by Kevin Williams

Lowbeck Hall MPD is a small scale project designed to be built in a relatively short period of time as a pilot for a future, more ambitious layout. The decision to build something on the modest side follows the abandonment of two previous projects that were far too ambitious given my limited free time and patience.

The layout will consist of a hidden oval of track serving as a fiddle yard (and a test track), with a connection to a small scenic section containing an MPD. It will be used as a test bed for:

• DCC-equipped locomotives;
• Tortoise point motors;
• Micro-trains (or similar alternative) couplings which will be fitted to a Class 08 and a handful of diesel fuel tank wagons.

The MPD is not based on any particular prototype, but it will draw on freight settings and operations in West/South Yorkshire for inspiration. The period modeled will be the transition to TOPS (early 1970s), allowing the coexistence of both blue and green diesels and the two numbering regimes. The MPD will consist of:

• a five-road semi-relief shed with room to stable up to ten locomotives inside/in front
• a fuelling point
• a run-round loop
• a fuel tank siding for unloading
• a fuel tank siding for storing empties
• a headshunt for arriving/departing locomotives

Measuring 140 cm by 80 cm, the layout will break down into two sections for easy transportation. The bases (already built) are constructed of 6mm ply with a two-skin structure for the frames. The transformer and DCC controller, along with the hidden oval of track, have been obtained from a Minitrix Starter Set and the rest of the track (Peco Code 55) is in the process of being recuperated from my last unfinished layout.

Page last updated: 28/04/08