Livsey Lane was my
challenge for 2009 and was inspired by a small but very much simpler 8ft
layout that I saw many years ago at a Manchester Model Railway Society
Exhibition. My plan was to build a larger and more complex layout on 4
boards that will give a total length of 16ft. But if I wanted to be able
to put all the boards up at the same time while at home then it had to
be shrunk a little and has finished up as 14ft-9 inches.
This slight reduction in size means that I can only have 3 coach
suburban trains in the station rather than the 4 that I originally
planned for.
The locos are controlled by DCC and the points by
push buttons on a mimic diagram of the track with a Diode Matrix used
where multiple point operation is needed in the storage and goods
sidings. The turntable used is a standard Peco unit driven by a motor
and gearbox from
Frizinghall Models which in turn is
controlled via a DCC decoder chip. Further
detailed information about motorising the turntable can be found on the
"Technical
Topics pages"
Operation of the
layout is as follows:-
Trains are stored in the hidden sidings covered
by a hill and out of sight of visitors. Passenger trains can then be
brought into the station to arrive at either platform road where the
loco will come to rest with its coupling to the train over an
electrically operated uncoupler
so that the train can be eventually taken back out by a fresh engine
from the shed. The original engine can then be taken to the shed and be
available again later.
Goods trains will on arrival run into the reception road just outside
the platforms where the engine can again be detached. The loco on "Yard
Shunting" duty can then draw away the stock and dispose of it
either in the small marshalling yard or the goods shed and associated
sidings.
My home designed
electrically operated uncoupler
is also used at specific places around the layout and goods sidings.
Two operators will be needed if the layout is
exhibited to give plenty of stock movement for visitors to see, but at
the same time it should prove a useful layout for a single operator when
erected at home.
Future plans for the model are to perhaps build
another scenic section of about 2ft that can be inserted in the centre
of the existing boards. This would then give an increased running length
for use at exhibitions if space is available.
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