wigancg
Western Thunderer
What better way to recover from hospital surgery than a new layout. It beats any medicine hands down, in my opinion!
Bank Top Yard will be a shunting layout, used for slow, realistic movements of wagons around the yard to a fiddle yard off scene. There will be no run round loop and any run rounds will take place off scene making wagons needing to be pulled or propelled. The trackplan is to be kept as minimal as possible with only 5 sidings, one of which will serve a small, simple corrugated shed for basic colliery supplies.
Experimenting here with some ideas around the basic trackplan a long time ago. Entry and exit of the yard will be from the line on the left and will lead off-scene eventually.
The area isn't based anywhere in particular, however I am after an NCB theme within the Western/North West Area around the late 1960's and into the 1970's.
I am intending to have as few buildings as possible to give the layout a spacious, forgotten yard feel at the end of a colliery branch. Some NCB supplies will be catered for by the corrugated shed along with a water tank and a few buildings of industrial use as well as the usual ground detailing.
Huge inspiration for this layout has been found in the excellent modelling of Bleat Wharf by Rob from South Wales. His expert modelling skills have given me much encouragement to get this layout progressing. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Rob and watch Bleat Wharf at Taunton Railex in 2022.
I have spent the last few weeks testing the layout thoroughly with the locomotives I intend to use to ensure smooth operation and have been slowly ballasting each section at a time whilst continuing to test.
I painted the sides of the rails with Humbrol Enamel which works well for me amongst the ballasting.
I'm after the yard being an overgrown and forgotten end used mainly for shunting and storing wagons from an off scene colliery. As such, I have been excited to learn and use the technique of static grass among the rails and the rough ground of the yard. So far this seems to be working well around the buffer stops and I am continuing to do this more widely as I go. I am weathering the 'tarmac' ground by hand with a mixture of powders and brushing/rubbing/wiping around. There will be minimal road transport on the layout, just a worn out van and a Mini Clubman of the period.
Eventually the layout will sit on stands around 5ft 7/8 inches high to allow me to operate with a frame and adequate lighting, perfect for slow shunting to while away an hour or three.
Thanks for looking.
Chris
Bank Top Yard will be a shunting layout, used for slow, realistic movements of wagons around the yard to a fiddle yard off scene. There will be no run round loop and any run rounds will take place off scene making wagons needing to be pulled or propelled. The trackplan is to be kept as minimal as possible with only 5 sidings, one of which will serve a small, simple corrugated shed for basic colliery supplies.
Experimenting here with some ideas around the basic trackplan a long time ago. Entry and exit of the yard will be from the line on the left and will lead off-scene eventually.
The area isn't based anywhere in particular, however I am after an NCB theme within the Western/North West Area around the late 1960's and into the 1970's.
I am intending to have as few buildings as possible to give the layout a spacious, forgotten yard feel at the end of a colliery branch. Some NCB supplies will be catered for by the corrugated shed along with a water tank and a few buildings of industrial use as well as the usual ground detailing.
Huge inspiration for this layout has been found in the excellent modelling of Bleat Wharf by Rob from South Wales. His expert modelling skills have given me much encouragement to get this layout progressing. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with Rob and watch Bleat Wharf at Taunton Railex in 2022.
I have spent the last few weeks testing the layout thoroughly with the locomotives I intend to use to ensure smooth operation and have been slowly ballasting each section at a time whilst continuing to test.
- Kerr Stuart Victory Class (Planet Industrials)
- Hunslet Austerities (DJ Models & EFE Rail)
- Hunslet 16 inch saddle tank (Rapido)
- Pannier tanks (Bachmann)
- W4 Peckett (Hornby)
- 08 shunters (Bachmann & Hornby)
- (All locomotives and stock appropriately weathered)
I painted the sides of the rails with Humbrol Enamel which works well for me amongst the ballasting.
I'm after the yard being an overgrown and forgotten end used mainly for shunting and storing wagons from an off scene colliery. As such, I have been excited to learn and use the technique of static grass among the rails and the rough ground of the yard. So far this seems to be working well around the buffer stops and I am continuing to do this more widely as I go. I am weathering the 'tarmac' ground by hand with a mixture of powders and brushing/rubbing/wiping around. There will be minimal road transport on the layout, just a worn out van and a Mini Clubman of the period.
Eventually the layout will sit on stands around 5ft 7/8 inches high to allow me to operate with a frame and adequate lighting, perfect for slow shunting to while away an hour or three.
Thanks for looking.
Chris
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