Kirby Dale

An N Gauge layout based on the Settle to Carlisle Line

 

Beginning

The choice of where to base the layout on was made very quickly after my previous layout was sold following a rewarding and successful show. Having been born in the North of England, and a supporter of the LMS, it was necessary to model the area that I was familiar with, so this settled the location.

Figure 1 - Farm scene, Ormside village

 

Design

As my previous layouts have all been to the same size, I was obliged to make this layout the same so that it would fit in my custom built trailer for transport to shows. The baseboard is constructed of 12mm structural ply 2400mm x 1200mm (reduced to 1100 mm) with a framework of 90mm x 19mm dressed pine with cross braces at 600 mm, secured with 50mm x 8 gauge screws.  The whole layout consists of two of these baseboards held up by 42mm square legs which fold up for transportation. The legs have a cross brace made of 42mm x 19mm pine, 90mm up from the ground with 3/8” bolts in tubes as the hinge point to maintain a constant alignment. To further assist with assembling and dismantling a 50mm x 25mm piece of wood is screwed to the centre ends of the two baseboards with a brass strip (one on the lower surface and one on the upper surface) so that the layout can rest on the strip before it is bolted together.

 

Figure 2 - Kirby Dale Track Plan

 

 

Figure 3 – Goods trains pass in Ormside Station - Pick up freight heading into the tunnel

 

Construction

This is done using glue and screws on the framework and cross braces, remembering that you have to allow for point motors, signals and wiring and the retractable legs and brace when working underneath the layout. The back scene (300mm from the rear of the layout) is made of 3mm ply framed with 25mm x 12mm pine and reinforced with 25mm aluminium angle, along the top edge. The back scene is painted with a light blue acrylic paint and an outline of the hills is made to give some idea of the background contours.

Scenery

The basic scenery uses polystyrene from fruit and vegetable boxes, cut to the appropriate shape and thickness, interlaced with 2mm ply and covered with “Chux” tissues and a mix of casting plaster and water applied with a 2” paintbrush and allowed to set before painting the various areas with their respective base paint colour and scatter from Woodland Scenics, the various contours are made using a wood rasp (which causes a mess, but is quickly removed with a vacuum cleaner). The stone walls are typical of the area.

Figure 4 – A busy farm scene with 8F with Fowler tender on empty coal train in the foreground

 

Track

I always use Peco track and points and lay it straight on the baseboard, Peco L10E point motors are used as they are easier to install under the baseboard by one person. The track is laid after a plan made on large sheets of graph paper to scale is made.

 

Figure 5 - Queen Elizabeth rounds the corner past the church

 

Buildings and vehicles

The buildings are Lyddle End, which have the bottoms cut out using a Dremel saw with safety glasses and face mask. They were then painted inside with several coats of black paint to stop the light from showing through when lit and curtains were put on the windows as necessary. The back scene buildings are Metcalfe and the roads and footpaths by Noch. Figures are a  mixture of Preiser and Graham Farish, road vehicles are by Oxford Diecast and trees are a blend of home-made (by my wife) and the Model Tree Shop. The viaduct is a Metcalfe kit as is the road bridge behind. The signals and lights are predominately from CR Signal. The Kirby Dale station platform lights are from Toot Toot Models and the majority of buildings have lights installed by our son. The fiddle yard at the rear is fully sceniced to take away the bareness and people get a surprise when they have a look around the corner.

 

Figure 6 - General view of village across the throat of Kirby Dale

 

Control

The layout is powered by four transformers and the electrics are routed through four matrix boards and utilise a common return so that route setting can be carried out from the control panel and enables a neater system of wiring. The electrical system was designed and installed by a friend and our son, a BRMA member. The controllers are by Cashless and Broke and have worked satisfactorily at various model railway shows.

 

Figure 7 - Busy time at Kirby Dale station

 

Locos and Rolling Stock

The locos are mostly RTR by Farish, Dapol and Minitrix, some have been modified to give variations within classes, with a few kit built. Some of the RTR are from enterprises who do small runs of goods and mixed traffic locos, these include a 2F, a 3F and 18inch goods locos from Union Mills. The rolling stock is a mixture of Farish, Dapol, Peco and a large number of kits from the N Gauge Society which run on Peco chassis. The sheeted hoppers carry anhydrite from the quarry at Long Meg, on the Settle to Carlisle line and were hauled by 8F and later 9F locos to Widnes in Lancashire. The passenger trains are hauled by Jubilee class locos and occasionally an ex-LNER B1 puts in an appearance.

 

Figure 8 - General view of countryside

 

Operation

As the layout is designed to be transportable it takes two people about an hour to assemble it, but it can be operated by one person. The fiddle yard at the rear has seven sidings for each line, two lines on each track are capable of holding 35 wagon trains, while the shorter tracks cater for passenger, parcels,  cattle and pick up goods trains. My thanks for the help in building this layout goes to my wife and my son who have done all the scenery which highlights aspects of English country life. The layout has given us countless hours of satisfaction and pleasure.

 

Figure 9 - Relaxing time at the cottages as a train of Stanier coaches passes