DESIGN

The most important concept of any layout is its design. If you get it wrong at the beginning you will live to regret it - trust me!

Spend as much time as it takes scribbling ideas and making notes until you 'think' you have met all your requirements. Sketch out a plan and work on it - change it - throw it away and start again if need be. It will save you time and money in the long run. I am fortunate in that I have built many layouts over the years and I pretty much know instinctively what I want from the layout.

Personally I do not want trains to run round and round, most real trains don't do it so why should a model. I want my trains to serve a purpose and on 'C&M' they operate to a timetable with locomotive diagrams to ensure full usage of locomotives and stock plus constant variety in the form of rostering simply a class of locomotive rather than a locomotive number, this system I feel prevents you from becoming bored with similarity over time. It is acceptable for the local suburban to ply back and forth but if the express arrives with the same coaches behind the same engine over and over - what is the point?

Locomotives have to be serviced and maintained and in the 1960's this was very intensive. Steam loco's had to have their coal and water supplies replenished regularly therefore visits to an MPD was a daily event. Some of the the diesel fleet may have had a longer range in fuel capacity but old working practices still ensured that planned examinations took place at MPD's or TMD's as required by either mileage or periodical measure, an 'A' exam for instance could be every 2 days! A set of brakeblocks on an express diesel locomotive lasted about a fortnight! I know I used to change them.