So, my annual report of not enough progress to post anything actually complete or moving! However - I seem to have caught this railway bug thing! I have come from knowing nothing about railways and sought to build a steampunk sci-fi layout purely to get back into modelling, hence my choice of 1/35th scale narrowgauge - referred to in some railway modelling circles as 35n2. The complication I have given myself of buying only enough to kit bash and starting from a zero knowledge position has made this project years long and no progress! However, as intimated it has generated a desire to know more and I have discovered a suitable project to study. My own town. We have three railways stations, Colchester (Main) called Colchester North, Hythe and St.Botolphs. North is on the London Norwich main line and Hythe is on the 'Sunshine Coast' branch. St Botolphs is another branch from the Hythe line. The thing that has interested me (and humour me here - it may be absolutely typical) is that it suggests an interesting layout to model. Given my Martian shelf layout is nowhere operational, this new endeavour is purely a theoretical research and design project for the foreseeable future.
The railway of interest started in the 1840's and the part I want to work on begins (or ends) with a goods and passenger terminal at St Botolphs. This is located close to the army barracks side of town and the station has been used in all campaigns from inception. The double track then runs down to a Wye (is that the correct term? A triangle of track?) The left hand branch of the wye goes to join the London Norwich line, just east of the North Station via a level crossing and a couple of road bridges - good for concealing the exit to a fiddle yard. The other leg of the Wye from St.Botolph's goes to Hythe. The remaining leg of the wye connects the line from North to Hythe. Most maps and GoogleEarth will show this landmark to the east of the town centre. Towards North Station the line crosses a level crossing and there is another one to the east of Hythe, where the track skirts an industrial area running parallel to the river. So, within this scope, there would be:
A passenger terminal with goods yard and large sidings (5+ roads) and a private line to a factory next door - The Britannia Works
2 or 3 signal boxes, depending on era
The wye
2 level crossings
A through station with station buildings (Hythe) with goods yard and some kind of parking siding to allow other trains to pass.
A large coal depot with coal concentration units both sides of the station (Hythe)
More private sidings east of the river to clay works and paper works / printers
An industrial network on the other (west) side of the river to oil cake manufactory and other dockside industry, gas and electricity works.
A river, full of Thames barges - again depending on era.
A bus depot and tram depot depending on era again.
A parallel interest is looking into the social history of the road connecting St.Botolph's with Hythe. It appears to have had a record number of pubs and during the Victorian era it was everything a steampunk nightmare could include! That may become a new thread when I'm a bit further down the trail.
I am beginning to home in on 1957 for the railway design. It seems to be heading into peak coal era, pre-electrification, a goodly supply of steam engines plus the early lightweight DMU's. If anybody shows interest, I guess this could be another thread but I'm not sure how that will sit.
Thoughts?
