Mark Pollard’s Roundhouse and Yard Layout
Scale 7mm/1ft, 0 Gauge
The inspiration for ‘Old Elm Park’ came from the engine shed at Didcot and various books and photos of Old Oak Common. The Great Western Society magazine arrived one day with a double page photo of a loco on one of the turntables inside Old Oak Common and ideas for a model started to be thought about.
As a serial locomotive builder I wanted somewhere to display my fleet. The roundhouse part of the layout was planned and started as a stand alone layout also to show what can be fitted in a small area in O gauge. 4 feet square…….. Kitwood Models released a kit for a 65ft turntable which my wife bought me for Christmas …. Old Elm Park was born !
The name comes from a combination of Old Oak Common and Elm Park Reading Football Clubs old ground, basing the layout around Reading gives the opportunity to run Western, Southern and a few other visitors on inter regional trains where locos would be serviced before heading off on their next working.
As mentioned Old Elm Park started off as a 4ft by 4ft inside of the roundhouse modelled as if you are stood looking into the gloom and dark of the shed, sound fitted locos can be heard resting just hissing and bubbling away. The track in the round house is made from C&L components with the chairs laid on the engine shed floor, pits are cutout and there is a 10mm copper pipe underfeed which I can connect a small vape to which adds to the atmosphere with smoke coming up through 4 pits. The roof of the round house has smoke shoots and girder work along with lighting which is connected to a panel mount controller so it can be dinned or brightened.
There is a lot of detail in the shed with figures, signs, tools and the general clutter found in a busy engine shed. There is also a member of the shed workforce having a kip in a wheel barrow – he is nick named ‘Barrow Bob’ !
Like so many layouts it grew ! ….. After taking the layout to a few shows it was decided to breakout of the shed and build a yard with a coal stage again modelled on Didcot along with storage sidings, ash road and everything else that goes with a busy shed and loco yard. The layout can be displayed in daylight or also as a night scene with yard lighting.
The track in the yard is a real mixture of C&L, Marcway and a few small bits of Peco, the points are operated from the front of the layout with Tortoise motors. I have used 3 threeway points to help save space, the yard is 10 feet long and 4 ft wide where it meets the roundhouse. The baseboards are fairly light weight but a little large at 5ft by 4ft. The advantage is that the layout breaks down into 5 boards with the fiddle yard and at shows can be up or down in around half an hour ! The fiddle yard is a simple transverser along with a single line for the coal road at the rear of the layout.
Scenics are a mix of many materials, ash is the real deal from the bottom of the log burner ! Coal is also smashed from a few big lumps. Woodland scenics, Greenscenics along with details part from Modelu and various scratch built parts all add to the scene.
As the layout grew and the yard built with siding space I have built some depot trains to run like a weed killing train, breakdown train, permanent way train and also various depot wagons and shunters trucks.
The layout is operated with a Lenz DCC system from the front, all locos are DCC fitted and around 50% sound fitted. Locos are a mainly kit built with diesels being ready to run and a few pannier tanks and 14xx from Dapol.
It is a case of everything goes !……. with the locations there would be many inter regional trains and with some modellers licence football specials so in the usual way western region and southern locomotives are seen with visitors from the midland and eastern.
Main layout lighting is by LED strip with the layout displayed like a moving picture and at eye height as if you are looking through the yard fence. I am fortunate to have the layout up without fiddle yard permanently at home and provides hours of entertainment or just a 20 minute quick model railway fix after a days work ! I have taken the layout to a few shows and it has been well received, I would like to thank my usual operating crew of Harry Pollard, Alan Monk, Chris Rich plus a few other fellow members at our local club Maidenhead, Marlow Model Railway Club.
At shows many visitors say the layout provokes their memories of going through the fence by the Grand Union Canal into Old Oak Common ….. I was born after the end of steam so it is nice to hear that my model/modelling recreates a scene.
The layout is operated from the front.
Footprint required 23ft by 7ft The baseboards are 4ft deep plus operating space.
Exhibition Information
OLD ELM PARK
SCALE:- 7mm O gauge
PROTOTYPE:- UK
ERA:- 1950/60
LOCATION:- South
SIZE:-
POWER:- 2 x 13 Amp sockets
OPERATORS:- 6
TABLES:- 1
CHAIRS:- 2
TRANSPORT:- Van
SET UP:-
INSURANCE:-
SUPPORT:- Free Standing
The layout is operated from the front.
Footprint required 23ft by 7ft The baseboards are 4ft deep plus operating space.
Has lighting
Contact details :
Mark Pollard : mark@wherewouldyouratherbe.co.uk
Also look at : https://www.facebook.com/oldelmpark
Marlow, Maidenhead & District Model Railway Club 