First of all - the why, the where, the what, the when and the how.

Why - Inspiration

When our youngest stated his desire to join Her Majesties Royal Navy (as it was at the time), it opened a whole new fascinating world to me. Both historically and technically I have been intrigued and inquisitive about the whole Naval establishment, both ship-wise from the Mary Rose and HMS Victory to the new aircraft carriers, and infrastructure-wise from HMS Raleigh to the Admiralty.

Our son is currently based in Devonport, which has a long and interesting railway history. Although mostly dismantled, most of the lines can still be seen on satellite imagery. Buildings range from the historical Naval offices, barracks and workshops, to the more modern contractors offices and the massive ship repair facilities. Overall, this is too good a subject to not model!

Where - Influences

Scenically, the layout is heavily inspired by the Devonport Dockyard railways and environment, with other influences being HMS Drake, RNAD Ernesettle and the Leek and Manifold Valley Railway.

I wanted to convey the busy support systems behind the operation of the Royal Navy Fleet. This will include provisioning of Navy equipment and materials for ship maintenance, without modelling any wharfside scenes, such as a dry dock or large cranes. This is a more behind-the-scenes view, championing the logistics and engineering arms of the Senior Service.

What – The Track layout & Scenic Considerations

I wanted to see if I could create an Inglenook Shunting Puzzle in a different format. I wanted a loop to enable more shunting options, and also keep the 5-3-3 siding requirements. The loop will hold four wagons in each side, so the layout will work as a conventional end-of-line yard, with two sidings and the end of the headshunt to position wagons for loading/unloading.

However, for the Inglenook puzzle configuration, somewhat unconventionally and probably breaking several prototype rules & regulations, using one of the three-wagon areas will mean standing wagons on a set of points.

End-of-line Yard

Inglenook

The left-hand end of the layout, as viewed, will be on a sloping, raised area. Here will be the more formal Naval Buildings and a small parade ground with flagstaff. At the rear will be an official gateway and guard room, influenced by that at HMS Drake and, as the prototype, positioned over the railway line.

Along the rear of the layout will be a low rock face, topped by a high security wall, which runs along the outside perimeter. The base of the wall will reflect the ‘road’ behind, so will vary in height to add interest.

The right-hand end of the layout will be the more industrial area, with the side wall of a large ship repair facility. Clustered at the base of this shed will several small sheds and outdoor material & equipment stores.

The main track will emerge from the left, from under the Naval buildings and immediately split into a loop. From the near track of the loop, the transfer siding will point back towards towards the narrow gauge line, which has just a second, smaller narrow gauge tunnel. The centre of the layout will have more sheds and storage area, and two sidings, the ends of which will be in a hardstanding area, allowing better access for road vehicles and mobile lifting equipment. There will be several sheds and other small buildings between the tracks, plus areas with stacked materials and equipment.

In the foreground will be a narrow gauge line, appearing from beneath the parade ground and running the full length of the scenic section. As the line leaves the tunnel the only point will split off to the transfer siding.

When – An indefinite time period

I’m aiming to make the era as vague as possible, to allow a variety of stock to be run.

Scenically, most of the infrastructure won’t have changed much over the last 150 years. The only changes will be ‘set dressing’, such as stored gun barrels and ropes for earlier times (GWR), to more modern gun turret housings and machinery (green or blue diesels). Figures in outfits suitable for the period will be interchangeable, as will the few vehicles.

How - Operation & Animation

For the operation and animation aspects, I have been very impressed with the, as yet commercially unavailable, Modulus control system. This system allows finite adjustment of servos, relays, LEDs and sound cards to control points, signalling and lights, as well as ambient and specific sounds and noises.

The control panel will consist of a set of On/Off SPST switches, for the point servos and isolation relays, Push-to-make switches for the uncoupler servos, and either type of switch for the various animation features, such as opening shed doors.

I’ll add internal building lighting, as each is completed, plus add street lights and yard lights as appropriate.

Sound is, as yet, not part of the list of items outstanding.

One thing that Modulus doesn’t do is control the actual locomotives – for that I’ll use GM Walkabouts and 12v DC.

So having explained my thoughts about each aspect of the layout, from the reasons behind the model to how I’m going to construct, decorate, present and operate the layout, next time I’ll explain in more detail the choice of and adaptations to the baseboard.