Widnes Road - (For Sale)- SOLD

Widnes Road finishes its exhibition life in February 2014, with a final showing at Stafford Showground and will be potentially FOR SALE after this date to free up some room for my next project. Please contact me with 'sensible' offers if interested in taking on this well known exhibition layout.

Update - April 2014, Widnes Road has now gone to a new home. New model railway projects are now in the planning stages.

Picture update - Widnes Road

Nearly ready for the Autumn exhibitions

A few pictures of the extension to Widnes Road which has been taking shape over the summer. The new scenic board with sandstone hills are based on Runcorn Hill, with a slightly geographically repositioned pub, The Prospect also from Runcorn, forming part of a small hamlet on top. The electrified track which passes through the new scene is the line which diverges from the main line at Runcorn station and serves Folly Lane.

The concrete hardstanding to the foreground is a place-holder until I can find a suitable kit for a chlorine plant, the front two tracks will eventually serve the chemical works.

Widnes Road - Western Extension

Having completed fiddle yard V.1.4, I can finally start on the interesting bit, the extension to the western, scenic end of the layout. This will include a chemical works / tanker unloading depot, consisting of two sidings, the second of which will have a loco shunt release via a double slip onto the through line. The images alongside show the first piece of trackwork I have completed, a conjoined pair of B6 r/hand turnouts, constructed as a single track panel over the last few weeks.
The next track panel to be contructed slots onto the furthest right road in this picture (the through line) and will consist of a trailing curved l/hand leading back toward the camera. this will serve as a cripple sideing for a couple of wagons, plus storage for the shunter which will stable this side of the level crossing and serve the chemical works traffic.
The final track panel will consist of a double slip, joining roads 2 and 3 and divering into a single road heading to a hidden fiddle yard, and a headshunt.

Widnes Road - Fiddle Yard Mk.IV

Work has been continuing apace on Widnes Road now there is a break in the exhibition programme. The first task was the (re-)building of the main fiddle yard, to produce the 4th version. The original was three roads wide and only long enough to stable three locos. This, hopefully the final iteration of the eastern fiddle yard is now able to accommodate fairly long trains, as the images show. Once the second fiddle yard is built, which will be behind the operators, accessed by a hidden curve from the western end of the layout, the operational potential of Widnes Road will improve dramatically.

The high level road seen at the rear of the yard is now wired, and can be used as both a programme track and a test track during exhibitions, when running a loco on the layout only for it to die after three feet can prove embarrassing.

Widnes Road - A short picture update and Exhibition Dates

Photos courtesy of Tim Reynolds (Cambridge MRC)

Widnes Road - Exhibition Dates - Autumn 2011

10 & 11 September - Worthing MRC Durrington High School, The Boulevard, Worthing, West Sussex

1st & 2nd October - Folkestone MRC Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone

5th & 6th November - Alsager Railway Association, Crewe Alsager - Civic Centre, Stoke

19th & 20th November - Warley National Model Railway Exhibition - NEC, Birmingham

After attending three exhibitions in the early Spring, both Widnes Road and its operators are taking a break from the circuit for a five month period. The next dates are given above, a fairly intense set of two day shows, also getting to parts of the country where we can meet new faces, and also get to see layouts that never make it to the depths of Essex and Kent, our usual 'patch'.

The next five months will be a phase of fairly intense work on the layout, as the final stage on converting Widnes Road from a simple fiddle yard to depot layout as originally built six years ago into a full end-to-end railway capable of running through trains takes place.

This has partly come about from the explosion of excellent 'depot' layouts over the last few years, and partly because after more than 20 exhibitions in its current form, I need to keep things interesting both for me and the layouts operators and audience.

The first stage of the works has already taken place, the existing 5-road traverser has been completely rebuilt, now measuring 5'5" in length, the maximum that will fit across the inside of a Transit van. Once the second fiddle yard is finished, this will allow reasonably long rakes of stock to pass through the scenic section of Widnes Road, adding visual interest between the usual loco moves and shunting of the yard.

As well as being dictated by the width of a Transit, I'm keen to run the occasional through parcels rake, or perhaps a diverted inter-regional passenger as well as the ubiquitous DMU, so the fiddle yard is capable of accommodating a Class 45 Peak and 5 of Bachmann's MkII's or a similar number of GUVs.

The next focus is getting the pointwork built for the third and final scenic board in time for testing in the summer, and being complete with scenery by Warley at the end of November.

The Great Flood

Over the summer I had planned to start work on the final scenic board for Widnes Road, an extension to the left of the level crossing which splits with one road heading to a short, single platform face for DMU traffic and a through road passing under a skewed bridge to a short fiddle yard to enable through trains.

Unfortunately a burst pipe in the ceiling above my modelling room put paid to that idea, and instead the last two months have been spent repairing damage to the house and to a lesser extent, Widnes Road. Luckily the main leak missed all the layouts but there was still a bit of work required. I did manage to complete one piece of new scenery, rather than just replacement; and that was a block of flats to fill in a blank space at the rear. With the addition of some figures and vehicles I'm pleased with the result so far. I just need to add some photoshopped images to the back skypaper to fill in the gaps.

Widnes Road - High Quality Images

Some pictures from the Welwyn GC Exhibition

Living the life of a somewhat subterranean railway modeler its not often that what I build has the benefit of good natural lighting. Last weekends exhibition in Welwyn Garden City was a real opportunity to take some photos, as it was blessed with excellent lighting on a bright spring day. Despite only having a compact digital camera with me I was pleased with the results.   

There is a few months until a good run of four exhibitions in close succession in the Autumn. This means I can get cracking on the parade of shops which will form the other side of Widnes Road and complete the western end of the layout. A combination of kit-bashing and detailing is the order of the day. I'm on the lookout for any company that does the basic components for shop interiors in 4mm and a decent kit to base a detailed public house on.

Widnes Road Signal Box - Part III

The completed signal box complete with interior and lighting has been installed on the layout next to the new level crossing. The through main line is laid ready for the extension of Widnes Road to allow end-to-end operation using two fiddle yards.

Widnes Road Signal Box - Part II

Having spent some time making a fully detailed interior, some decent internal lighting was required. A strip of three white LED's provided plenty of light and was easily hidden in the roof.

Widnes Road Signal Box

The new signal box for Widnes Road level crossing is taking shape nicely; the Ratio Midland region box with a fully detailed interior.

Widnes Road - Level Crossing

The level crossing at the western end of Widnes Road starts to take shape; the gates are Wills, the pedestrian guards are made from styrene rod filed to triangles. Next task is to complete the signal box to go alongside the crossing which will have a fully detailed interior.

Widnes Road Update 2010

Firstly, here is a quick list of the next 5 confirmed exhibition dates for Widnes Road

2010

17th April               De Havilland MRC              Welwyn Garden City

18th September      Mid Essex MRC                 High School, Oliver Road, Shenfield

2nd/3rd October     Ilford & West Essex MRC   Romford

9th October            The Leventhorpe School     Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire

13th November       Romford MRC

Secondly, a quick round-up of what I've been working on and what's in store for the 2010 exhibition season.

Having got fed-up with continually fixing the plastic handrails around the roof of the depot, I fabricated new ones from square-section brass rod; when painted up they look a lot finer scale, and have the added benefit of not snapping every time the track is cleaned. This was followed by the fitting of a number of 'express models' depot lamps to the buildings and yard area.

The next changes are a lot more drastic, and are still under construction. The final extension to the layout will see a level crossing installed to Widnes Road at the far left hand side; the front road in the yard being straightened and converted to a through line. This required the painful act of removing a significant section of scenery and track to enable the realigned line to exit across the main road and onto a second fiddle yard.

At present I've laid the new track and I'm now contemplating whether to go for conventional level-crossing gates or working modern barriers. Current thinking is for the older style level crossing gates and the through line is for freight services to the Runcorn Docks and chemical works and would have been unlikely to have justified the expense of fitting automatic gates.

I'm looking forward to the new Bachmann 03, as this will be perfect for short trip-working trains of a few chemical tanks running across the main road.

7mm SPA Progress

I've completed the assembly of the first of the 7mm kits I've been working on, and I think the result is quite reasonable given the fairly rough and ready nature of the mouldings.

The lack of believable brake levers led to a rummaging through the 'bits' box; parts were borrowed from the leftovers from previous kits, one side from a Grampus the other from a VGA. It goes to emphasise why you should never through anything away.

All that remains is to give it a coat of Railfreight 'flame red', and apply transfers.