Biting the bullet.

Hi all,

Having decided to go with Southern, LSWR, LBSCR, and knowing that that won't be prototypical I'm looking for Southern Railway track plans. I've seen Hintock and while I don't see me making a copy, it really is a nice layout and I'd at least pinch one or two bit's of it. I also came across a track plan of Penshurst which I like. I'd like to see some more Southern Railway (not region) plan's but not having much luck so far. The present layout has grown like Topsy and it's going.

 I've got a bit less then a double garage, so 5.5M X 800mm for the scenic section. The whole width with storage sidings is 2.4M. This is so we can still get  the car in when hailstorms are coming.

Any help appreciated.

Hi Pete,

When I had a garage (many years ago) I had a shelf high enough for the hood of the car to fit underneath.

Southern Railway and Constituent Companies I suspect the tryanny of choice applies here. Check out signalbox.org/track-layouts/by-railway-company and search for the Constituent or SR companies. There also a series of small books on track layouts of the SR - the authors escape me at the moment.


With that much space you could go for tor the Somerset and Dorset Joint or the Isle of Wight, which had some interesting station layouts. What about the narrow gauge Lynton and Barnstable, under SR from 1923. Throw in the ACE.

Nigel

Thanks Nigel,

The house door is on the back wall of the garage so I have to use one half. That's OK though as the car still fits.

Thanks for that link, I was just doing the wrong searches. Anyway there's some really good food for thought there. I really like the Wadebridge east & west plan. It doesn't really matter that some of the stock won't be prototypical, as long as it has the flavour.

I had a look at the Barnstaple plan… ha ha ha. A bit too ambitious for me.

Back again. I've settled for Wadebridge east and west from The Signal Box site. Thanks Nigel. All the track is up and I'm now re laying. I might even be ambitious enough to do the Quay, but don't 'old yer breath. I'll follow the plan for 1899 but imagining it was still the same as late as The merchant Navy's and West Country's.

Back again. Does anyone know anything about the South Eastern Finecast 12" turn table kit? I'm starting to think about getting one but have never built anything like this before. I'm thinking of the level of difficulty. Is it white metal, or brass? I do have a Peco TT to which I fitted a motor but it's way too big for Wadebridge. Any help/suggestions appreciated.

Hi Pete,

I came across the SEF unit when researching my own TT, now in the build queue, as they did a GWR overbridge version.

I finally found a detailed GWR kit, installation module and motor, so did not pursue SEF for spec details etc.

I've have emailed them before though, regarding instructions and chassis info for their loco kits, but received no response. However, I understand they're now under new ownership, so it's a good idea to contract then and ask all you need to know.

Do let us know how you get on, as I still need some of their etched chassis and am always fascinated with turntable projects.

Best,

Bill

 :thumbs

Thanks Bill,

I too have emailed them and had no reply. I'll try again today.

Hi Pete

I am afraid summer (here) has pushed railway matters into the background. I am guilty of neglecting your new layout even though it isnt GWR. I will be following your progress with interest. Do we get to see a track plan?

Best wishes

Hi John,

No problem. I've been head down and bum up for a while now. I've made progress either side of getting the dreaded lurgie (covid). Winter here so easier to work for a while. I've had the injections plus two boosters, so even though I felt rough it was only a few days.

Follow the links to the track plans that Nigel (BCDR) kindly pointed me to.
https://signalbox.org/~SBdiagram.php?id=%20392
https://signalbox.org/~SBdiagram.php?id=%20391

I also found an aerial view from 1930 so I've been taking bits from both.

Even a small station like Wadebridge is too long for my 19'  garage, so it's a bit truncated.

I'll take some pic's when I've made a bit more progress.

I'll post the 1930 photo when I've resized it and hope not to infringe any copyright.

You should be able to follow the link:

EPW033052 ENGLAND (1930). The railway station and town, Wadebridge, 1930 | Britain From Above

for the aerial view. It's an interesting station.

Hi Pete,

Build your own, motor included as well as a current polarity changer and PWM controller (for very slow running), for around 25% of what a commercial offering will cost.

Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I've got a good quality geared motor that was turning my Peco TT at about 1 rpm, so no trouble there. Food for thought, but I'm not at all confident I could build one that I'd be pleased with.

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

You should be able to follow the link:

https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW033052

for the aerial view. It's an interesting station.

Peter,

I use the Ordnance survey maps for all my planning and even though the newest 25in version for your location is from 1908 it has all the elements you'll need, far better than the aerial photo for dimensions. At that scale you can zoom in to see minute and specific details very clearly. There are two very interesting double slips in the entrance roads, just beyond the section I've included for you.



Here the goods unloading area, bottom of OS map has three wagons sitting in the bottom siding(photo). The 3 rectangles presumably cattle pens.

Map and photo credits:
Left 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland' https://maps.nls.uk/view/105992917
Right: extract from Britain from above: https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EPW033052

PS the OS map reference above will take you to the full page
 
Colin

An excellent resource Colin.  :thumbs

I'll have a poke around my area to see if anything "industrial" grabs me …………… :cheers

Thanks Colin,

That's really useful, but now that I've seen that Ordnance Survey Map and zoomed in, I'll never be able to do it justice. What I'm saying is, there's just not enough room to make a faithful to prototype layout. As I said before, my garage is 19' long, but I think I'd need to double that to get it all in.

I'm nearly ready to take some photo's of what I've done so far, so stand by.

Here we go. This all looks a mess but with a bit of ballast and other  scenic work I'll be able to hide some of the horrible stuff. All the  track that's going down is done, but you won't have to be eagle eyed to  see that I forgot to cut the engine shed road. The whole thing is  severely shortened but in my world, some rich enthusiasts bought the  whole station and resurrected it, but couldn't get all the land they  needed" hence compacted.

Before I forget" I tried S E Finecast again and still no reply. This is why I don't have a turntable. I've used points to get to the engine shed, but no way to turn loco's. I'm not even sure I'd be able to make their TT kit, but it would be nice to have had a reply.

[user=1120]peterm[/user] wrote:

Hi Nigel,

I've got a good quality geared motor that was turning my Peco TT at about 1 rpm, so no trouble there. Food for thought, but I'm not at all confident I could build one that I'd be pleased with.

Hi Pete,


They are not difficult. If you need a turntable diameter not covered by commercial offerings it is often the only choice. The building is easy, I used an electric fret saw for the hole/well, and an old plastic bridge cut to size. The electrics were addressed by one terminal on the well rail, the other to the drive shaft. I'm DCC so I used a polarity switcher. I used a PWM diver for the motor that allowed even further reduction of the revolutions. All of this described a few years ago here in an On30 build. Still have all the electrical and electronic bits, the latest layout needs a small turntable.


Nigel

Hi Nigel,

I'll think some more about it, but even the space is now limited.

Just a one word reply here - "Wow" !!!

That's looking great Pete - how I wish I had a space like that.  Just a thought - for the price of a piece of tin sheeting, your cars could live out, under the tin, through any hailstorms so you could nearly double the size of the layout - it's called "priorities" my friend !!!  :cheers