The master plan

Might as well get this down somewhere as plans start to solidify :D

After discussion with my likely partner in crime, we're shooting for the original (wow, how far back was that?) idea I had.

Onnybrook Junction will be set between Craven Arms and Marsh Farm Junction: it's a smallish through station on the LMS/GWR joint line from Hereford to Shrewsbury: the date is late summer 1934 (with a tiny bit of leeway to allow me to run a 4-4-0 County (all of which were scrapped by 1933). Track plan to follow (it's on the other computer) but basically it's typical of that line in that it's two through platforms, and then a refuge siding on one side, and a loop and some goods sidings on the other, and the classic crossover with single slip feeding the loop. We don't yet have space for a full oval, but we do have a lot of length, so currently it'll be about 15' with a fiddle yard either end.

Someday, I may yet have a go at Craven Arms and Stokesay, but, as they say, This Is Not That Day. 

Hallelujah!

My copy of "The Wenlock Branch" finally showed up, tucked between two veterinary medicine books (I blame the wife) on the bottom shelf in the library.

Lots of useful pics and a full 1928 WTT, as well as lots of operational detail. This should be fun. Initial useful discoveries are that there are nice scene-breaking bridges at both ends of Much Wenlock station (only requiring a little tweaking in one case, and none in the other).

Also had a play with designing Longville in XTrakCAD, which does give me the advantage of being able to 'play trains' and see how much space there is in the various sidings. Hopefully I can do the same with Much Wenlock later on in the week.

Or.... (what, me? indecisive)

... I wonder if I could fit Much Wenlock in 10' or 12' of scenic baseboard?

The main problem is it would restrict the number of rooms in this house I could built it in. Longville would fit along one wall of one of the (several) 12'x12' rooms here including its fiddle yards. Much Wenlock is markedly longer - it's actually two stations separated by a couple of hundred yards, for all practical purposes, as the old one became the goods yard when the new one was built.

Longville has two problems:

• It's positively dead in terms of traffic and loco availability - 3 passenger trains a day! 
• It slopes the wrong way! If you look at the diagram in the previous post, the terrain actually slopes down from bottom to top (being as how it's on Wenlock Edge!). Which would mean that ideally you'd want to view the layout from the top... which means the buildings block line of sight on half the track.

However, on the plus side:

• It's only four points, and is nice and small.

As far as Much Wenlock goes, on the other hand:

• Much more traffic
• No real slope, although the south/west bound line to Presthope is usefully at the back of the layout and raised a little.
• Has a proper engine shed and goods shed.

But

• It looks like it really needs 12', which restricts me to the outbuildings or the library, by the time I've added 3' of fiddleyard either end.

New arrivals and a track plan

Today’s post brought James’ Bachmann 4575 small Prairie, which went straight to Trains4U for chipping - nice purchase, seems to be pretty much brand new except for a missing set of cabside steps, which doesn’t look as if it should be beyond me to knock up in plasticard. It also brought a couple of books from Transport Diversions, specifically the Country Railway Routes book on the Wenlock branch and the District Controller’s View series book on the Severn Valley Railway (also covering the Wenlock branch in passing).

I’m now even more desperate to find my Wenlock Branch book! Some very nice photos of several of the stations on the Wenlock branch, especially Longville (which benefits from the station building being still intact and well photographed).

Starting to be very tempted by Longville on a 6’x18” or so board with a pair of 3’ fiddle yards either end - it’d be pretty simple to build and allow me to concentrate on scenery etc.

My only wonder is whether James would object to something that’s not a roundy-roundy and has a very simple track plan.

A Happy New Year...

I'm sure there's a reader or two out there :D

Last couple of days small achievements:

• Body swap on the Bachmann Pannier - amusing how all the guides just assume you can get the couplings off. In fact, the mounts have to come off with, and it's surprisingly easy to break one, which I did. Trip to Trains4U tomorrow - Gareth reckons he has one in his spares box.
• Finished the weathering on the Lancashire Coke Co wagon.
• Had a very interesting read of a GWR steam in the 30s book - fascinating to discover just what a mess the average rake of coaches was - things like local passenger trains made up of a clerestory, a B set, two Siphon G's and a NE perishables van, and semi-fasts a huge mix of Colletts, toplights, clerestories... None of these perfect rakes of uniform, pristine coaches!