I have had a great idea… let’s build a layout. I have had thoughts of a layout in the study for a long time but have never done anything about it. Sure, Isca Sidings (more of which in a separate post) was small enough not to take up too much space but I wanted something bigger!
Back in April, I was invited to help an old friend operate his Blair Athol Layout, this has sparked me into action. Not having that much space for an OO layout that could accommodate the sort of passenger and goods services I would like to run on such a layout, I figured that a motive power depot would be more in-keeping with the space available.
Armed with my tape measure, I found that I could accommodate a total length of 2m50cm along one wall of my study, plenty long enough for a decent TMD. I did have some wants though:
- Not to be region-specific
- To be extendable (almost but not quite modular)
- Track layout to allow for realistic but interesting movements
- To be DCC-controlled (hmmm… sound)
- To have some sort of randomisation of the locos and movements to keep interested (stretch goal)
- The front of the layout must look down from a slight embankment to the tracks, similar to how Tinsley used to be.
- The layout must be portable and, potentially, exhibitable
Anyrail has been used to try and give some visualisation to what I could achieve and this is more or less the plan I have settled on:
The small section on the right will serve as a small fiddle yard when the layout is used at home. With regards to the layout, the single-track shed will be a semi-open light servicing shed with a two-track, heavier maintenance shed nearby. Some other buildings, such as an admin block will be opposite the single-track shed.
With a plan formulated, and rough dimensions of what I can fit in the study, some Grainge and Hodder laser cut baseboards were ordered, 1 x 400*900 2 x 400*1200, and 1 x 400 x 400. For use at home, the 900, 1x 1200, and 400 boards will be the ones used. The second 400*1200 board will form an extension in due course, possibly with a small wagon works on it, adding yet more operational scope.
While it is early days in the development of the layout, the name of Park Road TMD has become the chosen name.
