I suppose like many people who get back into the hobby after a long time (30 years in my case) having children is the catalyst.  I have a four year old that loves Thomas and on a recent trip back to the UK I dug out all my OO stock that hadn't seen the light of day since the early 1990s and he was smitten. Now the trains are on their way to Cape Town and I need to get my head around building a layout.  In an ideal world I would love to build something prototypically representative of the late 1950s (my Dad's childhood era) in the south Manchester area.  The big constraints are size - I fear anything more than 6' x 4' will lead to grumbling from the wife, and the fact that in South Africa getting hold of stock and materials won't be as easy as back in the UK but there are some stockists here.

Welcome to the forum and welcome back to the hobby! A lot has changed in the last 30 years! Look forwards to seeing your plans. 

Hi Andy and welcome

South Manchester in the 1950's on 6x4 will be a challenge but I guess it lets you go all industrial - check out Tetley Mills on this forum for ideas.

Have a look at the Rev Awdry's Ffarquar Branch layout



This is my take on it but on an 8x4 board so some trimming or negotiation might be required.  You get end-to-end ans continuous running, a bit of shunting whilst a train is running round and space to store a number of short trains.  Plenty of scope for Thomas and James and Gordon - but also for 3F, 4F, Jinty, 1P open cab and similar LMS classes either in LMS or BR livery.  You could sneak in an 08 shunter or an early BR diesel and even a Class 2 2-6-0, all available RTR.

For designing stuff, I would recommmend AnyRail (exhibit A above).  Cheap/free and easy to use.

Regards

Barry

Forgot to mention - the track plan uses Peco Settrack with a bit of Streamline flexible Code 100 to fill in some awkward gaps

B

Hi Barry (and TeaselBay)

Thanks for the welcome and the layout plan.  Being married means that the wife exercises the power of veto over how large I can build and how much can be spent on it.  If I was truly starting from scratch I think N-gauge would be the way to go, but I have almost a dozen OO gauge locos and plenty of coaches and wagons which would cost quite a lot to replace.

I will definitely think about the attached plan to see if it might not lend itself to some sort of reproduction of the area between Heaton Mersey an Tiviot Dale.  Interestingly in browsing the various websites devoted to the hobby I noticed that Tiviot Dale has been modelled a lot. Just thinking as I type that the fact that there was a tunnel and the large Stockport (LNWR) viaduct which could create interesting back-scene opportunities……lots to ponder.

:Welcome to the club Andy. :doublethumb

Welcome to the group,
The original 6x4 Awdry layout plan of Ffarquhar  is here

https://trlottte.com/rm-1959-12.htm …
which might help you with the size constraint you think you might be limited to…

A fellow in Melbourne has actually built the layout over and exhibited it at least once that I know of… good luck with your building,

Cheers

Trevor

Hello Andy.  Belated welcome to the club. :hi

Terry

A belated Welcome to the club Andy.   :thumbs

As Chris (Teasel Bay) said,  a lot has changed in the last 3 decades.  Instead of the usual "mis-spent youth", in my younger days I got involved in model railways before moving on to RC boats.  When I moved to this part of France, sailing water was almost non existant so, as in your case, following a trip to UK and reading some railway modelling magazines, decided to switch back to railways but was totally blown away by how far things had moved on, in every way, since my earlier incursion.

Regarding space, you don't say if you have a garden but if so, you could build a timber shed quite cheaply.  Many are attractive additions nowadays and, if you spend a little more on decent insulation, get a professional electrician to install lights and a few power points and bingo ! 

Your wife would be very happy in there leaving you and your son to have the run of the "big house"…………………………………………………………………………………… :cool wink

Thanks gents for the welcome and the comments so far. I am thinking  seriously now about locating the layout in the shed.  We have one that  is (2.4m x 3.6m - 8' x 12' in old money) made from timber / fibre cement cladding. It  serves as an occasional office for me and general dumping ground (for the wife's hoardings - a potential source of conflict!!).  I  have already insulated the roof and I could easily sort the walls.  Here  in the Cape we have a Mediterranean climate with warm summers but damp  winters.  The shed is totally water proof but my concern is the diurnal  variation in temperature which I would like to mitigate against.  Using the  shed would also give me a greater area - probably 7.5' x 6' so still not huge, but definitely more scope than a 6' x 4'.  It would have to have a centre operating well with some sort of access panel but plenty of how-tos on Youtube so I will definitely revise my drawings to see how it would look.