Hornby Pannier

 

I've already got a couple of these open cab 2700 class pannier tanks, the Chinese manufactured version with the more detailed chassis, but you can never have enough of them. This one also has different plates to the two I've already got so a double incentive to add it to the motive power stable. Why not?

Mainline 56XX British Railways Black

Another Mainline 56xx from eBay in excellent nick, this time in early British Railways livery, ideal for my proposed branch line engine shed layout. These old Mainline models are a bit noisy but nicely detailed and inexpensive, which means I can afford to weather them up without worrying about over cooking the final finish. 

Mainline 43xx

 

The latest addition to the GWR locomotive stable is a very nice Mainline 43xx, which I've been after for ages and which cost me just over £25 on eBay. It's in immaculate condition and runs smoothly too, so I'm very happy. I now have a fairly impressive line up of locomotives, so a compact, engine shed shelf sized layout is looking like a really good idea, possibly in addition to a shunting yard, wharf or quarry layout for goods traffic. 

Callington Branch Layout Plans

 

The latest edition of Model Rail has not one but two track plans for a Callington Branch layout, one modelling the whole line from Bere Alston and the other a section from Callington to Chilsworthy Halt. I don't have space or time to build either but a smaller shunting layout based on the Hingston Down  part of the plan or a through and through based on the Chilsworthy Halt section would be workable. It's a short article but well worth a look.

Another Bachmann 45XX

 

I've been after Great Western locomotives in early British Railways livery but, somehow, I have ended up with a second, second hand 45XX. Luckily, this one has a different number to the first one I acquired, although I do fancy getting hold of some etched brass plates to soup it up with. It's lovely model without any tinkering and runs smoothly in both directions, so a very good and not expensive addition to the stable.

Minimal Space Branch Line Engine Shed Layout

 

I'm building quite a decent collection of OO gauge locos now, with most being 0-6-0 or 2-6-2 tank engines, with a couple of Dean Goods and a Collet Goods tender engines too. 

In fact, I have enough to think about a branch line engine shed layout, both as a learning tool for construction and wiring but also as a way to actually run some of my locomotive stable. The basic plan is outlined above, as a simplified version of my Moorswater inspired layout design. The engine shed itself acts as a scenic break and backdrop for the branch line, with a possible dummy exit scenic break at the other end, probably using a tunnel mouth or over bridge. 

The engine shed would be an extended version of the Wills single-track model, with the rear wall replaced with plastic card, so that the front side can use both of the textured plastic card sheets provided in the kit for a longer building. Either that or a similarly modified card kit from Scalescenes, which would be easy to customise to fit the layout design. There may or may not be an additional lean-to style extension. It's all a bit sketchy but I think it would make a nice and compact layout, with some scope for further development.

Ivatt 2MT on the Callington Branch

 

I've just bought a second-hand Bachmann OO gauge Ivatt 2-6-2T in British Railways livery, having been inspired by pictures of the Callington Branch in the early 1960's. The standard class 2MT's were introduced in the line in 1952 and ran through to its closure in 1966, so they are an ideal source of motive power if I ever decide to model one of the stations or halts, Gunnislake or Luckett being the ideal locations. I'm now looking for some suitable coaches to go with it.

Bachmann 45xx

I've been after a second hand one of these for ages but they all seemed to go for silly prices. However, I found one on eBay yesterday as a Make an Offer auction, so I did and it was accepted. I suspect part of the reason was that the seller spotted my address and realised, as I subsequently found out, that he used to live literally round the corner! Funny old world but I now have a 45xx in pristine condition for my GWR branch line engine shed and shunting yard layouts. Excellent!

Lima 94xx Pannier Tank

For the sake of completeness, I decided to get hold of a Lima 94xx pannier tank at some point, even though it's a pretty old model and not up the standards of detail you find on Bachmann or the like. I found what I was looking for at the weekend on eBay, a nice runner in good condition, and so I popped in a bid. No one else was interested, so I now have a 94xx for shunting duties on my minimal space layout for less than twenty quid. You can't argue with that.

Engine Shed Designs

I've found some more images of the engine shed at Moorswater, which is the prototype that I'm thinking of using for a scratch built twin track shed. The idea would be to construct a shell out of card then clad it in either embossed plastic card or scribed DAS clay, to recreate the course stonework. Ideally I'd like to find some scale plans but that will be a challenge.

Quarry Hoppers

I have one of these old Mainline hopper wagons, which I bought in a bundle from eBay, as I thought it would be a good addition and would fir in well with my GWR shunting layout plans. The Hoare Brothers quarry was just outside Tavistock on the old Tavistock to Launceston branch line, so would be a good subject for a small layout. It had four sidings and produced gravel and hard core for road construction. You can find these hoppers quite easily on eBay although they tend to be a bit overpriced, so I will try to get hold of three or four more to make up a reasonable train. I like the idea of having private owner wagons but not the wide variety that you often see on layouts, as I'm sue this would have been fairly unusual.

Quarry Layout Inspiration

I was looking for images of steam era quarry working and came across this picture of a limestone quarry in North Wales. The thing that I noticed was the tight radii curves and the use of an ex-Caledonian Railway 0-6-0 tender locomotive to pull the wagons, which seems unlikely but was clearly the case. The quarry itself at Dyserth also featured lime kilns that would be a really interesting feature on a layout, even if  they were only in the background or in low relief. It was in LMS country but there's no reason why it couldn't be transplanted somewhere else, albeit a location with the right geology. I think it would look great with a Dean Goods hauling the wagons!

Lima J50 0-6-0

I have now acquired an old Lima J50 in British Railways livery for my Northumbrian branch line shunting layout project, so have retired the knackered old Mainline J72 that I was originally going to use as motive power. The Lima model isn't very detailed and is probably inaccurate in all sorts of ways but it was cheap and, if it runs well enough, will make a good stand in until I can find something better. I do have a Hornby J52, which is a much better model and a lovely runner, but it's always more fun to have a couple of locomotives rather than just the one. In the longer term, I may also use the J50 as a test bed for detailing and weathering, perhaps with a chassis swap to make it a better runner, much like this chap has done with excellent results:

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/43527-on-40-somethings-workbench/

GWR Goods Rolling Stock

A shunting layout wouldn't be much good without any goods wagons or vans to actually shunt, so I've been steadily adding some assorted rolling stock to the set up. These include half a dozen GWR vans by Mainline and Bachmann, so I have enough to be starting with. I do need some open wagons, flat wagons and cattle trucks, however, as well as more early British Railways goods stock for the NE Region project. I'd really like a rake of three or four private owner tank wagons too assuming they fit in with the layout theme.

Dairy Milk

Here's one of my ideas for a rural shunting layout, based on the Ambrosia Ltd creamery at Lifton in Devon, a stone's throw from my family home. I know this isn't a new idea but I think it would fit my parameters for a small GWR shunting operation with a distinctly rural theme, as opposed to a more urban factory or industrial setting. There's lots of scope for some interesting goods traffic too, from six wheel milk tankers to standard vans loaded with churns and even coal wagons delivering fuel for the boilers. 

John Ahern's Brilliant Books

I dug out my old original copies of John Ahern's model railway construction books, which I inherited from my granddad, in search of some inspiration for lineside industries for my shunting layout. If you are familiar with these books you will know how inspirational they are, not to mention really useful as a source of scratch building plans and layout features. A possible idea is to model a small rural dairy or creamery, which would definitely fit a GWR branch line setting somewhere in Devon or Cornwall, for example, while another option would be a lime works, corn merchants, sawmill or similar small scale light industrial facility. Some of these are all included in the books and so I have plenty of scope for some scratch building of my own, with plans and notes to give me a good starting point.

Industrial Shunting Layout

A handy kitchen floor with 30cm square tiles

Not quite the same layout but the same idea

I've been working o the problem of fitting a layout with decent length sidings on to a four foot long baseboard and have come up with a plan. My previous efforts all required a straight head shunt or a fiddle yard of some sort but, by using a tight radius curve, I've been able to fit in the same capacity of head shunt and also allow for sidings at the other end that are a fraction longer. This means that he head shunt can fit four wagons and a locomotive, as can one of the sidings, while the other two sidings fit three wagons and a locomotive, although with the engine half over the points. This is a bit better than before and, if I allow myself an extra 6'' or 15cm on the siding end of the layout, it's more than enough to make a functional shunting layout, perhaps with an industrial theme to excuse the tight radii curves, which would probably be hidden by a scenic break anyway.

Engine Shed Layout Prototypes

I recently designed a layout for a GWR branch line engine shed including a coaling stage, which I thought was a bit extravagant for such a small facility. However, I've found some photos of just this sort of thing at Stratford upon Avon. The layout is very similar to my one and includes a twin track shed and a small coaling stage with an incline for wagons. This is a perfect basis for some scratchbuilding and would look great, as well as offering some interesting shunting operations. It's not quite the rural scene I'm looking for but there's no reason why I couldn't relocate it to somewhere more rustic.

Shunting Puzzle Layout Planning

I've been playing around with some track layouts to see if I can fit something workable into a four foot by one foot footprint. The answer is a tentative maybe, assuming I squeeze another six inches onto the far end to lengthen the sidings so that they fit more than two wagons and the shunting locomotive. I've also been trying out a few alternative layout plans that would require a fiddle yard, with the wharf / quarry layout being a potential winner. Good fun.