'Ettinsmoor': A Redux

[Paul S.]

The British bug has bitten hard again. (No worries, nothing untoward is occurring to the N scale Slate Fork Branch of the Southern Railway.)

I've been searching online for viable track plans in the classic British "exhibition" layout design. The theme and operations design of this project will be a redux of the first "Ettinsmoor": a former London, Midland & Scottish branch (nee Midland Ry. prior to 1923), now part of British Railways in the late 1940s, very early 1950s.

Traffic will consist of a twice-weekly goods train powered by a 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0T, with twice-daily passenger service behind an aging 3F 0-6-0 or newer Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0. A 2P 4-4-0 might even make an appearance for nostalgia's sake.

Short trains will be the rule again -- a handful of coal wagons, a couple box vans and a livestock van, with a 20-ton brake van tailing it all. Passengers will board a brake third-class for Ettinsmoor, located somewhere in Cumbria.

As for a track plan, here's one viable candidate that, with some minor tweaks, should accommodate EM gauge B7 (#7 frog angle) turnouts.

[Paul S.]

Another possibility, and a perfect example of a Layout Design Element, is Holywell, a former London & North Western branchline terminus in north Wales.



Holywell was reached via a 3.7 percent grade which came up from the left of the track plan. This necessitated that all locos were on the downgrade end of arriving trains. As you can see, there was not much head room for runaround moves. Passenger trains would not need to; goods trains locos were most probably nothing larger than an 0-6-0T.

The LNWR became part of the LMS in the 1923 "Grouping."

[Michael Whiteman]

To me all these English track plans seem to look pretty much the same. I feel the shape of the terrain can really make the location stand out regardless of track arrangement. A stone overpass to hide the opening into staging is a natural for something like this. You are a great track planner Paul and I know you can come up with something unique. Although I do realize there are only so many ways to lay these designs onto the layout. I expect you will use a sector plate in the storage area, right? What time period is this going to be set in? How long do you envision this to be ? How long for the hidden staging ? That's enough questions for now. I'm glad you have space for all of these layouts.

[Paul S.]

True, Michael, most branchline termini (and smaller through stations) had basic components -- a station building and platform, goods shed with a siding, signal box or two (or just a ground frame in some locations), and coal staithes for the local coal merchant(s). Sometimes a local factory or two, and locomotive facilities as management deemed appropriate.

The upshot is that there was by default a basic layout, but nothing close to a standard except per the various individual companies' practices.

I'll use sector-plate staging, and expect train lengths to be no more than two coaches or four to five goods wagons and a brake van.

That's one of the great advantages of modeling British outline with a branchline terminus: an enjoyable, operating layout can be had for not much space, trains were prototypically short, and the equipment was prototypically small (British loading gauge is much more restrictive than North American or European).

And even though 1:76 scale/4mm is larger than HO, many a British outline locomotive is actually smaller than an HO locomotive! A small HO model 4-6-0 based a 1900 prototype would be about the size of an OO scale model of the British Standard 5MT 4-6-0 built in the 1950s (62 feet long with tender, 8'-9" wide and 13 feet tall).