Saturday, September 13, 2008

Layout ideas.

I've been looking at the pictures at http://www.kiwibonds.com/ taken around Dunedin in the 1980's. As this was where I got my start in NZ120 ( and my family is from around the are) I've always had a soft spot for the railways of the area. So, I've come up with an idea to model an interesting part of it that has not been done before. I've based the layout on the line between Dunedin and Port Chalmers where it runs beside (and across bits of)the Otago harbour.

It's a bit minimalist in terms of point work etc, but the main aim is to run trains (which I suppose is then a signature design feature of all my layout designs). The blanket bay section would run down one wall, and be about 3' deep, with the track across the causeway 12" back from the front of the layout. the Roseneath tunnel is very useful, as the layout can either be linear, or bent at right angles here to fit in a room. the line runs through sawyers bay, and then either runs up the hill on the SIMT, or into another tunnel to port Chalmers. If there was more space then port Chalmers could be modeled to have an area for shunting on the layout. The real beauty of this scene is that it has not really changed since the 1960's, and therefore is completely flexible in terms of rolling stock, from Ab's and Ja's ( and possibly even Wab's from the 30's) through the Dg/Di/Dj era of the 1980's to the Dx/dc combination of the modern age. I do wish I was a better artist sometimes to do these ideas justice, as I have a fully developed picture in my mind of how it should look.

1 comment:

Southern Rails said...

The line between Dunedin and Port Chalmers would make an interesting layout. The Ravensbourne fertilizer works would also make a great addition and give an excuse for some shunting.

Mike