Lostock Exchange Sidings

[Hound Dog]

Really nice work and great repurposing of bits and bobs from the scrap box - it is really not obvious to the eye, so very well done.

[cheshire lines]

Thanks Hound Dog.

[cheshire lines]

A couple of photos showing progress at one end of the layout over the last few weeks



Pipe bridge constructed to hide the provide a scenic break before the backscene.



Low relief engineering works, with two sidings occupying one corner of the baseboard.

[cheshire lines]

As I want to be able to operate the exchange sidings with either steam or diesel industrial locos, I have constructed two alternative removable fueling points.



Steam era with Sentinel loco.



Diesel era with Yorkshire Engine Company Janus 0-6-0 wheel diesel-electric locomotives.

[cheshire lines]

Lostock Exchange Sidings side is built on the fiddle yard side of Lostock Junction, so I needed something to hide the controllers and some switches.




The signal box is a Dapol (ex Airfix) kit, built without the top back panel in place.

The industrial units are constructed from corrugated cardboard clad with Metcalfe brick roof tile paper sheets (on the visible parts only).
The windows on the nearer one were downloaded from the texctures.com website and glued on.

I still need to finish the scenery in this area, including something to act as a scenic break.

[IanAlan]

Very ingenious CL, especially the changeable fuelling point. I reckon that your idea might get borrowed by more than one person from MRF.

[cheshire lines]

Thanks, although I can't claim too much credit; I saw something in Railway Modeller a while back where someone had built interchangeable scenic modules and the idea came back to me when I decided I couldn't resist the charms of the Janus diesel.

Still need to think about a scenic break to disguise where the lines go through the back scene. On the Lostock Junction side there at road bridges at either end, but I can't work out where a road would be leading to on the back scene. Any suggestions would be welcome!

[cheshire lines]

Albion Engineering now have a crane in their yard to assist with loading railway wagons and lorries.




This was my first attempt at putting together a lasercut wooden kit. It was quite fiddly, with some very small parts, but I got there in the end.

[Bandit Mick]

Lots of lovely modelling! What kit did you use for the upper part of your pipe bridge if you don’t mind me asking. Apologies if it’s completely scratchbuilt. I’m asking because I am intending to use one as a scenic break too.

[cheshire lines]

Thanks Mick.
The two side pieces of the pipe bridge are the Peco Lk11 Truss Girder Bridge Sides and the decking under the pipes and the top pieces joining the two sides together are spare bits left over from a Peco Lk10 Plate Girder Bridge Sides kit used on another layout (Lostock Wharf).

The pipes themselves are plastic drinking straws, the sort with a flexible bit near the top are useful for making the 90 degree bends.
The pillars were scratch built from wooden dowel, with supporting pieces made from more bits form the Lk10 kit and cross-braces from micro-strip plastic (found in one of my late father's modelling boxes).

The same micro-strip was used for the fencing by the loco shed, with the uprights formed by cocktail sticks.

There are quite a few pipe bridges of differing designs near to me, mainly associated with the former ICI chemical works, although these are over a canal rather than a railway. Some examples are included in one of my Flickr albums.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/156719969 ... 298379191/