Well, I figured I ought to make a first post here. I've been fairly active posting various micro-layout threads over on RMWeb for the past few years but the image issue has sort of made me jump ship.
Back in September my partner and I moved to a new house on the Waverley estate on the Rotherham/Sheffield border, slap bang in the middle of what was Orgreave Coking Plant (in fact I've sort of managed to narrow down a fairly exact location to find our house is pretty much right in front of one of the coke oven banks) so naturally a layout had to be built!
I have a real thing for micro-layouts so this is being built on one of the Scale Model Scenery baseboard in a box sets which gives me ample room for what I need. Although heavily based on Orgreave, it's not an exact replica, rather I've taken a few aspects of the real site from photos and arranged them around a simple track plan.
The track plan should give me at least some operating interest, certainly compared to just a simple inglenook like I've built previously - my aim is to get this ready for the Sheffield Model Railway Enthusiasts exhibition on 1-2 April 2023 so I wanted something that'll be at least sort of fun to operate. I've also designed in a working end-tippler. The rake of Dapol 16 tonners loosely represent the internal fleet present in the 1980s, and are modified with a 3D printed opening end door.
I wanted to make a point of using purely Peco Bullhead track as I've been itching to use some for yonks - and it really is lightyears ahead of standard Code 75. The layout is wired up purely for DCC operation and servo controlled pointwork/tippler. The tippler itself is 3D printed in both FDM and resin, as is the weighbridge plate.
Stock will be a little more varied, although I will be using a Sentinel and Janus as per the real place, I plan to also run a few other locos I can just about get away with such as the AB and probably an 03/08. Nearby Orgreave Colliery also had a Kerr Stuart Victory so I've added the new Pi one to my list, they also had an ex-BR green 04 and a Hunslet Austerity which will most likely appear at some point too. It's entirely possible/likely that these may have made their way over to the Coking plant as both sites were directly rail linked.
Back in September my partner and I moved to a new house on the Waverley estate on the Rotherham/Sheffield border, slap bang in the middle of what was Orgreave Coking Plant (in fact I've sort of managed to narrow down a fairly exact location to find our house is pretty much right in front of one of the coke oven banks) so naturally a layout had to be built!
I have a real thing for micro-layouts so this is being built on one of the Scale Model Scenery baseboard in a box sets which gives me ample room for what I need. Although heavily based on Orgreave, it's not an exact replica, rather I've taken a few aspects of the real site from photos and arranged them around a simple track plan.
The track plan should give me at least some operating interest, certainly compared to just a simple inglenook like I've built previously - my aim is to get this ready for the Sheffield Model Railway Enthusiasts exhibition on 1-2 April 2023 so I wanted something that'll be at least sort of fun to operate. I've also designed in a working end-tippler. The rake of Dapol 16 tonners loosely represent the internal fleet present in the 1980s, and are modified with a 3D printed opening end door.
I wanted to make a point of using purely Peco Bullhead track as I've been itching to use some for yonks - and it really is lightyears ahead of standard Code 75. The layout is wired up purely for DCC operation and servo controlled pointwork/tippler. The tippler itself is 3D printed in both FDM and resin, as is the weighbridge plate.
Stock will be a little more varied, although I will be using a Sentinel and Janus as per the real place, I plan to also run a few other locos I can just about get away with such as the AB and probably an 03/08. Nearby Orgreave Colliery also had a Kerr Stuart Victory so I've added the new Pi one to my list, they also had an ex-BR green 04 and a Hunslet Austerity which will most likely appear at some point too. It's entirely possible/likely that these may have made their way over to the Coking plant as both sites were directly rail linked.
I also do some magazine and commission work in that field too. I did start out as a railway modeller though, it was something my dad got me into when I was around 3-4 years old, then I moved onto plastic models, before making a more serious move back into railway modelling about 5 years ago. I now split my time fairly equally between both.
