This layout measures 36ft x 12ft, made up of 17, 6ft by 3ft or 2ft 6ins boards made from 12mm exterior ply on 75mm x 25mm battening with occasional variations as can be seen in the town area.
The layout is designed free standing and is viewable on 2 or 3 sides, this assists exhibition managers and gives them wider scope to accommodating it.
The theme of the layout is ‘Modern Image’ and Midlands based but a totally fictitious area.
Operation the layout is designed to be from the middle and it is designed to take 5 operators but can be run with 3. Operation is DCC for locomotive control and analogue for point control. It is a theme with the club layouts that point operation is ‘follow the route with your finger’ this enables less mistakes and quicker operation.
Meridian is the club’s second DCC layout this was chosen so we could exploit and utilise the sound fitted loco’s available to the modeller in the RTR (Ready To Run) market. Most of the traction and stock is RTR with additional enhancements i.e. DCC and sound chip’s additional lighting, weathering, re-painting and re-liveried but all is from the RTR market.
Meridian Parkway is a fictional town with a high and low-level station the low-level is the main through line with 3 platforms and express passing through the centre of the main platforms. The 3rd platform services a Bi-directional single track which serves local villages and some freight operation.
The high-level is a 2-platform station with limited facilities this is designed as a connecting station to the main low-level station. The high level has again local passenger services feeding the outlying town and villages and again mixed with freight operations. From the high-level Meridian Retail Park is served this is a small 2 platform halt purely built to serve the out of town retail park.
Behind Meridian low level is the remains of what was once a small goods yard this has now long since gone and has been converted to a small MPD operation where breakdowns and minor servicing are carried out by independent motive power operators, this enables a mix of stock to have a reason to be ‘on shed’ there is also a small re-fuelling facility for the independents.
The buildings etc. are a mixture of ‘RTP’ (ready to plonk) kit built and scratch built, we have tried to design the layout with a 1950-60’s theme that has had some modernisation and has in places been bought screaming and kicking into modern times. An example of this is Meridian’s station building it was a typical brick built structure that has gained ‘listed building status’ but is now not practical for modern operations due to the need for less staff and automation, so a ‘CLASP’ style building has been constructed on the end of the old station building as the main ticket office serving both the high & low levels and the old listed station building has now been sold to a pub chain & converted to a ‘Gastro Pub’.
The signalling is semi-automatic with manual override where it’s needed. After the initial design the decision was made to electrify the low level, to been done with the Peco OHLE range of gantries etc.
Update….. Work has restarted in earnest.. New boards to make it bigger, scenics restarted…it,s getting there !