The Lymington Branch

22nd May 2010 was the last day of operation for slam door EMUs operated on the Lymington Branch. The two 3CIGs, 1497 (Freshwater) and 1498 (Farringford) have now been replaced by a 158 and Desiro. We went down the weekend before for our last chance to ride on these trains. 1497 Freshwater in Blue/Grey was operating the line that day. We caught the train down to Lymington Pier, and got off to take some photos and look around. There isn't much at Lymington Peir, so we caught the next train back to Lymington Town, then walked down to the quayside to have our lunch. As we were finishing lunch we fishing boat came in and started unloading its catch of cuttlefish. After a stop at the playground we headed back to the station when I took a few more photos and then headed home. On the way back I took a few photos at Brokenhurst, including a couple of the unusual swing bridge which would have originally been for parcel trolleys, and has been kept to provide disabled access.

Isle of Wight Railways

Last summer we spent a week on the Isle of Wight and visited the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. We got a day rover which also allowed us to take a trip on the Island Line too. This was well worth doing as travelling on an old tube train through sunny green countryside was a memorable experience. We caught the Island Line from Smallbrook Junction to Brading, then back to Ryde Pier Head. After having a snack and watching the hovercraft coming in from Portsmouth we headed back to Smallbrook Junction for what was suppose to be a 10 minute wait for the steam train. Unfortunately the locomotive had problems and we had a 45 minute wait. This gave me the opportunity to take some more photos of the Island Line trains, and to chat to one of the volunteers who told us that they would like to extend the line to Ryde St John's Road by running over the Island Line's tracks. Apparently South West Trains are sympathetic to this plan as it would simplify their timetables by eliminating the need to stop at Smallbrook Junction, but I don't think there are any official plans in place yet. Once we were back at Havenstreet we had our lunch and looked round the station and museum, and workshops where there was a carriage being painted and a stripped down O2 class. I liked this retro-style poster for the L&B railway.

Here's a couple more photos, the rest are on Flickr in sets for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and the Island Line.

OO Module Mockup

A common suggestion when planning a layout is to build a small scale model as an aid to visualising what the completed model is going to look like.  Since I wanted to be able to visualise how a much space my theoretical continuous run set up would take in the lounge I decided that some full size module templates would be needed.  If I just wanted to see how much space they would take up I could have cut templates of of paper, but I wanted to see how sturdy a lightweight baseboard was likely to be, and see where it could be stored.  A few hours over a couple of afternoons with a knife, some corrugated cardboard and a glue gun gave me this.



It's stronger than I thought it would be, and the real thing would have more bracing, so I don't think strength will be an issue.  Modules of this size would also be fairly light if made out of foamcore, and if they were made so that they could be stacked then it would be fairly easy to store a few on top of a wardrobe. 

Of course if I want a continuous run then I'll need some curved modules too, so I got out the lining paper and made a couple of templates.  A length of Flexitrack and an intermodal twin set proved that the curves will be tighter than I'd like, but I don't think they'll be so tight that I can't live with them.



So in theory I think it could work. However I have a couple of reservations, the first is that I've only got a couple of scenic ideas for the curved modules, and I can't work out how I'd match these ideas up with the ideas I have for the straight modules. The second is the number of modules I'd need for a continuous run. If I make each curved module 60°, then that's 6 modules just to make a circle. If I add in two 3' long straight modules, I'll just have a big train set, with no sidings, so I think I need two 3' modules on each side of the oval. This puts me up to 10 modules, and I think the set-up and take down time, problems with board joins, and amount of room the set-up would take would mean I'd not play trains very often.

I've not got a great deal of modelling time at the moment, so I've a while to mull the options over. One option would be to build a single straight module to get my hand in, and then it could either be used as a photo diorama or be connected to some future project.

Sleeper stacks at Eastleigh

I took this photo last summer at Eastleigh Station. I'd seen these piles of sleepers as I passed through the station and noticed that they were high enough that the trains on the tracks behind them were completely hidden. I though it could be a good scene to recreate on a model railway so the next time I changed trains at Eastleigh I took some photos with my cameraphone. It could be used as a different way to disguise an exit to a fiddleyard, or the area behind the sleepers could be used as on-scene staging, i.e. an area that is partly hidden, where wagons can be replaced. Most of the sleepers have now been cleared away, but there are still a few, along with some piles of old ballast and plenty of Buddleja.

So am I going to build this scene? Well I'm not planning on designing a layout around it, but if I find myself building a layout where it would fit in then I might, though building the sleeper piles would take a lot of time and patience.

Intermodal wagons

For my own reference I've been compiling a list of intermodal wagons which are used by Freightliner and EWS/DBS on their intermodal services. The wagon codes link to galleries of that wagon on UK Rolling Stock. I've not included wagons that are use only on specific services, or those not yet in revenue service.

EWS/DB Schenker
FIA/IFA 'multifret' - Bachmann make an FIA Intermodal twin set in EWS and Railfrieght distribution liveries.
FAA are the most distinctive wagons used by EWS as they are single wagons with a low central deck. A kit for the FAA is produced by Genesis Kits.
FCA - twin wagons which look similar to the FEAs.  Inter-City Models have a kit listed.
FKA low-deck twin wagons used by EWS. Similar to the IKA 'Megafrets' used by Freighliner.  A kit is produced by Genesis Kits

Freightliner
FEA-B (Spine Wagons) twin sets which are operated by Freightliner, GBRf, and Fastline. A model is produced by Dapol.
FEA-E (Spine Wagons)  a single wagon version.  It might be possible to build one from a Dapol FEA-B set.
IKA "Megafret" - A model is produced by Dapol in OO and N.
KTA/KQA pocket wagons are used by Freightliner, and most Freightliner Intermodal trains in the Southampton area some of these wagons. Dapol produce a model in OO and N.
FFA/FGA - used by Freightliner - There is an old Hornby based on this wagon or a stunning looking kit by Colin Craig
FLA Lowliners - an OO model is made by Real Track Models (a collaboration between C-Rail and DC Kits)
KFA - Hornby produce this single wagon complete with containers.
FSA & FTA - Nick Gurney has constructed these for his Holland Park by butchering Bachmann 'multifrets', though this requires one twin set to produce a single wagon. A picture of completed wagon can be seen here

Freightliner on their Wagon Fleet

GBRf
KAA - Single wagons which can be used to carry trailers as well as containers.  A kit is produced by Genesis Kits
FEA-B (Spine Wagons) - model produced by Dapol

The lounge

The lounge is fairly large and has the advantage of being a reasonable temperature, having power and light already.  I had been thinking of building a modular 009 layout which I could set up on the table, but I've been wondering if I could build a semi-modular or sectional 00 layout instead. I've always thought layouts should be at table height or slightly higher, and don't think I like the idea of building folding legs so hadn't really considered the lounge 00 layout larger than the table. However my Father-in-law's N gauge layout uses stacking plastic stools as for support. They're cheap, strong, don't take us much space and I expect a couple of us will be sitting on them for Christmas dinner. The lower hight of the layout means that it's easier for children to see, and I can still get near eye level if I sit on the floor.

So how would this theoretical 00 layout work? I'd need to make most of the baseboards fairly narrow to keep down the total baseboard area like on Richard Lake's Rothervale, to keep the storage space required as low as possible. I'll have to experiment a bit more but I think I could keep most of the straight boards down to 9-12" wide and fit in a double track main line and still have a bit of scenery. Since that's only 54-72 scale feet, and the Railway Technical Web Pages say that a modern 2 track alignment is around 50ft (15m) wide I'd better explain how I might make that work. I don't plan to have the track running in the centre of the boards most of the time, in fact some of the time the track may be very near one edge. I've checked the width of some railway lines around Southampton using Google Maps, and 2 track lines seem to be about 30ft wide.  Since the British loading gauge is relatively small and these lines aren't modern builds it's no surprise the alignment is narrower.  Within 30ft of the edge of the alignment there is scrub, grass, small trees, fences, and in a couple of places the edge of a river so I could probably imply that there is something more interesting just off the edge of the board.  The occasional bridge over or under the railway will add interest too.

I did a bit of playing with some flexi-track and an intermodal twin set an to find out what radius curve they looked reasonable on - I can't remember the exact numbers but I do know that it would fit between the fire-guard and the sofa, and wasn't far off the 800mm radius that number6 is using as his minimum radius for Southerham. To fit a continuous run in and not have to step over or duck under my minimum radius will have to be less than this - but it'll still be big enough that RTR stock shouldn't have an problems. Number6 has also started work on some baseboards that look fairly similar to the design I have in my head. They look good and he says they are fairly strong. I think I'll probably make the boards for the curves slightly wider since I intend for at least one of my curves to be scenic, and I want to be able to add enough scenery so they don't look too much like a large train set.

I don't want to be over ambitious so I'm thinking that I'll build a module that's has a small yard and a mainline, some curved boards to make an oval, and a straight board to finish the oval.  If I'm feeling really ambitious I might build a fiddle-yard too.  I think I have enough enthusiasm to get something built, I just need to find some time and that's likely to be difficult over the next few months.

The shed?

We have two sheds in the garden. A shed would probably need less work to make it suitable for a layout and has the advantage that I can go to the shed without fear of waking sleeping children. The larger shed is 8ft square, but that one is at the bottom of the garden and doesn't have electricity. I've contemplated setting up a solar power system to charge 12v batteries, but that would be a serious undertaking and I'd need heating in winter, so that's unlikely to happen. I'm not sure how much it'd cost to run mains to it but I think it will be needed for storage so it's probably not an option.

The smaller shed is 6x8th and does have electricity, but also has the freezer as there's no space for it in the kitchen. It is possible to fit a surprising amount of model railway in an 8x6 shed, but I'd need to remove everything else, and work round the freezer, and probably board up the window. I'd be limited to fairly short trains which in some ways is an advantage since they cost less to buy, but I suspect I'd be limited to 2 intermodal twin sets, and I'd like a slightly longer train than that. A narrow gauge layout in shed is still a possibility if I don't build an 00 one there.

A Loft Layout?

Cropped from this photo by Jon Bryant / CC BY-SA 2.0

My dream layout is a large tail chaser where a train can run for a reasonable length of time before it gets back to where it started. I think this quote sums up what I want far better than anything I could write:

...my real hankering is for a big layout. Not just long sweeping curves and sidings you can lose a few wagons in but a recreation of the linear space the real railway has. I like the approach to a town and the junctions, sidings and yards you pass as the train slows for the stop.

- number6 of RMWeb, describing his plan for Southerham.

The only place I have room for something like that is the loft. I think it would be 00 rather than 009 and based in the South East - probably the South Western Main Line or one of the connecting lines. I'd build a double track loop round the edge of the loft with a 3rd rail, with some of the track being partly hidden (not so much 3rd rail fitting needed). There will also be some double or single track lines which leave the main line and crosses the main line at least once, perhaps including a junction loosely on Worting Junction. A small yard, and perhaps a couple of sidings elsewhere would certainly be part of the plan and I'd like to include a station, though I probably won't run many passenger trains - the station may be based on Eastleigh, but probably with smaller platforms and buildings - maybe looking more like Shawford. In my ideal world I'd also include a representation of a depot - perhaps based on the Northam Desiro MPD - however in my current house I doubt I have the space. Anyway, this is a dream and since the loft needs quite a lot of work to make it suitable for a railway it will probably stay a dream for a few more years.

Tail chasing

I mentioned a while ago that I've been considering building a mini OO layout to give me somewhere to run my SG stock until I can build something bigger. However I'm not sure if that is what I really want so I was pondering if I should build something else. Either something slightly bigger - to give longer sidings and allow the trains a bit more of a run, or build a micro shunting layout, maybe something like an English version of this French micro, or a layout in a box file or two. However I'm not sure how much I'd operate a small shunting layout, and it's not exactly suitable for running intermodal twin sets on. So I don't think don't think I'm going to build any of those options. What I really want is a tail chaser. But I don't have much space so where can I build it? Well I have 3 ideas - first up the loft...

A different perspective

John Thorne's Purbeck - picture by fairlightworks

What does this photo have in common with the photo in my last blog post, other than the fact that they're both model railway, neither were taken by me, and both use a Creative Commons License?

If you've not spotted it yet it's that both use the same Walthers "Glacier Gravel Company" kit. It's odd that I've seen Purbeck at every exhibition I've been to since I got back into model railways and have looked at photos of it fairly recently, but it was only today that I realised that the building on it would work with a standard gauge layout.  When I wondered what kit it was I realised where I'd seen it before.

Since posting this will mean that there's no longer a post showing any modelling I've done on the front page my next post had better be about something I've done!

Dales Peak

Photo by Ian Robins. CC-NC licensed

Ian Robins' Dales Peak is a loft layout which is under construction. It is set in the Peak District and inspired by Tunstead Quarry. It's a two-level affair with multiple loops round the loft which always scores points with me. It also has a few locations so there will be a point to the train movements. There will be a couple of stations, a cement works, a quarry and a stone wharf. See Ian's trackplan for how it will all fit together. More pictures of this layout can be found on Flickr, the layout also has a blog and a website

Looking through the blog has given me another option for a building for my OO module. The kit in the photo above is Walthers "Glacier Gravel Company", the loading hoppers and building building behind are very close to what I had in mind, so I might be able to bash something suitable out of this kit.

Buildings for OO layout

I spotted the Knightwing Mine Top Buildings whilst browsing their website the other day, and started thinking about buildings for the small OO layout I was planning. I'm not sure the Knightwing buildings (which were originally produced by Heljan as "Tucson Silver Mine" are quite what I want, they feel a bit too old (and American) for my purposes. I'll keep a look out for other kits but I might just scratch build something, maybe a bit like this sand loader or this silica sand loader, thought neither is quite like what I'm after.

Motivation

Recently it seems that every time I some free time to do some modelling there has always been something that I'd rather do, like going for a walk or going to the pub. If I had a rainy Sunday afternoon I'd probably spend it modelling, but if the sun is shining it seems a waste not to be outside enjoying it. I suppose that doesn't matter but it can lead to me getting a bit disheartened by the lack of progress on anything on my to-do list. However I just need to remember that it doesn't matter if I make slower progress than almost everyone whose blog I read, and that there's more to life than model railways. Recently I've enjoyed reading about other modellers doing things like installing church PA systems, building radio control ducks, gardening and finding wildlife in their garden. I wont bore you with any posts about filing and sorting out the house, but I do have some non-model railway projects planned that some of you may be interested in which I might post about.

To do list

Stephen over at Fairlight Works posted a to-do list for his newly acquired O16.5 layout Cranbrook Town. I've decided to post one too so I can keep track of what I'm doing and hopefully get some of it done.

Narrow Gauge

Removeable roof by Fairlight Works, CC

Finish building drewery bash diesel
Fix roof onto coach using the method show on the right.
Scratchbuild some small bogie coaches
Buy paint and paint coaches
Build slate wagons
Build open wagon
Improve open coach (and possibly re-paint)
Buy and build A1 models diesel

Pizza Layout
Edging
Build a cottage
Scenery
Make a base, so that it can be rotated.

Standard Gauge
Weather wagons
Detail class 73
Get some wood and build a baseboard for the small layout I was planning.
Decide on a what stock I want to run
Order a KQA pocket wagon?
Buy and build a C-Rail tanktainer (or possibly more than one) (Parkside sell them)

KQA 'Pocket' wagon and 40ft 'High Cube' containers

© Rob Jefferys, used with permission

Dapol have announced KQA 'Pocket' wagon in OO and N and 40ft 'High Cube' containers to match in both scales. This will make it possible to model trains like the one pictured without building kits. If you can't wait for the Dapol model or enjoy building kits then then KQA kits are available from ATM in 2mm scale and Genesis Kits in 4mm scale. I'll be waiting for the Dapol model though.

Mike Hamer's B&M Railroad

You may have noticed a new link has appeared in the standard gauge links section. I thought I'd write a short blog entry about it - I may go back and blog about some of my other links in future. I found the B&M Railroad from a post on RMweb in the excellent Southerham thread by number6. Like him I'm a fan of American layout designs and would like to incorporate some aspects into my loft layout. The plan of the B&M is superb and gives an amazing sense of space in a 11'x13' room (which is tiny by the standards of American layouts). Now how can I include similar ideas and a double track main line? Well I've got plenty of time to think about it and already have a few ideas. Number6 has given me a few more things to think about with his plan.

More planning

I've had a second go at planning the layout, this time I made some point templates by drawing round my two Peco points and cutting them out.  I wanted to see if using Peco asymmetric 3-Way points would improve the plan so I made an estimated  template by overlapping two templates.  I was considering using two 3-ways, one by the fiddle yard exit and on above where the class 09 is.  However after playing about a bit I decided that I'd be better off without the one by the fiddle yard exit and I'm not sure that the other one would add enough to the plan to make it worth including.  The advantage of avoiding the 3 way points is that I can use code 100 track which is what I already have.  I did consider using Peco code 75 points and SMP bullhead flexi-track but my aim is to get something built quickly so I'll probably stick to what I've got for this project.




The orange juice, shoe box, Boggle, Fluxx, and Swiss vegetable bouillon are there to give an idea of what it might look like with buildings there - you'll have to use you're imagination!  The Jenga pieces and takeaway menu over the fiddle yard entrance represent some sort of loader (possibly stone). I also plan to put some kind of pipe bridge or footbridge over the middle of the layout to add interest.  The siding with the two badly weathered tankers will have a second loading/unloading point - possibly for fuel.  The tankers themselves will be sprayed with grey primer and have some subtler weathering applied!  I also need to work out a way of hiding the fact that the siding with the class 57 in will run right into the corner of the layout, I think some small trees could come in useful here.

I'm off to see Cement Quay in Guilford on Saturday.  It'll be good to see it operating and I might have the chance to get some bits for my layout too.  John Thorne's Purbeck will be there too which I'm looking forward to seeing again.  Anything else will be a surprise as there's not a layout listing on the web.

Planning a small standard gauge layout

As I mentioned in my last post I'm planning a small standard gauge layout. I'm going to try to keep it fairly simple so that I can get it built fairly quickly. The layout will be based around the trackplan from Chris Nevard's Cement Quay. I'll be reducing the size of the scenic area 5'6"x2' to 4'x18" by taking out the narrow gauge and using small radius points.

I laid out the trackplan on the table - though I don't have enough points.  The paper and boxes along the left are where the back sceene will be.  The track along the left is there because I was considering having a through track where I could take photos of passenger trains of intermodal trains - however I think that would make the layout too cramped so it won't be making the final plan.  The track middle track at the bottom of the picture will be the fiddle yard exit - the siding that the tanks are on will also run into the fiddle yard to allow a longer train to be backed into this siding.

I've done a second draft of the plan in mirror image and moved the points around to adjust the siding lengths - I considered using 3 way points to get longer sidings - either the symetrical type (which I don't really like the look of) or the asymetric ones - but I think I will be able to avoid using these.

Standard gauge plans

© Rob Jefferys, used with permission

I've been quietly planning a standard gauge layout for a while now but I've not blogged about it, mainly because I was still trying to decide whether my scale strategy involved standard gauge. I decided a few months ago it did and ordered a couple of Bachmann diesels and intermodal wagons. I got a few more wagons for Christmas and I've also got some old OO stock from the last model railway I built in my teens. One of the advantages of OO is that I can build a layout without any kit or scratch building if I chose to - which is a big plus when I'm struggling to find time for model making. My long term plan is to build a continuous run layout in the loft, set in the Southern Region post-privatisation with mostly freight traffic but the option of running DMUs (or even EMUs if any suitable stock becomes available). However the loft needs boarding and insulation adding beneath the rafters and I need to research how to do this properly so that nothing falls down. I still have plenty of other DIY jobs to do around the house so I doubt I'll start work on the loft before the Autumn. Not having anything to run my new toys on for at least a year is no fun so I decided to build a small OO layout. I'm going to make it 4' by 18" so that I can get it into the loft. It will have a cassette fiddle yard which will probably be another 2'6". I spent an evening drawing out track plans for small layouts that I like and seeing if I could fit them into that space. I've decided on a track plan and just need to finalise the siding lengths and decide what freight facilities the layout will have.

Narrow gauge fans - don't worry I've not abandoned the delights of 2' gauge and I've even done a bit of OO9 modelling over Christmas. I'll post again soon with some pictures!

Welcome...

Welcome to my new blogspot address. I'll be tagging all the narrow gauge stuff I post with NG and all the standard gauge stuff with SG. Anything that isn't gauge specific will be tagged with both so that it will show up in both the SG Feed and the NG feed.

I've been fairly busy at work recently so I've not had much time for modelling. However I have run my new standard gauge locomotives (a Freighliner 57 and Mainline 09) on the dining room table on some set-track and was fairly impressed. On Sunday night I connected up 4 lengths of flexitrack and ran the class 57 up and down it and was very impressed. Even with slightly dirty track and my old Lima controller it ran very nicely. I'm looking forward to seeing what it does with my new gaugemaster controller and some nice clean track!

I'm not going to abandon the narrow gauge either - when I get back from a week away with work I intend to get some more done on my pizza.