Introducing the Railway The #RedeValleyRailway has been under construction for more time than I care to mention. Having a job and then running my own business that has involved lots of time working away from home has slowed progress. I’m hoping progress is about to accelerate as I spend more time working from home, and this group will give me some impetus to get stuff done. The main layout represents my main railway interests: the East Coast Main Line and The Waverley Route. There are two main scenic dioramas: Chathill Station on the #ECML and a viaduct scene based on the area around Whitrope on the Waverley. The period is #lner originally my chosen year was 1936, but gradually a lot of wartime stock has crept in. I live in the Rede Valley, it’s in Northumberland. The river Rede is a tributary of the North Tyne, running from Redesmouth (once the junction of the NBR Border Counties and The Wannie Line) to the Scottish Border at Carter Bar. The valley never had a railway in it, but there were plans that never got very far. Way back in the 1830s a scheme was put together for a direct railway from Newcastle to Edinburgh. George Stephenson got involved and advised the gradients and tunnels needed weren’t practical and surveyed a much longer route around the coast. By 1870s the Settle and Carlisle was built with gradients and tunnels no better than those that might be needed in the Rede Valley. So just suppose the direct route was built. That’s the premise behind my Waverley diorama. Whitrope Tunnel forms the prototype for the tunnel that would be needed under the Scottish Border. Whitrope Siding becomes Rede Head Siding, and we throw in a viaduct based on Shankend for good measure. So, the boring specifications. It’s located in my loft space, which gives me 32’ x 11’ 6”. Trackwork is Peco HO/00 code 75 throughout. Control is #dcc via an ageing Lenz system, and points are operated by a Megapoints system. Mostly I run the layout from an iPad. The iPad talks to JMRI which in turn talks to Lenz.

Posted by Kevin Appleby at 2021-09-10 20:05:38 UTC