Here at OTCM, layouts are like buses, and turn up at the same time – perhaps one of us working on one inspires the other to do the same thing….
And so it is that no sooner has Oly posted about his latest 4ft endeavour, I’m posting about something a little larger. I was actually first off the blocks it’s just taken me nearly a year to break cover with this project!
It’s no secret that BWS was intended to be a test bed for a larger layout, and it’s small size was always going to be very restrictive for a layout trying to depict heavy industry. It still makes me a bit uneasy seeing Mainline locos hauling 5 wagon trains across the layout. Sometimes I wake up at 3AM in a cold sweat thinking about it.…
Hopefully then, it’s no surprise that I’m marching on with something larger. Don’t worry though, BWS is still around and should be appearing at a few shows and in a magazine this year.
Before I got going, as ever a specification was drawn up of what I wanted to recreate:
Same setting as BWS – the winter scenery and dark industrial colours seem to compliment BR blue well, and the OHLE was the biggest talking point on the layout, so carrying that on was a must.
Roundy Roundy – The layout needed to accommodate something that could be interpreted as a scale length train. 30 wagon MGR’s were never going to fit in the space available but 18 should give the impression of a full train without dominating the scene.
Double track with independent shunting – The trackplan needed to accommodate the ability to shunt without interrupting on mainline operations to perform run rounds, but also allow for multiple trains to run to keep public interest at a show.
Cameo presentation – The display should be much the same as BWS, although it would be rear operated, with presentation high on the agenda just across a much wider viewing window.
Rather than putting together a series of blog posts to describe construction, I’ve decided to do updates in video form, so to kick things off, here is part 1, covering the background behind the layout:
Next time out, we will look at baseboards, which I built in March 2021 and am only just editing together!!
Oh and a name, well I haven’t got there completely yet, but something a little different is on the cards…. I’ve got 2 ideas on the same theme, and need to make a decision and stop being indecisive…. More on that next time too!
Chris
