Hi Norton961 (If you get one of the new 1200 V4's, will you change your pseudonym?).

Welcome on board. I'm looking forward to further installments.

Hopefully, I can sort out the Scot wheel clearance issue (and my Jubilee pick-up problem) so you can have another item of appropriate motive power.

Dave.

Northroader, thanks for your kind comments. The lilleshall company only had a couple of sidings adjacent to the loco shed for the land sale of coal. The main interchange for tha Lilleshall Co was further down the line at Donnington where in the BR period the coal trains from Granville Colliery connected to the main line. I have been researching the area for 35 years and have all the books on the area and collected 100s of photos and have now produced my own book The Railways of Telford with Crowood Press earlier this year and of course I have included some photos of Trench Sidings!

I will post a simplified view of the area adjacent to the canal basin. The area is currently unrecognisable as the earth movers have removed all traces of the canal basin.

Hi Norton, fascinating idea and one I had also considered in 7mm scale as it's a compact shunting/shed type plan to fit in a small space. I lived down the road in Newport in the 1960's and used to travel the area as a child with my Father who was a railway enthusiast. My profile pic taken by him is me as a 6 year old standing on the buffer beam of 4178 at Wellington station on the last train to Much Wenlock . I just about remember Trench Lock as it was when we travelled on the road into Hadley and on to Wellington where he worked. Particularly remember the crossing at Donnington when stopped to allow trains up the Granville Colliery line. There are some really good local history photos in the Images Of England - North Telford - book by Powell and Vanns which I recently bought in the Town Centre at Telford on a rare visit. Is the Blue Pig pub still there near Trench Pool ? Use to drink there occasionally in the 70's.

Pete, thanks for your reminiscences of the area, I will be posting more prototype photos on this blog. I have some photos of the Granville colliery trains in my book The Railways of Telford (Crowood Press) and have built a model of Granville No 5 one of the 0-6-0tanks which I will post at some time. I was 16 in 1964 but could not afford lots of film so only took a few photos. I travelled on the train from Trench to Stafford and to Shrewsbury to go train spotting on a few ocassions and did lots of train spotting at Wellington.

David

Hi again, yes have your book thanks plus the Oakwood one mentioned above. Also the excellent Railways and Locos of the Lilleshall Co by Bob Yate which must be the definitive history on the subject. I was too young to go spotting but we did occasionally use the train to Stafford and Wolverhampton in about 1962/3. Good to see that the line partially exists still to Donnington (COD as was) although on my last visit (my brother works at Hortonwood) the proposed freight terminal seemed mothballed just past Trench Crossing. Shame the rest has all disappeared under the new town and plethora of roads and roundabouts. Look forward to more pics and progress on the layout. Cheers Pete.