LAYOUTS.

As well as the clubs layout "WS Iron" there is a surprisingly large amount of layout building going on in the homes of its members too with all the current members working away on their own projects. Links to their layouts can be found on this page along with a link to pictures on how the clubs layout is progressing. Below is a description of the clubs layout...

It is debatable whether the Group's layout was planned or just evolved. Indeed in many respects, it is still evolving, since though the baseboard joinery is complete and some trackwork has been laid at the time of writing this, many of the details are still to be determined.

The overall size of the layout is 5m long by 1.15m deep and it depicts a length of double track main line passing an ironworks. There is also a single siding which links to the exchange sidings and the trackwork in the ironworks site. The passing main line is simply a means of displaying passing trains (passenger and freight), delivering raw materials to the works and removing the works' products.

There will be no station, as such, on the layout, though one will be suggested at one end of the layout where back to back houses of the nearby town will reach down to the bank of the canal opposite the works. Most of the movement will take place 'behind the fence' in the works, where small shunting locos will split trains and move the wagons around. Cassettes will transfer wagons to and from the low level fiddle yard at the back of the layout.

The site will be dominated by two blast furnaces, 'Gert' and 'Daisy', based on those marketed by Minitrix a few years ago. Other imposing structures will be casting shops and cooling towers and it is hoped to include a bank of coke ovens, scratch built in low relief. There will be a pervading air of dirt and grime everywhere.

The site will also contain two small mpds to service the standard and narrow gauge locomotives, the latter, it is planned, will work the hot metal plant by conveying the molten iron from the furnaces to the casting shops and transporting the slag to the slag dump. The narrow gauge lines will be built to 6.5mm gauge using code 40 plain rail which will allow for some dual gauge track where necessary.

The standard gauge track in the works will probably consist of a mixture of plain and bullhead rail while the mainline track will be constructed wholly from bullhead rail soldered direct to 2mm Association sleepers. The fiddle yard will be based on Tilbury Points and there are plans to devise a smart wire point actuator for general use across the layout.....