Layout themes

[Wellwhynot]

I know lots of people on here base layouts on specific eras or particular places. I have decided to make my layout a heritage one so I can have modern or old buildings and vehicles so anything fits in and if I see anything I fancy I can use it without it looking out of place 

[walkingthedog]

A heritage railway is a fairly common idea. Run what you like when you like. 

[atom3624]

Heritage Railway with a normal mainline alongside - could make it more interesting ...

 

Just a thought.

 

Al.

[Notanyware]

Everyone has a different idea when it comes to themes but I am with you I model fictitious locations run by heritage railways, the great thing about freelance layouts is you can run what you like, Nene Valley Railway is a perfect example of a true mixed bag railway, anyhow its your layout so you can do and run whatever makes you happy, rivet counters would cry their eyes out if they saw what turns me on with my layout, just go for it and have fun.

[96RAF]

My layouts have always been totally accurate - from my biased viewpoint anyhow. The next one will keep to the same highly biased standards.

[keithp1707821843]

My layouts have always been totally accurate - from my biased viewpoint anyhow. The next one will keep to the same highly biased standards.

I like that, always good to have different ideas. I haven't worked out what I will do for my proper layout, but the NYMR sounds good, it is a real railway - but can have any thing running.

[atom3624]

Harry Potter,  Railway Children ... to name 2 ...  !!

(NYMR)

Al.

[walkingthedog]

Thought the Railway Children was at Haworth on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

[atom3624]

Probably right there.

I had my doubts as I was writing.

 

Al.

[keithp1707821843]

Correct,- NYMR is Heartbeat and a small appreance in Harry Potter.

Lovely railway though.

[Buz]

Hi

Don't let the Heritage railway theme allow you to get lazy they require just as much thought as any other model railway so they don't turn into a toy railway..

My own railway portrays a light railway another one that requires a bit of thought to make sure it doesn't turn toy railway or turn into a derelict scrap heap.

regards John

[LCDR]

OK a heritage railway does make an interesting subject for a layout, but to do it properly you need to dedicate quite a bit of space to it. 

 

So what if you only have a small area available but you don't want to go down to N gauge?

 

So why not consider an industrial railway?

 

Industrial railways often feature sharp curves and short trains. Ideal for a tiny layout. The smaller and cheaper locomotives look more at home on a layout like that, and there is plenty of scope for interesting buildings and scenery.  If you limit the layout to a small part of the production, you can still have a through line where trains of goods pass through from one part of the works to another (off stage) appearing at one side and disappearing at the other, to add variety.

 

An industrial railway will normally only feature goods traffic, although a few did provide a passenger service for the workers.  Choosing the actual industry can be fun, and here are a few suggestions.

 

Steel Works, with raw materials like Iron Ore, and Pig Iron, and output like bars, sections (girders), plates and castings. An interesting internal working might be hot metal or slag in ladles. US and German manufacturers make suitable vehicles in HO gauge which can at a pinch be used on OO layouts.

 

Dock side - Tracks serving the quay with cranes above to load and unload ships, warehouses served by sidings, and various paraphenalia. Ideally the track should be inset in the dock roadway, and this is reasonably easy to achieve either with plastic sheet or cardboard. Your model making skills can be exercised constructing a small 4mm scale freighter to tie up along side the quay.

 

Military Stores - Sidings and warehouses with special wagons carrying military objects. AFVs, Tanks, crates of stores  etc.  Suitable 1:72 scale kits available from Airfix of course.  If it is based in, say WW2, all kinds of special scenic effects can be incorporated, how about defending the depot from an enemy air raid?

 

Brewery - with wagons of grain arriving, tanks of beer, and vans and open wagons full of barrels and casks departing, plus empty wagons both ways. There are good books about the brewery railways of Burton upon Trent if you need inspiration.

 

Car factory - Wagons of steel in coil and sheet, vans full of castings and engines arriving, and car carrying wagons full of brand new vehicles and open wagons full of scrap metal going away. BMC Longbridge had a very extensive system that you could model a part of, and Fords Dagenham also had a good private railway.

 

I am sure you can think of plenty of other ideas.

 

Remember that most factories either burned coal, or oil to keep the machinery running, so you need coal wagons or oil tanks moving through too.

 

 

 

 

[Buz]

Hi LC&DR

You forgot the most important one 😆

Chocolate Factory then you get a canal as well.

Wonder if chocolate scented perfume is available in the world of modern weird then you could even make it smell right 😉 😆

But no pub 😢

regards John

[Fazy]

There are chocolate scented perfumes aviable and they smell awful, got one for my then girlfriend, she put it on and five minutes later was back in the shower getting it of the bottle went in the bin.

has for a layout there's going to be compromises no matter what you pick unless you have a lot of room and a huge bank account to build or have built things that are not available to buy.  

 

but if you can capture the feel of the location you are modelling the viewers eye can be very forgiving on detail. 

[LCDR]

There have been a couple of nice layouts featuring a chocolate factory, one in particular I remember seeing was based on Rowntrees at Fawdon, with the Tyne and Wear Metro running by it. The main line diesel loco would bring air braked VDA vans (Hornby of course)  to carry the chocolate away, and a little diesel shunter placed them in the works for loading. The real depot closed some years ago. 

 

Here in York Nestle Rowntrees also had a depot at one time. 

 

Chocolate making needed sugar, so York also had a sugar factory. Sugar beet was delivered in due season, and we could smell the sugar beet boiling (urgh) all autumn, especially if the wind was from the north! They had their own internal railway receiving beet and coal in open wagons and sending out sugar in sacks in vans. 

 

All gone now.

[ohnonotleander]

Nowt wrong with a fictitious freelance heritage layout they require just as much planning to make them believable,  in fact many fictitious layouts turn out better than some botched supposed to be real location layouts.

 

 

 

[LCDR]

Unless you are fortunate to have unlimited space and a massive bank balance every layout will end up imaginary in some shape or form. Even if you do plan it to represent a particular location it probably will not go anywhere (except to a fiddle yard perhaps) and if you use ready made track the track pieces will be a massive compromise in terms of length and radius.

 

The important thing is whether based on a real location or completely fictitious the track plan needs to 'work' so that you can accomodate the longest train, access the sidings without  difficulty (unless you are building a shiunting puzzle) and the trains can run over all the bits of the layout you want them to. Little things that can create annoyance and frustration include track that cannot be reached to clean, or to put a derailed carriage back on the track. Points which cannot be easily reached can be a major cause of annoyance, even if they are power operated because they have moving parts and there will come the day when you need to get at them to clear a loose bit of ballast from between the blades or re-solder a dry wiring joint.

 

Tunnels can be a real nuisance.

 

The other consideration is to keep it as simple as possible, think about how many trains can you watch at one time, and if something happens, for example a wagon derails in running, you can turn off the power and stop it before it causes mayhem. 

 

My own preference is to follow real railway practice for the basics as far as is reasonable. For example Trains on a double line of rails keep to the left, and crossovers and siding connections are usually trailing. And Stations are long enough to accomodate the longest train. However you can easily find places where this doesn't apply so if it suits you to do otherwise so be it!