Amazingly it has been over six months since the last update! I would say that much has changed over the last few months, but to be honest it has been fairly quiet, That is not to say we have been inactive, on the contrary as two new layouts have been taking shape.
We have finally started work on our new N gauge layout. It is set in the mid-western states (Indiana being the most likely state) in the 1970s. This was a very interesting, albeit sad, time for American railroads; a period of consolidation as the old guard was increasingly giving way to block freight and the motor car. Traditional names such as the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central (both of whom merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Railroad, soon to form the largest bankruptcy in the US at the time), the Grand Trunk Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio, rubbed shoulders with the newly created Amtrak and Conrail.
The layout will be set in a small town, featuring street running as well as some local industries. In keeping with the era, the layout features a railway in a state of flux; various lines are being closed, the track still betraying its past. Soon these will be swept away as well, the gradual whittling away of the infrastructure to its eventual closure. This makes for some interesting track designs!
As can seen, the layout is reasonably compact (approx 8' x 2'), with a 6" extension. This limits us to shorter trains (so there will be no massive coal or container trains), local trip-working and the like. The initial track underlay is being laid, with the first of the track due down in the next couple of weeks. We have, as yet, no name for our latest creation!
Elsewhere, 0ur new 00 layout is underway, with the track laid and electrics underway. No photos at present, but 'Avington' will feature in more detail in a later instalment!
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