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Dave's Model Railway.

'Arkley '

This layout has been inspired by, but not modelled on, Blackpool North.
It is a four platform station, situated on the coast near the end of a branch line off of  the WCML.
The period modelled is anywhere from BR Corporate Blue to BR Sectorisation,
although (because I like them) more modern DMU's (like the Class 170's) will also appear.

As Arkley  is on the coast (and is still a popular holiday resort), an intensive DMU service is run.
Local trains (formed by Class 101, 117, 121 and Class 142 Pacers) call at all stations and 
normally terminate at the junction with the WCML.
Mid-distance and coastal route trains use Classes 110's, 117's, 155's, 156's with the longer distant 
cross-country services formed by Class 158's. Some of the DMU's for these services 
are stabled in the adjacent carriage sidings overnight.
There also a few loco-hauled passenger services with short rakes of coaches.
I also have a HST set in InterCity 'Swallow' livery, comprised of :-
Power car - TGS - TSO - TRUB - TFO - Power car
although I would like another TSO to be added to the set.

Just outside the station is a diesel depot, which serves the nearby marshalling yard.
The depot consists of 5 stabling sidings and a  2 road engine shed, of which one road has an inspection pit. 
Finally, there is a depot stores siding cum fuelling road.
If a change is needed, 4 of the 5 loco sidings can be deemed to be a small freight yard, and
then I can shunt wagons using the loco head shunt.
A new branch down to the docks has been created by extending the short dead-end siding
(from #18 points) past the backs of some new houses, across a level crossing (with traditional gates)
and out into a bit of countryside, before delving into a short tunnel before reaching the docks,
which are represented by a second 5 road fiddle yard alongside the main fiddle yard.

Back to the station, and on the other side of the main line, all that is left of the goods yard is a short single Engineers siding.

After leaving the station, and passing the loco on the right and the Engineers siding on the left,
the line crosses a canal, curving to the right before passing over a level crossing. 
Just past the crossing is a short tunnel, closely followed by the junction for the coast line
(which sees plentiful freight traffic as well as passenger traffic),
The 'main' line continues on towards the WCML (Preston).

Going the other way from the station is the single line passenger line heading towards Arkley New Town -
a single platform station about 5 minutes away - and two goods lines serving the marshalling yard - one
arrival road and one departure road. There is also a short siding.
In reality, just after the level crossing, the scenic section ends. 
There is a scissors crossover, then the two lines split into a small 5 road fiddle yard.
The rest of the above description is in my head!.

My railway 'world' is contained on a 11 foot x3 foot baseboard, with the fiddle yards being extensions. 
All framing, legs etc. are 25cm softwood, with 2cm MDF baseboard laid on top.
The fiddle yard area is topped with chipboard, not MDF.
All the track has now been laid and ballasted, all the electrics have been completed 
(except for the fiddle yard area).

All platform roads, carriage sidings, the depot headshunt and 6 of the 7 loco sidings did have isolating sections
meaning that each platform could hold 2 DMU's and the depot sidings could hold a total of 13 locomotives.
The DMU sidings was able to hold up to 6 DMU's plus any that were stabled overnight on the platform roads.
However, all that's changed now with DCC having been fully installed, which means all isolating
sections have now been removed, as these are not necessary with DCC.

For those of you going on to look at the pictures of my locos, please note that I am not a collector, nor a rivet counter.
Generally I tend to operate locos straight out of the box, although there are a few exceptions.

Stuff Used.

Loco control is by the Lenz Set 100 DCC control system, bought from Express Models -
a company who gives excellent, personal and friendly service. (Thanks for all the help and info Jeanette and Rob).
My old loco test track is now my DCC programming track.

The station building, platforms, loco shed, low-relief houses and some shops,
as well as roadways and pavements are card kits from Metcalfe.
All track and pointwork is from Peco (code 100) with points being of the dead frog type,
although I now intend to replace all the pointwork with live frog points..
Also from Peco are the loco office/signing on point building, the flexible field fencing,
along with the bridge sides (over the canal), and what backscenes I currently have.
All buffer stops are from Hornby.
The fuelling point is a Knightwing model, as are the (dummy) point levers.
From Ratio come the fuel tanks and hut, some of the fencing, as well as the concrete platelayers hut.
Other houses and shops etc. are from Hornby's Skaledale range, and Scenix.
The overbridge, arches (on the canal bank), bicycle sheds and lamp huts come from Wills.
The latest flocks I use are from Jarvis of Stockport.
I use two old H and M 'Duette' controllers for powering some of the (non-loco) lights on the layout.

Point motors were originally by Seep, powered through a Gaugemaster CDU, but since installing Lenz LS150 accessory decoders,
I find Peco point motors operate a lot better.
Non-DCC points and layout lighting are controlled by Peco levers, originally 30 of them but thanks
to DCC and the accessory decoders they now number only 16, with further redundancies when more LS150's are purchased.
Some road signs, timetables etc. are by Lithoplan, and some are by yours truly.
As yet there is no signalling installed, but I anticipate using Eckon / Berko and Traintronics colour-light signals.

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Latest Alterations.

When I originally planned the layout, I inadvertently forgot to include any run-round facilities.
Having seen the error of my ways, I have been thinking of how to incorporate such an item without
too much ripping up and relaying track etc.

Just 'off' the layout, at the entrance to the fiddle yard, is a (near) scissors cross-over to allow
trains from the fiddle yard to get onto the right track (the down road) before appearing on the layout proper.
Wanting to utilise part of the scissors to show a trailing crossover, I have cunningly built a skewed bridge to
show the trailing crossover and at the same time, hiding the facing crossover (from the layouts perspective).

Thus, engines wanting to run-round now pass through the bridge (on the up line), then reverse over the crossover
onto the down line, and back onto the layout. To make this area a little more interesting, the half-relief houses that
were across the road from the pub have been demolished. To take their place, the signal box has also been moved
to a new position adjacent to the level crossing (the rest of the point work at Old Town being power operated).
 Behind the signal box is a small (BR owned) area where the
signalman parks his car, and where the S&T department sometimes park their lorry.

Since finishing the above, I have extended the yard headshunt to form a goods loop, and this makes operations
more interesting, as well as enabling easier run-rounds.

04/04/2005

Well, a trip last Saturday to the Model Railway exhibition at Alexandra Palace saw me returning with FOUR new locos
(2 Bachmann 37's and 2 Hornby 31's) along with the DCC modules to fit in them, PLUS several new wagons -
3 Blue Circle V tanks by Hornby, an Engineers ZKV (also Hornby), a ferry van (Electrotren) and
4 'Shell/BP' TTB's by Bachmann. Also in my bag was a few bits and pieces including some more lights
for the station platforms. These have been installed today along with new seating for the little peeps.
Some station nameboards are also in the making, currently drying off after being painted, and these will be
installed within the next few days. I also bought home some 'Scenic Water' by Deluxe Materials, to hopefully
give the canal a more realistic look. Sue is going to be in charge of doing that.
The old station seats have now been transferred alongside the canal so that strolling peeps can sit down for a breather.
A couple of cars and a Volvo digger/grab completes the new additions to the layout.

Still to do :- more street lights (didn't have the ones I wanted at Alexandra Palace) and, of course, signals!
Cannot decide on whether to have all semaphores, all MAS, or a mixture of both.
Personally I prefer MAS although semaphores look nice. Hmmm, decisions, decisions....

Currently I am fitting the rather excellent lights (from Express Models) to ALL my locos and dmu's.
The addition of lights really makes a difference, especially during night time sessions.

NEW IDEAS. (September 2005)

Referring to the track diagram above, I am now considering extending platform 4 and 2 of the 3 carriage sidings.
The reasoning behind this is that further down the line is the marshalling yard (reached via the sidings -
two will become the marshalling yard arrival / departure roads with the third remaining as a short siding).
Also down the line are the docks and industrial area and a new station - ARKLEY NEW TOWN,
the latter reached by a single line extension from Arkley Old Town which runs besides the marshalling
yard arrival/departure roads.

In reality, all of the above 'new ideas' will not be on the layout proper, merely being another fiddle yard.
Therefore, the new passenger line and the goods lines will disappear under a new road overbridge at the
edge of the layout. As this new extension will pass into and take over half of the kitchen, it will have
to be made removable or else I'll be in trouble !!

Late 2007 / early 2008

As mentioned elsewhere, I decided to extend the short depot siding (leading from #18 points) behind a row of new houses,
over the road by means of a traditional level crossing and out into a short stretch of countryside before disappearing
into a tunnel before reaching another part of the dock complex - represented off-stage by a second 5 road
fiddle yard, constructed adjacent to the main fiddle yard. There is a direct connection from the branch line
to two roads in the main fiddle yard.

Over at the back of the layout, not being happy with a magnolia painted wall as a backscene, I decided to make up
some 3D mini-dioramas. From the left (behind the station) are some low relief houses and shops. The next 'module'
is the start of a new business park and includes a petrol station, the module after that is a car showroom - ARKLEY CARS no less :-)
Next along we have a construction site with a half completed office block and a towering crane, and next to that,
some modern distribution buildings and warehouses - the latter being low-relief.
Finally, at the other end, we have some older style terraced housing.

I've not finished all the backscenes yet but these will get done as and when :-)

Pictures available on fotopic.net