all my effort in planning feel like it wasn't worth anything. It doesn't need to be massive, just a happy balance between space and content. It looks like I might have to erase a good chunk of the railway anyway to get it to fit even in the largest possible layout which really kind of depresses me. And believe me, I'd have had the whole shed given half the chance. That'd allow me to expand to about 5.10m x 2.40m. But then I'd have to smash out the wall into the other half of a shed that I don't even totally own and remove all of my freezers. Being able to eat is more important, however much I try and say otherwise, as is not getting myself and my mum evicted by our landlord.

Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say "Ni" at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land. Nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.

Concerning the possible (probable) rework of the KLR's layout and station list, here are the essentials: Kelsby (mid-sized station in small town with small goods yard, carriage shed and 4-road loco shed) Hewe (tiny station in village) Alnerwick with small Inglenook-style quarry. The KLR workshops What else remains will be decided by what I can fit into the space effectively. As always I'm totally open to suggestions.

Well, here in the year 2018, Kelsby is full of revellers - not particularly helpful as it makes it difficult for lorries to get into the goods yard, and we've had to escort two drunken men out of the station already for walking onto the tracks after they almost got hit by the 1:30 express hauled by Wild Rover. Normal for Norfolk. However, Sir Jacob is far from impressed.

Tight radii may be a bit difficult, considering the size of some of the locomotives I have (looking at YOU, Eastern Rambler and Edward Bradleigh I...) Also on the suggestion of James Harrison I've been reading this helpful guide of layout plans by C. J. Freezer. Very interesting, definitely gets the old grey matter ticking...

The original KLR opened in 1903 to a rather lukewarm reception and was really the brainchild/personal plaything and folly of the local peer, Baronet David Bradleigh (Hewe Hall, the Bradleigh family's home, is clearly visible from the line) and being the community minded sort decided to build a line to serve the local villages. He'd planned to extend it further than where the line currently ends but died in 1913 before he got the chance. By this time though his son took over and the locals all had grown to regard the railway with affection. The nicknames for the locomotives even became their official names (one of these - the original opening day locomotive, No.1 "Bulldog" - still exists and still is regularly used on the line despite being over 110 years old). The railway kept running through the Great War, but when the Grouping happened all hell broke loose as the Bradleighs did not want to give it up. Eventually a deal was made and it became an odd joint ownership between the Bradleighs (who had more than enough money to make it work) and the LNER, who would occasionally dump excess locomotives, usually barely working ones that it was not practical to repair, onto their hands. The KLR would then repair these using whatever they had, not really being in a position to turn down the extra motive power, or dismantle them and cobble them together into something else for the same reasons, and soldier along as always. In the BR days however, the railway began to suffer and eventually the Beeching Axe fell and hit the line. However, protests led by the Bradleigh family and the locals managed to save the line - just. However, they were now totally on their own, and powered by a fleet of cobbled together and failing locomotives. Somehow, the line survived, even struggling past the official death of steam, and continues powered by its little fleet of largely unique, often bizarre modified locomotives, a clumped together collection of stock consisting of whatever the Bradleighs could get their hands on, and a never-say-die, can do attitude that has allowed it to survive - although now assisted in part by English Heritage. Far from being purely tourist, this is still a working railway thanks to the very isolated nature of the villages it serves, often moving around livestock between markets, aggregates to the small quarry on the line, or odds and ends from all over the place. It remains truly a curiosity amongst the many railways of Great Britain. This is the formal page for the construction of the KLR layout itself, and the history above is a slight edit of the history I came up with on my original workbench thread. Finally getting around to making this thread as I'm hopefully finally getting somewhere and need somewhere to put all the discussion about the KLR layout itself. I now have my measurements of the interior of the shed that I'm building it in. If you are one of my friends amongst RMWeb's Pre-Grouping modellers and freelances, welcome to the real meat of my RMWeb career. And if you're new to reading my threads... Welcome to the Kelsby Light Railway! I hope you enjoy your stay. As always, any assistance is fully appreciated. Now the hard part. This really is the logical spinoff of this conversation with James Harrison. And it's about time I started this. I intend to model the KLR in its entirety, but my plans may have run into a tiny snag. At the moment I have six stations and two other minor stops in my mind. Problem: I'm working in 00 gauge and I'm working in an old shed that is half of a former stable (can't use the other half as it's boarded off and full of freezers.) I have 2.55m x 2.40m (about 8' 4" x 7' 10") to work with in terms of floor area. I also need to keep the door (opening outwards and in the bottom-right corner of the room as one enters) clear. This should be interesting.

Ok, follow up. I do have some actual internal dimensions. 2.55m x 2.40m (so about 8' 4" x 7' 10"). Slightly smaller than I expected. Still, good amount of space to work with. Might need to make the line smaller though, considering I'm working in OO. When you get to reading this James, the conversation can be continued on the Kelsby Light Railway thread, which there's a link to in my sig. In case you can't see that, you can link to it here.

Not really sure on the exact dimensions. It's quite big though (former stable) and I'm aware I might not get a gigantic amount of running. The KLR isn't meant to be massive, but I'm sure I can get a decent straight run from Kelsby to Telham Town. I did think about that but I'm still not even sure how I'm even going to do this as I've no idea how to do wiring and I'm not great at woodwork. I just want something that works, that I can model the landscapes on, and that I can get as much of my fictional railway onto as possible. Hmm. I'll have to have a read.