OK, OK, I give in. I promised myself I would not start another layout. But ever since I got two — very pretty — 00 gauge Peckett 0-6-0s, my thoughts have turned repeatedly to finding opportunities to run them. Not having any 00 gauge previously, I bought some wagons for the Pecketts to pull. Then a circle of Hornby track which was set up on the floor so the locos could be tested. They run really well, but a wooden floor is not a great place for a operating trains. So the temptation to lay track on a baseboard that could be put on a table grew. Finally, my wife’s argument — ‘there’s no point in having them if you can’t run them’ — proved decisive. I will build a very small layout for the Pecketts.
I haven’t had an 00 gauge railway since I was about ten years old. I have considerable reservations about the ‘narrow gauge’ aspect of 00 so didn’t think I would ever return to it. But there are two reasons why I’m going to build a small 00 layout now. This one:
And this one:
There has been some discussion of these two in the threads ‘What’s on Your Workbench — 2024’ and ‘Dublingham Goods Station’. I’ll not repeat all of that here, but since these locos are the reason for this layout being built and so the thread is complete, a quick summary. These 00 gauge locos were made by the firm A. & J. van Riemsdyk in the early 1950s. The business was very much at the cottage industry end of the spectrum so the total production of each model was in the hundreds, not thousands. Both locos are fitted with a very cleverly designed, reversing, ‘controlled clockwork’ motor which provides for fine adjustment of the speed but with little loss of power at low speeds. Each loco is closely based on works drawings of a particular type built by Peckett — they’re scale models, albeit lacking in detail. Construction is in tinplate with brass and aluminium fittings. J. van Riemsdyk was John van Riemsdyk. He had used clockwork in various devices during WW2 when he was in SOE. After the war, he went into business with his brother making clockwork mechanisms for different purposes, but including 0 gauge locomotives and trams. The 00 gauge models were produced at the suggestion of the manager of Bassett-Lowke’s London shop, where the models were then sold. Later John van Riemsdyk joined the staff of the Science Museum where he rose to become Keeper of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. In this capacity, he was responsible for setting up the NRM on its present site in York. In retirement, John van Riemsdyk designed many of the Gauge 1 live steam locomotives produced by Aster.
My Pecketts are charming, run beautifully and have a distinguished historic pedigree. There should be a track for them where they can be put to use.
I am determined the 00 gauge layout will not become an obstacle to progress with Rivermead Central. So to prevent undue diversion of time and resources, it is to be kept as small as possible. Sure, it would be nice to have a 40’-long colliery system to exploit the locomotives’ length of run. But since that’s not possible, a small continuous loop will allow them to be operated. The overall plan is this:
Why the name ‘Rowan Colliery’? Well, the track is, err, undeniably, essentially round. More to the point, I have fond memories of seeing steam working at Mountain Ash Colliery in the late 1970s. I can’t produce a model of any real colliery railway. ‘Inspired by’ Mountain Ash, not ‘based on’. So Rowan Colliery seems appropriate. As far as I can discover, there was not a real ‘Rowan Colliery’, though there was a ‘Rowan Tree Colliery’ in Co. Durham.
The plan is two baseboards (joined at the dotted line), each 1500 mm x 750 mm. I will use Code 100 rail track for the storage loops and the out-of-sight areas, if possible Code 75 for the visible track. The above is only a concept sketch. I’m not sure what there will be in the scenic section — but a loop and a couple of storage sidings would provide some operational interest. I will need to use buildings or trees as view blockers to disguise that the running line in the scenic section is a half circle with rather a small radius. I probably will wire the track to allow electric operation on the main circuit, should that be required/desired at some future date.
Operationally, my thoughts are two rakes of mineral wagons. A rake of empties which runs clockwise — from the direction leading to the exchange sidings and towards the colliery; a rake of loaded wagons that runs anti-clockwise. Trains of 8–12 wagons would seem appropriate taking into account the size of the layout and the power of the locomotives. Neither the exchange sidings nor the colliery will be modelled. This is to be a scenic test track of sorts. A chance to see the locos running in an appropriate rural/industrial setting. Including large or complex buildings would take far too much modelling time and there isn’t room on a minimum size base board.
As with the locos, I posted my first efforts at weathering the mineral wagons I bought for them to pull in the ‘What’s on Your Workbench’ threads for last year and this year. Again, so this thread is complete and everything is in one place, these are some of the wagons I will be using on ‘Rowan Colliery’:
These are all Bachmann models bought second hand. I have added weathering but not otherwise altered them. I’ve deliberately varied the condition of the wagons’ paintwork. The wagons at each end of the two rakes (empty and loaded) will have chain couplings fitted for coupling to the locomotives.
Please don’t expect rapid progress on ‘Rowan Colliery’. This is — and must remain — a side project. There will probably be long gaps between postings. And as modern day track etc is unfamiliar territory for me, no doubt I shall be asking for help and advice. Mr van Riemsdyk’s pretty little locos deserve somewhere to run, however — so I will give them that.
I haven’t had an 00 gauge railway since I was about ten years old. I have considerable reservations about the ‘narrow gauge’ aspect of 00 so didn’t think I would ever return to it. But there are two reasons why I’m going to build a small 00 layout now. This one:
And this one:
There has been some discussion of these two in the threads ‘What’s on Your Workbench — 2024’ and ‘Dublingham Goods Station’. I’ll not repeat all of that here, but since these locos are the reason for this layout being built and so the thread is complete, a quick summary. These 00 gauge locos were made by the firm A. & J. van Riemsdyk in the early 1950s. The business was very much at the cottage industry end of the spectrum so the total production of each model was in the hundreds, not thousands. Both locos are fitted with a very cleverly designed, reversing, ‘controlled clockwork’ motor which provides for fine adjustment of the speed but with little loss of power at low speeds. Each loco is closely based on works drawings of a particular type built by Peckett — they’re scale models, albeit lacking in detail. Construction is in tinplate with brass and aluminium fittings. J. van Riemsdyk was John van Riemsdyk. He had used clockwork in various devices during WW2 when he was in SOE. After the war, he went into business with his brother making clockwork mechanisms for different purposes, but including 0 gauge locomotives and trams. The 00 gauge models were produced at the suggestion of the manager of Bassett-Lowke’s London shop, where the models were then sold. Later John van Riemsdyk joined the staff of the Science Museum where he rose to become Keeper of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. In this capacity, he was responsible for setting up the NRM on its present site in York. In retirement, John van Riemsdyk designed many of the Gauge 1 live steam locomotives produced by Aster.
My Pecketts are charming, run beautifully and have a distinguished historic pedigree. There should be a track for them where they can be put to use.
I am determined the 00 gauge layout will not become an obstacle to progress with Rivermead Central. So to prevent undue diversion of time and resources, it is to be kept as small as possible. Sure, it would be nice to have a 40’-long colliery system to exploit the locomotives’ length of run. But since that’s not possible, a small continuous loop will allow them to be operated. The overall plan is this:
Why the name ‘Rowan Colliery’? Well, the track is, err, undeniably, essentially round. More to the point, I have fond memories of seeing steam working at Mountain Ash Colliery in the late 1970s. I can’t produce a model of any real colliery railway. ‘Inspired by’ Mountain Ash, not ‘based on’. So Rowan Colliery seems appropriate. As far as I can discover, there was not a real ‘Rowan Colliery’, though there was a ‘Rowan Tree Colliery’ in Co. Durham.
The plan is two baseboards (joined at the dotted line), each 1500 mm x 750 mm. I will use Code 100 rail track for the storage loops and the out-of-sight areas, if possible Code 75 for the visible track. The above is only a concept sketch. I’m not sure what there will be in the scenic section — but a loop and a couple of storage sidings would provide some operational interest. I will need to use buildings or trees as view blockers to disguise that the running line in the scenic section is a half circle with rather a small radius. I probably will wire the track to allow electric operation on the main circuit, should that be required/desired at some future date.
Operationally, my thoughts are two rakes of mineral wagons. A rake of empties which runs clockwise — from the direction leading to the exchange sidings and towards the colliery; a rake of loaded wagons that runs anti-clockwise. Trains of 8–12 wagons would seem appropriate taking into account the size of the layout and the power of the locomotives. Neither the exchange sidings nor the colliery will be modelled. This is to be a scenic test track of sorts. A chance to see the locos running in an appropriate rural/industrial setting. Including large or complex buildings would take far too much modelling time and there isn’t room on a minimum size base board.
As with the locos, I posted my first efforts at weathering the mineral wagons I bought for them to pull in the ‘What’s on Your Workbench’ threads for last year and this year. Again, so this thread is complete and everything is in one place, these are some of the wagons I will be using on ‘Rowan Colliery’:
These are all Bachmann models bought second hand. I have added weathering but not otherwise altered them. I’ve deliberately varied the condition of the wagons’ paintwork. The wagons at each end of the two rakes (empty and loaded) will have chain couplings fitted for coupling to the locomotives.
Please don’t expect rapid progress on ‘Rowan Colliery’. This is — and must remain — a side project. There will probably be long gaps between postings. And as modern day track etc is unfamiliar territory for me, no doubt I shall be asking for help and advice. Mr van Riemsdyk’s pretty little locos deserve somewhere to run, however — so I will give them that.
Last edited:
