TT:120 Track Plan Book

[Trevor-1284476]

As mentioned in my previous trackplan I will be cutting an old model railway baseboard down from 121cm x 181.5cm to a more manageable 90cmx180cm but that leftover piece got me thinking. It would be, with minor trimming, 30cm x 180cm and could be easily split into a 30cm x80 and 30cm x 100cm pair of boards that, with the construction of a 100cm staging board, could be used as a small, easy to transport point-to-point layout and could be done a LOT sooner than the more complex layout could be and could be designed to act as a module off the existing layout plan if needed.

So having spent half the day pouring through model railway magazines (British Railway Modeller, Hornby Magazine etc) and have come up with this plan which I hope to start soon.

Introducing Foxton Halt, a fictitious station on my fictitious 'Foxworth Vale' heritage railway somewhere in the UK. This is one end of the railway and contains a 2-track engine shed, coal and watering facilities, a signal cabin as well as restored Goods shed and office alongside the restored station building.


My headcannon is that Foxton Rest sits on what was once a branch off of the main Foxworth Valley branchline to serve the coal mines and their surrounding communities and was closed, like the main Foxworth Branch, as a result of the Beeching report as well as the NCB closing down the last remaining colliery on the line.

Foxton Rest was once a small through station back when the line was in use but after closure the line beyond this point has been lost to development, landslips and flooding and thus when the volunteers of the 'Foxton Railway Preservation Society' took possession of the site very little remained of the original railway, with just the station and platforms remaining in a rather derelict condition. Everything else had to be brought in from elsewhere or had to be reconstructed to original plans and also had to fit within the original, constrained property boundary, hence the rather minimal facilities and their more crowded nature.

With the restoration of a section of the Foxworth Valley line, specifically around 'Foxworth Vale' by the Foxworth Vale Historical Society, the Foxton Railway Preservation Society merged with the Foxworth Vale Historical Society to form the 'Foxworth Valley Heritage Railway Society'.



 

[Fishmanoz]

Might I suggest you look at putting a straight between the two points across your board split as it will easier to make the joint each side of the split if not made from the two points.

[Stephen-1260829]

On 25/06/2024 at 19:03, LTSR_NSE said:

This is the layout I am designing.  The baseboard will be approx 1.5m x 1.2m / 5ft x 4ft - it will be in middle of room so accessible from all sides.

One of the primary design criteria was all curves to be R2+ (the 3 outer loops are approx R5, 6, 7)

The Grey track indicates stage 1 (already purchased & under construction.)  The White track is stage two (intended future development - incorporated into design to ensure baseboard is of adequate size.)

**I’ve had serious doubts about posting this as:
• there isn’t any current intention for scenery - I just like running trains.
• for that reason I purposely want to fill the layout with track!

However I’ve finally decided to post in case it helps/encourages any other ‘not-quite-modeller’ to enjoy the scale too!

WOW.  this looks realy good.  the turntable element will be the centre piece (no pun intended).

[Trevor-1284476]

2 hours ago, Fishmanoz said:

Might I suggest you look at putting a straight between the two points across your board split as it will easier to make the joint each side of the split if not made from the two points.

I am thinking about that, yeah. The issue is that I am rather constrained by space but I think i can re-do it just enough to put one in

[Moccasin]

Even a quarter or half straight would help. 

[ukpetey]

On 09/06/2024 at 04:29, david_watts1 said:

Thanks Too Tall that looks great, I'd love a larger version and track list, even though I should already have enough standard straights and curves.. Cheers.

I’m loving the plan that @Too Tall has amended following your original design. I’m looking to start on my first layout and the size you’ve chosen is the same I’m going for. I’m minded to be cheeky and take it for my own, if you don’t mind. Especially as it comes with a complete parts list, which is perfect for a newbie. I don’t have a PC so can’t use that software to plan my own. But I wondered: where are you planning to put the station? Are you planning a station on a curve? 

[Too Tall]

I cant speak for @david_watts1, but if anything I post is of benefit to anyone, feel free use it as you see fit. I am only too happy to give something back to this community as so many here have (and continue to) help and inspire me on my journey 🙂 

Edited July 2 by Too Tall

[Rallymatt]

Just to add to @Too Tall’s comments, when I started this thread, it was on the basis any contributor was freely offering their ideas in the spirit of the hobby, it is entirely meant to be copied, altered, used and inspire 😁. 
Perhaps this thread is worth pinning mods? In time we could probably tidy it up and produce a trimmed down version with just the layout diagrams/dimensions on as a track plan guide. Everyone’s layout contribution is welcome 😁

[moawkwrd]

My latest idea with some colouring in...

4ft x 3ft using 3rd radius curves

[david_watts1]

Looks good, only one minor issue: the lake needs a stream in and out.

[ateshci]

IMHO it isn't a good idea to gum up operations at the goods shed when serving the coal merchant or setting out wagons. If you change the green and blue turnouts' places, and adjust the sidings a bit, you can set out/pick up  from the siding or reach the coal merchant without interfering with goods shed operations

[moawkwrd]

34 minutes ago, david_watts1 said:

Looks good, only one minor issue: the lake needs a stream in and out.

Scenery ideas were just to have a sense of what could be included. Stream with culverts running under the track bed could go in many places. Perhaps under the pathway to the halt and out to the edge of the layout or up into the hillside.

34 minutes ago, ateshci said:

IMHO it isn't a good idea to gum up operations at the goods shed when serving the coal merchant or setting out wagons. If you change the green and blue turnouts' places, and adjust the sidings a bit, you can set out/pick up  from the siding or reach the coal merchant without interfering with goods shed operations

I’ll need a diagram to show what you mean I’m afraid; it’s a limited space to work with the set track geometry so the track layout is never going to be perfect. 

Do you mean shifting the Goods Shed and village around inside the oval so that there is space between the goods shed and loop for the coal merchant and sidings to all run off one point in the same direction? 

I didn’t want to encroach too much on the hillside with the sidings.

Edited July 5 by moawkwrd

[Rallymatt]

9 hours ago, david_watts1 said:

Looks good, only one minor issue: the lake needs a stream in and out.

This is when the value of an underground river comes in handy 😁

[Hobby11]

I was doing a search for something else and came across this thread which has an old BTTB track plan book. I know that their old track had sharper curves/points than Hornby but it could give inspiration, enlarging the space may work if you try Anyrail or similar. More to the point, they show you what it'll look like!!

https://www.ttnut.com/viewtopic.php?t=185

[moawkwrd]

An improvement? The Goods area now has no kickback siding which should make operation simpler. I've left the coal merchant up the road where it was... since this is a pretty rural setting I figured it doesn't need to be served by rail. A horse drawn cart filled with coal from the goods area can be added on the road... with a broken wheel. 😄

Also means I have more space for more scenery and simplifies the control to one circuit. One engine in steam and all that. Added another lake between the road and station area to explain why the station wasn't built on that side. Imagine the road connects to the station road offscene - the long way around, hence why the halt was built in the village. Lakes can be connected by a stream under the road or similar and then a smaller stream running off scene somewhere. I've wanted to try and model a water feature hence why I added it.

I'm sure it's still not perfect but I think it'd make a nice small layout with enough operational interest and a chance to try almost all modelling skills.

[Rallymatt]

It’s hard to fit things in when space is tight, but it’s a shame you have lost the headshunt, it makes a goods operation much more interesting without straying onto the main line

[moawkwrd]

9 minutes ago, Rallymatt said:

It’s hard to fit things in when space is tight, but it’s a shame you have lost the headshunt, it makes a goods operation much more interesting without straying onto the main line

Yes, that's why I originally had it - in reality the goods and coal trains on this layout will be pretty short and infrequent so perhaps not an issue for coal deliveries to block the goods shed temporarily in the original plan. Or I could try flipping the coal sidings and goods shed so that the coal is off the mainline but also a headshunt for the kickback siding into the goods shed. No idea how prototypical that would be.

[Rallymatt]

I wouldn’t worry about being prototypical, in modelling compromise rules 😁 There are so many odd ball sets ups where to get the coal wagon to merchant, they might have had to pull into goods shed. While big stations and yards were blessed with space and money small local services often had to cope with a few inconveniences. For a model some awkward elements add to the operational challenge and interest 

Edited July 6 by Rallymatt

[ateshci]

In the meantime I have sketched my suggestion and found out that one ( provided the tunnel mouth stays where it is ) has to sacrifice the left-hand siding for that - not good. If you move the goods shed to the far end of its siding or even insert one curved piece of track so that it will wander out a bit more, and do away with the overpass replacing it by a shifted level crossing, you can gain enough room for the necessary shunting without disturbing goods shed operations.

[Stephen-1260829]

On 26/06/2024 at 20:19, moawkwrd said:

Thinking of simpler ideas...

5ft x 3ft

Shamelessly inspired by Chris Nevard's layout that he made for Kernow's Guildford store: https://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/2019/03/trainset.html

This is probably a silly question… but how does the train get back to the fiddle yard without reversing off the main line?

 

 Had only been thinking of continuous running but now thinking about the need for a fiddle yard.

[moawkwrd]

46 minutes ago, Stephen-1260829 said:

This is probably a silly question… but how does the train get back to the fiddle yard without reversing off the main line?

 

 Had only been thinking of continuous running but now thinking about the need for a fiddle yard.

You’ve answered your own question - no runaround either, such is the limitations of a train set layout.

[Hobby11]

On 29/06/2024 at 08:22, Trevor-1284476 said:

I am thinking about that, yeah. The issue is that I am rather constrained by space but I think i can re-do it just enough to put one in

Going back to the straight layout. Losing a straight in the station section wouldn't be an issue as your run round loop is far longer than the length of train your fiddle yard will take!! Just take a straight out and move it to the joint.

[ateshci]

What would fit better is something like this:

In TT it would need some 4' x 7' with 396mm minimum radius

 

[Hobby11]

That looks (and is!) very American, I can't see British prototypes looking good on it.

[Hobby11]

52 minutes ago, moawkwrd said:

You’ve answered your own question - no runaround either, such is the limitations of a train set layout.

Uncouple the loco and run it round the circuit and couple it up the other end...

That fiddle yard is useless, though, the siding are too short. Put a point on the curve and only have two sidings, job done!