Lulworth - The Layout Formerly Known As Tormouth

Tormouth is a well known N Gauge layout on the exhibition circuit, and when it became available for sale I considered long and hard. It will be a long time before Glasgow North is anywhere near complete and I wanted a ready made layout to enable me to experiment with CVs and get to grips with Digital control. It helped that I'd been following the layout's construction and history on RMWeb and N Gauge Forum. In addition, it would give me an easy route into exhibiting a layout, primarily to see if this side of the hobby was "for me".

Tormouth was built with computer control in mind and this is how it has been exhibited. Control is via a Digitrax command station and Train Controller Gold. Whilst I haven't programmed Train Controller with my stock and schedule in mind, and despite initially being reluctant to use it, I fully intend to exhibit the layout again at some selected exhibitions (assuming they'll have me), hopefully as early as next year, I'm now inclined to embrace automatic control, assuming I can get it to work as I want.

The layout is at present in the original condition as when purchased, at the beginning of the year, but I will be making some, reasonably minor, modifications. Mainly, the location will be moving from the South-West of England, to the South Coast, specifically approximately mid-way between Poole and Weymouth, a real location that was never in reality railway served. I'll be adding third-rail to enable trains from Waterloo to reach the station, as extensions of trains serving Bournemouth. The operating period will be mid-sixties. Traction and stock will reflect the revised location and era with a predomination of BR(S) trains, although a smattering of BR(W) will also make an appearance, primarily in the form inter-regional freight trains, but also a token passenger service, perhaps to/from the S&DJR.

Anyway, some pictures:

 

A 4-CEP, orignating at Waterloo, and split from the main 8-coach train at Bournemouth West, negotiates the points on the approach to Lulworth.

St Oswald's Viaduct, from the old WW2 defences above Lulworth Tunnel East.

our 4-CEP snakes into platform 2 past a BRCW Type 2, a long way from it's BR(E) home.

Modern Colour Signalling comes to Lulworth. The traditional signalbox's days are surely numbered....

The EMU eases into platform 2

Lulworth from the mouth of Lulworth Tunnel West

A BRCW Type 3 pauses with the 1251 Weymouth to Brighton semi-fast. Stock consists of a Maunsell triple set and a Van C.

D832 trundles past a short while later with a train of Class B empties for Fawley.

D1045 emerges from Lulworth Tunnel East, and cautiously proceeds over St Oswald's Viaduct. No doubt looking for fuel......

A funicular railway provides a pleasant distraction for the driver and secondman

As expected, D1045 takes a drink at the rather spartan but well-patronised servicing point.

Another 4-CEP from Bournemouth holds at the Home signal as D832 accelerates on its way east.

Our second EMU of the afternoon discharges on Platform 1, as the first prepares to depart.

BRCW Type 3, still with no yellow warning panel, but looking remarkably presentable, trundles through Lulworth with a short general goods train, consisting of a mixture of Big Four diagrams.

Save for the break van, all these are N Gauge Society kits