Club Layout Projects
Kensington (Addison Road)
‘Tony Wright with permission BRM Magazine’.)
An Oerlikon 3 car EMU in LNWR livery at the up platform of Kensington Addison Road forming a backdrop to the superb signals built by a sadly missed club member – Pat Haynes.
Kensington Addison Road
Scale: 1:43 (‘0’ Fine scale) Gauge: 32mm
Period: Mid 1920’s
Location: Part of a W. London Prototype station
Approx Layout size: 15.5m x 1.6m
The layout was featured in BRM magazine in July and August 2018. It has been exhibited at various national model railway shows, including Guildex, Warley National (winning the award for best 7mm layout), Railex and Bristol. In the clubroom running is not restricted to 1920’s period trains and BR period stock is frequently seen, to the extent that we have developed a 1950’s period timetable for specific running sessions.
The Prototype
Kensington Addison Road is now Kensington (Olympia) on the W.London route, originally a joint L&NWR, LB&SCR, L&SWR & GWR line between Clapham and Willesden Jct. Our model shows the station in its heyday around 1925, with LMS and SR liveries appearing.
The Olympia exhibition halls on the left form the layout’s ‘viewing’ side. The fine signal in the heading picture is visible in the middle distance.
Planning the Model
The layout has been thoroughly researched and is one of the Club’s most prototypically accurate projects to date.
At approximately fifty feet long with two 9’ diameter train turntables, the baseboards are nearly five feet wide. It is also the Club’s largest ever project, taking over ten years to construct. Even so, it represents only the southern half of the station.
The model is viewed from the site of the Olympia exhibition halls, with Willesden Junction off to the left; beyond the right-hand end of the layout is Earl’s Court and Clapham Junction. It is an end-to-end layout designed to be operated to a timetable by a team of 3-4 club members at any one time
The Trains
Most of the trains at this period were general goods, coal or milk trains. For passengers, frequent local services ran from the bay platforms to Clapham Junction. The main lines were electrified in 1914 (3rd and 4th rail 630 volts DC), and distinctive ex-LNWR 3-car electric sets ran an intensive service from Willesden to Earl’s Court. We have also constructed a model of the ‘Sunny South Special’, a through train which linked the northern cities of Liverpool and Manchester with the southern resorts of Brighton and Eastbourne.
The Signal Box was one of the earlier buildings to be completed, taking advantage of a Laser cutting service. The cabin is fully outfitted with 3D printed LNWR ‘stirrup’ handle levers and selection of instruments
Special Features
Over the years a number of members have participated in the construction of the project – some of the buildings were made by a member in the USA! Amongst items of interest on the layout are the hand built pointwork, distinctive models of the original LNWR signals and the (dummy) third and fourth rail electrified trackwork.
This is a DC layout with route setting and electrical sections controlled from a push-button panel using the MERG CBUS control system. CCTV is installed at each control position so that drivers can keep an eye on their train even if it is 50’ away. We built the signal box and platform canopies from laser-cut materials to our own drawings. The distinctive ‘Oerlikon’ electric multiple units and the LNWR brake composite carriages which ran in the ‘Sunny South’ through trains were constructed from our own etched brass kits. A successful group project has been the construction of a 4-coach LMS motor train where each carriage was built by a different member.
The LNWR and LMS liveries were particularly attractive on these sets; the drab and dirty overall green used in BR days was quite the opposite.
The permanent way trolley is standing on a siding which was electrified after WW2 to allow District Line trains independent access from Earl’s Court to Olympia; this is modelled as a work site – there wasn’t room to get the full track in.
It must have been a club running night when this picture was taken! All of our layouts operate on the basis that if it will fit the tracks you can run your trains regardless of era or railway depicted