south_tyne

A belated thanks to all for your input. The expertise here on RM Web is simply second to none, you learn something new every day!

I think the advantages of Unifrog for some has been explained by a number of folk. You don't like them, that is plain to read - they obviously don't suit your needs. The simple solution is to go for something else

Still tempted by one of these and re-reading this thread isn't helping with my resolve! My wallet is cowering in the corner mind. It would probably make a good shed-mate for my Hudswell Clarke though.....

Hi Duncan. Pleased to track this one down. Fascinating project and I hope you're making progress. I love a bit of North East industrial action so will follow with interest. I am a massive fan of Croft Depot and if this compared in any way then it will be stunning and you'll be on to a winner!! David PS - I was that random gadgie who accosted you in The Bridge Hotel a few weeks ago when you were just trying to enjoy a quiet post-exhibition pint!! I do apologise... the beer obviously lowered my social inhibitions!!

Similar to some of my family roots, rural poverty in East Anglia was pretty horrific even in the 20th century. As with all these things, we remember the good/positive aspects. But hey, this is only railway modelling - for 99% of us it is escapism into an idealised time/setting/location. Back to the thread.... I remember seeing Elmwell Village Depot as a lad and being mesmerized! It was that well known W&U layout depicting four seasons and four eras from GER to BR. I am sure it will have been mentioned previously but it was so novel and different to anything I had seen before and still is pretty unique!

' Cheers and no rush at all. I've printed those turnout plans to have a play around. Certainly more compact than the streamline points... well suited to an industrial setting. ST

Love the idea, the concept and the developing layout. I'm a big fan of the Hudswell Clarke, I have one too which is the basis of my own embryonic industrial shunting layout. You're doing some excellent work with those buildings. A brewery provides a good varied flow of traffic and chance for a nice range of wagons and vans. Keep up the good work! David

Just stumbled upon this for the first time. Great stuff, your buildings are superb. Whitby is a fantastic prototype. Good variety od traffic flows, including the pick up goods into the '80s. I am sure you know this but the two volumes of 'Railways around Whitby' are invaluable resources. Ken Hoole's North Eastern Branch Line Termimi likewise. I've always wanted to do something based on the line in the late '70s. Metro Cammell DMUs, class 31s on pick up freight, the odd parcels can etc..... one day! Keep up the good work and providing the updates. Thanks for sharing, ST

Interesting. I need to print off some templates for the new setrack points. If 6' is doable for an inglenook then that could be a godsend!! Do you have a copy if your combination plan?

That's another interesting idea. Rather than dying out if the lead mining industry had survived in Upper Weardale and Teesdale, Allendale and the South Tyne Valley it could have been fascinating. Anyone buying industrial diesels and rusting 16 tonners high up in the wilds of the North Pennines or is this just fantasy!? Fantastic! Thanks for the links I will have a good peruse... ST

Cheers that's really useful. As mentioned above, I'm thinking of something a little different as the industrial purpose of small haunting layout, hence the question! Industrial locos exchanging from a small limestone facility with BR sounds like a potential idea!

Thanks Porcy. I am sorry if if that came across as a naive and stupid question! I'll see if I can find some further info about those quarries, something a bit different to the normal coal traffic. I am looking for a theme for a small layout but wanted an industry that was a bit different to the norm, hence looking at limestone. A North Pennines theme could be a good idea - an industrial shunter and a handful of 16t steel and wooden bodied minerals to shuffle round. Stretching to my preferred '60s timeframe may be optimistic but hey it's my trainset I suppose....!

Limestone is an interest in one - anywhere in the wider North East that this traffic was handled? Immediately makes me think of the Peak District (to be stereotypical)

Thanks Mark that is really interesting! I didn't know about Tynemouth!

Thanks, I thought as much. As always colours are seen by each of us differently in any case! Thanks for the info regarding NER stations. Another sticking in my mind is always Sleights on the Whitby branch which seemed to receive coal in 16tonners until the 1980s. So this wasn't exclusively 21t hopper country!

As a simplistic question on 16t minerals... is there a difference in the time period for different liveries of greys? For instance Dapol seem to utilise two shades here: https://www.Dapol.co.uk/shop/o-gauge/O-Gauge-Wagons-and-Freight/16t-steel-mineral-wagons?limit=50 Granted it is probably a silly question because they wouldn't have stayed that colour for very long at all!! As a supplementary, these were not the most common on coal traffic in the North East due to the use of 21t hoppers and coal drops, but presumably 16t minerals were to be seen throughout the area on a wide variety of other traffic flows?

Thanks Chris I will do. I think I may squeeze the inglenook into around 2m (or 7 feet) with the setrack points as the are only 40cm long. It would suit the industrial feel much better too! As with your approach on Bakewell St I could then knock up a fiddle yard for use as and when space allowed Cheers for your interest and taking the time to reply, it is very much appreciated. David

I can see the attraction and the interesting twist of using the longer siding as the fiddle yard is something I had not thought of previously. I have seen Chris Krupa's narrow gauge layout before (in a previous life I was a 009-er) but had forgotten about it. Thanks for the reminder. The French layout looks lovely, I will have a closer look. In O gauge, the Peco setrack points will be the anchor for length. They are 40cm long, so two back to back will take up around 90cm with an absolute minimum of clearance. 60cm each side for sidings and headshunt means around 200-210cm overall. Again maybe 'do-able' as a folding arrangement. I am really liking the idea of the exchange siding scenario - the Hudswell Clarke and a NER loco 'passing the parcel' sounds right up my street! I am thinking maybe a small quarry/wharf/transhipment area for loading stone before transfer back to BR metals. Gives me an excuse to utilise my motley collection of open wagons for the industrial set up. Maybe some BR 16t minerals too. I only have the one loco and a couple of wagons and I am quite enjoying planning from total scratch, in a new scale, with a clean slate. It's very refreshing!

Very true. Having played around with some real life 1:1 planning on the dining room table, I reckon this would be possible in 150cm by around 40cm wide. A folding lightweight baseboard, with low backscenes to minimise the storage space needed. I've always had an idea of a 7mm scale layout which would be transportable on the train! Maybe this could be that idea.

Inspirational Chris! The colours, weathering and overall picture are just fantastic. Everything blends so well and just looks 'right'. Shows what can be done in such a small space. Thanks for drawing my attention to the layout as it a slipped below my radar! David

Thanks Chris that is great. I love Bakewell Street as I mentioned... it is 8' at its most basic? I had never seen Dock Street Sidings before but that could well work if upscaled to 7mm scale given my severe constraints. It looks fantastic! I will have a closer look now, might work in about 7 feet in O gauge?

Yes very good idea! The loss of scenic areafor such a small layout is my main concern but maybe he sector plate could be disguised somehow. It's worth some deliberation! A quick look at this might work in 5 to 6 feet in 7mm scale... hmmm

Experience noted! In terms of scale, O gauge and prototype vaguely industrial. At he moment I have a lovely Ixion Hudswell Clarke and a handful of second hand 4-wheel open wagons. Doing something in around 6 to 7 feet may be optimistic but I do like a challenge!

Thanks for your thoughts. Very true, although 2 sidings with '4 spots' and maybe 4 wagons to shunt may be quite interesting! I may be able to develop some kind of puzzle/game to make things interesting. Hmmm, I hadn't thought of the 'z' arrangement, very interesting and food for thought. With the layout being so short I would want to minimise the length lost to fiddle yard/storage and ideally would like to be fully scenic along the whole length. I Hence contemplating a 5' long fork layout, fully scenic with a single point. Minimal I know but better than nothing and maybe a flood testbed for getting back into my modelling! ST

Thanks Chris that is useful to know. Less moves possible than the standard 5-3-3 but I think that would need 8' in O gauge given the length of the points and that is really pushing to the maximum limit of my space so may not be possible