This is another project that owes its conception to the Oxford MRC ‘Chairman’s Challenge’. Ron’s challenge was to produce an operational layout on 8 square feet. It was suggested that it could be any scale between Z and O and all the narrow gauge derivatives. This is where I bent the rules a bit. This model runs on the same 32mm track as standard gauge O scale trains. The difference is the scale which is 1” to 1 foot or 1/12 scale. This is the same as Dolls Houses, which is where the figures come from. The model is therefore of 15” gauge trains, such as most commonly seen on miniature passenger carrying tourist railways such as the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway or the Ravenglass & Eskdale.
In the latter part of the 19th century Sir Arthur Heywood promoted 15" gauge railways and set up an extensive network serving his Duffield Bank Estate in Derbyshire. He also built a railway at Eaton Hall on the same principle.
This layout is to show a development of the estate Railway brought in to the 20th Century. The resin figures are very nice but tend to be of Victorian subjects , so you will have to imagine that there is a Gala Running Session on.
The baseboard dimensions were suggested for want of a better word, by a pair of legs that I had left over from a previous project. These gave a width of 22 inches so I made the board 52 inches long. The structure is a basic frame of 4” high sandwich planks with a top of 6mm ply. Importantly the legs are braced with 1/2 “ strips of mild steel which makes the whole layout very stable and solid
The track is Peco Code 200 (as used in SM32 or 16mm to 1 foot) soldered to PCB sleepers screwed through wooden sub-sleepers to the ply baseboard. The rails have been cut half though to mimic rail joints which I want to represent with cosmetic fishplates. The rails were carefully curved to radius with a home made bender.
The two buildings on the layout so far are a couple of different constructions. The engine shed at the back is plywood clad with single sided corrugated cardboard. The workshop on the left is embossed foamboard on a ply carcase. The roof was going to be a completely built-up structure with joists and battens holding tiles, but I have failed to make tiles with the necessary curve in them.
The Kwasp is based on Steve Bennett’s design of freelance diesel for Gn15 – just half the size of my loco. I have built my own mechanism with a coreless motor and a two-stage spur gear box, a bevel gear and a chain drive to each axle. It’s a heavy loco but runs around at a scale speed of 1.2 mph on 6 volts and amazingly only about 40mA. The rest of the loco has been built up with steel sections or sheet bolted, riveted or brazed together.
This is very much a work in progress and many sub-projects are waiting to be started which will be needed to complete the layout. These include another building at the right hand end on the layout, completing the ‘back scene’ wall, motorizing the workshop doors, paving the yard floor (this is planning to use a number of techniques such as cobbles and sets)
The photographs were taken at the very successful showing of the Chairman's Challenge layouts at the Model Railway Club on 4th December 2007
Sandpits Estate is scheduled to appear at the OMRC exhibition in May 2008.