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Br blue era layout


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Evening everyone,

After an 8 year absence from the hobby, I am finally making a return to this brilliant hobby. I am looking at building a branch line terminus station set in the br blue era between 1970-1980. I'd ideally like to set the location in the midland region but I'm flexible with what region I model. I've got plans to have a goods yard, fuelling point, station (with a bay platform to accomodate multiple passenger services). I was just wondering if anyone could advise me on some typical BR Blue train formations that you could see on a branch line in this era? As well as this, would the station buildings be painted in a blue colour or another colour? 

 

Many thanks in advance

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Most branch line services in this era would be in the hands of DMU's, 2 or 3 car, and in multiple in peak periods.  If its a smaller town then a 121/122 bubble car may suffice.  Sometimes DMU's were replaced by a loco-hauled set of coaches, 3 or 4.  If its a replacement DMU service then you'd mostly be MK1 2nd class (SO/SK) with guards accommodation (BSK/BSO/BG).  I'd imagine a first class section would be provided only on a dedicated loco-hauled service, again Mk1 (CK or BCK).  You may find the occasional Mk2 in the mix, but these were still in front line service in your era.

 

Parcels services shouldn't be forgotten, in the hands of Mk1 CCT/BG/GUV and earlier in the period, ex big four CCT/BG/GUV.  The ex-SR parcels vans lasted right though to the 80's and could be seen all over the system, and also re-purposed BR Fish vans, coded SPV.  You could run a 128 DPU with a van or 2 as a load.

 

Freight wise the transition from traditional unbraked and vacuum braked stock to air braked stock was well underway, and the advent of Speedlink breathed a little bit of life back into wagonload freight services.  Essentially anything goes though, but if mixing brake types, make sure the head of the train is fitted.  Im not well versed on how often air braked stock was included in formations with vacuum and/or unbraked stock, but Im sure it must have happened

 

Hope this helps a little

 

Joe

 

 

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  • RMweb Gold

hi James,

 

Welcome back!

 

I recommend the BR Blue book series, eg

 

http://www.crecy.co.uk/br-blue-no-6-train-formations

 

http://www.crecy.co.uk/br-blue-no.5-passenger-and-parcels

 

which have excellent colour photos plus informative captions.

 

I've been pondering a BR 1960s-70s terminus with refuelling point--here is my plan for a 10 by 2 layout, using Peco 00 track:

 

 

station.jpg.1ee77eecf1bb82183010c3f3ffd99fa2.jpg

 

 

The station platforms are to the right, parcels and goods top right, fuel point top left and exit to fiddle yard via bridge at bottom left.

 

all the best,

 

Keith

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hi James,

 

Here is photograph of Southport in 1980, looking about as busy as it ever got to be:

 

class-110-dmu-1535428752-1200.jpg

 

The Merseyrail 502 and 507 EMU's used the platforms to the left of the photograph and the DMU's the ones to the right. The far right platform was used for the early morning newspaper trains and also when on the odd occasion that there were locomotive hauled special excursions, usual motive power was a class 25 or 40 for the newspapers and class 40 or 47 for the specials.

 

At the time DMU's to be seen at Southport were:

  • BRCW 104 3 car (Newton Heath)
  • BRCW 110 3 car (Neville Hill)
  • Derby 108 2 car (Newton Heath)
  • Cravens 105 2 car (Newton Heath)
  • Park Royal 103 2 car (Chester)

Rush hour had six car sets and Summer Saturdays had six, eight or nine car sets depending upon types used.

 

The only other trains along the Southport-Wigan line was a coal train of 21 ton hoppers usually hauled by a class 25 but sometime a class 40. Should there be a points failure at Burscough then the Greater Manchester Binliner ran to Southport for the locomotive, class 47, to run around its train.

 

BR Blue, branch line, largish station, not much doing !!!!

 

Gibbo.

 

PS The car park used to be platforms also.

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7 hours ago, roythebus said:

It would be very unlikely to find a fuel point on a branch terminus in that era.

 

would be worth exploring this, termini such as Buxton, is a case in point--what others were there?

 

Buxton

[image from Flickr by Kerry Parker]

 

cheers,

 

Keith

 

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Reminds me of trainspotting in Scarborough whilst on Holiday there in the early '80s. Summer Saturday traffic was huge, with long rakes hauled by classes 40/45/46. 03 station pilot (with runner wagon) hauls the rake out and spots it in another platform while the train engine follows it to the end of the platform, and waits to couple back up for the return trip. Lots of operational potential - A seaside terminus would be a good thing to model....

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  • 1 month later...

There is more here than the comments, so don't give up. Am look for compact in 0, where small is very large! 

For me it will be Huddersfax High Level, rather inspired by Halifax St Pauls, a long lingering NER/GNR/LNW joint branch with a dilapidated wooden building and lingering signals, including an NER slotted type survivor with a 2 Road Eastern Region Glasshouses depot. Loco hauled will be short, replacing DMUs as per the NER on the Middlesborough-Sunderland-Newcastle-Carlisle in the great DMU crisis. 3 coach 31,37,45,47, surely a 40/46 wriggled on too?And they need an 08 shunter release(Buxton had 08s) Household coal and TTA household fuel lingered on in many spots until 1978-84. This was when many coaling facilities closed, there were many examples included Layerthorpe,Malton,Scarboro, Whitby,Harrogate,Leyburn,Bedale, This means a lot of inspiration from the following almost lost but lived near places can be added in and are good suggestions

Buxton DMUs and DPUs pushing them up the hill

Ashington and Blyth Cambois( this was a TMD, no allocation but full of 37s and 56s) also saw 60s

Whitby small terminus, mostly DMUs, odd special, and coal saw 40s 31s 20s

Redmire Stone and DMU specials saw 20s,31s,37s,40s,47s,60s

York LAyerthorpe Branch again saw Rowntrees DMU and choc, whisky, cement,coal,oil with 03/08/20/25/31 and a 40/46/47 specials, and the 04s on the DVLR, but most often a bonnet first 20.

Clayton Branch(now a steam line) DMUS and coal trains of many 40,45/0,31 maybe more

Harrogate line had shorter locos with Deltics ,31/4(a specific pool) 40,45,47 on split Yorkshire Pulmman, 2 wagon steel trains to Starbeck and short military trains to Starbeck

Warcop as we get more 25s,40s,46,26&27 on Troop trains, but it is North Eastern

PEnistone Goods, coal until the Woodhead closure, but diesel operated.

Hitchin TMD is the glasshouse aka Heljan, again no formal allocation but was home to 31s and the baby Deltics., and Tinsley running shed, with Class 13s amonst many

So loc wise, the full choice would be 03/08/13/20s/25s/26/27/31/37/40/45/46/47/55/56

DMU wise then, we have possibly 101/104/108/110/DPU as a staple, earlier losses the Derby units, 100/105 hybrid,114/ 120s, TPE 123/124. The Eastern region was for many years a green Derby type bubble car (until 1973) then a Dapol Bubble car- 

So the whole thing needs perhaps a CLass 122, Class 03 or 08 , A CLass  20/ 25, or a 31 and a 40,, maybe specials if in 00 45.55  in 1978, or say later 1983 a Class 122, Class 08, 20, 25 31/4, 46

And late 80s more color a Class 141 in Green A 20 in Thornaby bling  37/4 in Buxton colours, a 47 in some large logo but the freight will have gone by now, save depot transfers and fuel

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  • 9 months later...
On 05/08/2019 at 21:11, Graham1960 said:

As for the station building, branch line terminus stations would not be new build, wherever it was set. Most branch lines were not getting invested in at that times, compared to the main network. I think a good example though would be the Heljan AH2 building, which is still around. Named Tignmouth. Though it's in Ho Scale.

 

<pedantic mode>

I'm not sure if Heljan is still producing that? The Heljan AH2 station was based on Teignmouth (not Tignmouth).

</pedantic mode>

But the confusion is understandable, as locals pronounce it more like "Tinm'th" (me dear). ^_^

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