davepen

The wagons had been pool'ed at the begining of the war, so the owners might not have seen "their" wagons for 7 years. It also meant that road transport could be tried, as the merchants didn't have a railway captial asset on the books.

I notice that this question is often asked after the track is laid, and the answer is "I wouldn't start from here." I think the GWR tried to avoid facing points as much as possible, so the single slip would be the otherway round. Having done that they might then say you don't need the crossing by the RH signal box. Or the banker siding would have been made a trailling link. Also the GWR had a lot of relief sidings rather than loops, (many were made into loops for D-Day.) One idea is to find a similar arrangement to what you want on the SRS site. So see for example, Llanstephen Crossing Signal Box (https://s-r-s.org.uk)/html/gwh/S2047.htm). The end of the goods loop is controlled by Carmarthen bridge, which is a junction, so doubles the signals...

Real railways were created to earn revenue by moving stuff (or passengers) from A to B. In the model world we have compromise, or we have to construct a plausible story as to why a certain train was running. Your high level doesn't have an obvious rationale from your sketch. Why should a loco move from one side to another? However it can still act as a scenic break, have a stop signal and a bridge to hide the exit route. The stock here could be stopped, non working. Some people have used a high level to show other regions stock, with a non working (or un motorised Dapol/Airfix kit) loco. The lower level has a fiddle yard with three tracks. So we can have say 3 trains, following on from Johnster's post: a freight, the local, and the London connection train. The local (suburban stock) would probably shuttle back and forward to the junction station all day. Found a site 2D53 with google which shows a train graph for Bleanau Ffestiniog (2d53.co.uk/graph/GRLJBFall.htm) (click the summer 1963 H). The timebable for 1963 is also available, Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Jn - Summer 1963 - Up Direction (2d53.co.uk/TT/TTLJBF63SAB1.htm) . As may be expected the stock is used elsewhere, the time table shows it goes on to Llandudno Town. The graph also shows a freight working, which in this case allows time for an optional working to the (Nuclear) Power Station, which would have been under contruction. This website also shows the Cambrian coast line to Pwllhei, the line is longer so many trains cross, some also "disappear" at Barmouth Jct. As Johnster mentions there might also be a businessmen's connection to the big city. In some cases coaches were disconnected from the mainline trains at the junction and sent to the terminus. (see Whitland*, or the LNER slip to Stratford on Avon). This gives an excuse the use Corridor stock (your MK1). Just make sure you have a Brake and some 1st class, so BCK or CK/BSK would be ideal. These could most likely arrive as the last train of the day, to be returned to the main line on the early train the next day.... they'll need to be parked somewhere- a carriage siding? Which might solve your run round problem, you then need a station pilot (shunter). *Whitland was a double junction and also had a milk dairy plant, a light express engine was sent down, tender first, from Carmarthern for the afternoon train of 6 wheel tanks and full brake. The empties arrived earlier in the day on slower trains. So as a timetable, or as a sequence at the terminus we could have similar to what Johnster said ... 5:40 ish. Get mainline stock from carriage siding. Loco from shed. 6ish - train departs. 6:45 suburban arrives Turn round and depart at say 7am. 10:30 Goods arrives. Shunt (and clear station arrivals platform.) 11am Suburban arrives again Turn round and depart More shunting. am Goods Departs. 3pm Suburban arrives Turn round and depart Afternoon Goods - different stock? ... then more suburban trips Evening, through coaches from London arrive. Coaches in carriage siding. (The fiddle yard is the rest of the world, so receives and sends as required. Locos may be required to be tuned.) Then invent reasons for special wagons and trains, (cattle market, dairy or Power Station, pick one). This might require a special (or private) siding and sometimes stock. This might then drive your track plan, and stock purchases. It has been mentioned that the archtpical GWR terminus, Ashburton's timetable is Autocoach and loco arrive, depart, arrive, depart, arrive, depart. With the once daily (or weekly) goods. Aberaeron was similar. Which wouldn't be exciting at an exhibition, and could get boring. Anyway it's your (model) world... over to you. Examples from W.Wales were I've spent many a holiday.

One approach is to look at the distances between staging points (Platforms/siding) on your fictional branch line. From there using the speed of type of train you can calculate the time between stations. These can then be steps on a "train graph", and trains plotted against time. You can only have one train in a platform, or section. David Jenkinson in his Historical Railway Modelling book took this further with maps, gradient profiles. He also then used the proposed traffic patterns to justify the number of platforms. He then looked at stock formations, re-using stock to represent expresses that had appeared/disappeared from and to towns further way. .... Or you can just throw a dice to demand certain wagons are sent to the big city.

From memory, as you say the commercial sites, such as Ancestry, are more focused on Family History, and the search tool is limited. I was trying to find about the history of my house. Ancestry membership allows one to see the orginal scans of the census. So for a small village it is possible to find the station, if only by just flicking through the returns. In my location, the station was in a small hamlet, (Horsebridge, LWSR) so can be found by a place search. I did notice a porter staying at one of the pubs in the village, I think he married the daughter. However at the time, houses here didn't have the names they do now, but rough locations can be found from proximity to local farms or vicarages. If you don't want to join the commercial sites, the county's town's central library may provide access.

Pontypridd had a long history of chain making with the Brown Lenox' factory. Some of the references suggest the canal was used for transport.

You may wish to compare with and consider Aberaeron, which had a similar stream through the middle, a double track bridge, although as part of the run round loop. The was an engine shed across the bridge, right next to the camping coach. Always wondered how they'd expand that line down to the harbour, perhaps a few more bridges required.

Although the 9F this weekend looked a bit over engined. Perhaps a running in turn?

There are a few in West Wales. Aberwystwyth, Fishguard and New Milford (Neyland) could all be said to be terminus at the end of single track lines. Although Aber was two or three termini in one, and only fully GWR after Grouping (Cam-Rlys) The other two were built by the GWR, or Brunel. Both were aimed at the Irish traffic, so rather than termini were interchanges and had stabling for boat trains and sleepers. Pembroke and Old Milford were at the end of the line for passengers, but had major ports to serve. Three more typical BLT's would be Cardigan, Newcastle Emlyn and Aberayron, Although built by local concerns, they were run by the GWR. All had a single platform, goods yards and sidings. All had a small loco shed. I think a GWR Magazine 20 years ago talked about the 0-6-0PT engine at Cardigan being the pilot at Whitland during the day in the 1950's. The branch then run by several 45xx from Whitland. The branch was long and steep up to Boncath/Crymmach. The station at Cardigan was constrained by the river valley. At Aberayron, there was a bridge in the middle, and the cattle dock was replaced by a Camping Coach in the 1930's. The branch was shorter, with a run into the mainline at Lampeter, mainly by steam railcar or 517 and autocoach. Freight services were more important, and lasted longer than passenger services, with milk tankers collected by Hymeks into the 70's on the Newcastle and Aberayron branches. There have been a series of post and articles on Newcastle in the Welsh Railway section of this forum.

In the 60's/70s my Gran used to live overlooking, what is now, Fairwater station on the City line. Note sure if it was deliberate, but many of the full wagons used to clank their brakes. We used to live in a new (1968) house in Tonteg where the TVR Llantrisant branch crossed over the Barry Railway. There was a cast sign saying all DOWN trains, to Tonteg BR or down to the TVR mainline had to STOP to pin their brakes before proceeding. Often wondered if the brakes were meant to be pinned down.

My ancestors used to be coal wholesalers in Cardiff, they had their own wagons before they disappeared with war time pooling and then nationalisation. One of my great uncles roles was tracking down wagons to get them returned to the mines. After the war, and nationalisation, with no legacy need to use the railway, they started to hire road trucks instead, although there was a move to supplying the many steel companies in south wales with refractory bricks. The offices were in the coal exchange down the docks. I remember visiting as kid, and thinking as a coal exchange the exchange floor had cleaned up no end! Of course no coal went into the "exchange". The offices remained open after the exchange closed, finally closing in the 80s. Anyway from them I have a 1926 RCH official map of England and Wales. This is a cloth bound map, and folds out like a modern OS-Map. The big four are shown in red, blue, green and yellow (GWR). Brown is used for the various joint committee lines. I also have a 1913 map of the south wales coalfield, showing in much more details the lines and mines. So as suggested these maps do exist. I've also seen a ledger based on the printed GWR station ledger which had been used to note the rates to supply stations from various collieries. Various google image searches will show various studies, some from the railway historians, some from the social policy academics, and I have seen one showing the "gap" with the closure of the old "Manchester and Milford" between Aberystwyth and Carmarthen and the now going campaign (trawslinkcymru) to restore/build a west coast of wales railway line. This being different in scope to the Gwili Valley Railway. Interesting to think that my late Grampa could now catch a train from the "new" Fairwater station outside his old house and get to his office on the re-opened Bute Town rather than drive down Cathedral Rd to the docks. The past is a different country!

I used to travel between Cheltenham and Durham (Uni) 1981-84. On what was later branded Cross Country Trains. First trip in January 81, was MK1 corridor stock hauled by Brush 47. At York a Deltic took over. Later the trains through Cheltenham were then mainly Peak (44/45) hauled, remember getting my bike in the Brake in 82. Then Cross Country got the HST-125, making bike transport difficult. This would typically mean at Durham a ECML with two firsts at the London end, and the Cross Country with one first at the Newcastle end. I think the Cross Country would reverse directions at Gloucester. As a "poor student" the position of the Buffett wasn't of interest or note! The route between Derby and York at weekends could be very varied, arriving the wrong way into Sheffield Midland from the GC, and then going via Leeds or Doncaster. That than allowed some very fast running round Selby. So I guess between Doncaster and Edinburgh you could see either of the two formations.

So something like the attached. The "crossing" could be replaced by two points as suggested in the "Modern" junction. Two other points could be replaced by a double slip as mentioned before. A trailing crossing could be added on the main running lines, above this double slip, but looks too busy with the branch junction. I might be tempted to add something else on the outer main line, but not sure what.

Sorry to confuse. I'd assumed the top two lines were the running lines. (running loops round the room) I hadn't consider a branch (???) So where labelled Fiddle 1. You'd have from the top, Left to right, right to left, then a headshunt. Over at fiddle 2, Left to right, right to left and then the milk platform. So the third road become the goods line with a headshunt and a milk platform off each side. The rest of the yard then was off the Double slip (etc,) and can be as before. I hadn't shown this on my sketch.

I'd assumed the top two tracks were the loop. The next the goods loop. If it was mine, I'd move the current cross over to the inner loop at the rhs C to the lhs C. Then could make a double slip above A. I'd then possibly add a trailing cross over at the lhs C. At the rhs C I'd have a single slip to form the trailing cross over to the outer loop. Then a goods train could depart in either direction. This layout can be seen at Broadway and Winchcombe. (the original thread asked for a GWR goods yard) www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/gwg/S2630.htm and S2632. Both add a siding on the north bound (outer loop) side. At Broadway the yard was separated from the station by a road bridge.

There are a few shots of Presteigne Station at the start of David Roscoe's (October) 1962 VSCC film. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1lDw-j7Veo In 1963 they use the station for a test at the beginning. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2paqAs4SQ4 These were created for car club members, not Railway fans, but show the site just after closure. New Radnor Station has been converted in to a Caravan park - and some (1950's 14xx) pictures are in the caravans. They have some others on their web site, including a few Edwardian. www.oldstationcaravanpark.co.uk/photo-galleries/photos-the-park-past-times/ It is still used by the VSCC as a base for their Smatcher test.