Coastguard Creek - A new layout?

It's been almost a month since my last post, but in that time I have not been dormant at all; working tirelessly to come up with a layout idea that would be fun, semi-unique, not too huge, and of course feature some locations that inspire me around the coastal regions of The New Forest and Southampton Waterside.

A few notes before we get started:

• There's no guarantee that this layout will be built - this is just an idea at present, and is subject to change, especially during real-world mock-ups.
• The fiddle yard would be removable, and is a simple 2ft long 3-track sector plate.
• The track plan has not yet been tested to fit the space, but it will be restricted to 0-6-0 locomotives which hopefully allows for sharp radius curves; we'll see!

Welcome to Coastguard Creek!

You all know by now that Sandy Shores is my dream narrow gauge scenario that I wish existed in real life. I suppose Coastguard Creek is not far off a standard gauge version of the same! It's not quite the same level of "paradise" though, especially with the ship breaker's yard and a lack of beach, but it's a nice compact scene with a plethora of coastal elements that I love; the classic lighthouse, slipway, lifeboat/watch house, and the quayside. It also has plenty of quirky elements to appease me; the propelled crane being the most unusual, as well as the (hopefully) animated gate. I think that if it were to exist, it would be a very interesting prototype!

The big compromise (in my opinion) is instead of curving the baseboard to make things interesting, and keep my layouts unique and fun, I've kept the baseboard rectangular. To somewhat offset this, the backscene curves partially in front of the fiddle yard, and very little is parallel with the baseboard edge. Like I said, in some ways the layout is quite similar to Sandy Shores, with a similar aesthetic and the crossover in the middle; there's just much less sand and a little less rust!

Oh, almost forgot; as it stands this layout is OO only...

Inspirational locations:

(In order of influence)

• Lepe - coastguard cottages, lighthouse, watch house, slipway, sloped concrete sea defences
• Ashlett Creek - the pub, quay, and mudflats
• Medina Wharf Halt - tiny wooden platform
• Queenborough (Rushenden Branch/Shipbreakers) - much further afield, but I really like the propelled standard gauge crane and general atmosphere, particularly the weedy track and muddy estuary.
• Lymington Pier - as you'll see at the very bottom of this post, I was heavily in favour of Lymington Pier being a significant inspiration. However, various layouts have come to light recently that have done a very good job of capturing the location, and I also want to move away from passenger services. There is a little nod to this location though.
• Chatham Dockyard/Southampton Docks - general atmosphere around the shipbreaker's yard

Note that as Sketchup (the 3D design program) does not allow me to add additional lights, I have shadows from the pelmet that would not exist in real life. For some screenshots I forgot to remove the pelmet, sorry!             Class 03 Diesel made by Sketchup user "Phil M.".

Above: The track plan isn't too complex, and only features four points and a crossing, and I think allows for a lot of shunting possibilities, with some limitations on headshunt lengths that will provide additional challenge! The focus is obviously on freight, with only a tiny platform for the coastguard cottages. Note that although there is no run-around loop, there is half of one; the other half provided by the sector plate.

    1400mm is perhaps a little long for a single board, but not totally unmanageable, although I'm not sure it'll fit in my car without going over the front passenger seat. The 600mm width is ideal, although I may set the fiddle yard and scenic extension in front to both be 300mm rather than the uneven sizes they are currently. Perhaps part of the shipbuilder's yard will be a separate small board so that I can keep it more compact.

Above: A front view shows how effective the large pub building and trees are at blocking the scenic exit; something I really struggled with on Sandy Shores due to its remote nature. Note how the rear coastguard cottages are each stepped up by 5mm to provide a bit of interest; this goes against the prototype, but you'll be amazed how much of a positive impact this subtle change has on the overall scene.

Above: The ship-breaker's yard on the left sits on it's own island, in effect creating a separate scene entirely; this is another way to help divert attention away from the scenic exit. I also plan to have a lot of scrap parts from boats lying around, and many other details in this area to keep the eyes busy! I'd also like to add a path on the river side of the pub so that patrons don't need to walk across the railway quayside.

Above: The ship breaker's yard is mostly made up from my imagination, although I remember seeing a building similar to the larger one from an old video of Chatham Dockyard; the translucent plastic sheets allowed locomotives (even steam locos!) to access the various sheds. Not sure that would fly in today's world! This area is subject to modifications if I find some suitable prototypes.

Above: I hope to make the gate openable with servos or similar. I've never had an animated feature before, so it should add a lot of interest if I can build it!

Above: For the halt (named "Creek Halt") I'm looking at one or two of the Hattons 'Genesis' 4 wheelers that are in development to provide a very basic passenger service. Perhaps even in the form of a mixed freight which would offer something different to the norm, although something tells me that this wouldn't occur after pre-grouping? The halt itself is based on the one once found at Medina Wharf, IoW - albeit with a nameboard. Note the path up on the far right up to the lighthouse and cottages.

Above: A well-known structure I wanted to include was the Watch House at Lepe. As mentioned in the last post, this was originally used to check for smugglers going up the Beaulieu River. The coastguard cottages in the background and sloped concrete sea defences either side of the watch house are also from Lepe. Despite so many inspired elements, in the end I chose not to call the layout Lepe; I learnt from building Calshot that giving a layout a real life name will immediately draw in unfair comparisons! Coastguard Creek  therefore combines Ashlett Creek, and the coastguard cottages here at Lepe; I thought the alliteration was quite nice as well. I've gone through a number of names, including Coweshot (Cowes & Calshot), Calshot Creek, and Lepe Pier.

Both above: A couple of shots showing the quayside. I'm tempted to add an additional two sections of timber baulking to the left, as I feel there is a little too much brick in this area. I always love to provide multiple textures. The timber quay is inspired by Lymington Pier. The crane I would assume to be made by Booths, and would likely need to be scratchbuilt...

Above: A semi-overview shot shows another angle proving the effectiveness of the various view blockers. A lot of foliage will be needed to disguise the proximity to the backscene.

Above: A high view of most of the layout shows the curved nature of the track plan and various stepped levels to provide more visual interest. The random shapes next to the watch house (boathouse) will be rock armour. Obviously buffer stops will be needed on both sidings and the headshunt!

Above: I've shown a simple removable 3 track sector plate. The control panel will likely need to be inset into the scenic board (as shown) if the track from the ship breaker's siding is unable to be curved onto the sector plate. Preferably though, it would be situated where said track currently ends; leaning back towards the backscene at an angle for ease of use. 

Final thoughts

Potential adjustments:

• I would love to be able to access the sector plate from the ship breaker's siding, however, the current design would require a sharper curve than 1st radius!
• The lighting pelmet would need to extend over the front by a couple of inches.
• The position of the control panel may be a little awkward to access/see/use.
• The layout is pretty long for a single board at 1.4m (not including fiddle yard).
• I'd like to angle the far right end backscene so that it's not at a 90 degree angle to the viewer (see below)

Above: Potential alterations include a board join (red dotted line), and the removal of the top right corner (shown semi-hatched) in order to fit a full length angled backscene. The front right corner has also been removed for ease of construction.

Some may wonder why on earth I've put so much effort into doing an almost complete 3D model. Whilst for some people that may make the act of physically producing the layout pointless, for me, the focus is always on making sure I know the design works before I start wasting materials. I find the fun is not only in the design phase, but also in the building of the layout. I do not lose any interest in building a project even if I plan almost everything beforehand as seen here. A large percentage of people will likely think the opposite, which is absolutely fine by me; each to their own!

As mentioned, there are certainly aspects that could be improved upon, and the track plan will definitely need to be mocked up and tested to check it fits the space; but I feel I'm finally heading in the right direction! Time will tell...

...in any case, as always, I always appreciate thoughts and suggestions!

BONUS - Previous Versions

I realised that I might as well show some of the previous versions that got me to this point, as they might be of interest; so here goes...

Above: Version 0.3 (Yes, there were two previous versions, but they are quite similar to this 3rd one)

Heavily taking cues from Lymington Pier, the car ferry and passenger platform are prominent features of this design. Pros include a narrow board and nice sweeping curve; with a stream and two bridges. Cons include a heavy passenger presence (over more interesting freight), and some seriously low relief houses at the back.

Above: Version 0.4 - A wider baseboard at one end allows a heavier presence for freight, although results in too many viewpoints that will not have a backscene behind them. Back to the drawing board!

Above: Version 0.5 - Taking cues from Neil Rushby's Shell Island, I've gone for a squarish board with one curved edge at the front. This gives use a really interesting set of angles to work from, but something didn't quite click for me. (Ignore the weird grey shadow from the pelmet)

Above: Version 0.6 - A more unusual board shape results in more interesting sight lines, and even a loop of narrow gauge (plus sidings) for added interest. Unfortunately the narrow gauge pushed the standard gauge mostly to the rear of the layout. I also think the narrow gauge loop may be a little too tight... (half of Peco 1st radius!)