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THE SCALEFOUR SOCIETY 18.83 LAYOUT CHALLENGE |
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THE SCALEFOUR SOCIETY 18.83 LAYOUT CHALLENGE |
Western Road Diesel Depot by Mike Anson
Western Road fits firmly in the category of
railway modelling as a means of evoking childhood memories. In this case,
trainspotting around the Bristol area during the late l970s:
the blue/grey era, the last throes of the Westerns, long hot summers.. .Well
1976 was long and hot, class 50s were displacing the Westerns and train
headcodes were all set to 0000. The exact location of the depot is vague. Devon
or Cornwall certainly and if pressed I envisage Western Road as how Long Rock,
Penzance might have looked if reconstructed in the 1960s. There is nothing very
original about the plan for Western Road since locomotive depots, in all shapes
and sizes, have been modelled many times before. Yet, they are sometimes cramped
into a small space when, in reality, depots take up a lot of real estate. I have
tried to create a feeling of space in the plan and also avoid something too long
and straight. The main shed and repair shop are inspired by parts of Bristol
Bath Road and Laira depots. If there is an unusual aspect to the plan, it is
that the background to the layout is formed by two complete trains stabled in
the carriage sidings. This should provide both an interesting backdrop and
somewhere to store those Bachmann Mark 1s. Locomotives on view will be those
typical of the period and location: classes 08, 25, 45, 46, 47, 50 and 52.
Western Road is intended to convey a normal diesel depot on an ordinary
day.
Boring?
Hopefully, that is just how I remember it.
