Up the Line - 1918

Impressive work and a really interesting project. I look forward to following this. 

I will be following. I have done some looking around the web on the subject. A lot of the matches are for the Black Country Living Museum. I presume these are good examples? Do you have a lot of good period shots? Do you have a layout plan yet, i.e. what sort of location you would like to model? Apologies - lots of questions!

I will try not to disappoint!

 

Yes, the BCM does have a 3ft 6 system and some interesting cars but sadly not of much use for research at the moment as local as they are they are all firmly locked down. There are a few books on the subject but sadly, never enough photos. There is a sort of plan in mind but that is being kept firmly under my hat for now so as not too look too foolish if it does not work out. The first step is to make a working tram and find out what radius curves it will cope with. The initial plan was to make something a bit smaller and simpler than UTL but I can see that going out of the window already!

The Kidderminster and Stourport has always interested me, so I like this. Did you consider 1:32 scale on 32mm gauge track though, that seems to be a common way of modelling 3'6" gauge tramways.

1/32nd would have been just a bit too huge - the bogie cars are over a foot long as it is so that would add an extra 4 inches. As everything is being scratch built there is not really a problem with the 24.5mm gauge and as I have a number of 7mm radio control road vehicles already, which will form an important part of the master plan so the scale was  a bit pre determined. The Somerleyton extension ran right  out side my house and am looking at where the passing loop was right now! 

I spent five years driving up Stourport High Street every day on my way to work in Stourbridge where I would then spend a lot of my time visiting sites in the Black Country.