British Railway Modelling in Montreal

[genetk44]

This weekend we will take our club layout to Exporail, Canada's Railway Museum:  http://www.exporail.org/en/  We will be part of the annual "Small Trains, Great Passions" event.  For those members in the Montreal area, we hope you will visit the museum and say hello.  At the same time, we are always looking for members, so if you have an interest in British trains, we welcome you.  No experience is necessary, we have members at all levels of the spectrum and with a broad range of interest.

To whet your appetite, here are a few pictures of our layout



Patchwick Engine Shed and Signal Box




Patchwick Goods Depot and Cattle Dock



Overbridge and canal adjacent to Camping Coach site



Stonefield Halt near the quarry

Above pictures are copyright Nigel Phillips







The two pictures above were taken at Great British Train Show in Brampton ON.  They show the sweep of the main line.

A few words about the layout:

We replaced our old layout "Rosedale" after it had done some 20 years of service and was really showing its age.  This was an opportunity to stretch our legs so we chose an asymmetric design with a double track circuit and provision for a branchline.  The large radius curve at the station meant that we had to make some points by hand, again pushing our skill level ever upward.  Track is Peco code 100.  Control had to be DCC and an NCE system was selected.  Points on the circuit are actuated by SEEP motors and some are on stationary decoders.


Readers will recognise Metcalfe buildings and, again, pushing our skill level, Scalescenes buildings.  The backscene is Townscenes with individual buildings mounted on foamboard and 3D elements added.

We also resolved to have working signals and these were developed by one of our members using a solenoid actuator system.  The technology behind these is beyond me but they do work nicely.

Allingham is tentatively set in 1962 in the London Midland Region, in what used to be Cheshire Lines Committee country.

Now, for the branchline, we resolved that this would be finescale.  Therefore the track is code 75 C&L with all points handbuilt.  Point motors are Cobalt/Tortoise and all use stationary decoders.

Buildings are scratchbuilt in the main with a couple of kits, like the signalbox (Ratio) and station (kitbashed C&L).

The branch has two destinations:  Stonefield Halt with a passing loop and Patchwick Station.  This is set in the Western Region.

At the time we were naming the layout, the last three British WW1 vets (Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone) had passed away so we named our three stations after these men.

If you are interested in joining us please PM me and we can start the process.

You can see videos and more details at the links below.

Gene

http://bmrcm.org/
http://britishmodelrailwayclubofmontreal.blogspot.com/




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[CNE Runner]

Gene - Absolutely first rate! I love English railroading with all those 5 and 7-plank wagons, tank locomotives, etc. Lately I've become a fan of Railway Modeller and Continental Modeller magazines. Frankly, I would subscribe - if they weren't so expensive in the U.S. Thanks for sharing and more...more...more!

Cheers,
Ray

[genetk44]

Ray...there are more pics and some video clips of the layout on the clubs website and blog....the links are in my signature.
Cheers
Gene

http://bmrcm.org/
http://britishmodelrailwayclubofmontreal.blogspot.com/

[CNE Runner]

Gene - Many thanks...really enjoyed looking at your club's work. Question: Where do you obtain your English trains? I am looking for a small English tank locomotive (probably 0-6-0 variety). My usual European sources (Reynauld's and Euro Rail Hobbies) do not seem to carry Bachmann. Any thoughts?

Regards,
Ray

[genetk44]

Ray...I use Hattons in England....very reliable and efficient and they deduct the sales tax(VAT) from the price...I highly recommend them.   http://www.ehattons.com/

Cheers
Gene

[CNE Runner]

Many thanks Gene for the Hatton's suggestion. I always read the print off their ads in Railway Modeller magazine. I would love to see Bachmann's excellent 'English-based' line of trains was more readily available in the U.S. I wish your group much success.
Regards,
Ray

[genetk44]

Ray...you might find this link helpful as far as British modelling  in N. Amaerica  http://home.ca.inter.net/brmna/index.html   and go to the suppliers page here  http://home.ca.inter.net/brmna/prodser.htm  and scroll down to the US section

[CNE Runner]

Thank you so much for the websites...I have bookmarked both of them for later viewing. Frankly, I am 'at sea' with OO verses HO scales (OO being far more available from suppliers), wheel flanges that are too deep for anything other than code 100 track, a bewildering array of couplers (none of which are interchangeable), and the major question of whether or not U.K. trains will operate on U.S. current/DCC systems (UK = 220-240 volts @ 50 Hrtz). I would hate to invest in this genre of model railroading - only to be frustrated by these concerns.

I will still refer to the information you so kindly sent.

My deepest appreciation,
Ray

[genetk44]

Ray...I sent you a PM...check your messages on here.

[john tricarico]

beautiful,, bristsh railways at there best,,, excellent scenery,  this layout was well planned