East Dock is a 4mm scale, EM gauge layout built by long time club member Alan Goode. Alan was acknowledged by the members of the Abingdon club as one of their most skilled modellers. The whole model from the baseboards to the delightful little locomotives and rolling stock were designed and built with the thoughtful precision that Alan exuded in everything he did and it is a privilege to be able to exhibit East Dock in his memory.
The model which is set in the period circa 1936 represents one corner of a much larger dock complex somewhere in the Goole/Selby area of Yorkshire. Both the LMS and the LNER operated there, using tracks or running powers inherited from their pre-grouping predecessors. Major exports were coal and steel, while imports included timber from Scandinavia for both the building industry and pit props for use in coal mines.
The baseboards, including their framework are built from 4mm thick plywood ensuring strong but light structure. The track work is scale section bull-head rail soldered to copper-clad sleepers and most of it is inset into granite sets from the Metcalfe Models quarry, the points are actuated by mechanical rodding, with slider switches to change the frog polarity.
Most of the buildings are of plasticard embossed stone or brick on a balsa-wood or foam board core. They include the original stone buildings and perimeter wall constructed by the dock company. The accessories are either scratch-built or come from a range of proprietary sources. The ‘dirty British coaster’ in the dock is scratch built and is an amalgam of ideas from the book ‘Steam coasters’ by Waine & Fenton. The locomotives are mostly kit built with their chassis modified to incorporate compensation, this improves both running and electrical pick-up. Their small size has required ingenuity to fit motors and drives in such a way that they are not obtrusive. The other rolling stock is mostly kit built and is biased towards the specialist dock traffic. All vehicles are fitted with Alex Jackson couplings to permit ‘hands-off’ shunting using strategically placed electro-magnets.
Exhibition information
ADMRC is delighted to be able to keep this lovely layout on the exhibition circuit. If you are interested in having it at your exhibition, please contact the club. We have a PDF of exhibition information, and the basic layout parameters are:
Size | 2.5 x 0.5 m |
Space needed | 2.5 x 1.5 m |
Operators | 2 |
Layout Plan
The layout has a fairly simple plan, but with three facing sidings, two reverse sidings, and a round-around loop, there is plenty of scope to shuffle wagons for hours on end!