Some may have seen my now stalled progress on my OO layout of Plymouth Friary - I will update that thread separately.
I have decided to make a return to N Gauge and have always had an interest in the Tavistock North station because the viaduct in the centre of town is still standing and can't be missed when travelling through on the way to Lifton. The line in from Lydford passes over another viaduct before it entered the station and in the other direction, after passing over Tavistock viaduct the line passed under several road bridges in a cutting before crossing another viaduct and disappearing into a tunnel.
I have printed the layout plan using Templot onto a scanned image of the Ordnance survey map obtained from Plymouth library and the plan will be for it be a continuous run layout coming in from the left from Shillamill tunnel, then over Shillamill viaduct, through the cutting with overbridges, across Tavistock viaduct, into the station and then out the other side, across the other viaduct (name escapes me at the moment but it is above a quarry, across a few other over bridges and then into another tunnel (this will have to be modeller's licence as there wasn't a tunnel at this end just a bridge where the Southern mainline went over the GWR Tavistock to Launceston line.
So far I have build the boards using 18mm ply for the open framing and 5.5mm ply for the trackbed. this will be covered in 3mm grey foam and then Peco code 55 with large radius electrofrog points and track will be laid. I will be using Woodland Scenics fine ballast and once wired and tested, I will profile the track bed supports to enable scenery to be carried out. Control will be DCC using my existing Gaugemaster Prodigy 2 system. The plan has been printed so far for the station area and line across Tavistock viaduct and two boards of 4' x 30" have been built. The third board will accommodate Tavistock viaduct and then the boards will have to curve around to make the continuous circuit (in reality the line continued straight.
My track order has arrived as have ratio kits for the GWR signalbox (I know, it's wrong but I like the kit) and goods shed and the Peco goods shed which is similar to lineside goods shed used by the Southern in devon and Cornwall. I also have Peco road overbridges, tunnel mouths and stone walling sheets. I will have to scratchbuild Tavistock viaduct rather than use the Ratio item because there are three arches of 32' and five of 50' plus a kind of "jack arch" in the middle. I have taken some photos already and will upload these in due course.
For stock I currently have a Graham Farish Merchant Navy, Dapol M7 and Graham Farish King, three Mk1's in green, a full brake in crimson and cream, four Peco PO wagons and a Langley kit for a rebuilt MN what requires a Minitrix Britannia chassis.
Regards,
Steve