 |
Nutt & Bolton
N Gauge by
Andrew Cockburn
This is my latest N Gauge minimum
space industrial shunting layout. The layout is completely fictitious,
and set in the BR
“blue
period”
of roughly late 70’s-early
80’s.
It is completely self-contained, with the layout/fiddle yard/controls
all incorporated onto one main baseboard, while it’s
overall size of just 3’
x 1’
makes it rather portable and compact.
The layout‘s
“main
player”
is Nutt & Bolton, a small engineering company, who rely mainly on rail
transport for the import of raw materials/the dispatch of finished
products. Asides from Nutt & Bolton, a small warehouse, goods yard and
diesel stabling/fuelling point help add to operational interest.
Track work is Peco Streamline, while
the electrics, in common with the track scheme, are fairly basic. There
are two power feeds and three isolating breaks, with the latter
controlled by sprung-toggle switches. Points are operated using
“the
probe and stud“
method, in conjunction with a Gaugemaster CDU, while train control is
achieved via a Gauge master
“walkabout”
type controller. Rolling stock is a mixture of Farish/Minitrix/Peco, and
while running operations are mainly carried using BR blue diesels, a BR
black J94 makes the occasional appearance for the sake of nostalgia.
You can see all the model railway layouts featured at SimplyTrains on the layouts page. [more]
If you would like your pictures of model
trains or model railway layouts to appear
here then please email us or check for more details. [more]
Email us.
-
-
-
-
|
|
Click on the pictures to enlarge. Hit
browser back button to return.
Backscenes were custom-made, by
cutting up Townscene backscene papers, then glueing the various
buildings etc. into a suitable format on sheets of white card, which had
previously been given a light-blue wash to represent sky. The three main
buildings, Nutt & Bolton, warehouse and council depot, are all
“low-relief“,
and were scratch built from balsa, plastikard, brick sheet and other
“odds
and ends”.
A “home-made”
substation-type building is also in evidence. Other structures, namely
huts, low-relief factory, fuelling point etc. are kit-built/ready made,
and are courtesy of the Graham Avis/P & D Marsh/Peco/Ratio ranges.
Woodlands Scenics materials have been used to represent grass, bushes
etc. Small details such as cars, people, etc. are also from the
aforementioned manufacturers.
Nutt & Bolton took about six months
to build, and has provided many hours of pleasure, both in construction
and operation. And for me at least, it is perhaps proof once again that
a layout which is small and fairly simple, can be just as interesting as
something larger and more complex. The layout made it’s
exhibition “debut”
at the Weardale Railway Locomotive Preservation Group’s
Model Railway Exhibition at Spennymoor, in May 2009, as the N Gauge
representative of the Durham Modellers Group. |
|
Click on the pictures to enlarge. Hit browser back button to return.
 |
|
