My favourite books, or at least the most read, are those of CJ Freezer’s track plans. As I mentioned in an earlier post I wanted to make another 6’ x 4’ layout using Setrack geometry, having been inspired (again) by Rev. Awdry’s 1st Ffarquhar layout and Michael’s faithful recreation of it which can be found not a few clicks of the mouse away from this page, as well as an old layout called Bredon which featured in the Sept. 1981 issue of Railway Modeller, which was a few inches longer than 6 feet, but used tight radius points in such a way that everything looked rather more streamlined than it actually was. 

 

I pored over the assorted plans of CJF for many happy months but nothing seemed to quite fit the bill. I decided that I couldn’t just make something up so plan B was to model an actual station. I have a nice Bachmann LNWR Improved Precedent class loco and, wanting to make use of that, I initially looked at stations along our local LNWR main line (including Berrington which is being tackled admirably by Brassey in another blog nearby!) but then Fencote caught my eye. It was on the disused GWR Bromyard branch and seemed to have all the features that I desired from a small through station: signals, a passing loop, a couple of sidings and an overbridge to one end to hide the trains as they disappear off round to backstage. I will just have to pretend that the LNWR were occasionally allowed to send specials through to Bromyard! Another big plus with Fencote is that it has been restored by its owner over the years and now boasts track and working signals with lever frames etc so that if I’m not sure how things worked I could go along and ask.
 

Here is the plan I have come up with. I think I have managed to avoid any reverse curves (see previous post) and the plan is fairly faithful to the original.. ish. I have omitted a siding from under the bridge. I had toyed with the idea of a traverser in the fiddle yard, but decided to go with something more akin to a Deane fiddle yard to keep the construction simple. I can’t imagine that I will have more than 3 trains on the layout.. I’ll just have to try to keep one of them in the station at any one time!

I’m very keen to try to get the signalling more correct with this layout. I don’t think my wife would appreciate me tapping out bell codes to myself but I could at least try to get the signals working properly.

And alongside the signalling I really must put together an operating sequence or a working timetable. That was something that I failed to manage with Handcross but I am glad to see that Michael has managed to reenact the Rev Awdry’s timetable on his Ffarquhar replica. This can be watched on YouTube under the title “The Ffarquhar Branch Operation Guide “.. I have watched it many times!

I prefer to model the Pre-Grouping era and the locos that passed through Fencote in its early days were, I believe, class 517s, for which I shall perhaps adapt a Hornby 14xx, and Dean Goods tender engines for the goods trains.