NSW Layout - 0740 - North of Preston - TCH132
Where does one start? I
will try the fiddle yard but may change this later.
The fiddle yard is
entered through a two road tunnel and is assumed to lead to a large station
such as Preston. There are eight storage lines about 12ft long and it pivots at
the right hand end so that two of the tracks line up with the approach tracks
at the left hand end most of the time.
The first station will
be double track and with a bay road entered from the left therefore one is able
to terminate a short train and send it back round the layout without using the
fiddle yard. The through roads and bay are the only part built at the moment,
but some of the sidings may be in place before the convention.
The double track (now
entering the scenic area) continues three quarters of the way round the room to
a junction. After this one track curves sharply left. We will follow the other
single track as it swings slightly right and crosses a 7 arch viaduct curving
left into a tunnel. This is the end of the scenery at the moment.
Leaving the tunnel there
are a few sidings on both sides and then you enter an island platform station.
(This station is directly above the fiddle yard where we started.) The single
line continues round a corner on a narrow shelf and then opens out into a small
halt with one siding and no passing loop. (We are now above and behind the
first station.)
After leaving the halt we keep climbing at
about 1:100 and then enter a short tunnel at the summit. When we come out of
the tunnel we are dropping and curving left through about 180o and
after crossing the double track (and back into the scenery) on a plate girder
bridge enter the last station and passing loop. There are several sidings, and
the remains of a derelict branch line here. The line leaves the station on a
sharp curve to reach the before mentioned junction, and continues back to the
Fiddle yard.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
This article was published prior to the BRMA
Convention for 2011.