Thinking Inside the Box

Firstly, Happy New Year to you all. I hope the Christmas period was good to you and that 2017 is a happy and productive one.

Now 2017 is here I can now reveal that the 2017 MRL Forum Challenge is 'In a Box.' As always with me, I'm thinking micro. Therefore, after a shopping trip to Ikea I am now the proud owner of a Knagglig box. 

Made of pine, the Knagglig has dimensions of 23 cm deep, 31 cm wide and 15 cm high. I'm yet to build it up - it's from Ikea, of course it's a flat pack - but when I do so I need to leave one side open, as well as cutting an exit hole on one side.  I might hinge the side, meaning I can then close it to aid dust avoidance, but I'm unsure as yet.

But that's the box. What about inside it? Well, since I've moved to Shropshire I've taken quite an interest in the railways of the area. Although you don't perhaps think of Shropshire as a major railway player, the county has lots of railway history. Therefore, I've decided to use a bit of it as the basis for my challenge entry. Coalbrookdale and it's surrounding area, to be precise.

My entry is going to be a pointless fork based around the tile industry found in the Jackfield area. The plan is a low relief factory (I've got a Dapol shed that will be just the ticket) down the back of the layout, with a door leading to a loading area (un-modelled) on one line, with the other just being a siding. As much as I hate working with Wills sheet, I'm thinking that the back siding (along the factory) will be inset in the cobbles. 

That's the plan, anyway. I best go and put this box together!