RichardV

Wow. Superb model of a very attractive prototype - you've captured the character of the loco really well. Am I right in thinking there used to be a BR64 at the Nene Valley?

Sounds hectic. i'm afraid I'm too young to have first hand knowledge of operations in the era in which West Park is set, but over the years I've come across useful information in books and so on, particularly British Railway Pictorial: Black Country by Paul Collins, and part two of Bob Pixton's two part study of the OW&W (which covers Worcester to Wolverhampton). In about the last decade or so of steam in the area, local services on ex GW lines (including Wolverhampton - Dudley - Stourbridge) were generally formed of three coach sets of GW design non corridor stock (which I've seen referred to as an E set) formed C-BS-S (marshalled with the first class section of the C and brake compartment of the BS adjacent). The Warwickshire Railways website has a several photos of these, mainly on Birmingham Moor Street to Stratford services. Here are a few: https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsa1502.htm https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsa1519.htm https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrsa1505.htm As shown in the third photo, strengthening vehicles were added when necessary (though the Mk 1 BCK in that photo seems a very odd choice), and I've seen photos of two E sets coupled (though that would be too long for West Park ). These were replaced on some routes from 1957 by three car Derby Suburban DMUs (later class 116). A couple of particular workings that may interest you spring to mind. In 1964 there was a semi fast to Chester that began at Wolverhampton Low Level at 1655; it left from a bay platform, was formed of three coaches, and was hauled by a 4-6-0. It seems an ideal working to begin at West Park instead. Here are a couple of photos on its last day of operation: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1356627 https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/337126 In the Bob Pixton book I mentioned above, there are two photos from the early 60s of the 1655 Stourbridge Junction to Worcester which show a Palethorpe's 6 wheel sausage van marshalled behind the loco. The van would have come from the Palethorpe's factory in Dudley. Therefore, if you fancy adding an interesting vehicle, you could have a Palethorpe's van arrive from Dudley, maybe as part of a passenger train, then either shunt it to a siding or send it on (possibly to Bridgnorth?) attached to another passenger train. Apologies if you already know all this: I just thought it might provide food for thought in case you don't.

Thank you for your encouragement. Food for thought.

Thank you. That's been the plan all along: the only thing missing has been confidence.

My name is Richard, and I am an armchair modeller. For about thirty years, I have read lots of books and magazines, had lots of ideas, bought lots of models, and made negligible progress towards actually building a model railway. Occasionally, I have been that insufferable soul at an exhibition who passes judgment (not usually out loud, I hasten to add) on others’ modelling efforts without ever coming close to doing it myself. Now, unequivocally into my late thirties and with a pandemic putting other hobbies on hold, the time may have arrived at last to do something about it. My two main obstacles have, I think, been a surfeit of ideas (thanks to having read so much and done so little) and a lack of confidence (i.e., fear of not being able to get it right first time). These two problems have tended to feed into one another, causing an oscillation between reducing ambition to ensure that what I attempt is achievable, and increasing complexity to ensure that the end result will be satisfying. To put this into context, my theoretical target for at least a few years now has been to build a small N gauge branch terminus (BR Western Region, late 1950s), but a desire for a fairly varied operating pattern, coupled with the sheer number of different track layouts (let alone scenic settings) from which I can choose, has collided head on with the Fear to result in a total lack of progress. However, over the past few weeks it has occurred to me that the bizarre circumstances in which we currently find ourselves may have presented me with an opportunity. Were I to build a model railway now, my choice of what to build would be limited, essentially, to what I can do with what I already possess. As if by magic, the “too much choice” problem disappears: there are only so many ways one can turn a small box of track and a couple of pieces of sheet material (with the possible addition of a tiny baseboard built years ago for a shunting plank) into an operable, fairly interesting model railway. It is, I suppose, the modelling equivalent of looking at the contents of one’s fridge, freezer, and cupboards, and working out what can be combined to make a meal. Hopefully, this rambling preamble is the beginning of an account of the building of my first actual working model railway. Crossrail was first mooted around the time I began to become properly interested in railway modelling; this may be tempting fate, but perhaps I will get something running first.

Interesting to read about a fictitious station inserted into the town in which I grew up. It looks like the layout's coming together well. I hope you get more time to work on it soon.

In recent years, it's been common for London Midland to use 153+170 formations on Birmingham New Street to Rugeley services, so this is entirely plausible. Not that there's anywhere much to get a speed up on that route, I expect. Regarding Pacers coupled to Sprinters, when coming home from a day trip to Southport with my girlfriend in September, we arrived at Southport station to find the next train to Manchester was 142+156. She'd never been on a Pacer before, so I offered her the chance to sample one. For some reason, she declined to do so.

Similarly, in "On Great Central Lines", Robert Robotham described the working of the stock for the 0045 Marylebone to Nottingham Victoria newspaper train in the mid 1960s, which included three passenger coaches along with a varied selection of vans for the newspapers. The vans were worked back to London as the 1115 Nottingham Victoria to Neasden parcels train, while the coaches were attached to the standard four coach rake used on the 1715 Nottingham Victoria to Marylebone to provide extra rush hour capacity. This sort of stuff is worth bearing in mind to make working of passenger trains and the like interesting. RV.

good evening. i hope this is the right forum to ask this: i've not been on this site for a few years and have lost track of where everything is. does anyone know where i can purchase Sundeala board in or around Nottingham? cheers in advance. RV.