Layout ideas for 10 ft x 2 ft ... please help me

[Wincanton]

Hi Gents ,
welcome from Germany ... I would like to build a new layout . With modern material it is a premiere , because I have been more concerned with historical model railways , so a completely different thing . For my layout I have 10 ft x 2 ft of space available . It should be built in modular style , in gauge oo . As a theme a 1 track branchline with terminus station . As I am not really familiar with british style track building I would like to ask for your help ... I would like to use peco code 75 as track system ... I'm open to other ideas, but I don't want to use only shunting . I ask for your suggestions , and / or appropriate links where I can look at layouts , to delve further into the subject , thank you in advance ...

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[RobinofLoxley]

Welcome! Do you have any idea what time period (era) you want to place the layout in ?

[RobinofLoxley]

Also do you have any extra space for a 'cassette' for changing stock?

[Wincanton]

2 hours ago, RobinofLoxley said:

Welcome! Do you have any idea what time period (era) you want to place the layout in ?

Hello, thank you for your enquiry. I would prefer the era 3 - 4 .

Regards Andy 

[Wincanton]

2 hours ago, RobinofLoxley said:

Also do you have any extra space for a 'cassette' for changing stock?

Yes , the 10 ft would be the maximum scenic range .

[F-UnitMad]

14 hours ago, Wincanton said:

but I don't want to use only shunting

In 10 x 2 with OO, that's all you would be able to do.

[Wincanton]

10 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

In 10 x 2 with OO, that's all you would be able to do.

Sorry, of course you are absolutely right about the operating procedure ... I wanted to say that I don't favour a pure industrial layout ...

[Harlequin]

I'm not clear about the size available. I understand that the maximum scenic area is 10ft by 2ft but is there room to temporarily add some non-scenic "fiddle yard" track to the outside when operating the layout? That would make the design much easier.

 

If you haven't got room for an external fiddle yard, then the next questions are, (a.) Do you want/need one? and if so, (b.) Can you fit one within the 10 * 2ft space?

 

There are lots of books about designing UK-based model railways in spaces like yours that discuss these issues. For example: The Peco book "60 plans for small locations", Iain Rice's book "Model Railway Layout Design – Finescale in small spaces" or James Hilton's "Small Layout Design Handbook" (which covers a lot of the same ground as Iain Rice's books).

 

Edited June 21 by Harlequin

[Wincanton]

5 hours ago, Harlequin said:

I'm not clear about the size available. I understand that the maximum scenic area is 10ft by 2ft but is there room to temporarily add some non-scenic "fiddle yard" track to the outside when operating the layout? That would make the design much easier.

 

If you haven't got room for an external fiddle yard, then the next questions are, (a.) Do you want/need one? and if so, (b.) Can you fit one within the 10 * 2ft space?

 

There are lots of books about designing UK-based model railways in spaces like yours that discuss these issues. For example: The Peco book "60 plans for small locations", Iain Rice's book "Model Railway Layout Design – Finescale in small spaces" or James Hilton's "Small Layout Design Handbook" (which covers a lot of the same ground as Iain Rice's books).

 

Thank you for your helpful answer , Phil . I have seen in some threads here that you have planning experience ... so I hope that the book recommendations from you are well chosen ? - For me, from Germany, British books are very cumbersome and expensive since Brexit ... but I will see what I can buy.
I wanted to build the 10 ft scenic area in 2 parts , and the fiddle yard etc as 3 parts - also removable if I want to use it then .... I want to use the 2 ft width more for a "coherent" landscape .

Edited June 21 by Wincanton

[DCB]

10ft  X 2ft  scenic would be enough for a decent terminus station,  My  "Ugleigh" terminus takes 4 coach trains and is in an 8ft "Shed"  ( at te end of an outside branch line  so 5 coaches would be easy with 10ft as long as you have 6ft for a Fiddle yard or cassette yard,

The 2ft width can make a decent spacious branch line terminus serving a village or a cramped urban terminus.
The famous "Minories" plan is an urban terminus.  There are several posts about compact station throats etc  which are well worth looking at.

To make it look realistic having the track raised above the lowest level of the baseboard always helps, as does having scenery above the tracks.  Most UK stations are in valleys and have rivers nearby,  not mountainous but  undulating.   Few models have rivers...

[Harlequin]

16 hours ago, Wincanton said:

Thank you for your helpful answer , Phil . I have seen in some threads here that you have planning experience ... so I hope that the book recommendations from you are well chosen ? - For me, from Germany, British books are very cumbersome and expensive since Brexit ... but I will see what I can buy.
I wanted to build the 10 ft scenic area in 2 parts , and the fiddle yard etc as 3 parts - also removable if I want to use it then .... I want to use the 2 ft width more for a "coherent" landscape .

 

The Peco plans might be a bit old fashioned now but they are still very inspirational. Iain Rice is the master but sadly no longer with us.

 

Having your railway enveloped within the 2ft width of landscape, not filling the space with trackwork, sounds perfect to me.

 

I get that the scenic part will be two baseboard sections, each 2ft by 5ft (right?) but are you saying there will be one more baseboard section to be the fiddle yard?

 

(I hope DeepL is translating everything correctly! 😃)

 

[Rivercider]

Welcome to the forum Wincanton.

 

I have copies of the Peco track plan booklets and agree they are very useful.

 

In your earlier post you refer to 'modern material' as a new change from  historical modelling.

One thing I was checking that DeepL translation has not mixed up the Continental Epoch with the UK Era?

Continental Epoch III is 1945 - 1970 and Era IV is 1970 - 1990.

UK Era 3 is 1923 - 1947 and Era 4 is 1948 - 1956.

 

cheers (Prost)

  

[Wincanton]

2 hours ago, Harlequin said:

 

The Peco plans might be a bit old fashioned now but they are still very inspirational. Iain Rice is the master but sadly no longer with us.

 

Having your railway enveloped within the 2ft width of landscape, not filling the space with trackwork, sounds perfect to me.

 

I get that the scenic part will be two baseboard sections, each 2ft by 5ft (right?) but are you saying there will be one more baseboard section to be the fiddle yard?

 

(I hope DeepL is translating everything correctly! 😃)

 

Yes , all your Questions are right . I order yesterday a bundle of books at a internet bookstore ... deepl translating is better than google :-) 

Edited June 22 by Wincanton

[Wincanton]

1 hour ago, Rivercider said:

Welcome to the forum Wincanton.

 

I have copies of the Peco track plan booklets and agree they are very useful.

 

In your earlier post you refer to 'modern material' as a new change from  historical modelling.

One thing I was checking that DeepL translation has not mixed up the Continental Epoch with the UK Era?

Continental Epoch III is 1945 - 1970 and Era IV is 1970 - 1990.

UK Era 3 is 1923 - 1947 and Era 4 is 1948 - 1956.

 

cheers (Prost)

  

Yes Sir , I prefer the grouping era and I have some early BR Rolling stock ... cheers Andy

[PatB]

There are at least 2 plans for branch terminii in 60 Plans for Small Locations, fully self contained within that sort of space.

 

Edit: I've finally dug out my copy of 60 Plans (1989 Edition, reprinted 2002), and can confirm that SP26, SP27 and SP48 all offer variations on the steam age branch terminus theme, fully self contained (including fiddle yard) within a 9 ft x 1.5 ft footprint. SP26 does widen put to 2 ft at one end but you could get away without.

 

Although essentially steam era, they could be stretched as-is to early diesel. With a bit more effort you could rationalise the passenger facilities to a single platform for a DMU, devise a back story for retaining the goods yard for some local specialist traffic (cement, china-clay, scrap metal, nuclear flasks, whatever), and bring tgem up to maybe the mid-80s whilst retaining some operating interest.

Edited June 24 by PatB