Fryers Lane 4mm P4
Fryers Lane owes its existence to the Scalefour Society’s Standard Gauge Workbench (SGW) initiative. The rules of the SGW required the layout to have a scenic length less than 4’ 8 ½” (1435mm). As originally built, the track layout was based on Bloxwich on the Walsall to Rugeley line in the West Midlands, although on the layout this is single track instead of double. The purpose of the layout was to try out a few different products and techniques that I’d not used before and to see how I got on with working to P4 tolerances. At home, it serves as a scenic test track for a variety of different rolling stock projects.
The layout attended a number of exhibitions in this original format with a fiddle yard at either end to enable through running. In 2022 I took the decision to extensively rebuild the layout and replace the fiddle yard at the left end with a short scenic board, increasing the size of the scenic section to 2100mm. At the same time, the depth of the layout was also increased, by adding approximately 150mm to the front of the existing baseboard. The extensions of both length and depth nearly doubled the scenic area of the layout. As at Bloxwich the rearmost siding leaves the loop to connect to an industrial site, which is off scene on the layout. To add to operational interest, I’ve added a rail connected warehouse to the other siding, during the rebuild a third siding was added to provide further operating interest, effectively creating an “Inglenook” shunting puzzle.
While the track plan is based on Bloxwich, the layout can be run with stock from most areas and could suit stock from the 1970s through to the 2000s. At present it uses stock that reminds me of my trainspotting days in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Unlike my previous projects that have involved kit built or heavily modified stock, I’ve tried to make use of ready to run stock as much as possible. Initially most of the wagons were re-wheeled and fitted with suspension, very little else was changed, apart from some weathering. I’m now revisiting the stock to add further detail and bring it up to a consistent standard. Locos have been converted using replacement wheelsets. The locos and stock use Alex Jackson couplings. Control of the layout is by DCC using a Roco Multimaus system, some of the locos are sound fitted.
