Hi All
I thought I'd share some pictures of progress with Mwynwr Tryciau Colliery, a small layout I began a couple of years ago. I've been collecting miscellaneous British outline N-gauge rolling stock for almost 40 years, but only ever ran them on my son's basic train set loop when he was much younger than his current 26 years. I decided I'd like to build a layout with a focussed theme, in which I'd make the scenery and stock, if not the overall size, as realistic as I could manage.
So, my design parameters were:
1. I lived in a small furnished flat, so the layout had to be small and easily put-awayable
2. Because of 1. above, curves would be tight
3. Because of 2. above, I decided on an industrial theme, mostly running shunters and 4-wheeled stock.
4. Because of 3. above I wanted concurrent shunting and continuous running. To add interest, I decided on two connected loops on different levels.
5. Because of the age of my stock, DC was the
Default Choice.
6. A visit to the 'Big Pit' in Blaenavon,
www.museumwales.ac.uk/bigpit/ settled the theme for me; an upland Welsh coal mining layout was born.
The basic layout has been 'operational' for some time, but filling in the scenic detail, including adding appropriate new stock, is 'ongoing' and will be for some time to come.
Here's the overall track plan:
Upper and lower loops are independently controlled, both powered via a Gaugemaster track cleaning unit. The lower loop rises and the upper loop descends to meet at the crossover points at the lower left of the picture. The upper-level scenery is more-or-less done; high moorland to the right, with greener foliage as the upper loop descends along the escarpment towards the lower level, then climbing a viaduct back towards the moor:
At the centre of the layout will be the coal screens, ie train and barge loading. I've not decided whether to place pit buildings centrally, or imagine them to be "off-set" somewhere, with conveyors of some sort.
A locomotive stable will be based in the upper right low-level area:
A goods station/yard and exchange sidings will occupy the left end of the layout:
In both cases there'll probably be some track re-alignment to be done.
Anyway, watch this space!
Mike