Inglenook 7: Military dockside

I suspect that most inglenooks are built for fun and comprise a few sidings thrown together for almost endless shunting possibilities. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I wonder how many people consider the possibility of an inglenook as a fully fledged layout in its own right; well-researched, perhaps following a particular prototype, intensively detailed and compositionally stunning? This scheme is based on Liverpool docks and set during the Second World War. At that time, the docks covered 500 acres and boasted 29 miles of quays capable of accommodating any ship afloat. It played a vital role in the Battle of the Atlantic, the North African invasion and the invasion of Europe. During that period 4.7 million soldiers, including 1.2 million Americans, passed through the docks. A staggering 75.15 million tons of cargo was imported, including 73,782 aeroplanes. Among these were Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and North American P-51 Mustangs, as well as Lockheed Hudsons and even Horsa gliders. Around 660,000 tons of cargo comprised tanks, vehicles and spare parts. Sherman tanks, Buffalo tracked landing vehicles (LVT-1S) and DUKWS were all imported, before being loaded straight on to railway wagons for onwards distribution. But it wasn’t all one-way traffic: a number of British Matilda II tanks were sent to the Soviet Union. Of particular interest would have been the arrival of USA Transportation Corps ‘S160’ 2-8-0s and ‘S100’ 0-6-0Ts which, although landed across the Mersey at Birkenhead, could be worth including. You might need to rethink the design to cater for the discrepancy between the 3.5mm:1ft scale of Roco’s ‘S160’ and the remaining ‘OO’ layout. The proposed layout, inspired in part by Gladstone Dock, comprises a double inglenook track arrangement, each served by a headshunt, left and right, and linked using a diamond crossing and four points. The arrangement can also be used as a quirky run-round loop. Dockside track makes use of Setrack components, including first radius curves. There’s a static view-blocking representation of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, and I draw reader’s attention to relevant information in MR233.