My purist sentiment says that I should persevere with a 1935 era accurate rendering of a GWR branch. And there is no reason why this should not be the initial aim for the project.

But what then, when the layout is finished. Well, there are two options. The first is to make a bold assumption that Dr. Beeching never existed, that old branch lines were encouraged to exist, that Ernest Marples was never Minister of Transport and road taxes on trucks became exorbitant. So not only did passenger traffic on the branch continue but the line was expanded with signaling, token running, etcetera. Two locomotives could coexist at Shipston. A signal box would be required and there is a post WWII example rotting on the side of the A435 near Alcester to act as a prototype. A side issue of this would be that the tramway to Stratford was also converted to standard operating practice, allowing LMS locos and stock to visit from the north.

Taking things a step further, why not then turn the line into a preservation railway? Personally I don't much like this idea, but it would allow for strange visitors from other regions. If option 1 was to go ahead, the layout could be easily converted to a heritage line for occasional use.

All this is, of course, a mere discussion point. The layout still doesn't physically exist in any form!