Ravenswold is a layout depicting a village somewhere in the southwestern United Kingdom. It is on a mainline with access to London but realistically could be anywhere from Shropshire in the North to Cornwall in the southwest or Oxfordshire in the South Midlands. More relevantly it falls within the realm of the former Great Western Railway and is set in the Early 60s.
Layout Description
3 modules, each 1.2 x 0.9m. Total 3.24m2 Backscenes set at 600mm depth giving approximately 2m2 of scenic area.
Double oval main line, outside oval is the UP line. The mainline appears from a double track tunnel on the left and under a girder bridge spanning 3 tracks on the right. One Station, 3 platforms. Mainline Platforms can accommodate a locomotive + 7 x 64ft coaches. There is a station Loop on the DOWN line for slower passenger and freight trains, the corresponding loop on the UP line is before the station on the curve.
A branch line runs from the inner station loop UP to a 2 siding fiddle yard, there is a 3% gradient leading to a double track tunnel. The station yard consists of a siding to a small engine shed and stabling line, to reception/departure sidings and a line through the goods shed.
A LH crossover is at the UP end of the station to allow trains departing from the DOWN platform loop and the yard to depart on the UP line.
A small drop off siding is on the UP line before the station.
The rear fiddle yard has a capacity to exchange 4 trains in each direction.
Electrics
Ravenswold is DCC, using Digitrax hardware. It has been designed and wired with the capacity for block working and automatic signalling by colour lights. Circumstances have dictated, however that we have chosen to furnish the layout with working semaphore signals (GWR, square post, lower quadrant). The capability for block working will be retained for future upgrades or facelifts if or when the need arises. Signals are by Dapol and a planned working level crossing will use a servo controller by Megapoints Controllers.
Track
Peco code 55 for all display areas, code 80 for the rear yard. All turnouts were donated by members past and present, some recycled, some never used. All track is on 3mm closed cell foam trackbed by DCC concepts
Minimum radius 263mm (Peco 2nd radius) Minimum display radius on mainline 480mm. The two mainline tracks on the curve at the RH end of the layout have superelevation with the 3rd line level.
Scenery
The display area is bordered by a continuous photographic backscene depicting a semi-rural area, hills will be blended into the colours on the backscene. Buildings are Scalescenes card and Arch laser, micro ply kits with some Ratio and Peco accessories.
Suggested locomotives and rolling stock for the area and period.
Although the early 60s is a narrow window of time it does give the possibility of steam and diesel running side by side. Also, being the Western Region, it allows the biggest diversity of diesel designs of any period. Classes 22, 35, 41, 42, 43 &52 were diesel Hydraulic and specific to the Western Region.
There was a considerable overlap in liveries during that period which allows for a great variety of running variants, there were, however some absolute dates such as the introduction of mainline diesels from 1958 end of steam in 1968.
Steam
- Anything ex GWR in BR livery, more likely late crest.
- Ubiquitous interlopers from the ex LMS such as Black 5s, 8Fs, maybe a West Country/BB from the ex Southern.
- BR Standards
- Celebrity locomotives for specials, Flying Scotsman etc.