Leominster Station???

[halsey]

I have had a bit of a "lightbulb moment" and am wondering if modelling Leominster Station could be done - has anyone any information beyond the track layout on the good ole inter-web

Has it been done before??

The attraction is it is a very relevant project to me (cos its 100 yds away) and the 2 track roundy roundy loop could be notional Hereford and Shrewsbury destinations

???? 

[waggy]

I remember seeing a 4mm layout of Leominster at York Show some 30 or so years ago, think it was set in GWR days. I would imagine it appeared in one of the modelling magazines.

 

Graham

[Fat Controller]

'An Historical Survey of Selected Great Westen Stations- Volume 2' by R H Clark has a general plan of the station, including building locations, dated 1914, This covers two A4 pages. There is also an undated signalling diagram. There had been three signal boxes; one at the junction of the Kington branch, one at the middle of the station, and one in the freight sidings to the south of the station.

IIRC, there used to be a timber yard in the sidings on the Shrewsbury side, with a gantry crane.

[The Johnster]

It's been done before in 4mm, IIRC by North Gwent Railway Modellers.  It's an interesting prototype and probably needs 2 operators for a full timetable.  There were some complex bracket signals on the North Gwent (if it was actually them, my memory is not good enough to claim this as an unassailable fact) model that looked excellent but at the (Bristol?) show I saw the layout at spoiled the model by being set in impossible configurations.

[ejstubbs]

1 hour ago, Fat Controller said:

IIRC, there used to be a timber yard in the sidings on the Shrewsbury side, with a gantry crane.

 

According to the 1928 OS 25 inch map the gantry crane was to the south, as were most if not all of the sidings.

 

Leominster station these days is but a shadow of its former self back when it was a four-platform junction station with a sizeable goods yard.  The branches are a distant memory, only two platforms are left and the goods yard is now occupied by industrial units.

 

IIRC the OP is planning to model the early BR diesel period.  I don't know when the station began to be downsized but according to the OS 1953 six-inch map it was pretty much undiminished at that date.

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that, just because it looks like a rather small, sleepy through station these days, it used to be a fair bit bigger, and would potentially be quite a challenge to model in full as it was at an earlier date.  My Dad lived in Leominster until just a few years ago and I went down to visit him by train quite a number of times; I was stunned when I idly browsed the NLS web site one day and saw how big the station used to be!  Of course, for a layout rule 1 can be exercised and strategic 'compression' employed to keep the scope of the project within reasonable bounds if necessary.  (I assume that the model The Johnster references was the work of a group of people rather than one person.)

[Gordon A]

What period?

The 1928 map shows what looks like six passenger platform faces and to the south east of the station the layout is eleven tracks wide.

The current station is a mere shadow of its former self with two tracks with a couple of sidings to the south.

 

Gordon A

[halsey]

15 hours ago, The Johnster said:

It's been done before in 4mm, IIRC by North Gwent Railway Modellers.  It's an interesting prototype and probably needs 2 operators for a full timetable.  There were some complex bracket signals on the North Gwent (if it was actually them, my memory is not good enough to claim this as an unassailable fact) model that looked excellent but at the (Bristol?) show I saw the layout at spoiled the model by being set in impossible configurations.

Found the RM mag edition (April 1990) with the report in - now on order - thanks

[halsey]

16 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

'An Historical Survey of Selected Great Westen Stations- Volume 2' by R H Clark has a general plan of the station, including building locations, dated 1914, This covers two A4 pages. There is also an undated signalling diagram. There had been three signal boxes; one at the junction of the Kington branch, one at the middle of the station, and one in the freight sidings to the south of the station.

IIRC, there used to be a timber yard in the sidings on the Shrewsbury side, with a gantry crane.

Now on order - thanks

[halsey]

15 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

 

According to the 1928 OS 25 inch map the gantry crane was to the south, as were most if not all of the sidings.

 

Leominster station these days is but a shadow of its former self back when it was a four-platform junction station with a sizeable goods yard.  The branches are a distant memory, only two platforms are left and the goods yard is now occupied by industrial units.

 

IIRC the OP is planning to model the early BR diesel period.  I don't know when the station began to be downsized but according to the OS 1953 six-inch map it was pretty much undiminished at that date.

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that, just because it looks like a rather small, sleepy through station these days, it used to be a fair bit bigger, and would potentially be quite a challenge to model in full as it was at an earlier date.  My Dad lived in Leominster until just a few years ago and I went down to visit him by train quite a number of times; I was stunned when I idly browsed the NLS web site one day and saw how big the station used to be!  Of course, for a layout rule 1 can be exercised and strategic 'compression' employed to keep the scope of the project within reasonable bounds if necessary.  (I assume that the model The Johnster references was the work of a group of people rather than one person.)

I would want to model 1950's

[kevinlms]

16 hours ago, The Johnster said:

It's been done before in 4mm, IIRC by North Gwent Railway Modellers.  It's an interesting prototype and probably needs 2 operators for a full timetable.  There were some complex bracket signals on the North Gwent (if it was actually them, my memory is not good enough to claim this as an unassailable fact) model that looked excellent but at the (Bristol?) show I saw the layout at spoiled the model by being set in impossible configurations.

Correct, the layout was built by North Gwent.

[halsey]

1 hour ago, halsey said:

I would want to model 1950's

 

16 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

 

According to the 1928 OS 25 inch map the gantry crane was to the south, as were most if not all of the sidings.

 

Leominster station these days is but a shadow of its former self back when it was a four-platform junction station with a sizeable goods yard.  The branches are a distant memory, only two platforms are left and the goods yard is now occupied by industrial units.

 

IIRC the OP is planning to model the early BR diesel period.  I don't know when the station began to be downsized but according to the OS 1953 six-inch map it was pretty much undiminished at that date.

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that, just because it looks like a rather small, sleepy through station these days, it used to be a fair bit bigger, and would potentially be quite a challenge to model in full as it was at an earlier date.  My Dad lived in Leominster until just a few years ago and I went down to visit him by train quite a number of times; I was stunned when I idly browsed the NLS web site one day and saw how big the station used to be!  Of course, for a layout rule 1 can be exercised and strategic 'compression' employed to keep the scope of the project within reasonable bounds if necessary.  (I assume that the model The Johnster references was the work of a group of people rather than one person.)

 

"NLS" ???

[Fat Controller]

14 minutes ago, halsey said:

 

 

"NLS" ???

'National Library of Scotland'

I know Leominster's not in Scotland, it's just that the Scots seem to be the leading partner in this particular digitisation.

[Harlequin]

40 minutes ago, Fat Controller said:

'National Library of Scotland'

I know Leominster's not in Scotland, it's just that the Scots seem to be the leading partner in this particular digitisation.

 

See also old-maps.co.uk which is similar. Better in some ways, worse in others.

 

[ejstubbs]

1 hour ago, halsey said:

"NLS" ???

 

As others have said, the National Library of Scotland online map archive - per the links embedded in my post:

 

1928 OS 25 inch map

 

OS 1953 six-inch map

[Campaman]

The link to the picture of the signal box has comments suggesting that the signal box was just supported by the central pillars and would wobble when trains rumbled through, but looking at the picture it looks like the gantry to the left is part of the signal box supporting structure.

[halsey]

This idea doesn't have legs for me - I need to give up too much of the greater workshop space to fit anything worthwhile in.

 

I will revert to tweaking the old layout...…………..

 

Interesting thought process though...…………...