Charlotte

KYWRD

[Photos]

Knottingley Wagon Repair Depot - by Richard Sandland

Note - Due to a change in personal circumstances this layout has been withdrawn from "The Challenge"

 Why?

I have always admired Class 56 locomotives  for sheer brute power accompanied by  spectacular sound effects and thet were the last diesels to be built by BREL Crewe where my father worked. I became a  frequent visitor to the Monk Fryston area to visit friends and nearby Knottingley depot has a good vantage point from an adjacent bank, where almost all photographs of the location are taken from.

The inspiration for this particular model came from viewing The Model Railways Shunting Puzzles Website created by Adrian Wymann. This describes diorama layouts which though small have operational interest.

The project initially began in EM gauge when I was given some pointwork by a fellow member of Wirral Finescale, Mike Turner. The club exhibits layouts in OO Finescale and P4 and it soon became evident that commencing work  in a gauge that was not supported by anyone else in the group was a non-starter.

The announcement of the S4/DEMU Challenge prompted a re-evaluation of the idea and in a desire to actually see a project through to completion I entered…..

Where?

Until the Beeching Report into British Railways, coal carrying relied on a massive fleet of four wheeled wagons of low capacity. Many of them were stored loaded for prolonged periods of time. A move to larger capacity wagons that would constantly move from pithead to power station and thus increase utilisation of individual stock was proposed. Loading and unloading were done on the move in the Merry go Round system (MGR) and wagon repair facilities were needed to maintain the fleet, particularly the automatic system for opening the doors underneath the wagons. Knottingley is ideally situated in the then heart of the Yorkshire coalfield.

When?

MGR operations originally employed Class 47 non-boilered locomotives but the high tractive efforts required to start heavy trains in difficult rail conditions at collieries frequently lead to traction motor problems. The oil crisis of 1973 lead the Central Electricity Generating Board to increase the amount of coal burnt and a new prime mover was needed. Enter Class 56; a Class 47 body shell with a 3500bhp Ruston Paxman engine, AC traction motors and a package that allowed full power to be applied from a standing start. Payloads could increase from 30 up to 45 loaded HAA wagons were facilities permitted.

Sectorisation of British Rail during the 1980s was for political and  organisational reasons but did lead to branding the freight sector businesses to reflect the huge revenues raised by transporting coal. From a modelling perspective this increased the variety of liveries carried from original BR blue to Large Logo blue to Railfreight grey with or without a red stripe and finally Trainload Coal with the black diamond logo.

How?

The shunting puzzle site described using wooden storage units from IKEA called Moppe. I bought 4 but they are sadly discontinued. Modifications made included;

Drawer units discarded and front filled in.

Access panels cut on underneath for ease of wiring

Securing 2 boxes side by side to give a layout 1600 x 290 mm.

 Backscene from 2mm MDF glued to sheet of 6mm MDF for strength and inner layer curved to hide unsightly corners.

Sides strengthened with 2 x 1 softwood battens and more 6mm MDF to outside all secured with PVA wood glue and a nail gun

Exterior surfaces painted with Flannel grey gloss from the B&Q range.

Curved backscene emulsioned  duck egg blue.

 Fiddle yard board uses an additional Moppe unit with sliding inserts of 6mm MDF to allow easy access to control equipment.

Integral lighting gantry using 8 low voltage dichroic halogen bulbs which are adjustable for direction and brightness.

What?

Locomotives are from Hornby, Bachmann, Vi trains, Dapol and Mainline. The revised Hornby Class 56 due late 2007 is eagerly awaited and will form the backbone of the fleet.

Wagons are from Hornby, Bachmann, Replica and Dapol with a few kit built thrown in for good measure.

Buildings on the layout will be kit bashed from Heljan sources along with a Knightwing loco washer and Express Models lighting towers.

Track and pointwork by the P4 Track Co.

Who?

Predominantly built by Richard Sandland but with plenty of help and advice from other WFRM members

Sources of Information;

An approach to model railway layout design finescale in small spaces, Iain Rice, Wild Swan Publications 1990

British Rail at work: West Yorkshire, Stephen Batty, Ian Allan 1987

Class 56, Nick Meskell, Train Crazy 2005

The Allocation history of BR Diesels and Electrics Part 3, Roger Harris 2003

Type 5 Freight Diesels, David Clough, Ian Allan 1990

Last updated : March 02, 2008 09:55

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