‘DOWNING YARD’ GROUND FRAME BOX

Because of the cramped nature of this 4ft 6in by 1ft 6in layout, there was not going to be room for a traditional, elevated signal box. As mentioned last issue, the layout is designed to fit within a wooden display box, so there was also limited headroom – just 7in – so any structures would have to be diminutive.

Therefore, a ground frame would be required to control operations within the yard. Fortunately, Peco produces a rather good ground-level signal box kit (ref. LK709) and, while it’s probably meant for a platform, it looks just like some of the structures seen on byways and yards.

‘O’ gauge subjects shout out for extra detail. To make life easy, I used a Woodland Scenics Just Plug Lighting system. The lights have a self-adhesive pad on the LED end and a small plug on the other. It’s simply a matter of plugging each light unit into a hub which, in turn, plugs into a 24V power supply. The brightness levels of each unit can be adjusted via a set of dials on the hub.

With the lighting installed, the little ‘box would also need a detailed interior, so I used Peco’s ‘O’ gauge signal box interior kit (ref. LK-710) . This provides everything you could need for a small signal box and finishes off the building nicely.

The finished signal box looks very much at home within this compact yard and the lighting allows the detailed interior to be appreciated fully.