About to start a layout

Oct 21, 2003 8 Replies
J

I've just finished boarding and panelling my loft, which gives me a lovely big clean space to build that layout I've always promised myself.



I was born in Welwyn Garden City and I remember my first primary school being within sight of Digswell Viaduct, and seeing the Flying Scotsman crossing the viaduct[1]. Years later my wife worked for Tony Marchington and our first son was born on the day Tony vested Oxford Molecular Group, making him enough money to buy 4472[2]. So I want to base the layout on the ECML, and model Digswell viaduct, station and tunnel.



Buuuuuut....



Digswell Viaduct is about half a kilometre long, which by my reckoning is slightly longer in OO scale than the longest straight I can manage along one wall of my loft!



Presumably people usually manage this problem by artistic licence, missing out the odd arch? Or should I just buy a bigger house? ;-)



[1] I am now old and crumbly so that memory could easily be faulty - please don't tell me if it is!
[2] We made diddly squat from the IPO, of course, and ended up paying more tax than we made profit.
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J

In message , "Just zis Guy, you know?" writes

How big is your garden?

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J

Long enough to do half the Settle-Carlisle line - but it slopes like the North face of the Eiger :-D

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J

In message , "Just zis Guy, you know?" writes

Selective compression :-)

It was just a thought.

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M

You could build a rack railway, funicular or cable lift!!

Has anyone on the group done this?

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T

[...]

Mmm . . . just about right for N gauge then.

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D

Here's what you're aspiring to recreate at 4 mm to the foot - The view from the station on the North face of the Eiger!

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Duncan

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E

Just zis Guy, you know?

So does the Settle-Carlisle line!

-- Enzo

I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.

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S

Same here

Same here ... (although not the Oxford stuff)

Well I was going to make it about 12ft long which is about 3/8 scale length but I am slowly but surely reducing it to about 8ft, so that I have a decent amount of room left for the station. It's a compromise you have to make, do you want to model just one thing or maybe include some more bits of interest.

BTW it's really Welwyn Viaduct, and the station is Welwyn North, but I'm sure you knew that :-)

If you're still in the local area do drop me a line and maybe we can swap stories, resources, etc.

Cheers Simon.

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