This layout and website is a work-in-progress... as many model railways and their sites are!

The track layout and general scene is not intended to be prototypical, but instead the primary purpose is provide some "fun shunting play". I'd also like to be able to take this to exhibitions with the purpose of letting the guests have a go at the shunting puzzle aspect.

Orientation

The whole layout can be orientated with either the controls to the front for exhibitions where the public can have a go at the shunting puzzle, or can be oriented so operation will be from the back. 

Scale and Gauge

The layout is 4mm scale on 00 gauge Peco code 100 track. 

Setting

Dib's Yard is a small fictitious good yard set in a fictitious location allowing any kind of locomotives and rolling stock from ex-LNER to ex-GWR.

Era

Although no specific era the locomotives will generally be British Railways "green and steam" but you could literally see anything running! 

The yard was originally constructed to provide exchange sidings for the thriving creamery. It sat on the other side of a double track intermediate line.  The halt station was mainly used by the creamery staff and the staff for the small businesses which had sprung up around the creamery.

At the time the layout is set the yard is in the autumn of its life, as rail traffic diminished to practically nothing between the two towns which this yard is sat between, part of the double track has been lifted and rail traffic is reduced to a single line. 

The layout is set in the Autumn to reflect the yard in the Autumn of its life and the colours of the foliage will be sympathetic to the rust and general poor upkeep of the buildings and structures.

There is a single track branch line that runs through the layout near the front. The branch line will have a small halt platform which will service a creamery, the goods yard, and a small permanent way yard (originally was going to be a scrap yard). There is a passing / run-around loop for the halt platform. The creamery is at one end of the platform, and at the other end of the platform will be a small signal box and a water tower.

There is a small goods yard with a simple yard crane and there may be a basic good shed, but space is tight. Within the goods yard track layout there is a 3-3-5 traditional "Inglenook" shunting puzzle. There will be a cattle dock, probably next to the head shunt so this can be used to reduce the head shunt length from 5 wagons and a loco to 3 wagons and a loco for different "inglenook" and "simplenook" challenges. 

There is a single private sidings, which is straight off of the branch line for the creamery. There is also another TOC owned siding for permanent way wagons, which is off of the branch line run-around loop.There is also a small single wagon runaround loop in the yard it's self to add more shunting flexibility.

Build Budget

The whole layout needs to be built on a tight budget. I had to increase my loan by £600 for this project so it all kind of needs to come in under that cost, or there about. some of the timber has been rescued from the local recycling centre, or from skips on driveways local to me. Most of the locos and rolling stock are second-hand, with some of it in quite a poor shape when I got it, but it is being reworked to be "good" again. 

EDIT:

I have now lost count of the budget, but if we exclude the locomotives and rolling stock then the layout should still be somewhere close. many of the items are scratch-built or 3D printed. Although I needed to purchase 3d printers I have offset the cost of both of those by selling some models I have printed, so now the printers owe me nothing.