LAYOUT: Amalgamated Wagon Works
Ben Lord tells how he resurrected this charming shunting puzzle.
BEN LORD tells of Rochdale Model Railway Group’s unloved ‘O’ gauge experiment and how, with a little care and attention, he resurrected this charming shunting puzzle.
When it comes to building an ‘O’ gauge layout, there are two main assumptions: you need acres of space and lots of money. There’s no denying it, ‘O’ gauge locomotives are generally more expensive than comparable models in smaller scales, and less economical when it comes to space. But, with a little compromise and some savvy decision-making, small and cost-effective ‘O’ gauge layouts are certainly not beyond the realms of possibility, and Rochdale Model Railway Group’s (RMRG) ‘Amalgamated Wagon Works’ (now affectionately known as ‘Amwag’) is proof. ‘Amwag’ was constructed by members of RMRG during the late 1990s. The group had predominantly modelled in ‘EM’, but with a few ‘O’ gauge kits lying around, the decision was taken to experiment with building a small 7mm:1ft scale layout on which to house idle rolling stock. The layout’s construction took about 18 months, and it was exhibited at several local shows. However, it proved unpopular among group members, who found that operating it was a bit dull. So it ended up in storage, where it remained for the next 10 years… until I found it.
ROUND FIGURE
I joined RMRG in 2014. Having been told that the membership fee was buying a round in the pub after a meet, this was definitely the club for me! Due to work commitments, and the birth of my son, I realised that my original ambition of building a layout from scratch was unrealistic. But I could still enjoy the social benefits of club membership; attending shows and helping fellow members with their own projects. Then I discovered the abandoned ‘Amwag’. Despite being in storage for a decade, it was relatively intact. The layout depicts a small wagon repair shop, and is set on an overcast autumn day in 1932, based somewhere in East Yorkshire – within the triangle of Wakefield, Pontefract, and Barnsley. I set ‘Amwag’ up in my garage, with the intention of resurrecting it for the exhibition circuit. The baseboard had been constructed using a softwood frame, with a 9mm plywood top, and was mostly warp-free. The track had been hand-built using C&L Finescale components and, after a few tweaks (including re-soldering the odd dry joint), it ran extremely well. The warehouse buildings had been constructed using a solid plywood core with an embossed plastic card covering. However, time had taken its toll so these buildings required a fresh coat of paint. The stone office building was constructed from a plastic card shell and had been covered in scribed DAS clay, which had unfortunately cracked, as had some of the clay cobblestones. But ‘Amwag’ required more than just the odd spot of maintenance. After spending an evening running the layout, I had to agree with its previous operators: it was mind-numbingly boring to operate!
FORM AND FUNCTION
Sprucing up the existing buildings was a relatively easy task. Any DAS clay that needed reattaching was stuck back down with PVA glue, and any sections that were beyond repair were simply replaced with fresh clay. The layout had been painted using a very basic palette of rust and flesh tones, and black, to which I added greens, reds, and blues. Limiting my selection of paints meant that the additional tones and shades would still blend in well. Nothing stands out, which makes the scene appear subtly muted and more natural. I realised that the layout’s lack of operational interest was because it lacked a clear purpose. Originally, the operation consisted of around eight wagons which spent their time being shunted around the scene. I felt that the layout would benefit from a fiddleyard, where trains could be formed off-scene, brought on stage, distributed as desired, and then returned to the fiddleyard. The fiddleyard itself is made from aluminium angle cassettes. I had toyed with the idea of producing cards, drawn at random to indicate the arrangement of wagons, but I found that talking to
the audience at exhibitions, instead of constantly solving complex puzzles, is far more enjoyable. The rejuvenated ‘Amwag’ attended its first show at the Bradford Model Railway Club Exhibition in April/may 2016, standing in for another layout that had been forced to cancel. Despite the short notice, and a few teething problems, ‘Amwag’ was well received, and won the Chairman’s Choice award. The layout received a few more bookings at the show, so my ambition of exhibiting the layout had been achieved. I’d like to thank past and current members of the Rochdale Model Railway Group, in particular David Smith, Andy Cooper, Ian Worthington (for the construction of the buildings), Ian Bowker (for the exquisite wiring and track), and Richard Pawloski (for helping me at shows). I hope that ‘Amwag’ inspires railway
modelling beginners to do something similar for their first layout, especially if building a layout from scratch isn’t practical. People are always selling completed layouts and, when you consider the man-hours involved, they can often be bought for a bargain price. If nothing else, why not join your local club and enjoy the social side of the hobby, too? And if you happen to join RMRG, just remember to always stand your round!