My ever-increasing Triang collection continues to grow, with the acquisition of the delightful Tri-ang R353 Yard Switcher. And it could be ideal for a potential new mini layout.
This little loco is of course the brother of the R253 Dock Authority shunter that I already had in Black but I couldn’t resist having it in Yellow, at some point I must also get around to getting the Red version.
Unlike the rest of my TriAng collection that I keep boxed up as an actual collection however I’ve got something in mind for this one.
For ages, I’ve wanted to build a little shuttle layout where a train runs back and forth automatically.
These are relatively easy to build. A stretch of track, isolated at either end with diodes bridging the gaps, and a shuttle unit such as those by GuageMaster or Blocksignalling connected at one end. The train runs along the track in one direction until it crosses the track break, stops and reverses to repeat the process at the other end. On the unit I’m using, you can set the time it pauses at each end before reversing.
I’ve got several ideas in mind for the setting for this.
There’s the common mine/dump arrangement, where a train trundles out of a mine, the wagons empty and it runs back into the mine to pick up the next load.
I like this and would really enjoy building the scenic element but I also want to tell a story with this little layout and I can’t think of a story to be told around a mine dump.
I also considered a diorama of a lorry crashing into a rail bridge.
A police car is pulled up across the road while the policeman is writing the incident up while the lorry driver can be seen beside himself on the road next to his now wrecked lorry. While this is going on, the train emerges from behind some scenery and crosses the bridge before disappearing behind a building on the other side. There it pauses before reversing back across the bridge and then starting over. It would be a nice little story and animation.
I’ve even picked up a Royal Mail lorry for the vehicle that hits the bridge and it’s definitely on my build list of layouts.
What captured my attention however is a dockside scene, with a little shunter trundling back and forth on a siding by the harbour providing the setting for the story of a dog potentially getting hit by the train.
The vignette will show crew around the track frantically waving to the train driver, trying to draw his attention to a dog running towards the track. Will he see them and realise the doggy danger ahead…
The tension and drama of the situation make a great scene.
And I love harbour/dock scenes.
The plan for my first layout-in-a-box. Will it work with a shuttle unit and my new TriAng shunter?
I built this railway in a box this a while back for a challenge and am now revisiting it to see if it could be made to work with a shuttle unit.
I bought the new Triang shunter for this – but also my collection – as its colour will complement the greys of cobble stones on a dockside.
Stay tunned.
Andy is a lifelong modeler, writer, and founder of modelrailwayengineer.com. He has been building model railways, dioramas, and miniatures for over 20 years. His passion for model making and railways began when he was a child, building his first layout at the age of seven.
Andy’s particular passion is making scenery and structures in 4mm scale, which he sells commercially. He is particularly interested in modelling the railways of South West England during the late Victorian/early Edwardian era, although he also enjoys making sci-fi and fantasy figures and dioramas. His website has won several awards, and he is a member of MERG (Model Railway Electronics Group) and the 009 Society.
When not making models, Andy lives in Surrey with his wife and teenage son. Other interests include history, science fiction, photography, and programming. Read more about Andy.