Planning the Second Newcastle – Fassifern Railway

Modeling the Railways of NSW 2015

Garry Glazebrook

• Introduction • The Design Process • The Final Design • The Third Dimension

• Acknowledgements and References

Contents

Introduction • My first Layout occupied a 5m * 3.6m attic, and was built to

represent the Newcastle – Fassifern section of the Short North in the mid 1960’s

• All baseboards and track were complete by 2013, but with only limited scenery and structures

The layout included Newcastle, Broadmeadow, Kotata, Cardiff, Sulphide Jcn and Fassifern, but the total length of visible mainline was only 20 metres.

A number of operating sessions were held, based on the working timetables for 1965, and with trials of the use of car cards and trains cards for operators…

• A move to the Southern Highlands in 2014 opened up the possibility for even greater model railroad follies!

• However I decided I was not yet done* with the Newcastle – Fassifern area, and decided to use the same prototype for my new layout

* Or to use Howard Zane’s more colourful expression – “my possum was not yet fully cooked”

The Prototype…

The Design Process for Layout 2

Step 1 - Learn from your First Layout

The Good The Bad, and the Downright Ugly!

Use of LDE’s Lack of Space for Operators!

Prototype-based Timetables Lack of Main-line run

Scratch-building Unreliable track

Operating with Friends Inadequate Staging

DCC Lack of Workshop and Visitor Space

Step 2: Learn from other Layouts

• I have been lucky to have seen and in some cases operated on some great layouts, both overseas and in Australia, including layouts by: – George Sellios – Howard Zane – Dan Vandermaus – David Parks – Marcus Amman – Alistair Gilmour – Dick Day

• A few glimpses of these layouts follow, highlighting some of the lessons / ideas:

….Deep urban scenes

George Sellios’ Franklin and South Manchester

Step 2 - Lessons from Other Layouts …superb scenery

Howard Zane’s Piermont Division

Adequate Aisle Space, and ease of operation…

Dan Vandermaus’Alleghany Western

Staging, backdrops, computer control, complex operating sessions..

David Park’s Cumberland West

…..Signature Scenes and Realistic Timetables

Alistair Gilmour’s Main South

Complex DC “Signalbox” Operation…

Dick Day’s Banbury Junction

Complex Operation, DCC and great scenery…

Marcus Ammann’s Main North

Step 3: Set Objectives

Operational Aesthetic Practical

Longer mainline runs Port Waratah/BHP Wider Aisles

Operating Sessions for up

to 12 people, with up to

8 train crew plus

despatcher, yard crew,

signalbox operator, loco

foreman

More prototypical LDE’s

for Newcastle,

Broadmeadow and

Tickhole Tunnel

Raised Layout Height and

space under layout for car

cards, controllers, coffee

cups and live loads

More staging Aesthetic “S” curves Workshop Bench + Visitor

/Crew Space

Belmont Branch Line Realistic Backdrops Good access to points,

point motors and wiring

..and Standards

Area Standard

Minimum Radius Mainline (visible) 30 inches (75cm)

Hidden / Branchline 28 inches (70 cm)

Smallest Points Mainline No 6

Industrial Sidings etc No 5

Access – Max reach 30 inches (75 cm)

Minimum Aisle Widths 2-way traffic 36 inches (90cm)

One-way traffic 24 inches (60 cm)

Track Height (major yards)

50 inches (127 cm)

Control System Locomotives DCC (NCE)

Points, Accessories DCC (Z21) + manual

Maximum Train Length 12 feet (3.6 metres)

Step 4:

Identify Opportunities….. and Constraints

Step 5: Select the Prototype Area to Model

Newcastle Broadmeadow

Belmont

Station Yard Staging Main Trackage

Coal Mine Major Industry Roundhouse Hidden Trackage

Port Waratah

Sulphide Jcn

Newcastle Fassifern Adamstown Kotara Sulphide Jcn

Sydney Staging North Staging

Stockton Borehole

Newstan

Cardiff Workshops

Sulphide Works

BHP Steel

Tickhole Tunnel

Fassifern “bank”

Harbour

Broadmeadow

Step 6: Develop The Track Scheme

Step 7: Identify the Layout Design Elements (LDE’s) to include

a) Newcastle

b) Broadmeadow

c) Port Waratah and BHP Steelworks

d) Tickhole Tunnel

e) Sulphide Junction

f) Fassifern and Newstan

(a) Newcastle Station, Harbour and City

Longer platforms, larger yard and port, larger city centre

Broadmeadow Station, Yard and Depot Bigger marshalling yard, both roundhouses, separate station

LDE’s – Port Waratah

Large yard with “sea” of hoppers, extensive port

facilities, coal weighbridge

LDE’s – BHP Steelworks

Large steelworks including blast furnace, BOS, coke plant, refinery, rolling mills,

extensive private rail network

LDE’s - Climbs to Tickhole Tunnel

Longer climbs to Tickhole tunnel from both sides, including relief track on southern side,

with prototypical scenery.

LDE’s – Sulphide Junction

Larger Sulphide Plant and Cardiff Workshops, separate yard at Sulphide Junction, plus two bridges over Cockle Creek (one for the main line plus one

for the branch line to Stockton Borehole etc).

LDE’s – Fassifern-Newstan

Larger Fassifern station with beginning of branch

to Toronto; greater visibility for sidings at Newstan mine; longer

Fassifern Bank..

Step 8: Identify Broad Options

• I developed dozens of potential ways of connecting the LDE’s and wrapping them in the available space.

• Six of the most promising are shown below

• All of these were constrained by having to fit a car into the available space, along with a workbench and space for crew lounge / visitors.

OPTION 2

Port Waratah

Fass

ife

rn/N

ewst

an

North Staging

Sydney Staging

Sulp

hid

e Jcn

Wo

rkbe

nch

OPTION 4

Car

Car

OPTION 1

No

rth

Sta

gin

g

Fassifern/Newstan Sulphide Jcn

Sydney Staging North Staging

Sulphide Jcn Fassifern/Newstan

Workbench

Workbench

Po

rt Waratah

OPTION 3

Broad Options (cont)

Option 5 Option 6

Step 9: Develop Detailed Designs

• Each option was worked up into a detailed design using 3rd Planit software

• This usually took several days with many iterations

• Many promising options were eliminated at this stage. The Devil is always in the detail!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

Option 6

Step 10: Select the Winning Design

• How to select the best design?

• A Colleague, Derek Cullen, recommended setting up an evaluation martix, scoring each option against my design objectives

• Weights were assigned to each objective and scores were based on a mixture of quantitative and qualitative assessment.

Scoresheet

Comparison of Options

The Final Design

• So Option 5 was chosen as the best overall compromise between operational, aesthetic and practical objectives.

• But in a twist, my wife agreed that the car could live outside the shed! So that constraint was removed, making more space available.

• In the meantime, I had become ever more fascinated by the idea of modeling the BHP steelworks, so a priority was to increase space for that LDE.

• The final design which emerged was based on Option 5, but with some re-design to increase the BHP steelworks as well as aisle widths in some places.

The Final Design?

Bricks and Mortar

• The layout is now under construction, with the help of a few friends (including Lachlan McGuire on baseboards, Roger Tuck on electrical and John Briggs on steelworks structures).

• In the first year: – 40% of the baseboards have

been built – 50% of the track has been laid – 3% of the structures are finished – No scenery as yet!

• Stage 1 is almost finished, and will allow first operations, using a temporary connection.

The Third Dimension

• 3rd Planit Software also allows you to visualise how a layout will look when built, using 3-D

• I found this particularly useful for designing the BHP steelworks area and Port Waratah

• The images below compare my 3rd Planit images with the layout as it is emerging…

Conclusions

• Planning the Second Newcastle – Fassifern Layout has been great fun

• Its also great to see it gradually emerge in reality

• The final fun will hopefully be when 10 - 12 people get together for operating sessions….

Acknowledgements and References Website: Details of the prototype and my two layouts are on www.newcastle-modelrail.com Acknowledgements I’d like to acknowledge thanks to all the people at LDSIG and OPSIG who have further encouraged me, in particular Byron Henderson, David Parks and Seth Neuman whom I met on a visit to the 2011 NMRA convention, as well as great modellers and designers like John Pryke (whose first layout I was fortunate enough to visit and who’s articles on city building and other aspects have always been an inspiration), as well as many colleagues in Australia including Marcus Amman, Alistair Gilmour, Erik Bennett, Laurie Moses, Allan Garbut and Phil Collins.

References David Jehan (1999): “Men, Steel and Rails” the Operations of the BHP Newcastle System from the Introduction of Diesel Traction to the Closure of Primary Steelmaking in 199”. ISBN 1 87663 409 X. Published by the BHP Rod, Bar and Wire Division in association with the Light Railway research Society of Australia – NWS Division. Ray Love (2010): “The Steam Locomotive Depots in NSW. Depot No 20: Port Waratah”. Byways of Steam No 27. Eveleigh Press. ABN 70 000 558 574. Ron Preston (2000): “The Railways of New South Wales – In Steam: Short North”. Orion Fine Arts. ISBN 0 9577825 4 3. Bernard Kempinski (2010): “The Model Railroader’s Guide to Steel Mills”. Kalmbach Books. ISBN 978-0-89024-751-8. Fred McKillop and David Sheedy (2008): “Our Region, Our Railway. The Hunter and the Great Northern Railway 1857 – 2007”, Australian Railway Historical Society. NWS Division. Peter Attenborough (2002): “The Short North . Wyong – Fassifern”. Byways of Steam 20, Eveleigh Press. Peter Attenborough (2004): “The Short North. Fassifern-Newcastle”. Byways of Steam 22, Eveleigh Press. Ray Love (2010): “The Steam Locomotive Depots in NSW. Locomotive Depot No 20. Port Waratah”. Byways of Steam 27. Eveleigh Press.