Filton Road TMD

[Liam]

This is my second attempt to build an exhibition layout, and hopefully will succeed. Filton Road is a fictional diesel depot set just north of Bristol Temple Meads in the late 1960s/early 1970s, and is a relief depot whenever Bath Road is busy or turnaround times for locos need to be kept to a minimum. I blame Phil Bullock for luring me to the world of diesels; after allowing me to help exhibit his wonderful layout Abbotswood Junction last year at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway diesel gala, I was bitten by the diesel bug, and it's a very painful bite....

 

I've been inspired by a layout on here called Depot Lane, and will use a similar trackplan. The other night at the club I 'repurposed' some MDF and cut a 4' by 15" baseboard, and will post a picture of it once the sides have been completed. Progress on this will be slow, as GCSEs are in the summer, but after they've been completed then I'll have loads of time.

[sb67]

Sounds like a good project Liam, good luck and I'll look forward to seeing some pics.

Steve.

[Rivercider]

I would see a depot in the Filton area as mostly supplying locos for freight work, Bath Road being conveniently located for passenger and parcels trains.

 

There were several locos involved in local freight trip work each weekday in the Bristol area including Avonmouth, and Stoke Gifford Yard was nearby.

From the mid 1970s the ARC quarry at Tytherington reopened and there were five or six trains a day to there running from Stoke Gifford.

Many loco classes could be seen in  the area.

 

Good luck with the project

 

cheers

[Liam]

I would see a depot in the Filton area as mostly supplying locos for freight work, Bath Road being conveniently located for passenger and parcels trains.

 

There were several locos involved in local freight trip work each weekday in the Bristol area including Avonmouth, and Stoke Gifford Yard was nearby.

From the mid 1970s the ARC quarry at Tytherington reopened and there were five or six trains a day to there running from Stoke Gifford.

Many loco classes could be seen in the area.

 

Good luck with the project

 

cheers

Thanks Kevin for that information. I plan to run 1 Western, 1 Warship, 1 Peak, 2 class 20s (as a pair), a class 03 (as pilot) and maybe a class 47. I suppose the Western and Warship have ended up there because Bath Road is full.

 

Here's a rather rough track plan. Peco code 75 will be used, and in the shed will be an inspection pit.

Edited April 5, 2018 by SVRlad

[Andrew P]

Always love Depots Liam, I'm looking forward to seeing this develop. 

[HillsideDepot]

This looks like an interesting project Liam. As the builder of several layouts set in the fictional city of Westonmouth which mixes elements of Weston-super-Mare, Bristol and Avonmouth to give me a variety of traffic Filton Road is very much in my area of interest.

 

As Kevin says, freight locos would seem to be Filton Road's trade, and his excellent thread "Western Region 1980s Freight - West of England Division" although considering a later era will provide much information of possible work for your locos. Westerns certainly did a lot of freight work (there was even a plan for Foster Yeoman to purchase some from BR to work their Mendip stone trains), and Warships worked the Portishead - St Anne's wood pulp trains which could be a "captive" Filton Road diagram - unhook at Marsh Pond, round "the Rhubarb" and off up the bank to Filton Road.

 

A pair of 20s will probably get the local spotters excited, being more likely at Severn Tunnel Junction, but a specific flow, crewed by Midland men doesn't stretch things too far. Bristol's 03s were for many years D2121 (03121) in blue and D2382 (03382) which famously remained green until 1979, and as their work was from Lawrence Hill onto the Avonside Branch a run up Ashley Bank to Filton Road to stable is probably easier than accessing Bath Road through the busy maze of lines at Temple Meads.

 

The idea certainly "works" for me.

[Rivercider]

Thanks Kevin for that information. I plan to run 1 Western, 1 Warship, 1 Peak, 2 class 20s (as a pair), a class 03 (as pilot) and maybe a class 47. I suppose the Western and Warship have ended up there because Bath Road is full.

 

Here's a rather rough track plan. Peco code 75 will be used, and in the shed will be an inspection pit.

Westerns and Warships did a lot of work on the stone trains from the Mendip Quarries. Westerns did work stone trains out of Tytherington,

now if ARC Tytherington had been re-connected to rail five years earlier then most likely Warships would also have worked there. Class 45/46/47 were also regularly used out of Tytherington.

In the late 1960s class 22s were used on local freight trip work, in the 1970s class 25s and class 31s were used.

 

cheers 

[Liam]

So at the club tonight I investigated the track plan with a set of points:

 

 

And the cutting of the baseboards has nearly finished.

 

[M.R.P.G]

Good to know that you have been inspired by Depot Lane.

Good Luck with the project.  

[Liam]

Here's the page showing Bristol in the 2013 Rail Atlas. Somewhere I have an earlier copy but it's probably buried under a ton of magazines.

 

For now though, I'm working off this. I'm thinking of locating Filton Road a mile or so north of Narroways Hill Junction, does anyone have any suggestions?

[Liam]

Soon to be coming to Filton Road...

 

 

This is D1007 'Western Talisman', one of the Heljan models of which I bought last weekend from the Stanier Mogul Fund at the SVR. In all my excitement and awe of its very smooth motor, I forgot to take a photo of it, but you can't beat a prototype image.

 

Now I suppose my D1007 will need to be weathered accordingly....

 

There won't be much progress in the next few weeks as my GCSEs start soon but I plan for the baseboards to be assembled in June time.

Edited June 19, 2018 by SVRlad

[Liam]

Hi all

 

Hardly seems like six months since my last post on this thread!

 

I must admit not much has happened on Filton Road since, apart from bringing the baseboards home and buying a few lengths of Peco code 75 track at the Great Central Model Event at Quorn back in June.

 

I’m considering including a p-way siding after the Bachmann/TMC bolster and plate wagons have just been released. Any thoughts?

 

Cheers,

[Mulgabill]

Hi Liam

 

I've just stumbled across this thread, so will jump in with a few comments.

 

But first my credentials, I'm a Bristolian, and my first house when married in 75, backed onto the Filton Junc - North Platform chord.

 

Your thoughts re location - I would say there was little available land "just North of Narroways Junction" other than the old

Ashley Hill goods yard site, which had a B&Q built on it.

 

More likely would be within the 4 segments of the Filton / Patchway / Stoke Gifford "intersection". Those on the Patchway side were

devoted to an engineers tip. Those on the Filton side were small rough fields, although the lines were on low embankments there.

 

I did measure up Filton Junc station just before it was demolished, and part built the N side building. I have some of the measurements

if they might be any help.

 

Westerns were certainly the main motive power for the Tytherington stone trains, and were still working some S Wales passenger trains

well into the 70s.

 

Filton Junc yard was also a coal concentration yard, and served by speedlink freights.

 

All the best with this, always good to see what I "missed" in the 70s, with other distractions, and grief following the end of steam!

[Liam]

Hi Tony

 

Thank you very much for that information. Although my mum went to university in Bristol and met some of her best friends there, I must confess my knowledge of the city is not brilliant. It was chosen mainly because it would allow both Midland (class 20, class 31, Peak) diesels to mix with Western hydraulics (Westerns, Warships) to rub shoulders on a small layout.

 

Interesting what you say about coal traffic, can you remember what sort of wagons there were there? I suppose I could incorporate a small coal siding.

 

Thank you very much once again,

[Mulgabill]

Hi Tony

 

Thank you very much for that information. Although my mum went to university in Bristol and met some of her best friends there, I must confess my knowledge of the city is not brilliant. It was chosen mainly because it would allow both Midland (class 20, class 31, Peak) diesels to mix with Western hydraulics (Westerns, Warships) to rub shoulders on a small layout.

 

Interesting what you say about coal traffic, can you remember what sort of wagons there were there? I suppose I could incorporate a small coal siding.

 

Thank you very much once again,

Pretty sure they were HEAs towards the end, although 16t 21t 23t steel opens prior to that I think. Have to confess I didn't really take too

much notice at the time.

[Downendian]

Aha Liam, a brilliant plan. I agree with mulgabill that the Filton triangle as we used to call it is the best location for a depot, perhaps where the old spoil tip was located next to the Avonmouth line. I have a working timetable for the area from the late 1970s giving all freight operations which there were plenty. Stoke Gifford yard used to receive a lot of freight in both passing loops, and could possibly justify the use of a fuelling point.

Avonmouth bound freights were always a highlight of our spotting days and brought ER and LMR locos to North Bristol which sometimes returned light or sometimes off to BR to refuel. Class 20s were quite rare in the 70s, but from a variety of depots, TO, IM, TI and on one ocassion a pair of Eastfield locos.

Westerns featured a lot on stone trains, but largely on 21T hoppers and MSVs before the PGAs took over. It was quite routine to see a Western growling away in Stoke Gifford yard. I've seen plenty of hydraulic photos for the area from the early 70s, including class 22/42/43 and the omnipresent hymek of which I witnessed many in their last year of operations. My last sighting of a Hymek in BR service was D7017 in December 1974 on an Avonmouth bound working, Both passing loops were in routine use, and local class 08 trips found grampus and other engineering vehicles present in the yard bound for the spoil tip.

My developing layout will try and replicate some of these freight workings and happy to swop notes. I spent a large chunk of my childhood there!

Neil

[Liam]

Thanks Neil, I do wish I was around to witness Westerns, Hymeks etc when they were regular performers on the main line. But if I’m not able to rekindle my own memories, I can at least rekindle those of others.

 

And of course, I’m sure a few freights that pass through Stoke Gifford and Avonmouth may also pass through Abbotswood Junction....

[Downendian]

If you ask Mr Bullock nicely he might lend you my class 22 book that I leant him . It has a few photos of class 22s at Stoke Gifford in the late 1960s.

Neil

[Phil Bullock]

It certainly has - an excellent book ! Also got some fan grilles for you.

 

Too long since our paths have crossed Neil - are you going to Warley? I know Liam intends to....

 

 

 

Phil

Edited October 31, 2018 by Phil Bullock

[Downendian]

Could be tempted Phil, what date are you thinking?

Neil

[Phil Bullock]

PM heading you way later Neil

 

Cheers

 

Phil

[Liam]

Quite a few of you will have attended hall 5 of the NEC for Warley last weekend. I was there too, and it was good to see a few RMwebbers, as well as Mr Bullock who very kindly gave me some etched Western name plates. Who knows, one day I may be attending Warley as an exhibitor with a completed Filton Road!

 

I was under orders not to spend much money, mainly because I’m going to Lourdes next summer on a pilgrimage, and much as though I love model railways, I think in this case the trip to Lourdes is more important. However, I did make a few ‘acquisitions’, in fact only one of these I paid for.

 

 

These are what will be useful for Filton Road. The texture paint will be used to create the yard surface, and the track rubber will definitely come in handy for keeping the track clean - it already has on my home layout:

 

[Liam]

Having last posted on here over a year ago, I thought it was time for an update. While I still have the baseboards for Filton Road (they’ve been loitering in the garage since April 2018), I’ve made very little progress since Warley 2018. The project will be shelved for the foreseeable future, as I’m likely to go to university in September, but I intend to seriously come back to it again. 

 

However, in addition to the boards for Filton Road I also have some boards with a carpet-like surface on the top. That can easily be resolved with a few cork tiles, but I am tempted to start something similar to ‘The End of the Line’ by Giles Favell which could be built within a few weeks. I could use my Bachmann 8750 and Hornby class 20 as motive power. The setting could be a place where wagons are filled with either coal or scrap metal. I might just have to put a sketch on here...

[saxokid]

On ‎30‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 15:11, SVRlad said:

Having last posted on here over a year ago, I thought it was time for an update. While I still have the baseboards for Filton Road (they’ve been loitering in the garage since April 2018), I’ve made very little progress since Warley 2018. The project will be shelved for the foreseeable future, as I’m likely to go to university in September, but I intend to seriously come back to it again. 

 

However, in addition to the boards for Filton Road I also have some boards with a carpet-like surface on the top. That can easily be resolved with a few cork tiles, but I am tempted to start something similar to ‘The End of the Line’ by Giles Favell which could be built within a few weeks. I could use my Bachmann 8750 and Hornby class 20 as motive power. The setting could be a place where wagons are filled with either coal or scrap metal. I might just have to put a sketch on here...

Looking forward to some layout build from this now Liam

[Liam]

8 hours ago, saxokid said:

Looking forward to some layout build from this now Liam

 

Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say so. Certainly this lockdown is making me contemplate other layout ideas, such as one based on Chris Nevard’s ‘Brew Street’. It wouldn’t take forever to build and it would also fulfil my ambition of having an exhibition layout.