bigboyboris

Preferably in 4mm,but I'd consider other scales as well if there was a sufficiently superior range.

Aside from trains, it could be said that heavy equipment is my second technological passion. I know in some parts of the world you see whole trains of flat wagons exporting freshly built machines, but I have not seen anything to indicate that this sort of traffic exists in the UK currently. Given that BR had a fairly large variety of different 'special wagons' designed for the conveyance of machines, I'm wondering if back in the day there were routes or yards that saw a lot of this sort of thing?

I really like idea of a narrow viaduct with gauntlet track. I imagine it'd have to be hand-laid, though, since there doesn't look to be anything rtr in N. I'm not sure I could put together a full point in 2mm but interlacing two tracks might be doable with the right guidance. Neatly avoids the issue of figuring out how to wire point motors on track not mounted directly to the baseboard as well.

A viaduct or similar is what I ideally wanted to go for since it'd give me the greatest flexibility in terms of era, but I do like the idea of having two parallel bridges. Alternatively I could consider having something like a triple track line where trains might be diverted from one line to another to allow passing if that exists anywhere?

I'm wondering if there's a prototypical way to add a touch more operational interest to the classic bridge scene by adding a siding or loop for trains to pass each other. I imagine these things would usually be located away from expensive bridge 'real estate' but I'm curious if there are any exceptions?

Don Rowland's British Railways Wagons has a short section on both fruit vans and the similar-sounding but distinct banana van. It seems they were quite similar to ordinary ventilated vans (typically with a 9ft or 10ft wheelbase and 17ft 6in body) save for the provision of hinged shelves inside and additional side-mounted air scoops.

~1994-5 seems like a very interesting period from the standpoint of having a variety of liveries, but given that they were geographical subdivisions I'm wondering whether it was actually common to see trains from all three shadow franchises in some places?

Thanks for the suggestions - I'd initially disregarded industrial sites as an option because I figured they'd mostly have only two types of traffic, but on closer examination it makes sense that for many industries you'd have several ingredients delivered by rail. Will have to look into paper mills, steelworks / metal smelters and anything else suitable I can find in addition to your suggestion.

Currently I am relegated to the position of armchair modeller for space and financial reasons, but I have begun saving towards the goal of beginning construction on a layout next year. To that end, I want to have a reasonable idea in mind of the layout I intend to build (or at the very least a couple of strong possibilities) so that I have something to think about and plan over the next year. I am reasonably settled on the idea of working in N scale as although I don't know exactly where the layout will go, I can be reasonably certain I won't have a gigantic area to work with and I think that (given the types of scene I want to be able to replicate) any larger scale would not work well. My interest is primarily freight traffic, and I want to be able to run reasonably prototypical mixed goods trains as well as block trains of a good length carrying as wide a variety of cargo as possible. I have zeroed in on two particular periods of interest. The first is the early 1960s - on the steam side I most enjoy large freight locomotives, and I like the silhouette of many of the Type-1 diesels that were operating in the period so from a traction point of view things work quite neatly. The second point in time that interests me is the era of BR sectorization - I enjoy the various grey liveries that were applied to freight locomotives during the period, and it seems this is about as recent as one can go and still have mixed goods while remaining accurate to the prototype. I am leaning towards the former, but thus far information on the latter period has been easier to come by at my local library, which is of particular significance since I'd like to learn the art of scratch-building rolling stock eventually. The second dilemma facing me is what to model. I'm likely going to choose something freelance but based on one or more prototypes for flexibility, and I think a significant main-line section is a must in order to allow running any period-appropriate variety of train that takes my fancy. My current plan is to have a diagonal main-line section joining opposite corners of a roughly 12'x2' baseboard with fiddleyard connections at either end and then some kind of facility on one side to add operational interest. The question that then arises is what said facility should be - which is an answer that probably differs depending on which of the two time periods I settle on. The 'obvious' answer for varied freight traffic is a marshalling yard of some kind, but that seems like a very obvious choice and I'd ideally like to do something a little more unusual if I can. I'm hoping people might have suggestions for something else I could do as an alternative that would still generate at least a couple of different types of wagon but manage to be a bit more unusual while doing so.

Approximately 1980 to the present day is what I was thinking, but I'd be interested in historical examples as well.

I very much enjoy the look and feel of this type of wagon and have been thinking one would make an excellent centrepiece of sorts for a layout, but I wonder if it would not be prototypical to run one on a British outline layout?

I'm particularly fascinated by this era of british railway history (circa 1850-1890) and the locomotive designs that were used at the time, but I've found it difficult to locate both information on the prototype during this period and in particular kits for locomotives and rolling stock. I'm open to modelling in anything from 2mm to 7mm scale depending on what has the best availability. Can anyone recommend manufacturers I've overlooked?

I like the idea of modelling a narrow gauge railway, but my perception is that most of those that existed in the UK were relatively single-purpose and carried only a single main type of freight. My desired operations for such a layout, on the other hand, would incorporate a variety of goods traffic, with at least a set of sidings where wagons can be shunted and assembled into trains. Did anything like that exist in the prototype?

Apologies if this is not the right section for this question, but I could not find anywhere else it would fit. Recently I've been considering the idea of starting a layout, and as is often the case the first decision to be made is one of era. I find myself drawn to the perhaps inelegant design of early steam locomotives, and so I quickly identified the mid-1800s as a period of interest. I was not surprised to see that there is nothing in the way of rtr models depicting this era, but I have not yet been able to find any kits depicting the rolling stock of this period either, so I am hoping the good people of this forum may be able to offer suggestions. I am open to the idea of modelling in any scale between 2mm and 7mm. I would also be interested in recommendations for books or other resources describing the operations of the period - typical train lengths, timetables, what types of freight were most popular and that sort of thing. You help and guidance is much appreciated.