Home, Sweet Home... for a new layout hopefully.

So I've been thinking about my small HO scale Victorian Railways switching layout that is set up in my garage. The garage is underneath our house and really isn't suitable for a layout. The main issue is the dust. Most of the garage is unlined and since the house is built on a slope some areas under the house are exposed dirt. Dust and fine dirt can be blown around especially when the kids leave the side door open after they drop their bikes on the floor. First world Dad problems. In short the location is not ideal for a layout especially when your layout is DCC with its electronics, decoders and throttles.

We've reached a stage where we're pretty settled and the time is right to build something to house a layout and all my railway 'stuff'. Its amazing what you pick up and collect, not just locomotives, rolling stock and kits but books, magazines and memorabilia. I'd hate to add up the cost of all this stuff and I haven't even tried because I don't want to know! Honestly I should just for insurance purposes. 

So I've decided to move my railway stuff from the garage to a purpose built building. Over the past few months I've been spending a lot of time online looking at cabin, hut and shed designs to see what would best suit my needs. 

I looked at getting a 20 foot container. Containers are very popular because they provide good storage at a good price. They're sturdy, transportable and if you get one in good condition they're weather proof. You only have to look around to see how popular they are. They're literally everywhere.

Where I live in Otago we get a pretty big variance in temperatures through the seasons, from cold nights and morning frosts with single digit day time highs in winter to dry hot summer days in the 30's. While the steel construction of containers make them robust, the same metal construction allows for very efficient thermal conduction as well. This makes the inside very, very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Not great on track or electronics. Sprayed foam insulation would help but is expensive. 

The next option I looked at was metal garden sheds. These are also cost effective but suffer the same sort of issues as containers and they're not as robust. 

Kit set garages are popular for hobby spaces but are beyond my budget.

I've settled on making my own hut / shed. Now I'm not a builder by any means but I like the idea of building my own space. An added bonus will be that I pick up some new carpentry skills and a few power tools along the way. 

Since the hut / shed would be used for a small staging to station point to point layout and as a place to store and show my memorabilia I thought a railway design would be appropriate. With the section we have size won't be an issue but it needs to be something manageable.

Searching the net I found a few plans that would work for me.

Victorian Railways 10' x 8' Hut

The first was a Victorian Railways 10' x 8' way and works portable hut.

 

Credit: Mark Beau victorianrailways.net

I found this plan on Mark Beau's excellent Victorian Railways website 

 www.victorianrailways.net . If you're a fan of Australian railways you'll love this website. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This plan rates highly because it has that link back to what I model and with beefed up framing would be a great looking little hut.

NZR 14' x 9' Shelter Shed 

The second plan I found was for an NZR 14 x 9 foot shelter shed station. These station shelters were found at small unmanned stations throughout New Zealand.

Da 1512 leads a goods train with car past the shelter shed at Ngapuhi on the Okaihau Branch in the far north. Credit: Internationalsteam.co.uk 

https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/tales/lythgoe69.htm

I found this plan on archway, an online search tool from Archives New Zealand. 

Credit: Archives New Zealand - Archway

I've spent many hours searching through archway. Most of the building plans are held at the archive offices in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin but many are held in digital form and can be downloaded for free. 

You can access archway at https://www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ 

At 4.2 meters long by 2.7 meters wide this building is quite a bit bigger than the other huts and sheds I've looked at. While the extra space would be nice the extra materials required will stretch the budget but the mono pitch roof will also make it easier for me to build.

NZR One Man Hut

The third plan I'm looking at and the front runner at the moment is a plan I found in the Archives New Zealand office in Dunedin for a proposed 7' 6" x 10' 6" one man hut. 

Credit: Archives New Zealand - Dunedin Office

While this plan is described as a proposal it actually became the basis for a new design of single men's huts on the NZR. These huts were found all around New Zealand and sometimes in quite large numbers as shown in the photo below from the Te Ara - Encyclopedia of New Zealand website showing the single men's compound at Gracefield in the Hutt Valley.

Single Men's Compound at Gracefield, Hutt Valley. Credit: Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/21417/single-mens-huts-gracefield

A single man's hut on a wagon at the Palmerston North railway yards. Credit: Manawatu Heritage https://manawatuheritage.pncc.govt.nz/item/59bcd750-b6a8-4a3a-903b-bd456bb486f5 . 

So those are the three options that I'm looking at. If you have any advice, it will be gratefully  received.

Hopefully I'll have a design picked in the not to distant future and an upcoming post will cover the preparation and construction.

And that's about it.

Station Profile: Herbert

DXB 5137 with DC 4761 lead 934 Dunedin to Middleton freight through Herbert. 19/01/21.

For my first station profile I've chosen Herbert, a small blink and you've missed it Otago village on State Highway 1 and more importantly a crossing loop on the South Island Main Trunk. 

1978 New Zealand Topo Map - Herbert

Opened on the 14th of November 1876, Herbert is located at the 276 kilometer mark on the South Island Main Trunk (SIMT). On the 7th of September 1878 the South Island Main Trunk between Christchurch and Dunedin was finally completed and opened for traffic. The station then settled into its role as a small country crossing station serving Herbert and the surrounding area. As a station operating under tablet train control Herbert was manned with staff operating the tablet machine, assisting with crossings and looking after passengers and inwards and outwards goods traffic. 

Like many stations in New Zealand, Herbert consisted of a main line, crossing loop and goods siding. Herbert was similar to other stations between Oamaru and Dunedin along the South Island Main Trunk where the siding come directly off the mainline on the opposite side to the crossing loop. Stations with this layout included Waianakarua, Hampden, and Waikouaiti. This layout was used in these locations so the station, siding and goods shed were all on the side closest to the township they served allowing for safe and easy access.

Herbert - Hampden Signalling and Interlocking Arrangements Diagram. Credit: Archives New Zealand Dunedin.

In 1959 Herbert was upgraded as part of the new Centralised Traffic Control (CTC) system introduced to the SIMT. The CTC system between Oamaru and Dunedin was operated from the Train Control Office in Dunedin. With the introduction of CTC the old tablet machine was removed and electric point motors and intermediate, home and departure searchlight signals were installed.

The station was closed to all traffic on the 30th of March 1980.

From 1989 the section between Oamaru and Port Chalmers was converted from CTC to Track Warrant Control (TWC). This system allowed train control to give track warrants to locomotive engineers by radio removing the need for the complex and expensive CTC system. Track Warrants gave Locomotive Engineers permission to proceed from one location to another and provided other information required for the safe working of trains in TWC sections. As part of the conversion a number of stations with short loops were closed while new loops with TWC signals were constructed. Herbert was retained as a crossing loop under the new TWC system but unusually retained its searchlight signals. It was during this time that the goods siding was also removed. 

The removal of the goods siding proved short sighted as Herbert was used in the mid 1990's as a loading point for logs from the nearby Herbert Forest. The resident Oamaru DSC shunting locomotive would bring USL log wagons from Oamaru and set them on the main line. While the DSC ran round the train logs stored on the site of the old goods siding would be loaded onto the USL wagons by front end loader. Once loaded the shunt would return to Oamaru where the log wagons would await pick up by a mainline freight train.

Where once any number of goods, express goods and passenger and express trains would keep the tracks shiny, Herbert has approximately eight freight trains pass through every day. The loop is rarely used except for the occasional crossing when a delayed train has been unable to cross its opposite number at its normal place.

To get a better idea of the track and infrastructure through Herbert we'll start from the south at Otepopo Tunnel. Otepopo tunnel is 220 metres long and is tunnel number 2 on the South Island Main Trunk. The first tunnel on the South Island Main Trunk is the Lyttleton Tunnel linking Christchurch with Lyttleton Harbour.

The northern portal of the Otepopo Tunnel taken from the Glencoe Road level crossing.

Trains then cross the level crossing at Glencoe Road as they approach the up intermediate double searchlight signal.

Glencoe Road level crossing looking west. 

The up intermediate signal looking north from the Glencoe Road level crossing.

Trains then climb a straight section as they approach Herbert. 

Up home signal and the southern points for the crossing loop.

After passing the up home signal trains go over the points for the crossing loop and cross the Herbert Road level crossing. 

The southern end of Herbert crossing loop looking south. The former station building was located between the grey lineside signal building and the Herbert Road level crossing.

Between the current southern end of the crossing loop and the Herbert Road level crossing loop was the original Herbert railway station. Like many other stations, this building was demolished in the 1980's.

A northbound freight lead by two Mitsubishi DJ Bo-Bo-Bo diesel electric locomotives pass Herbert station in the late 1970's. Photographer: Joe Wallace

Herbert Road level crossing looking west.

The main and loop departure searchlight signals at the southern end of the crossing loop.

Herbert crossing loop looking north. The goods siding was located on the right side of the main line where the graveled area is now.

Just to the east of the main line and north of the Herbert Road level crossing is the Herbert signal cabin. This non descript concrete block building contains all the signaling equipment for the Herbert crossing loop and may also contain a stand by generator and toilet.

Herbert signal cabin taken from the southern end.

Rear of the Herbert signal cabin.

North end of the Herbert signal cabin.

Front of the Herbert signal cabin.

Northbound 934 Dunedin to Middleton freight passes through Herbert.

Heading towards the northern end of the crossing loop is the up main and loop departure signals, the northern crossing loop points and the down home signal. 

The north end of the Herbert loop taken from the Frew Road level crossing.

The main line then crosses the Frew Road level crossing.

Frew Road level crossing looking East

The main line looking north from the Frew Road level crossing.

Heading north from the Frew Road level crossing we pass the down intermediate signal and then cross the Irvine Road level crossing.

Looking south along the shiny rails of the South Island Main Trunk from the Irvine Road level crossing.

Irvine Road level crossing looking east.

Looking north from the Irvine Road level crossing.

And that's it for my first station profile.

Just a reminder tracks are for trains. All my photos were taken from public land and roads including level crossings. 

As this is my first station profile if you like what you've see or have some constructive advice on what I could do better please leave a comment.

And that's about it.