Having completed SHIREBROOKE YARD work is now well underway on the next instalment SHIREBROOK STATION.
Because these layouts are a range that will ultimately be available to purchase the baseboard is the same size and the design is a simple country station with an engine shed and small goods dock as part of the station platform. This will allow for plenty of options when it comes to swapping engine duties and passenger/goods on and off loading.
So whilst all that’s going on I have been hatching a plan!
I have quite a lot of rolling stock, engines and buildings sat in a box under HORBY. It’s N gauge however so a totally different proposition to OO gauge. As I’ve previously says the big advantage on N is the amount or railway you can get in a small space and to prove this I’m going to build a layout on the top of a book case.
The book case is at the top of our stairs on the landing, now you may be thinking why us he telling me this? Well to show just what you can do in a space that you may very well have at home which would suit that elusive space for a layout.
So as you can see it’s not the biggest but let’s see what we can do with it.
Whenever I see N layouts the best ones are those that show trains running through hillsides, cuttings, going over bridges and coming out of tunnels. The first thing I found in this Pandora’s box was a Metcalfe viaduct kit which got me thinking of a country scene with a river and viaduct being the centre piece of the layout. Tunnels at either end allow for various trains to run through the layout, one track, no points just a train running a cross a viaduct. Simple but I hope effective so like you do I spent last night building the viaduct and me thinks it will work.
Doesn’t look much now but in a few weeks time?…. I’ll keep you in The loop.
To end this blog I just wanted to mention SHIREBROOK COALING STATION. This will be the third layout in the range and will depict a busy coaling yard with an upper track bringing coal into the coal Shute and then at the lower track side level room for enough space to have a lot of train movements, water, coal and an engine shed.
So that’s it for this week’s blog. Hope you are feeling inspired.
Cheers Alan.
Railway Imp 