Cheshire Railway Modellers

By Bob Hughes

Colin is an old friend of mine who I have known since schooldays and was one of the first people to join Cheshire Railway Modellers even though he did not own a model railway at the time. Some while ago he asked me if I'd build him a small layout, this has taken me a long time to get started on but it is now under way. The layout will be a small shunting puzzle. The off stage arrangement means that any shunting movement between the front and rear sidings has to be done via the middle one, and the middle siding will only take a loco and one wagon at once making the puzzle more interesting.

1 (Top left): The loco collects a wagon from the rear siding (a) and draws it onto the off stage traverser. 2 (Bottom left): The traverser is moved so that the rear track (d) lines up with the middle siding (b) then the loco and wagon move into the siding. 3 (Top right): The traverser is returned to its original position enabling the loco and wagon to run onto the front track (e). 4 (Bottom right): The traverser is moved again so that the loco can propel the wagon onto the front siding (c).

A - Gate and BR access line. B - Boilerhouse. C - Brewery and goods inwards. D - Goods outwards (connected to main building via covered walkway).  E - Loco shed. F - Cooper's yard. G - Road transport yard. H - Offices.

The photo shows the layout under construction and will be updated as work progresses.