A DEMU challenge layout

Waterloo Street by James Dickie

The idea for this layout came about when looking through a copy of Scottish Urban & Rural Branchlines by George O'Hara. Around about the same time Bachmann released their Class 08. Plates 28 and 29 of the book show two views of the same section of the former Great North of Scotland Railway Waterloo branch from Kittybrewster to Aberdeen docks. In both pictures 08719 is shown shunting small rakes of wagons — BDAs to the tube storage yard and Barytes tankers to Kittybrewster yard.

The track layout intrigued me right away. Despite it being just a simple loop feeding a fan of sidings, there is enough interest to make a small test track cum shunting plank layout. The bulge in the loop is especially interesting (when the track plan was remodelled it accommodated the signal box, which was then demolished shortly afterwards!) and will be a good test for new stock to negotiate. Two perfectly placed bridges and the background of industrial buildings frame the whole scene rather well from a modelling point of view.

This layout was originally designed as an entry for the Scalefour Society’s 18.83 Challenge, where the limitation that the baseboards occupy an area of 18.83 ft² or less existed. When planning a layout based on this location that met the constraints of the challenge it quickly became apparent that the simple track plan would need some sympathetic treatment to look right. The loop was originally intended by the GNoSR as a passing loop for trains serving the early Waterloo Station. As such it is deceptively long. Getting the exit alignments right for cassette fiddle yards leads to the elongated S-shape of the baseboards. It's definitely turned out longer and skinnier than I anticipated, in particular the fiddle yards are not as long as I would have liked. On the other hand, I'm sure that trains at this location would not have been long either.

Although this layout is based on a particular area, I want it to capture the atmosphere of the numerous dock branches in Scotland — Yoker, Grangemouth, Greenock, Alloa, Burntisland, Govan and so on. Therefore the stock appearing can be more extensive than trying to be faithful to a single line. It is also pretty hard to find more than a couple of photos showing the location in any given era. Thus it is photo albums to the rescue in order to portray typical stock for the chosen period of 1976-1984.

The line is still open, indeed the track is currently being relaid and extended), and sees traffic to a chemical plant as well as excursion trains from time to time. Unfortunately, the available fiddle yards won't run to a rake of eight Mk1 coaches with a Class 37 on each end!

Size of layout - Scenic section 2.5M approx x 0.35m wide