Greenfield Sidings was F & D MRC’s OO Group exhibition layout, but has been sold and has been replaced by Hazelbury Junction.
As the interests of the Group members ranges from the Big Four through BR steam to the Modern era the layout was designed to provide an opportunity for as many members to run trains. There is no set period and the area depicted is “somewhere in England” where two pre Nationalisation lines run alongside each other, although with the addition of third rail to the inner lines, now places it some where around Southern territory.
The layout is a tail-chaser type and consists of four circuits arranged as two double track main lines. The scenery graduates from agricultural to a closed station that once served a small town but still retains an industrial connection via a siding off the exchange sidings connected to the inner of the two main lines. The industry depends on the wagons we are shunting at the time. Our intention when designing the layout was to display moving trains so there is a substantial fiddle yard at the rear of the layout to serve the main lines while there is a cassette system for the siding.
After exhibiting the layout for a number of times it was decided to increase the size of the operating well to improve operator working space and at the same time to increase the length of the fiddle yard roads. The fiddle yard can now, theoretically, hold forty two trains but so that we can run long trains we usually operate with fewer.
The layout was successfully exhibited in its new form at High Wycombe in November 2014. Its next Exhibition appearance is the F & D MRC’s Exhibition in October 2016 to be followed by showing at the Astrolat Club Exhibition in early 2017.
For a more detailed description of the layout click on the link “Greenfield Sidings for Exhibition Managers” where there is also a track plan. To see the arrangement of the layout boards see Layout Schematic Drawing.
For more pictures of Greenfield Sidings click here.