Airthrey Park began life in a garage in Porto, Portugal during 2001. Not exactly what would be expected! The initial concept was simply to provide space to display the fleet of locos and DMUs as well some minimal running.
The prototypical justifcation is that during planning and construction of the University of Stirling in the late 1960s, it was decided to build a short branch up to the university estate - Airthrey Park - which nestles between the Wallace Monument and the Ochils, just north of Stirling itself. Services are to comprise hourly links with Glasgow Queen St (DMUs) and Edinburgh (loco-hauled), extended from Stirling as opposed to serving Dunblane. Also, terminating TPO and sleeper portions detached at Stirling from Inverness-bound services and sent for servicing can be expected, whilst the depot receives regular trip workings of fuel and supplies bringing a small amount of freight into the station.
A small servicing depot was built to house local freight engines and those from terminating passenger services, along with a DMU and coaching stock servicing platform. Two fuelling points are available to allow locomotive and DMU refuelling along with an associated fuel oil supply depot. Incoming locomotive-hauled services have the stock removed by the resident class 08s pilots, whilst the locomotive retires to the fuelling point or servicing depot, whilst departures require fresh engines and stock to be shunted into the platforms. The platforms are long enough to house 4-coach hauled sets and 5-car units, whilst the servicing platforms are sufficient for up to 7 DMU vehicles or 6 coaches, with stabling for around 16 locos provided. The fiddle yard is required to house 5-car units or locomotive plus load 4 via a shunt release.
Construction was based on 3 1.2m x 0.6m scenic boards, cut to avoid a structural pillar and a 2.4m fiddle yard, all of which was built integrally and fixed what was possibly to be the layout's permanent, only and final resting place. Life gets in the way however...
As can be seen progress was limited and the layout was eventually removed from its original home in late 2002 and eventually shipped to the UK the following year.
Airthrey Park was shipped from Portugal to Newcastle in October 2003, taking up residence (and space) at No.29 Crikey Crescent (!), Whickham.
Whilst there, one of the original baseboards was replaced in order to to remove the cut out which had been required due to the building pillar in Porto. Track into the depot was therefore all replaced and a new platform built with through roads on both sides. Most of the track was also ballasted for the first time, along with a new platform and some low relief scenary being added by Malcolm.
During 2004, the layout was 'adopted' by Stirling & Clackmannanshire club and duly moved north so since late 2004, the layout has resided in Stirling with the local MRC and another rebuild has been instigated - the target being a metamorphosis from a home plaything to exhibition standard DCC layout. One slight spanner in the works was Andrew deciding that life might be slightly more interesting in Lisbon as opposed to Glenrothes, so moving 1000 miles away seemed the right thing to do. Hence, from late 2005 Donnelly Senior takes over the reins, having been provided with a suitable holiday home in the Stirling area and at last we have progress!
The first task was literally to get the layout up - the running came later - with new fiddle yard boards and the dreaded task of wiring. This was started as a DC project but the DCC nettle was soon grasped and resident sparky Alex Napier got stuck back in and the layout became DCC live in 2007.
In parallel with the un-seen wiring heroics, some slooooooooooow Donnelly Senior-style scenic work started during 2006, although the catalyst for change came at ModelRail 2007 when the gauntlet was well and truly thrown down. An idle conversation whilst on doorman duty with Steve from Ayr club resulted in the unfinished layout being invited for its debut at Ayr show on September 22 and 23, 2007.
At this point, poor old Malcolm went into over-drive mode with a very fine Victor Meldrew-esque rendition of I don't believe it, it can't be done... The rest of 2007 has been a blur of flying plasticard, over dosing on Metpak, several tantrums (these being left to the national champion - hello Helen!) and a lot of very, very good progress from all of the team involved.
The aim with Airthrey Park is to add another high standard D&E layout to the Scottish circuit, one created in Scotland, of Scotland and by a Scottish team, hopefully combining a good mix of an attractively modelled scene, running suitably improved rolling stock in a prototypical manner which will be of interest to modellers of all levels. The standard of D&E models coming from manufacturers and layouts themselves have evolved markedly over recent years along with technical innovations such as the widespread use of DCC. Our wish is simply to bring a bit of all these factors to Airthrey Park, providing an interesting flashback to a scene from the 1980s. |
