The Locomotives

Rolling Stock

The Layout

The Narrow Gauge Layout is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually part of the main layout. Having always been interested in industrial narrow gauge, I had to think of some way of incorporating a small section into the main layout. My answer was to have an industrial railway operating a sand quarry. Not very original I know, but it fits the bill and allows me to have an eclectic mix of locomotives and stock.

The idea centres around a transhipment point on a branch line. The sand being one of the main sources of income for the branch. As well as the transhipment area, which are just tipplers, there are a small number of sidings and a locomotive servicing and stabling point. A loop line appears from one side, passes through the transhipment area and disappears again to a hidden fiddle yard.

Due to the small size of some of the locomotives, namely the Ruston & Hornsby LAT and Bow Frame Simplex, I decided it would be easier to operate this section by analogue control.

The boon to me has been the discovery of small custom made chassis that have the ability to run very slowly. After all, industrial locomotives rarely went faster than a quick walking pace. The majority of my chassis have come from Brian Madge, who produces some excellent little units.

Stock is a mixture of Parkside Dundas Hudson V tippers, ex-WDLR side tippers and a few other wagons for maintenance work.