MARCH 21 Oldham King Street

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OLDHAM KING STREET

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David Hampson and Keith Harrison

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FACT FILE 
Layout Name: Oldham King Street Parcels 
Scale/Gauge: 1ft scale, 32mm gauge ‘O’ 
Size: (including fiddle yards): 22’ x 3’ 
Era/Region: 1970s BR  
Location: North West England
Layout Type: Fiddle Yard to parcels terminus

 

When exhibiting Oldham King Street Parcels, I find one of the most interesting aspects to be talking to members of the public about the layout and answering questions. One of the most frequently asked is ‘What scale is this?’ because the size of the locomotives and stock is unfamiliar to many exhibition visitors.

Though O gauge is more common than it was a few years ago, I am regularly asked why I model O gauge diesels. The answer to this is in two parts; I model diesels because I am of an age where they are the locomotives I remember from my youth, and I model in O gauge because I feel the size of the stock allows a level of detail that is not easy to achieve in smaller scales. I started in my teens modelling in N gauge, because it was easy to fit a layout running around the edge of my bedroom. A move to ‘OO’ gauge followed, but was abandoned soon after purchasing my first O gauge kit.

To many people, 7mm scale has a physical presence that gives layouts a great feeling of authenticity. O gauge can capture the bulk and ‘heaviness’ of the real thing in a way that is difficult to achieve in smaller scales. It is also possible in O gauge to add small details much more easily to increase realism. Sharp-eyed readers will have spotted the pigeons on the overbridges, but what about the mess they have made on the road below?

Of course, one of the downsides of modelling in O gauge is that everything takes up much more space, so expectations as to what can fit on a layout have to be scaled down. One of my favourite layouts was the famous N gauge ‘Chee Tor’ layout by Manchester Model Railway Society. This depicted scale-length trains running through a fabulous depiction of the Peak District. To replicate this in O gauge would require a layout so large that it would be impractical to build and operate.

So, it’s ‘horses for courses’. ‘Oldham King Street Parcels’ depicts a small, fictitious parcels operation with the end of a small station handling local passenger traffic. However, viewers are often surprised at how much will fit in to a layout of 22’ by 3’. Indeed, they are often more surprised to hear that the baseboards have been designed and built by Keith so that by omitting the central part of the platform, the rear DMU road, and much of the fiddle yard, the layout will reassemble to an alternative configuration which is 13’ by 2’ for use at home.

Although the layout is fictitious, it contains many elements from the Oldham area. Oldham King Street station does now exist though it looks nothing like the model - the first real King Street station opened much more recently - in 2014 as part of the Manchester Metrolink extension to Oldham town centre.

BUILDINGS 
The parcels shed, or more correctly ‘Parcels Concentration Depot’, was scratch-built by Keith along with all the other buildings on the layout. It is representative of buildings typical of the Oldham area, but does not represent an actual location. The station building is closely based on the long-gone Clegg Street station, with its booking office above track level, while the low-level entrance via the underpass is typical of Hollinwood and Miles is representative of buildings typical of the Oldham 1960s scene!

The majority of the station is left to the imagination, beyond the road overbridge and the main station building. In fact, only the ends of the two station platforms exist, as beyond the bridge is the fiddle yard.

Parcels were an important local traffic at the time the layout depicts because a number of mailorder catalogue companies operated in the Oldham area, having taken over redundant cotton mills to establish warehouses. The parcels trains are short (a maximum of eight vans) compared to their length. Parcels vans were rarely kept in good condition and so a scruffy, weathered and faded look is essential - as demonstrated by this SPV and ex-LMS ‘Stove R’. The intensive nature of the operation means that the layout often looks full and the shed is rarely empty.

The platforms contain a number of BRUTE trolleys ready to load or unload the vans. As is typical of the time, the parcels stock is heavily weathered, with dirty or faded paintwork being the norm. A wide and sometimes eclectic range of stock can be seen, from standard BR types to ex-LMS or LNER designs.

Passenger traffic does not amount to 12-coach main line trains, but then these were the exception on the Oldham Loop, often only seen during holiday weeks or for football specials. Instead, the passengers are conveyed in two-car multiple units which were typical of the area until the 1980s.

I have tried to build stock for the layout that could have been used in the Oldham area at around this time. Many of the DMUs are based on Newton Heath or Longsight sets, and include Classes 100, 104, 105, 108, 120 and 128, though sometimes units from further afield are seen.

The Class 100 Gloucester RCW unit was built using parts kindly supplied by Dick Taylor at Westdale Coaches. It has the unusual bodyside profile and front end, which were characteristic of these units, and contains a smoke unit for the exhausts.

ADVANTAGES 
An advantage of O gauge is that there is more room to play with inside locomotives and coaches. This allows the possibility of adding exhaust smoke units (we use those supplied by Peter Clark Models) to the stock. These exhaust units allow smoke to be blown out of a locomotive or DMU on demand. It is not uncommon to see operators on the layout deliberately starting up a DMU underneath the station overbridge, just to see the platform fill with smoke!

The space inside an O gauge locomotive also allows larger speakers to be used for DCC sound, giving a more realistic sound reproduction. The quality of DCC sound decoders has increased remarkably in recent years, not only from the quality of the sound they produce, but also in terms of the driving experience. We have been particularly fortunate to have been supported in completing this layout by the ever-helpful Steve and Caroline from South West Digital, who have supplied the ESU sound decoders fitted in our stock.

I particularly enjoy building models that are unusual, and have found a number of O gauge kit manufacturers to be particularly helpful in responding to my requests for something a bit ‘different’. The Class 504 Bury DC electric unit is a recent addition, and is a little distance away from home - it must have got lost at Manchester Victoria. This was built using parts mainly from Easybuild Coaches, with sides cut specially by Shawn Kay. The front ends and many underframe parts have been scratch built to complete the model. The EMU even has sound (thanks to the L&YDCC Group) and sparks from the pick-up shoes. It still remains for me to fit the unique side contact third-rail on the layout!

The Cowans & Sheldon 76 ton breakdown crane often makes an appearance around lunchtime when exhibiting, to give the operators a break. The crane is fully DCC operational and can be seen either re-railing wagons or lifting heavy equipment from the road below onto the railway.

So, why not give O gauge a try? The most common reasons given when discussing this at exhibitions are size and cost. Hopefully, this article will have shown that it is possible to enjoy O gauge in a relatively modest space. However, as far as cost goes, it is important to realise that even though individual items are more expensive, less is needed - less track, fewer points, fewer locomotives, less stock.

In value for money terms, a ready-to-run Heljan diesel in O gauge is hard to beat, and bargains can be had online or with second-hand stock.

It is perfectly possible to operate and enjoy a layout such as this with perhaps two locomotives (a shunter and one other), one or two DMUs (or railcars), and some parcels vans. The availability and quality of RTR models and track is now greater than ever, and O gauge is increasingly supported by established manufacturers such as Dapol and Heljan. Be warned though; once you try it you might never go back!

EXTRA IMAGES (Ray Lightfoot)

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