This is only the club's second OO layout since we moved to our current clubroom. It was designed to be better in every respect from the previous layout which had evolved over many years and had been changed many times.
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| The Station Throat | An express awaits departure |
Design
The layout has many layers and this will keep us busy for many years to come without
the need to change the rest of the layout. Each layer will be built in order and, as the whole
trackplan has been designed on computer, each section can be built to allow for the
next piece to fit in without alteration. This also helped with the construction as we did
not have room to build the new layout with the old one in place so the new one was
designed and each piece cut out and stored in the clubroom. Once all of the pieces
had been cut out the old layout was removed and construction of the new one could begin.
Construction
The layout has been made using 12mm plywood for the main structure with 6 & 9mm
plywood for some of the gradient sections and curves. The whole of the main layout was
built, the track laid and wired in less than 12 months. The photos show the layout as it progressed.
The boards have been designed so that all of the joints overlap to add strength and to try to
stop the joints in the boards separating and causing jumps in the track.
Location
The layout is completely fictitious and is based somewhere near Salisbury on the
London & South Western Railway (LSWR) main line with links to the Somerset & Dorset
Joint Railway (S&DJR) from a junction near Templecombe and the Great Western Railway
from Westbury. This allows us to run an interesting mix of trains, mostly Southern Region
with some Western and some cross country services from the S&D line.
Track
The track is code 100 Peco streamline with electrofrog points on the main layout as we
have to cater for a wide range of wheel standards. However, the high level terminus will
be code 75 and as a result some stock may have to be banned from running over this section.
We have tried to use only large radius and curved points on the main line with some medium
radius points on the branch and in the fiddle yard. We have also fitted Peco microswitches
to all of the point motors to provide an indication on the control panel how each point is set.
The spare set of contacts have been used to provide power to the frog to give extra reliability.
Layout
The layout has two main circuits which are on the level, with two relief lines dropping down
underneath to the 12 road fiddle yard via 1 in 30-40 gradients. The uphill gradients are a little
flatter ranging from 1 in 84 – 1 in 45. This does mean that some engines need assistance to
haul large trains out of the fiddle yard, especially with heavy coaches. The Engine shed is at
a lower level at the front of the layout with an underpass to the up main line so that engines
can be crossed over without having to stop the whole layout.
Stock
Like most clubs all of the stock is owned by the members, and a very wide variety of regions and
eras are represented, from 1900’s GWR to Virgin Pendolinos.
Any member's stock is allowed to run on the layout at club meetings but at open
days the stock is restricted to 1950’s & 60’s BR steam and Diesels. The majority of members
have stock that fits this period, with Southern, Western, Midland and Eastern regions being modelled.