70K Coley Park

BR (Southern Region) Engine Shed & Goods Yard

70K is available for exhibition, dimensions above. It is based in the south of England. For further details and to make bookings please contact via the 2mm Scale Association Layout Register Manager.

Fact: -

Coley is an area of Reading that had a goods yard (Central Goods) from May 1908 until closure in July 1983. It was connected to the Reading-Basingstoke and Berks & Hants lines by the Coley Branch line at Southcote Junction, one mile to the south of Reading West Station, where these two lines diverge.

On the up side of the Great Western main line, to the west of Reading, there are two sets of sidings, Scours Lane and Reading West Sidings.

Fiction: -

The layout supposes that the area developed a small industrial site, with a factory (Farnley's Holy Brook Works) and a small brewery (Northfriars Ales & Stouts). In order to gain a stronger foothold in the Reading area, and provide a railhead for these companies, the London & South Western Railway built Holy Brook Sidings and goods shed, and Coley Park Station, a small terminus for the companies' workers and the local residents. Later on, the Esso Petroleum Company constructed an oil storage facility on the site. The Coley Branch line served these, with regular services from both Basingstoke and Reading. Soon after, the LSWR decided that an engine shed was required to service their locomotives employed on cross-country workings, as the GWR could not accommodate them at their Reading shed.

After nationalisation, Coley Park was allocated the shed code "70K" as it came under the jurisdiction of Nine Elms Motive Power Depot (70A), the main shed for the area. About this time, Coley Park began to see an increase in "foreign" locomotives visiting the depot from the Midland and Eastern regions. These would have been from inter-regional freight workings to Scours Lane and Reading West sidings, and cross-country passenger train services. The passenger service to Coley Park from the early 1960s was provided by Southern Region 2H and 3H "Hampshire" and "Berkshire" diesel-electric multiple units, and Class 121 single-car units with driving trailers from the Western Region. Class 33 and 73 powered TC units also made appearances at Coley Park.

Over the years as steam gave way to diesel, with the coaling stage becoming redundant, an oil storage facility and diesel fuelling points were built. After years of neglect, the engine shed was finally rebuilt in 1970. Due to the rise of the preservation movement, however, the coaling stage enjoys a new lease of life servicing steam locomotives used for main line running.

The Model:-

The model is built to 2mm Scale Association standards using code 40 rail. This is a finescale version of N gauge, and, in fact, many so called N scale models are made to 2mm/ft (1/152.4) scale. The track gauge is 9.42mm, as opposed to the 9mm used by 'N' gauge, and is built with very fine clearances. The rolling stock uses DG couplings and has either been built from scratch, from kits, or are re-wheeled proprietary items. The majority of the buildings are Metcalfe, Ratio, Kestrel and Knightwing kits with added detail and weathering.

With a few subtle changes, the layout can be portrayed as either in the 1960s with steam locomotives and green diesels, or the 1970s/80s, with diesel locos carrying some of the various liveries of the "modern image" period.