Cobb Railways
Our family have always been reasonably interested in railways and one of my brothers is very keen. Having spent a week in Derbyshire, where my brother lives, we started to think about building a model railway. Emily, then aged 11, has always liked trains, especially any model railways that we come across on days out. She has always enjoyed making her own “little worlds” through computer games and when she was younger with her toys. Rowan, aged 4, just likes trains. Having acquired some second hand model railway magazines, Emily and I were particularly interested in a dockside railway featured in one of them.
Spring 2014.
Our first purchase was a railway snow plough from Chesterfield market, followed by a dockyard diesel from e-bay, of the same type that I had as a child. We didn’t have any track yet though, or anywhere to put it. In fact we soon realised that space would be a problem, but if we had a dockside railway we wouldn’t need stations or long passenger trains so that would help a little. The additional benefit would be that the layout could be flat, without hills and landscaping. This was important as the baseboard would have to be stored upright against a wall when not in use. Unfortunately this also means that all buildings have to be put back on each time the layout comes out!
We learnt a bit more about old railway lines in nearby Kings Lynn and discovered that in addition to the railway at the docks, there used to be a railway line along the South Quay where there are still some interesting old buildings. We used a computer programme to design a track layout and although this had a traditional oval of track so that the trains could run in never ending circles, it also had a selection of sidings. One of these, at the top of the layout could run alongside some warehouses. This section would continue along one end of the board which would be a quayside. With some artistic license we could loosely base our model on South Quay.
With the outline plan sorted we needed to start buying track and the easiest starting point was to buy a basic train set. We found that the cheapest and most readily available Hornby sets were based on the Caledonian Railway. The engine is blue with “CR” on the side, but in our world this doesn’t stand for Caledonian Railway, it stands for Cobb Railways. So in the spring of 2014, Cobb Railways was formed, but we then needed to convert the small train set and big ideas into something a bit more significant.
Summer 2014.
A baseboard of six feet by four feet is the smallest practical size for a model railway so that is what we went for. Actually, we did increase the size slightly, but only very slightly. The board was painted grey as a suitable base colour for a dockside theme and the track fixed to it as per our plan. The computer generated plan actually worked perfectly!
We started working out positions for various buildings and rolling stock. At one end of the layout would be a double “dockside” siding. This would include a travelling crane positioned over the track. These two sidings would run along the end of the layout and then curve round along the top to run by the old warehouses. From this point they would join the oval of track. The oval would have two pairs of sidings inside it. We thought that one pair would be for an engine shed and diesel refuelling point, the other pair for a goods yard, but the use of these sidings changed time and time again as we purchased random buildings and changed our minds.
Impulse buys included a wartime pillbox and an amphibious DUKW which has been painted to look like a smaller version of The Wash Monster, which is based at nearby Hunstanton. Further impulse buys, whilst fitting in with the overall theme, dictated the way the layout would develop. A timber yard has been built and this will have its own siding. This is not entirely out of character as Kings Lynn has always imported a lot of timber, albeit at the docks rather than South Quay. We are keen to include a small fishermen’s yard and a scrapyard. The purchase of a couple of police cars means that a Police Station would be sensible too. Some pigs mean that we need a small field somewhere. A breakdown train is being assembled, but fortunately we have a section of track for that to go on. All in all the plan is coming together and we are still following the dockside theme, but it is looking less and less like the original prototype, as impulse buys have to be fitted in!
Winter 2014/2015.
A position for a level crossing has been agreed and a significant part of the baseboard has been repainted and/or covered with scatter type landscaping. The road from the level crossing continues across the baseboard and also branches off to go round to the position for the timber yard and scrap yard. Some brick walls have been permanently fixed to the baseboard.
We now have complete, or almost complete, the travelling crane, a pillbox, engine shed, diesel refuelling point, timber yard, level crossing, coal staithes and a small section of abandoned track.
2015 and We’re Getting There!
During the course of the year the layout really began to take shape and the ever changing location for the various buildings have been finalised. In the corner of the quayside, beyond the travelling crane, is a small coastal defence battery which allows Rowan to have a small “army train”. Kings Lynn had [a very long time ago] St Annes Fort so we might call this one St Sams Fort.
A grain silo stands on the quayside too. A backdrop of old warehouses [our original theme] has been made up from printed paper and can be fixed to the back of the layout. In the centre of the layout are four yards; a scrap yard, a timber yard, a yard for the DUKW and what will become a fishermens yard. Opposite these and across the road are a small railway carriage house, the railway dock company offices and a small paddock with stables. Behind these are the engine shed. The track leading to the engine shed is also home to the sandhouse. The adjoining siding is for the coalyard, with a water tower and water crane at the entrance to these two sidings. The centre of the layout is completed with a small barn standing on a piece of rough ground, a police station and an old chapel. The chapel will become cabinet makers premises. Scott and Sons were furniture makers in Kings Lynn. Scott is my nephew and his dad is Andrew, who is a qualified cabinet maker. Therefore, in a play on words, our cabinet makers will be called Scott and Drew.
Kings Lynn used to receive large quantities of coal from the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire coal mines. We have family in Shirebrook, Nottinghamshire and in Derbyshire. When visiting we stay at Chesterfield. We have assembled a coal train with wagons from Shirebrook colliery, Bolsover colliery and a Chesterfield colliery agent. Other coal wagons seen on Cobb railways include those of Wallace Spiers, a large London coal agent who purchased their coal from Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Local wagons include those of Colmans from Norwich and Moys from Colchester.
The Story of the “real” Railway.
The fictional private railway, Cobb Railways, runs on what was once part of the North Eastern Railway. That enables us to use some buildings of the era and style of that railway. Some other buildings have been added by Cobb Railways, including an engine shed made of local carr stone. Newer additions include the travelling crane on the quayside, a grain silo and a refuelling point for the diesel shunter. We have tried to build the road and the boundaries of the various buildings and yards in such a way that they create realistic “old” boundary lines.
The Lessons Learnt.
Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of Cobb Railways is that it is possible to have a model railway, albeit not one that a purist would appreciate, that can still be used as a toy. The model aspect is to a reasonable level of accuracy and detail, but is hindered by having to put all of the buildings onto the baseboard when it comes out and then take them off when it is put away. It can be, and is, used as a toy. Rowan loves driving the train round, having things loaded into his trucks and then driving the train back and unloading the trucks himself. He has a large diesel engine, because it is his favourite, even though it doesn’t fit the overall theme at all! He also has a curved section of platform which is placed by his controller when he is on train driving duties. The whole exercise has been educational from all sorts of perspectives – local history, modelling, DIY and of course railways in general.