Micro Model Railways

QUOTE (Paulo @ 22 Sep 2008, 19:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Great magazine & plenty of inspiration but please can we have more articles on small space layouts, much as I would love to have an empire such as those masterpieces featured I just dont have the space.I am currently working on a layout in a space just over 6ft long by 11" wide its very challenging and it would be good to see how others have created their own miniature masterpieces.
Hi Paulo, I dont have experience in building railway latouts that small but I have seen numerous layouts of similar size to yours at many model railway exhibitions. First thing I'd ask is what scale do you want to work in as an HO/OO layout would be difficult to squeeze on to a 6ft x 11' layout while an N gauge layout would allow for more track.

However if you want to work in HO/OO scale, I usualy see layouts of around that size set in either countryside branch line with a small station at one end and a shed or siding area to park trains when not in use at the other end. Another scene used is an industrial scene such as a harbour or factory with many sidings to shunt and marshal wagons.

I hope this is of any help to you. I would suggest going to a model railway exhibition as I find you get a lot more ideas from seeing layouts in person and being able to talk to their owners about the layout. Also I read Railway Modeller and there are usualy small layouts in that with plans of the layout; maybe that would be worth looking at.

QUOTE (Paulo @ 22 Sep 2008, 20:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Great magazine & plenty of inspiration but please can we have more articles on small space layouts, much as I would love to have an empire such as those masterpieces featured I just dont have the space.I am currently working on a layout in a space just over 6ft long by 11" wide its very challenging and it would be good to see how others have created their own miniature masterpieces.
Hi Paulo
perhaps this site may be of help .dedicated to the small layout and well worth a look for inspiration .incidently my layout is going to be 6ft x11inches .Based on a small branch terminal but will allow for expansion in either direction ,to keep all options open. Hornby magazine did show a layout roughly your dimensions ,Condicote by Bob Vaughan ,in issue 7 .I used it as basis for my layout but altered it around to suit .Great little layout and an inspiration.
http://www.carendt.com
hope it helps
Martin

6 foot by 11 inches is a huge amount of space in 4mm OO gauge..or EM or P4.....and certainly usable in 7mm O gauge..

such relatively minimal dimensions have historically been the bread 'n butter of UK railway modelling.

even mainline activity can be catered for...whether it's a case of what happens either end.....or simply some feature in the middle....

standard gauge, narrow gauge, you name it, 6 foot can be ample.

Combine that dimension with the use of [portable, removable] types of hidden sidings, one end, or both, and 6 foot for scenics an be huge.

I tend to favour longer, but fewer sidings [if that is what I'm aiming for]......one or two long sidings being in my eyes more effective in appearance than several short ones.

of course, the huge advantage of a 6 foot plank, is the builder's ability to finish to a higher standard, with more attention to detail, than would be possible with a larger project.

so, branch lines, industrials, etc aren't the only option....check out those tomes by Iain Rice, for example.......

[and Cyril Freezer's famous Minories plan isn't much longer than 6 foot, and is real mainline stuff....and doesn't need N gauge .....3mm scale is about as small as I'd go, [pork sausage fingers and failing close-up eyesight, sadly]

QUOTE (Paulo @ 22 Sep 2008, 19:10) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Great magazine & plenty of inspiration but please can we have more articles on small space layouts, much as I would love to have an empire such as those masterpieces featured I just dont have the space.I am currently working on a layout in a space just over 6ft long by 11" wide its very challenging and it would be good to see how others have created their own miniature masterpieces.

Hi Paulo. I just remebered an idea I saw on a tv program called model town that be of some use to you. It was set on a GER tramway but it had an added twist. There was 4 versions of this layout set in different seasons and time periods and could changed around by rotating the layout 90 degrees to the next scene. maybe this would be a idea worth looking in to as you would be able to run different layouts on the same board. I'll try to get pictures of this layout for you to look at.

QUOTE (alastairq @ 22 Sep 2008, 22:50) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>6 foot by 11 inches is a huge amount of space in 4mm OO gauge..or EM or P4.....and certainly usable in 7mm O gauge..

such relatively minimal dimensions have historically been the bread 'n butter of UK railway modelling.

even mainline activity can be catered for...whether it's a case of what happens either end.....or simply some feature in the middle....

standard gauge, narrow gauge, you name it, 6 foot can be ample.

Combine that dimension with the use of [portable, removable] types of hidden sidings, one end, or both, and 6 foot for scenics an be huge.

I tend to favour longer, but fewer sidings [if that is what I'm aiming for]......one or two long sidings being in my eyes more effective in appearance than several short ones.

of course, the huge advantage of a 6 foot plank, is the builder's ability to finish to a higher standard, with more attention to detail, than would be possible with a larger project.

so, branch lines, industrials, etc aren't the only option....check out those tomes by Iain Rice, for example.......

[and Cyril Freezer's famous Minories plan isn't much longer than 6 foot, and is real mainline stuff....and doesn't need N gauge .....3mm scale is about as small as I'd go, [pork sausage fingers and failing close-up eyesight, sadly]
Thanx for pointing me in the right direction

QUOTE (BRITHO @ 24 Sep 2008, 17:13) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Or, in my case, HO. - my little "plank" measures 4'6" x 14" approximately. It still manages to give me a lot of enjoyment. (When it's working that is!)

Regards
The great thing about planks is that with a little bit of forward planning it can be joined to other planks and then later to other planks as and when space permits and suddenly you have a good sized layout .I tend to design "planks " to give them some further potential,so for instance removal of some buffer stops will allow the line to extend ,a siding can be extended to a loop on the next section etc,and possibly make buildings on a separate base so they can be removed (its easier to make that way as well ).My branch terminal can be extended to a small through station at some point ,and onwards.If you plan beyond the immediate layout and think"what would come next if it was longer ,it can make it much more interesting later IMHO.

Hi Paulo,

I've just transferred this posting from your other thread within this forum:

If you want Micro layouts, then look no further than http://www.carendt.com - produced by Carl Arendt, this massive website will keep you occupied for months or even years!!! Also pay a visit to Cheshire Railway Modellers (forgotten website) and just to start you off, here's my two micro layouts:




Walmington Pier Tramway - An HO Edwardian British seaside pier 3 feet long x 6 ins wide.


Routes End 2 - An HO generic modern Light Rail terminus with stabling sidings, 3 ft 6 ins long x 7 ins wide.

Good luck in your searches!

Dave

Hi Paulo,

Yes, Route's End 2 can be boring as hell to operate, but I revised Route's End 2 operation to make it simpler following me breaking my arm earlier this year and for my co-operator Barbara(My laywer and 'Piermistress') who suffers weak joints (I'm in my mid 50s and she is a little older than me).

Walmington Pier Tramway (WPT) is even simpler to operate, but because of its unusual theme it does draw crowds and that makes operating much more enjoyable. It appeals to everyone. Even Cyril Freezer commended me upon seeing it because I 'broke all the rules of railway modelling and got away with it'! He added that it must be the only prototypical setting for a length of plain straight track!

Barbara and I both enjoy operating WPT and this is her with WPT at the Festival of Model Tramways at Kew Bridge in 2007:


She is usually blonde, but had a 'darker hair day' and has lost 29 pounds weight since then!

We both appear in The Railway Channel video No.3 with WPT!

Dave

Hi Paulo,

Blackpool North Pier Tramway opened in 1991 and I understand it closed in the last few years as the train failed to meet Disability Discrimination Act requirements and would involve extensive rebuilding. It also only ran 250 metres and was more of a novelty than an actual means of transport. The stock was built by a fairground machinery manufacturer who had no real idea of rail vehicle requirements and demands.

WPT got influenced from several sources:
Pier - based upon Totland Bay Pier, Isle of Wight.

Shore end - based upon Margate, Kent.

Pier Railway - based on Herne Bay, Kent.

Pier Tram - an anglicised Bachmann San Francisco cable car, influenced by the 2 winter cars that ran along Southend Pier between 1914 and 1949.

Luggage Truck - based upon the luggage truck still operating on Hythe Pier Railway in Hampshire.
Pier Head - a generic Edwardian seaside pier head and is politically incorrect in all ways!! For I have 'Domestic Violence' (Punch & Judy show), 'Cruelty by animals' (one big dancing bear), 'Cruelty to animals' (two monkeys on a barrel organ), 'Commercial Exploitation' (Cockney flower seller), 'More Commercial Exploitation' (two local 'ladies' working the pier head), and 'Death-Defying Devilish Daring Display' (Pier Diver and uninvited guest)


The stock on Route's End 2 are Mehano Boeing LRVs (Light Rail Vehicles) and run better than the prototype cars ever did! The prototypes ran in Boston and San Francisco although Manchester bought two cars over here to find they were useless!

Hope this helps,
Dave