SA – 1372 – Layout of the Quarter - Sulzer Lane – TCH 149

 

 

 

After living in Sydney for over 40 years I had great plans for a layout based on Georges Plains, Tumulla & Wimbledon in western NSW just past Bathurst. The room I had for the layout was used to house a club layout that was exhibited at Sydney exhibitions, so my layout never really got started.

 

A change of lifestyle saw the move west to Adelaide where I joined a regular weekly running group who operated South Australian based layouts to timetable and fast clock.  Gradually I built up a collection of South Australian models and built a layout based on Halletts Cove & Willunga south of Adelaide. This was probably the most complete layout I had constructed. After about sixteen years in Hallett Cove with no children at home we decided to downsize to a smaller home, closer to work and the city. After the move, each station yard on this new layout was built as a separate section so that in the event of a house move each station yard module could be salvaged or replacement modules could be built and inserted into the layout. This layout was featured in the August & September Continental Modeller in 2013.

 

Figure 1 - Class 24 D5061and an unidentified Class 20 wait patiently on shed for their next turn of duty.

 

On our first holiday in England I watched a Sulzer powered diesel leaving Highley on the Severn Valley Railway. I managed to take home a Bachmann Class 25 diesel fitted with sound as a souvenir, instead of the mandatory teaspoon collection. This was the start of the diversion from our local prototype into British prototype models. Some purists in the BRMA might not be keen on my approach but I run locomotives and rolling stock that I like. Since then a few more diesels have ventured south. The Bachmann sound equipped diesels are quite reasonably priced and were good value before the dollar dropped in value. As my first OO model was a Trix Twin Midland Compound set I had to add the new Bachmann model to my collection. It is an amazing contrast to the early models we enjoyed.

 

As I did not have a lot of spare space the British layouts, or modules are very British in the fact that they are about 6 foot long and about 15 inches deep and smaller. The first layout was a small branch line station, “Haines” that was featured in the Railway Modeller in November 2014. The next layout was displayed at the BRMA Convention in Adelaide in 2014 and is called “Sulzer Lane”. It has been built as a small Traction Maintenance Depot. Over the years there have been a number of interesting Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) layouts in Railway Modeller and other model railway magazines.

 

My collection of British diesels and railcars had increased with some of the nice Bachmann DMUs appearing as well as the diesels that were available. With some planning, a small amount of wagon movement could be incorporated to add interest to the layout module. This is certainly not designed for the purist as some of the locos I have might not have ever been at the same depot, or maybe the colour schemes are not in keeping, but I have bought locos that I like, and some that were available with DCC sound.

 

 

A module 4 ft wide, by 15 inches would fit across the back seat of the car. The baseboard was constructed from 3mm MDF, topped with canite, stiffened by a backboard and fascia of 3mm MDF, and then strengthened with 70mm x 10mm jointed pine. This has proved quite sturdy and lightweight, making it easy to move and also work on.

 

After deciding on the buildings and scenic features I hoped to fit into the area, I set about designing the track plan. My usual method is to place points and track, as well as the outline of buildings on the baseboard, and move everything around like chess pieces until I find a design that allows me to fit in what I require. In this module I wanted a two road diesel shed, inspection pits, a refuelling point, and oil storage tanks. With some planning I was able to incorporate a crane and inspection shed as well.

 

I find this method of planning small layouts quite good, as it is easier to visualise where everything fits, as well as how it can be operated. I have also ensured that sidings are long enough to take the locomotives, and or rolling stock desired. Sometimes plans developed on paper can end up with some testing operational challenges.

 

Figure 2 - Class 25 D7638 and an unidentified Class 08 await some ongoing maintenance at Sulzer Lane.

 

All the track is Peco code 75. I call this Mark 2 as I built the first incarnation, and used some Shinohara Code 70 points that I had spare. I soon found out when I started to test out the Bachmann and Hornby diesels that they did not like code 70 track. The strange thing was my Bachmann Jinty was fine. A quick visit to Bunnings for more MDF and timber and the new baseboards were under way. The Mark 1 version will have to be built as an Australian depot. I think it was quicker and easier to start again than try to re-profile flanges on a number of locos.

 

This time I read the instructions with the Peco code 75 points, cutting the wire links on the underside, putting in the jumper links, and then wiring the frog through a DPDT slide switch. I had also carefully studied an article in the model press on Peco points. The large knobs on the tiebars were removed with side cutters before the points were laid in place. It is amazing how prominent these are in photographs. The layout runs beautifully. Each point is connected to a DPDT slide switch by brass wire that acts as a point throw and also acts as an electrical change over switch. The links and wiring have improved the ability of locos to be run at low speeds which is more appropriate for the layout.

 

All the track was cleaned and then tested with some locos, especially the Hornby Class 08 with sound. That loco appears to be the best to check ones track reliability. The track was laid and ballasted with Woodlands Scenics fine ballast and the sides of the rails were painted with a matt rust colour. Once the ballast had dried and the loose grains had been cleaned away the track and ballast was then lightly coloured with a watercolour wash applied through an eye dropper. This dulled the ballast down and gave a weathered look compared to the ballast straight from the pack. Castings of point ground throw levers were mounted on some wood shape and added along side the points. The levers were painted white and the base painted black.

 

Figure 3 - DMU Class 121 W55028 undergoes servicing at Sulzer Lane.

 

I have always used Kadee couplers, so these were the choice for this British diversion. The NEM pockets do make many of the conversions a simple pop out and replace job. I found that the conversion of the older Mainline stock was quite straight forward. The old wheels were replaced with new Bachmann metal wheels, the large coupler mounting block was removed with a cutting disk in the Dremel, and once the underframe was tidied up the Kadee coupler box was at the correct height. Some of the four wheel wagons are very light and free running, which sometimes led to some wagons uncoupling when being pulled over an uncoupling magnet. A small piece of foam was placed under one axle, which applied a little drag and overcame the problem.  As some locos will not be hauling stock I have fitted the detail parts and left the Kadee couplers off.

 

At this time there is one Class 04, two Class 08s, a Class 20, 24, 25 and 27 as well as a Class 122 railcar, and a Derby Lightweight set. I have been reading enough articles on weathering to make me think I must try this, so I must get the airbrush and compressor set up and have a go. Modern Locomotives Illustrated have covered a number of the diesels I am using, so these will form a good reference point when I get up the courage to weather a few locos.   A couple of locos have come pre-weathered which is great. Like many modellers I have more than enough locomotives, railcars and wagons to fit onto the layout. A small selection of freight stock ranging from tank wagons, vans, open wagons and a flat wagon will be enough to provide some operating interest.

 

The diesel shed and the inspection shed are built from Pikestuff kits. These kits are very versatile and many variations can be made. These have been mounted on styrene bases, painted with Floquil weathered concrete paint, to represent the concrete foundations that they sit on. Concrete surfaces in the depot have been made from styrene sheet, painted to represent concrete. The office building is the old Airfix/Dapol station building kit modified to serve as crew rooms and office space. The two fuelling points are built from a Knightwing kit, while the oil tanks are Ratio. Peco locomotive inspection pits and Ratio carriage cleaning platforms have been added to the loco servicing area. Oil drums, pallets etc add to the general clutter around the depot. Cable drums are made up from wooden kits and after some painting come up quite nicely.  A number of yard lamps were fixed in place before the photographs were taken, but some had to be removed for a while to enable some better photos to be taken. It was amazing how often these lamps ended up out of focus in the foreground of a photo.

 

The British Railways panel van and crew car are Oxford models. While we were in the UK I was lucky to find a hobby shop with a good range of Bachmann figures, so I was able to get a few sets to bring home. The rail fan photographing the diesels is an “HO” scale figure from Prieser, so that is why he looks a little lean and underfed, alongside his “OO” counterparts.

 

The ground cover is a mixture of sifted fine earth, Woodlands Scenics grass coloured ground foam, plus some coarse materials. Any basic areas that needed to be built up were made with a plaster mix tinted with some light brown acrylic paint before being applied. The basic texture was spread over the baseboard or plaster onto PVA glue brushed onto the area being worked on. The Woodlands Scenics materials were then added over the base and then fixed with a water/PVA/detergent mix applied with an eyedropper. Later the Woodlands Scenics coarse turf and foliage in a couple of colours was added to provide the more overgrown vegetation. I have also tried some of the electrostatic grasses applied with a cheaper mesh applicator bought off eBay with reasonable results.

 

To improve the overall layout a printed back scene from ‘id Backscenes’ has been affixed to the back boards of the layout. The backscene was fixed to a medium weight card with spray adhesive and left to dry. Once the paper was dry the scene was trimmed to the height required and then the card was glued to the backboards with PVA glue. In the corners the card was curved to fit and the whole thing clamped together until the PVA glue had taken and the card was suitably affixed. I was really impressed with the difference the backscene made to the appearance of the whole layout. At the base Woodlands Scenics foliage and ground cover has been added to blend the background in with the rest of the layout. I wanted to ensure that I didn’t do the wrong thing in glueing the backscene down, as another set was half a world away. A quick email to Art Printers resulted in a response within a few hours which was really good service.

 

A three road fiddle yard completes the layout and provides the opportunity to move locos, railcars and wagons to and from the main layout. As can be seen from the track plan there is the scope to operate two locos or other items at the same time to keep some activity for viewers.

 

I have enjoyed the diversion from my main layout because of the opportunity to use a number of skills and achieve an operating layout in a short time. The visible progress in a short timescale is an incentive to keep the layout moving forward.

 

The vast range of items available for the British Modeller is fantastic and many of these items never appear in Australian hobby shops. I have found the shop at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway very good to deal with and always have offered great service and competitive prices. We have timed our UK holidays so that I can get to the Aylesbury exhibition which is in a great venue, has some nice layouts and a good selection of trade stands. We normally spend a week at Lewes when we are in the UK and the Hobby Box at Uckfield is reasonably easy to get to and has a good range of bits and pieces. The range of stock and the helpful owners make a stop there worthwhile. The shop at Peco was a real eye opener. The excellent displays and the array of stock was terrific. The display layouts were such a well thought out way to show the public what the hobby is about.