A favourite on the exhibition circuit, this extensive OO layout features a wealth of impressive industrial and railway features, as Allan Cromarty explains. Many layout builders are satisfied with one major feature; perhaps a locomotive depot, a station, an industrial private siding or factory complex. ‘Oulton TMD’ has all of these and as a result is a real crowdpuller at exhibitions. BRM spoke to owner and builder Allan Cromarty to find out what inspired him and how he did it.
OULTON TMD
Allan Cromarty
FACT FILE
Layout Name: Oulton TMD
Scale/Gauge: 4mm scale, OO gauge
Size: (including fiddle yards): 27' x 10'
Era/Region: Midlands (Crewe area) 1985-95
Layout Type: Fiddle yard to terminus
Many layout builders are satisfied with one major feature; perhaps a locomotive depot, a station, an industrial private siding, or factory complex. ‘Oulton TMD’ has all of these and, as a result, is a real crowd-puller at exhibitions. BRM spoke to owner and builder Allan Cromarty to find out what inspired him and how he did it.
BRM: Have any exhibition layouts or model railways featured in magazines inspired specific features on your layout?
AC: ‘Dyserth Road’ had one of the biggest influences on how my layout was to develop. I saw and heard it at an exhibition and was immediately impressed with the sound-fitted Class 37s. I decided that was the way I wanted to go. My original layout had been wired for DC with some 20-odd isolating sections. The changeover to DCC from analogue meant a rewire and a panel rebuild, plus the additional cost of the DCC equipment, but the change was well worth it.
BRM: How did you become interested in railway modelling?
Allan Cromarty: I was 14 when I built my first model railway. I bought a couple of locomotives, some coaches and wagons, along with bits and pieces of track. They were all Hornby and came from Massey’s of Trent Vale - a hardware store that also sold model railways. After about two years, I sold it all but restarted 10 years later when time, money and a spare room meant I could build another layout. I continued to collect model railways over the years, eventually building a 30’ x 10’ layout at home. For the past 15 years, I have helped on a trade stand at exhibitions, and have been exhibiting ‘Oulton TMD’ since 2005.
BRM: What are your prototype influences?
AC: I originally modelled BR steam, then one summer in the late-1980s, the job I was involved with meant I was situated alongside the railway line at Cliffe Vale near Stoke-on-Trent. I was there for several months and had plenty of time to view the various passenger and freight trains passing by. I began to take an interest in the current railway scene and decided to change to modern image, modelling in what I consider to be the most colourful time period in BR’s history - the change from corporate blue to sectorisation.
BRM: Why did you choose to model in this scale?
AC: Availability of items and cost were the biggest factor in deciding to model in OO gauge. There was still quite a limited range of N gauge items at that time - they were also more expensive. By the late-1980s, Lima was producing a large selection of modern image locomotives and the quality was better than Hornby. As I had a large garage that I could dedicate as a hobby room, space was not an issue either, so OO was a natural choice for me.
BRM: When did you start work on your layout?
AC: After many years of having a large layout at home, I decided it was time to try and build a layout to exhibit. Work commenced on ‘Oulton TMD’ in early-2005. My first invitation was to Alsager Model Railway Show in November of that year; a small exhibition held in the local village hall and a good show for my first outing. The layout was quite basic and, to be honest, not very well detailed, but while I was there I was lucky enough to be invited to my next show, the Soar Valley MRE in September of the following year. Spurred on by the invitation, I continued working on upgrading the scenery, fitting lights and detailing the locomotives and stock.
BRM: What advice would you have for those starting out in the hobby, or making the transition to a permanent layout?
AC: There is nothing more frustrating than a locomotive that continually stutters and stalls on points or crossings. The best advice I can give is to use quality track and controllers. Most people start with a Hornby trainset. The track and controllers are fine to start with, but I would recommend upgrading to either Peco Streamline Code 100 or Peco Setrack if space is tight. I would suggest the use of Peco Code 75 track if you are more confident with the wiring of Electrofrog points. ‘Oulton TMD’ uses both; Code 100 in the depot and fiddle yard and Code 75 on the front section. The points are also a mixture of Insulfrog and Electrofrog. Both types have been extremely reliable and work well with DCC. In the 10 years the layout has been operating I haven’t had to change one point! A quality controller helps too. Before I changed to DCC, I used a hand-held feedback controller and a twin-track controller, both from Gaugemaster. Both were reliable and controlled the locomotives well, even at slow speed. As for DCC, there are many choices, but I use the Lenz system. It’s not the cheapest on the market.
BRM: What challenges or problems did you face when building the layout?
AC: Wiring was one of the biggest challenges. Every time I extended the layout I needed to build a new control panel. I don’t operate the points with DCC but use the conventional way of a CDU and toggle switches. ‘Oulton’ has five panels, the largest of which is 1m long, operates 23 points and 28 colour light signals!
The other problem is operators - or lack of them! At the first show, I originally operated the layout on my own, but as the layout grew in size, I soon realised I needed help. While at the Soar Valley show in 2006, one of the SVMRC members offered to help out and still does. I now have a team of eight people, whose assistance is very much appreciated (Thanks lads!). Six of those are members of various model railway clubs. We usually try to have a team of six to operate the layout at exhibitions, unfortunately, they sometimes have commitments to their own clubs and are not always available.
BRM: What lessons have you learned from building ‘Oulton TMD’?
AC: I don’t think anyone has actually taught me how to build a model railway. I started out buying ready-made buildings or kits and I never thought I could build a layout that could be exhibited. I gained experience through trying - and failing - but learning from my mistakes. So my advice would be to have a go, do your best and if it doesn’t work out the first time, try again until you are happy with the end result.
BRM: What, if anything, would you do differently based on your experiences?
AC: The wiring. DCC needs only two wires - I don’t think so! Yes there are two wires from the controller, but because of the complicated track design and the fact I used Electrofrog points, I have had to install quite a few track feeds. There is also a vast array of wiring needed to feed all the colour light signals and all the points as I still prefer to use a CDU and switches to control them. I must admit that all that wiring is not as neat as I would have liked. I dread the day when a problem occurs as fault-finding will be a complete nightmare! I have thought about rewiring it but even that would be a daunting task. In future, any new layout or extension would be much neater and wired logically to aid fault finding.
BRM: What are your favourite areas of the layout and how were they tackled?
AC: Originally, I built everything myself, but as new sections were constructed there was pressure to complete them in time for the next show, so Derek Barnett of Footplate Model Railways helped out. The layout has developed and so, I believe, have my modelling skills. A few years ago, I decided to build a large extension to the layout that would consist of an oil terminal and the cement works. I remember there being an oil terminal at Etruria, near Stoke, in the 1980s. I couldn’t find any photographs of it, but found one of the Westerleigh terminal near Bristol, which looked similar to the Etruria facility. The challenge was to create a model just by using details from the photograph, so with help from Derek we scratch-built the girder and angle iron framework from plastic and used brass wire for the handrail that ran over the tanks. Wills chequerplate was used to create a walkway and details and pipework from the Knightwing range were used for added features. I also needed an oil storage tank and this was built from a piece of 4” soil pipe (unused I might add!) with extra details. A road tanker filling point was scratch-built, again scaled purely from an image seen on the internet.
BRM: Have you experienced any problems with rolling stock that needed modification before it would run reliably?
AC: Generally, most modern locomotives and items of rolling stock are very good, so other than weathering, I have had to do very few modifications. The exceptions were older Bachmann Class 08s and 37s, which needed additional pick-ups to help them run better. Working lights were also fitted to the older Bachmann Class 08s, 20s and 37s. With regard to the rolling stock, some of the old Lima PCA cement tanks and Hornby ferrywagons needed better wheels and couplings altered to the NEM type. I have had problems with Heljan Cargowaggon couplings and they are in the process of being modified. Another problem is that the couplings are not always the same height. To solve this, I’ve bought various couplings, some cranked, some straight, and fitted the ones that work best using trial and error. Occasionally, I need to refit the whole unit and use Parkside Dundas NEM mounting blocks (PA34) to reposition the coupling as required.
BRM: What are your plans for the layout?
AC: In November 2015, ‘Oulton TMD’ will reach its tenth anniversary on the exhibition circuit, but there are still plenty of small jobs that need doing. I want to fit lights to the oil terminal and to some of the vehicles. I am always adding new locomotives and they need detailing and weathering, as do any wagons and coaches I buy. When finances allow, a new sound decoder or two will also be fitted, which will keep Simon, one of our operators, happy as he refuses to run any locomotive that is not sound fitted! With regards to the layout, I am still undecided whether to extend it again or build a new layout altogether.
BRM: How do you fit your railway modelling around your work and home life?
AC: I am self-employed and have an understanding partner so this gives me a high degree of flexibility in the amount of time I can devote to working on the layout and prepping it before a show. I try to make sure I have at least one evening per week set aside as a modelling night. I also plan big, but start small - that’s what works for me. If you can design a large layout that can be built in several small sections, you are able to finish and operate one part before moving on to the next. ‘Oulton TMD’ was only 12’ long and 2’ wide when it was first exhibited, it is now 28’ by 10’! If you are really struggling to find time to build your own layout, I would highly recommend joining your local model railway club.
BRM: When you encounter a problem in your modelling, where do you look for solutions?
AC: When Derek was helping me, we would generally discuss, or more likely argue about, any problems that arose. He has a lot of experience in the model railway world and is always on hand to offer advice, usually along the lines of; “What you want to do is...”. Next would be fellow modellers. I am lucky to be indirectly involved with several local model railway clubs, namely Stafford, Alsager and the Soar Valley club. Not only do some of their members help operate the layout, but their advice is invaluable. Ashley, of SVMRC advised and worked for two days fitting and wiring up over 100 LEDs during construction of the control panel. The internet and forums such as RMweb are also very useful in finding specific information, and I keep magazines that have articles relating to projects that I may find interesting.
BRM: How do you prefer to buy models?
AC: I use a variety of sources; obviously, Derek at Footplate helps provide the majority of models, track and accessories I need, but I am also lucky that I attend about 15 model railway shows over the year. That allows me to source most of the other items that I require. I also have two local model shops, which are a bonus and, of course, the internet and eBay fill in any gaps. I don’t tend to go to swapmeets anymore except occasionally the one at Stafford - they work well for picking up locomotives and rolling stock but I prefer model railway exhibitions for their better selection of building materials and accessories that help lift a layout. Footplate of Kidderminster, Express Models for the locomotive and yard lights, South West Digital, DC Kits and Legomanbiffo provide the sound decoders.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
AC: In 2017, I built another 4ft section, which joined onto the cement works and this is now the site of Kibbleston station. It's not included on the trackplan of course!
ADDITIONAL IMAGES
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