Train Set Ovals Don't Exist in the Real World

[luckymucklebackit]

Or do they......

1198942027_roundyroundy.jpg.576ba1e52c987 424d5f3c04d85d83aa6.jpg

In Alabama USA. Looks just like your average 6x4!

Jim

[Richard08]

There truly is always a prototype for everything

[Lofty]

Unfortunately the site has now been cleared, but this was the track plan of Thompsons in Stockton:

[Ex-Pat]

Bicester Military Railway qualifies for a mention.

https://rogerfarnworth.files.wordpress. ... 7/q186.png

[Mountain]

Quite a few MOD sites have ideal trackplans. The only issue is the scale of them, as they take a lot more than an 8x4 board even in a smaller scale.
Other interesting ideas are railways at theme parks and things like that, which often have an oval or a similar track layout. Oakwood Park in Wales is one example, as was the one at Pendine wildlife park in the past where its loco and two of its three coaches were used atPembrey Coutry Park for a decade or two before ending up somewhere in England (Can't recall where, but I know that the loco is still working). The body used to have a wild west steam loco theme (A narrow gauge diesel underneath) while at Pendine, but then when moved to run on the old MOD rails (Which were altered to make an out and back loop) where the loco had yet another transformation whenit recieved a further wooden steam train body and was named "Merlin". I don't know what happened to thethirdcoach except to say that the two coaches were rebuilt and the last time I recall being on them while in Pendine, thelast coach came off thetrack and we tried to alert the driver but he could not hear us and did not look back for most of the loop of railway. Was only when the rear coach started to tip with a small family of passengers (Who had felt every sleeper as thsy were jumping up and down as those wheels of the rear bogie were not onthe rails) that the driver noticed and brought the train to a halt! Is the last memory I have of it being run in Pendine when I was a kid.
The three coaches had a theme park/safari look to them when used there. The two that were rebuilt for use at Pembrey recieved different bodies. One was an open coach and the other was made into a type of ordinary coach with a proper roof but no windows or doors. As I remember a chain was put acros the door opening while in use. It would make a lovely model railway based on either of those locations having a gauge of 1' 11 1/2" if I recall. ( In use in the MOD days at Pembrey this gauge had an exte sive network and anotherlarge network in standard gauge were used, both having a general type of out and back track layout to them, though was specific to the railway needs of not mixing certain chemicals before they were ready to in the manufacturing process for safety reasos. Hence why they used more than one gauge and the track layouts had been designed with this in mind).

Still other oval track layout designs existed on the surface lines at some coal mines which yet again were narrow gauge. Whilst I can't give specific examples, I may have seen the odd one such as Cenhidre coal mine in Wales (No longer exists). I seem to recall in a narrow gauge book of another mine where a horse drawn out and back style oval was used with seriously sharp curves on a coal mine in the valleys of south Wales, and it was still in use with horse traction until around 1977. I don't remember the name of the mine the railway served, or where it was.

While most modellers automatically think of standard gauge, a lot of narrow gauge lines for various reasons were layed out with a typical oval, and 009 being a small scale and now commercially available from a few manufacturers is ideal for this.

But back to standard gauge, and there were a few factory lines going back in the 1880's and before that in the Llanelli area with ovals of track around the factories. No doubt some of the older lines in other areas also had interesting trackplans.

And finally do not forget the street tramcars where out and back routes were the norm.

[glencairn]

Royal Ordnance Factory 8 Thorp Arch.

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/feat ... ndex.shtml

Glencairn

[Mountain]

Thanks for the link. It is amazing and answers a few questions about what the buildings that the railways served looked like at another site I have explored over the years at Pembrey, though Pembrey was much bigger and was said to include an underground complex where phosporus bronze rails were said to be used for safety, though as Pembrey is still officially under the secrets act, only certain details have been released, and these mainly refer to its previous role during WW1... Though no doubt when the 50 year rule after the site was last used (Site was later used for decomissioning old WW2 amunition, and a small partially derelict area behind a high fence was kept beyond that date where those buildings were eventually demolished in the 1990's... The only remaining restricted area used for the country park staff as a depot other than the Kidwelly end which is used for aircraft to target practice on and is understandably a restricted area.


No doubt more fascinating info will be disclosed so historians, railway enthusiasts, military enthusiasts and anyone else will be able to find out more about the important historic role the site had!

Out of interest, both standard and narrow gauge railway remains can be found down there and there are ride on railways in three gauges down there run by a local model railway engineers group, and nice they are too so is worth the visit to see that! (Check operating days to avoid dissapointment, though the track itself with its different gauges is interesting).
I would recommend that due to the scale of the old site which is now a country park, that to appreciate it and get a good look at the remains, a bicycle is the easiest means to do this. (Take a bike in the back of ones car?) Saves a lot of walking!

[glencairn]

Not quite an oval was The National Filling Station Number 1 at Barnbow, near Leeds

http://www.barwickinelmethistoricalsoci ... /4746.html

It closed after the Great War, reopening at the beginning of WW2 producing gun barrels and other gun parts. Later the site began producing tanks in their own right.

The site now is a housing estate. 35 of the streets are named after the 35 women killed in the explosion on 5th December 1916.

Glencairn

[ChrisGreaves]

And finally do not forget the street tramcars where out and back routes were the norm.

:clapping:

Great one Mountain! I lived in Toronto for 35 years and spent a large part of my life chasing after, and avoiding being run over by, streetcars, and yes, every one of them ran on a loop (excepting when they arrived at one of the three or four "barns" spread around the city.
Nowadays streetcars have that dotted-paint stuff on the outside advertising the new re-run of "Cats!" and making it impossible for tourists to take photographs of the scenes outside the streetcar.

Nonetheless, a streetcar is a simple thing, and would be ideal along a layout that spanned four rooms; a loop in rooms one and four. Different decoration on each side; so twice the apparent number of street cars.
In terms of programming one could have track sections isolated at the bus-stops.
The one thing one couldn't model would be "bunching" behavior caused by passengers.

Plenty of opportunity for track work, should one want it:-

The image above shows the intersection of five pairs of streetcar lines near St Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto.
The Queensway/Queen Street runs west to east heading to and through the downtown core
King street leaks away to the south-east, running parallel to Queen street through the downtown core (who amongst us has not dreamed of building a hundred 60+ storey condominiums?) before rejoining Queen Street at Kingston Road.
Roncesvalles Avenue heads North, with Dundas Street and College Street streetcars joining in before all three lines terminate at Dundas West subway station (1)
This 5-way intersection has a streetcar barn and maintenance area above the NW corner of the intersection.
Maps for Toronto’s streetcar routes can be found here
But I digress …


(1) Now there’s a thought! I could build a model of Toronto’s two original subway lines. They would be completely below board , it would be an audio exercise with a gazillion old speakers from XT-chassis fading in and fading out as the unseen subway train made its way across Toronto.

Thanks for the idea.

[SRman]

Have a look on Google Maps satellite views of Rendsburg and Flensburg in Germany. While neither is a true oval connected up completely, they give the appearance of it. In Rendsburg's case, the line actually climbs considerably to reach the Hochbrücke (High Bridge). The first time I rode a train around the loop I was unaware of this, fascinated when I saw all the iron work as we went under it, not realising we would be travelling over the same thing in a few minutes time.

There is a webcam there too for added interest.

[Mountain]

Yes. Tram systems can be quite interesting.

But supposing one does not even have the space for an oval.and only has room for a shelf layout, and one wants to model a prototype location and railway in its entirety.
Well, one can with this prototype:

https://youtu.be/zBOkXnjWnzg

The "There's a prototype for everything" rule very much comes into effect with this railway!

[Phred]

Mountain wrote:
But supposing one does not even have the space for an oval.and only has room for a shelf layout, and one wants to model a prototype location and railway in its entirety.
Well, one can with this prototype:

I like the devious thinking behind that 'railroad'.