Derwent - LMS in the Peak (never finished due to house move)

[Rowsley17D]

Having moved home last November, I have at last got round to making a start on my layout. Or at least the electrician has made a start by installing power and lights.

 

The view one way.

 

 

Then the other.

 

 

The layout height will be near the bottom of the roof beam. There is about 12' between them and a run of about 24' gable to gable.

 

This will be a slow burner, so don't expect to see locos running any time soon and there will be no g***s for many months to come.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Rowsley17D

[Alister_G]

Yay, a layout thread!

 

 

So roughly 24' by 12' - a decent size indeed.

 

I will, of course, be following closely!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Al

[LNER4479]

Now that's what I call a proper loft space - none of those confounded interim W truss arrangements.

 

Are you thinking of any form of skylight/velux? One was put in to the loft space where my old Gowhole layout is and made a big difference to lighting and ventilation.

 

Good luck with the fitting out and subsequent build!

[Barry O]

Veluxes definitely work - just having my loft converted - big space taken up by a bathroom(her indoors demanded this!)

 

without velux

 

 

and now

 

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

Hi guys, Thanks for the interest. Yes, the next stage is to put in roof lights on the south slope as this faces the back of the property so no planning permission involved.

 

There may be no trusses in the way but there is always a BUT. I have a chimney going through the centre of the loft which effectively makes the loft into two rooms. I'll try and get a picture up. Although one side is currently blocked by brickwork, this not doing any work and so can be removed, according to my builder. So there will be space to get a double track through from one side of the loft to the other. This means that the main features, the station and an MPD will have to be built mostly in the corners.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Rowsley17D

[The Stationmaster]

Ah, south facing rooflights - don't forget what comes from the south and the effect it can have on all sorts of things including models.  If you are using Velux units make sure you get some blinds for them as they reduce the glare and the heat plus take any other precautions to reduce the effect from the sun.

[Rowsley17D]

Hi Mike, the sun is making the loft into a sauna at the moment, I don't know how the electrician worked up there on Monday. We have an extension to our living room and kitchen also south-facing and both have Veluxes with blinds, which this weather are invaluable. So the loft ones will have blinds and will be opening too for ventilation. I plan to line the rafters with Kingspan and board over to insulate from summer sun and winter cold, well, that's the theory anyway.

[Kenokie]

I always think that this is the most exciting part of building any layout. A virgin space, full of promise and limitless possibilities where your imagination can create wonderful things.   

 

Course, the reality is much different, with lots of hard work , loads of tribulations to be overcome and many opportunities for things to go wrong, or inspiration to run out.   

 

If its any help you are already collecting a small band of followers who will lap up every picture and post, no matter how long it takes, so on with the build.

 

Do you have any idea yet what the finished result is intended to be, or are you going to build "on the fly"?

 

Chris

[Rowsley17D]

Until I found out that the chimney took up so much width I had very firm ideas, but now I am not so sure. As to the general raison d'etre for the line, my thinking goes like this. The Duke of Rutland put up such an objection to a railway going through his property that the Duke of Devonshire agreed to the line going over his Chatsworth Estate and follow the River Derwent to join the Manchester-Sheffield line. My station is the one that could have been built as a junction with small MPD to serve a branch to Buxton. If this had gone ahead I don't know whether Bakewell would have ever been on the railway map. I'll have to read my Bill Hudson again.

[Alister_G]

According to Historical records (and you can cheerfully ignore this if you wish) the Duke of Rutland was petitioned by the people of Bakewell to insist on a rail link.

 

Had the Chatsworth route gone ahead, there was a proposed branch to Bakewell coming off at Baslow.

 

The route would have followed more or less where the road from Pilsley to Bakewell runs, and the proposed station site would have been lower down the hillside nearer to the river.

 

Bakewell therefore would have been a BLT.

 

An interesting idea to model, should you choose to.

 

Al.

[Rowsley17D]

Hi Al, I'll be modelling the imaginary junction station that would have served Buxton, as Millers Dale actually did, so I wont be doing Bakewell as a terminus. I could extend fiction and say the junction served both Buxton and Bakewell. Do you think Bakewell could have been a station on a Buxton branch?

 

Any way back to that chimney and before anybody suggests I get my builder to knock it down, the living room fireplace uses it or it would have gone, and the SWMBO likes her real fire.

 

Here is one side of the chimney.

 

 

The access is below just out of shot. And here is the other with the bit that is to go in red.

 

 

That aerial will have to go up a bit too.

[Alister_G]

Hi Jonathan,

 

It is a shame about the chimney, but being able to remove the stub wall means it shouldn't have too much impact.

 

How is it for your access between the two sides? Have you room to run a double track and still squeeze past?

 

Even with the chimney, I think this is going to be great.

 

To answer your question, I doubt if Bakewell would have been on the branch to Buxton.

 

If the main line ran through Chatsworth, it would have continued up the valley through Calver to Grindleford, and joined the Hope Valley route there.

 

I suspect that a connection to Buxton would have been made at Peak Forest end, much as was actually done.

 

The alternative would have been to follow the route of the main road up through Stoney Middleton to Wardlow and Tideswell, and through to Buxton that way, but it would have required as much tunneling (if not more)  as the Monsal Dale route did, and I can't see that they would have included Bakewell - it wouldn't make sense.

 

Al.

[Rowsley17D]

As regards access from one side of the loft to the other, there is room to get a double line through and for me to get through to using the righthand side of the chimney on the photo. To do the same on the other side that is currently bricked up would involve removing a lot of bricks, so my idea was to remove just enough to get a double track through on two levels. I plan to have the fiddleyard at a lower level and given the length of run I have, I can have shallow gradients.

[Rowsley17D]

The joiner called today and will fit the roof lights in a couple of weeks. Showing him around the loft I noticed that the flooring had shrunk lengthwise so I will have to unscrew the bits I have fitted (not many I may add) and close the gaps. I got all the packs of flooring into the loft before Christmas so hopefully when I get round to laying these they will have already acclimatised.

[Andrew P]

Hi Jonathan, I don't know if I have mentioned this before but get your self kitted out with a GOOD FIRE EXTINGUISHER, I was in a loft working on a layout many years ago and the Florecent Light above the hatch/ESCAPE HOLE, caught fire, remember there is no other quick way out. The pics look good and I am looking forward to seeing the plan.

 

Bodgit

[Rowsley17D]

Fire-fighting equipment noted, Andy. The joiner was supposed to have been round last week to fit the windows, but no sign of him, grrrr.

[Rowsley17D]

Just had word from the joiner last night, he is making a start on 4 September, so just a month late. I was afraid he was going to tell me that he couldn't fit the job in and I would have to get somebody else. This hopefully means that I can get the rest of the floor down and the insulation done before the onset of winter.

[Physicsman]

Hi Jonathan.

 

I obviously haven't been paying attention as I've only just noticed this thread - about 7 weeks after you started it! Apologies.

 

I'll keep an eye on what you get up to from now on!

 

Jeff

[emt_911]

I've been lurking and waiting. Not a lot more to be said really.

 

Duncan

[Rowsley17D]

Well, I'm at work and hopefully the joiner has turned up at home, or at least is about to. If a start has been made on time I'll try and get some photos up.

 

Welcome on board Jeff. Don't expect much progress, I'm not retired...yet.

[Rowsley17D]

Why is that builders never turn up when they say they are going to? Needless to say Wednesday and Thursday came and went, but he has promised to make a start Friday pm, just as the weather breaks!

[Andrew P]

Hi Jonathan, we are all waiting with baited breath for the FIRST PICS , and I look forward to watching it develope mate.

 

All the best.

Bodgit

[Rowsley17D]

Hi Andy, it will be a long time before anything railway related will be on here. The joiner showed up yesterday afternoon and put in the framing for the windows. As no-one will be at home until Thursday that's the day he will hopefully return to fit the windows, fingers crossed then.

[Rowsley17D]

Well, SWMBO phoned earlier and said the joiner had arrived and we have a hole in the roof where one of the Veluxes is going. Progress at last.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Rowsley17D

[Alister_G]

Well, SWMBO phoned earlier and said the joiner had arrived and we a hole in the roof where one of the Veluxes is going. Progress at last.

 

Glad to hear you're getting somewhere now.