Wherry Lines

Apologies if I have misinterpreted your plan, but both sets of sidings are facing the main line, which is generally frowned upon on the prototype. I think these should be trailing arrangements, accessed either by a headshunt or a reversal off the main line.

Morning. A very bright morning on the east coast. 0 oktas today. Do you still talk about those? Went shopping on my way home from work on Friday. Why so people decide that thr best place to stop for a chat is in the doorway to get in or at the end of an aisle? I sometimes get the urge to so some jousting wih a baguette.

It's blown our 6' garden gate away. Just got half of the (snapped) hinges left!

Morning all. I hope those up north kept safe yesterday. Certainly looked rough from the images I saw. Sounds a bit breezy outside this morning. I think the weather front must've travelled south.

Currently in a local pub with a pint of Sharp's Doom Bar - refreshing and light.

Happy new year to one and all. Here's to another year of modelling and clumsiness!

I think this article (second story down) from the satirical motoring website Sniff Petrol is relevant. Or, indeed, this one!

I find the motorising arrangements of this model interesting, as the Graham Farish class 150 uses a very similar layout. In N, one expects some compromises to be made, but as others have said, it must've been possible to come up with a more elegant solution. Credit to Martin with his improvements to the first release model - very convincing!

I've been looking at the plan I created in a previous post, but decided that I wasn't keen on the double siding towards the back of the board. Once again, I referred back to the prototype to see what I could do. I have come up with three variations of the same plan, just with sidings in slightly different places and the plan flipped round. Plan 1 is similar to the prototype, except for the use of a assymetric 3-way for space reasons, which puts the siding near the VAM building on the prototype next ot the building on the model. There is one additional siding towards to front of the layout. Plan 2 has the VAM building near the baseboard edge, with 2 sidings towards the back of the board. This reduces the view of the trains as they appear from under a bridge and then behind the VAM building. I'm not sure if this is good or not with such a small layout. Plan 3 addresses the issue as it combine elements of both plan 1 and 2, except from being flipped horizontally. Somehow, I'm not so keen on this version! I think the problem is with the siding towards the front of the layout on the right hand side... In each plan, you will notice that I have either added a subtle curve or rotated the plan a couple of degrees from the horizontal - an idea I've stolen from the Iain Rice school of layout planning. I plan to have a subtle curve to the front of the layout to avoid the rectangular look as well as a curved backscene.

Thank you for the advice, Dutch_Master. Much appreciated as always. I started by drawing the actual track plan into a space of 6' x 1' 6" (182cm x 45cm approx) at its widest point. Then began rearranging the track to suit my location, ensuring that sidings were suitable lengths and that the headshunt was long enough for a 2400 + a little bit of wiggle room. Essentially, I have removed the spur which links the VAM sidings to the main yard and made the running line come in under the overbridge which is next to the VAM building, swapped a siding to the other side of the yard (and added an extra one) to add a little more play value. The run round loop is long enough to hold 3 VAM wagons.

This did cross my mind too, so I did a little more digging and have found a few more photos. They all tie up with being Zandvoort (I have a couple facing the other way, showing the curve towards the main freight yard and I have some taken looking over the top of the platform canopies showing the yard. The track layouts all tie up and match the schematic plan for the area too. Unfortunately, none of them clearly show the bridge, but I have looked carefully at track alignments and come to the conclusion that there was a bridge next to the VAM loading building, but that no track was laid underneath. I wonder whether the bridge was built in case the there was a need to extend the line to other industries at a later date. Still, since merely using Zandvoort as an inspiration, I can make use of a rare feature of the Netherlands as the ideal scenic break! I will, however, reference the location for the layout name. If I am correct, Zandvoort translate roughly as Sandfort or Sandford, so I would like to use the 'Zand' part of the name, but wondered about using parts of another area to create a name which at least gives a clue at the intended location. So far, I have come up with: Zandveld (Sandfield) - this one uses part of a nearby village called Bentveld. However, my dutch isn't yet at a level where I am sure this is a feasible names.

Thanks to dutch_master for offering suggestions of information sources, I came across beneluxrailways.co.uk. Within, I found a page on Zandvoort and a schematic track plan off the station and yard. It would appear the area directly around the VAM building is of fairy simple design http://www.beneluxrailways.co.uk/NS%20Station%20Zandvoort.htm (the map is towards the bottom of the page). Oddly though, the map does not seem to tie up with the images I have of the area. I have a couple of images which clearly show an over bridge of some sort with track leading underneath it beyond the VAM building, which is at odds with the track map.

Damn. I'm on my phone now, so I'll see if I can a suitable image or two from Flickr instead. Thank you for the suggestions, dutch_master. I'll have a look round over the next few days to see what I can find.

You might want to get hold of the Middleton Press book entitled Branchlines to Felixstowe and Aldeburgh. It includes a useful section on the Snape branch.

I have looked on rolandrail but I haven't found anything of use as it focuses on the present day. I will be modelling a period around 1990. I have found several photographs which may well be of use though. One location which may offer a way forward is the brick constructed loader which was at Zandfoort. The advantages of this is the over bridge ( a rarity in the Netherlands!) connected to the building which was the access road for rubbish trucks to unload into the buidling and compost wagons. The building can be seen around the centre of this image (VAM_4_1.jpg) with the road directly behind it. This would provide a suitable view block as well. The other advantage is it will result in extra shunting! This is how a possible model could turn out VAM_zandvoort_1.jpg If I choose this route, then I envisage a rake of empty wagons being bought in by a 2200, 2400 or 6400, which would depart either light engined or with full wagons. A 'sick' or an 500/600 shunter would then be employed in the necessary shunting work. It should make the planning of a reasonable track plan feasible. Tony - luckily, I have family living in the Helmond area of the Netherlands so have been learning dutch as I go along. I am about to do a course via the University of Groningen in dutch too.

There hasn't been too much progress on this (other than a gradual increase in appropriate stock) to the annoying inconvenience of a new school year! Still, I have 2 weeks off coming up and my attention has begun to return to this project. I have slightly reduced the size of the boards to make it a little easier to move round. I am now looking at a pair of scenic boards of about 3' by 1' 7" (90cm by 50cm). Having mulled over my ideas, I have decided that in the space I have I can only model one main form of traffic. I have settled on modelling part of a VAM compost loading facility with an over-track loading bulding based on the ones found at Delft and Schiedam. This will also act as a view block for the inevitable hole in the sky. This is my latest track plan for your perusal, suggestions and mutilation! . Dutch plan V4.xtc

Thank you for your input, Dutch_Master. I have found it quite tricky to find the information I would like regarding aspects of the dutch rail system. I have a limited, but developing knowledge of dutch! Are you aware of any particularly useful websites or books regarding rail freight? I have managed to locate some information regarding VAM loading facilities in Wijster, along with quite an attractive looking brick building in Zaandvort. I think I will forego the gas-works, which will allow inclusion of a quayside siding complete with suitable vessel. This should allow a more varied selection of wagons to be used. Regarding the 3-way point, I hadn't noticed it was not asymmetrical. I am intending to use Peco code 75 track, which features the an asymmetrical 3-way. I suspect I used the wrong track in xtrkcad, so I am going to print another full size plan along with Peco's Code 75 templates and see what I can come up with.

Hello all. First off, I feel I must start with an apology for my prolonged absence from RMWeb. I've had a very busy period of time with work and a house move, so railway modelling took a back seat. My N gauge layout has not seen the light of day for about a year and to be honest, I have lost enthusiasm for it. When I started work on in about 4-5 years ago, TMD's were a much less common theme for a layout. How times have changed! Anyway, onto the topic of this thread. A recent visit to the Netherlands led to the discovery a couple of excellent model shops in Arnhem and Utrecht. I was not planning to buy anything, but chanced across a second hand, but unopened Roco 2400 in NS yellow and grey. Well, that was it! This opened the flood gates and I returned with a compost wagon and a pair of of Roco describe as 'sliding wall wagons'. A layout must be built! The plan is a development from one of my numerous doodlings from over the years. It is not really inspired by any particular location, although the name comes from a street in Arnhem around the industrial area near the river - which is still rail-served to an extent. I wanted to include a double-slip, but I am not sure whether this would be feasible in the space I have. The scenic part of the layout is 6' 5" x 2" and can accommodate a train of 3 compost wagons in the run-round loop. I have measured siding lengths and checked the loop on a full print out to check clearances etc. Originally, I wanted to include the following scenic features: a VAM overlaadstation (a over-rail loading facility for VAM compost wagons), a small dockside with a dutch river freight barge, a siding for the loading of van traffic and a gas-works. However, in the space I have, I will have to lose either the gas works or the dockside unless someone is able to suggest a workable solution! Is/was gas carried by a river barge in the Netherlands? Anyway, here is the plan: And here is the xtrkcad file if anyone wishes to play around with it: Dutch Plan 3.xtc I am fairly happy with the plan, but if anyone can post any glaring errors relating to my plan and dutch prototype then I am open to suggestions!

Were you secretly listening in to the conversations I've been having with my girlfriend of 2 months?

I enlarged the photo and it looks like 304 to me.

Yes, but you'll need to modify the coupler mount if the model does not come with an NEM pocket.

These two can be found at Southwold Harbour. I know one is actually coach, but I still think it's worth posting. Interesting to note that the closest the standard gauge network got to this location is Halesworth, which is about 8 miles away as the crow flies. Not sure of the origins of this one, but since we are in firm GER/LNER territory, I would hazard a guess at it being from one of these. I assume is has been shortened too. No idea, but again, possibly of LNER or BR origin?