Schooner

Golden Cod doesn't do it for me, sorry. FWIW, from (fuzzy) memory Brixham pubs, of note were 'The Crown' (& Anchor), 'The Sprat' (& Mackerel) and 'The Blue' (Anchor). Also The (Golden) Lion up the valley, for a bling name! Things have changed a lot at the top of town, but I suspect railwaymen might've nipped along of The Queen's (Arms) when opportunity afforded. I think the convention if there is any, is more that names already full of meaning were picked to give/reflect the pub's identity. There's a risk of us reverse engineering to names which 'identify as a pub', which ring a little hollow IMO.

Happily though 'operational interest' is a very moveable feast! For some an endless procession of rapid-turnarount D/EMUs is the height of excitement...I couldn't imagine a more tedious way to murder my free time! For others the sense of 'here and back again' you get with a runround loop is the dream; others still would be happy pottering about indefinitely on a section of marshalling yard, others the trips and spotting work such yards generated, roleplaying a station pilot or the driver of thundering crack express passenger services ruining the peace and quite of the best 'railway in landscape' layouts etc etc etc ad nauseam. For us lot interested in layout design there's a lot to be learned from each view, as often there are ways to incorporate elements from a 'secondary' style of working that can lift even the smallest plans into layouts of a lifetime :)

...not that I'm trying to install into every Church of Appreciation a shrine to the Armstrong's Terrier of the West, or anything... :)

Okay, so it's not perfect - I can see that, and sympathise with the rough journey and your feeling on reaching a different destination than originally planned (welcome to life at sea!). The images and your write up are still chock full of absolutely brilliant lessons and tips to a newbie like me (and I imagine a fair few others). It can be a big deal to share things that aren't so good as well as those that are the very best they can be. Thank you. Leaving the 4mm link saga aside (and, again, even this is valuable to me as I had wondered about doing just that), what did you use for the safety chains at the other end? They're rather good :)

Gorgeous, as so often. Good luck for the speed trials! On which, what are your current thoughts on some kinda of physical layout? Just askin'... :)

Maybe they're just very kind close-ups (that's a thing, right?!) but those look really very very good indeed. Roping exemplary once again, too. Now, how's about a nice little layout to run them on...?! :)

Sold. Following :) 1. Nope, looks a ton of fun. Dock shunts were typically 3 times a day* which fits your plan nicely. *pre- and post-working day, and during the midday break to support the continual movement of goods without getting in the way. 2. Suggest diamond both more accurate and more fun, but YMMV, especially if track building is the raison d'etre behind the whole scheme. It's not unlikely for a diamond formation set in c.1900 to have been altered to give more flexible working by the late '30s, and certainly post-War. 3. Depends, will it unlock more 'car spots'/working options etc? 4. Fraid not, sorry. BfA is an astounding resource (I'm assuming you have an account (free), so you can fullscreen and zoom and check the annotations etc?), but I've found most useful for layout design rather than construction. For greater detail, I'll often use it conjunction with good old Google/Getty/Francis Frith/local history Facebook pages etc. Often one source will let you know a useful photo exists, but it takes a dedicated search to find it in a useful resolution! This is in 4mm, but perhaps not 00 if you're making your own track? Just to double check for curvature and clearances etc. When are you setting it? Using the diagonal sounds good, not least for getting the most possible siding length! Do be sure to check both clockwise and anticlockwise rotations, though. IIUC the plan is the latter, but as shown I'm pretty sure the former would actually 'fit' better. Hurrah for dock botherers, looking forward to updates :)

Like the point and double slip which open the platform loop at Little Muddle...? Sorry!

Back with design software, so for my own amusement thought I'd see if the sketch worked out. Might was well share in case it's ever of use to anyone. Shown with 42' rolling stock, as that's all that comes with SCARM, to give some idea of 'actual' size: EDIT: After 30 mins or so playing trains, I ended up with something like for my own interests: for giving the most play value for the least visual complexity (shorthand for greatest space between tracks/distance between turnouts). The weird route of the line at the back is to have it as a gated private siding, to sell the excuse to have it worked by trip rather than as just another shunting move. With a penchant for Victorian industrials, it would allow me to get my branch workings, trip working and a variety of shunts - some potentially quite complex - for not much more than a textbook 4-point BLT.

Cogitating! There's a little bit of me that's wondering if a broad gauge third rail* could also cover a third gauge... *32mm + 16.5mm allllmost = the 49mm (7') of West Country broad gauge The rail could be added (reasonably?) simply to the running line, and the quayside road, inc TT and jetty... which would allow for Bristol & Exeter stock for an early setting, and a nod to the Torrington and Marland Railway One day, maybe! For now, Kingswear provides only general inspiration and a possible prototype on which to base the jetty construction and fittings.

Thanks @Annie :) Try editing the image URL from eg ....locations/kingswear_station/kingswear_station_06_large.jpg to ...locations/kingswear_station/kingswear_station_06_xlarge.jpg which will give you the 4k full size image. They can also be found through Google, not sure why the site itself doesn't link to them.

Don't think so - compare to the N of Western. AUG(ust) 1873?

Right, first things first: map. The layout is not a model of Fremington, but will be informed by it as a touchstone; the real-world go-to for inspiration. Modeller's-eye view: Oh go on then, it really belongs in this thread: So ballasting with smallstuff to sleeper-top, bon. I'll keep the 'running line' pretty much as-is so there's a visual break between it and the 'quayside sidings', but that should be pretty doable. Predictably the B4 is likely to set the latest possible setting for the layout as 1890-1900. Future stock revisions are likely to nudge this ever-earlier :) C'mon Shannon, heeere as-built 282s! For the running lines, this is a gorgeous pic of the platforms at Fremington Quay, showing of the quay staff. Undated, but the sort of thing I'll be aiming for. B4 all new and shiny; the lads' donkey jackets not so much: The other surprising pic was of the original (pre-1880s, allegedly) bridge to the immediate West of the Quay: Which is all that and a bag of chips. Would make a fine scenic break at one end (probably RHS, which feels the most thematically appropriate), and I might copy the bridge construction for the rail jetty*. For more info: Ah, 1886 for the 'new' iron bridge: If there's a sailing vessel on the layout I'm defs calling her Wesleyana! Full photo: What a beauty...beast...boat! The Fremington Pill was navigable a little further inland, to Muddlebridge... ...and nearby Fremington Pottery The line through Fremington terminated on the other side of Bideford, at Torrington...where there was an exchange connection with the 3' gauge Torrington and Marland Light Railway whence came much of the export material for Fremington Quay. Useful to keep in mind for general setting and possible backscene options. Maybe. *Plan A/B was/is to base the jetty on that at Kingswear; including following the leads for a crane and a navigation mark, as per: The railway at Fremington started out broad gauge after all! Returning to local light railways for a sec, there is a risk that I'll up sticks and shift the whole setting to Bideford (well, East-the-Water) cos...well...cos look at her: http://www.westwardhohistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/0070.jpg Near enough to excuse some far-future Rule 1ing I reckon :) The Falcon coach is available through two different producers in 7mm, as an etch and as a resin print. Just in case. Annnyhoo...Fremington Box. Not too sure where/how it could fit (possible future addition/extension?) but the small footprint makes it a tempting option for a LHS viewblock: General view and info. Must track down those originals: Note the overhanging sleepers, could've stolen another inch of baseboard width! The wall in apparently similar state, but with recent concrete support and recorded in colour: Better view of the kilns: to justify more traffic than just Welsh coal in and Devon clay out. On tenuous links to interesting traffic: More typically though, coal in; clay out: Nom nom nom! Sheeted lime wagons in the background? However, it's pre-War (don't ask), so there will be deals in and timber out ...but mostly clay but even that allows for some decent stock variety, considering: General vibe, diminutive layout size allowing: Stone colour reference: A bit late, but a decent reference for the dock edge: Also, 2,000T = 200 wagons = about 7 x 5-wagon ingle-trains a day, assuming half-day Saturdays. Hectic! Fremington was, after all, the busiest (by tonnage) North-coast port West of Bristol. And here was me thinking the layout would be 50 Shades of Brown: Oh, no, wait... Brown. Brown. Brown. And if it's sunny... Brown. One of Fremington's famous brace of steam cranes at the end of their working life, 1963: They'd visually overpower the layout, but in time a small steam crane (see Kingswear pic at top) would be delightful, and I'm sure kits exist. If not perhaps the kit Neilson or Manning Wardle cranetank 0-4-0s... Signalling... ...but at what date? Right, that'll do for now :) Those were the days!

Midnight Broad Gauge Cheer-up portrait: Silly resolution. Open in new tab and zoom to count the whiskers!

The nodelling is gorgeous (very much enjoying that leverframe too), but... Cor! Noted :)