West Bay on the end of the Bridport Branch

[dougidle]

So... this is the first post in what I hope will be in a series documenting my proposed EM gauge model of West Bay. When I returned to modeling about 18 months ago I wanted to model a Dorset GWR line and discovered West Bay where may years ago I'd been on a camp with the cubs. Unfortunately I quickly realised that an O Gauge model of the station would be far too big for me to construct so instead I built an oval in the garden. Just before Christmas I thought about West Bay again and after paying a visit while staying with my parents over Christmas I decided to build a model in one of the smaller scales. I discounted N Gauge and settled on EM as I preferred the look of the track to OO.  

 

Here's my proposed track plan. I plan to build it across 3 4x2 boards with a 4th 4x2 which will house either a sector plate or a traverser. I drew up some track plans that squashed it into a smaller space but didn't really capture the spaciousness of the real place.

 

 

I'm probably going to model the station as if it had stayed open until after WW2 which should allow me to run both of my favourite tank engines - 57xx and all 48xx locos although I wouldn't be surprised if other types make the odd appearance too. So far, the model is at a very early stage.... I've got 3.5 wagons, half a loco and 1.5 meters of track!

 

Here's a quick photo of the 3 completed wagons. From left to right they're a Ratio Macaw, Bachmann 5-plank and Oxford Toad. All of the wagons have Alan Gibson wheels and bearings. After building O Gauge brass kits for the last year I was disappointed with the quality of the Ratio wagon but after some fiddling it's come up nicely. I plan to renumber the Toad as a Weymouth van and am on the look out for a 6 wheel version that I can renumber as the Bridport van. I know Oxford do the later style already lettered for Bridport but I like the earlier style better. The remaining half a wagon is a Cooper Craft Mink A that is awaiting wheels, transfers and buffers. 

 

The half a loco is a Hornby 14xx body (without chimney) to which I plan to add a High Level chassis and Markits wheels. Once I have a running loco I'll think about building some baseboards and putting some track down. Before I get to that stage I'm sure I'll end up with some more wagons to share though!

 

Comments, constructive criticism and encouragement are very much appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Doug

[sjrixon]

Hey Doug, big fan of anything GWR, so will be watching with interest! 

 

I assume this is what you are looking to model? http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bridport_west_bay/index.shtml - As you say, lots of space! But some nice operational interest there with the cattle pens.

[dougidle]

42 minutes ago, sjrixon said:

Hey Doug, big fan of anything GWR, so will be watching with interest! 

 

I assume this is what you are looking to model? http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bridport_west_bay/index.shtml - As you say, lots of space! But some nice operational interest there with the cattle pens.

 

Thanks Scott - by a strange coincidence, I've just spent the last hour reading all 19 pages of your Castle Down thread. That's a great looking layout you've got.

 

Yes, that page is where I started after my google of "GWR Dorset branch line" and pretty soon after I got Gerry Beales "The Bridport Branch", Jackson and Tattershalls book of the same name and (for good measure) Brian Jacksons "Abbotsbury Branch" so there's quite a lot of decent photos of the station. The fact that it's still there helps too!

[maico]

It's my local line.

 

I love the way the staff rush out at Powerstock station in the 1960's expecting a scrum of passengers which never came. The station became unstaffed in 1966.

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by maico

[maico]

Filmed again in 1975 just before the lined closed on the 3rd May. Powerstock attracted quite a crowd in the last week of operation.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by maico

[dougidle]

Thanks Maico - I hadn’t seen those before. I did toy with the idea of modelling Toller or Powerstock to save a bit of space but I’d have ended up with using the same amount in the end with a second fiddle yard. 
 

Cheers,

Doug

[dougidle]

Just over a month later and I've made some progress. I've compressed the track plan slightly to get it to fit in the shed and today I had the day off work and spent it making baseboards. The scenic area of the layout will be 8 feet with a 3 foot sector plate.

 

I need to get another piece of plywood to finish off the top.

 

I've built up a few more wagons - a Mink C, Mink A and Open A (I think).

 

And got all the parts I need to make a running chassis for the 48xx body I bought last month (crankpins aren't shown - I forgot them and had to do a second order).

 

The goals for the rest of March are:

1. Add the 3rd baseboard top and lay enough track that I can move wagons from one traverser track to another
2. Complete the 3 wagons
3. Have a running (unpainted) chassis for 4803

 

 

[sjrixon]

Scratch built chassis... Good luck

[griffgriff]

It’s looks like you’re making great progress. I’m dabbling in EM for the same reason but the small loco I’m playing with is a BR 08. Just an observation but you’re building a lot of GW rolling stock. Before you build too much it might be worth looking at the traffic on the branch. Open wagons would  probably have been predominant and besides the PO coal wagons there would have been representatives from the other 3 Big 4 companies.... as I say just an observation.

 

Good  luck with the project.... such a lovely part of the world.

 

Griff

 

 

[dougidle]

7 hours ago, sjrixon said:

Scratch built chassis... Good luck

I’m looking forward to making a start on it. I’ve done a lot of O gauge brass wagons so while this is a step up I think I can manage it.

 

7 hours ago, griffgriff said:

Open wagons would  probably have been predominant and besides the PO coal wagons there would have been representatives from the other 3 Big 4 companies.... as I say just an observation.

 

Yes, you’re right. A lot of the photos show lots of open wagons.... I juts got a bit carried away with buying wagon kits on eBay! As much as I love GWR wagons you can rest assured that other companies wagons will be making an appearance once I’ve settled down.

Today I printed off the slightly compressed layout and laid it out on the boards.... I think I’m happy with it now.

 

excuse the rather dodgy panoramic shot! Here’s another, viewed from the sector plate.

 

Cheers,

Doug

 

[dougidle]

7 hours ago, griffgriff said:

Before you build too much it might be worth looking at the traffic on the branch

From what I’ve worked out, traffic on the branch would have been.

• Cords and nets manufactured in Bridport
• Oil for the Anglo-American depot in Bridport
• Cattle
• Meat
• Coal
• Some seasonal watercress traffic

Some of this would have been specific to Bridport and traffics from West Bay itself would have been mostly shingle from the beaches and cattle.

 

Cheers,

Doug

[DLT]

Lovely project Doug, I will be following keenly.  I'm very interested in the Bridport branch.

Cheers, Dave.

[Tim V]

I went there once, in 1976, just had a look on street view - changed a bit!

[Tim V]

At the time, there were no known drawings of these buildings, I measured quite a few of these buildings. Here is a sketch of the end.

[dougidle]

Thanks Tim. I managed to get a copy of the February '96 issue of Railway Modeller which has a nice scale drawing of the station building at West Bay as well as long article detailing construction of a model in 7mm scale. I'm a long way off building a station at the moment!

[spenc]

I will be following this thread on your progress as I live in West Bay wish we still have the railway down here.

 

 

 

[dougidle]

A quick update - I've done a bit of work on the sector plate and got it working. It's a bit stiff at the moment so I'll give it a sanding down when I get a chance and add some latches to make it easier to line up. I'll have enough space to add a third line on the other side of the central one but that's it.

 

I also got some wagons painted up and managed to get a 6 wheel brake van from eBay. There was one allocated to the branch because of the steep gradients from  Maiden Newton down to Bridport. I'll be renumbering it at some point in the future as well as reallocating the 4 wheeler to Weymouth.

[dougidle]

I completed 3 wagons yesterday evening - a Mink C, Mink A and Open. I've another pair of the Opens to do and once they're all done I'll add some loads.

I struggled to get the sprung buffers to work and in the end just glued them in place. The transfers I had were a bit big for the Mink C so I had to improvise a bit too.

In hindsight, I rushed building them all and they're all flawed so the learning is to slow down next time and be patient.

 

Next up are the other pair of Opens, a Starfish and another Mink A.

 

I've also got my 48xx chassis kit to make a start on.

 

Cheers,

Doug

[lezz01]

I've seen a lot worse Doug. Don't be so hard on yourself mate. Do you intend to weather them as well?

Regards Lez.Z.

[dougidle]

On 24/03/2020 at 14:20, lezz01 said:

I've seen a lot worse Doug. Don't be so hard on yourself mate. Do you intend to weather them as well?

Regards Lez.Z.

Thanks Lez, thanks for the kind comment.
 

Yes, once I’ve got them all done I’m planning on trying out some weathering on them.

[dougidle]

At the start of the month I set three goals:

• Add the 3rd baseboard top and lay enough track that I can move wagons from one traverser track to another
• Complete the 3 wagons
• Have a running (unpainted) chassis for 4803

 

I didn't manage to get the 3rd baseboard top because I can't really go to B&Q at the moment so that'll have to wait a few months now. I did lay track though and the traverser works. I also completed the 3 wagons. Here they all are along with the rest of my stock.

For April, my hobby goals are:

1. Get the chassis for 4803 running, painted and the unmodified Hornby body attached
2. Complete 4 wagons with the exception of sprung buffers which I don't have and don't have the cash for at the moment

For anyone who is interested in the chassis build, you can follow it here.

[dougidle]

Progress feels really slow at the moment but that's just the way things go I suppose.

 

I made good progress on the chassis for 4803 but failed to meet my goal after I broke all my 0.5mm drill bits that I needed to complete the brake gear and the worm supplied with the motor didn't fit so I have to wait for a replacement. Here she is at the moment. The drill bits arrived yesterday so I'm hopeful I can get the brakes and sand pipes added this weekend and then the chassis will be ready for painting.

 

I did manage to complete the 4 wagons - and 3 of them even have buffers! I would have added them to the 4th too but I wanted to use sprung ones with the shanks moulded to the model and I couldn't get any loose buffers. They'll have to wait until next month now. I added coal into two of the wagons and filled the ballast wagon with some ballast I bought from the Bath Model Shop well over 20 years ago!

 

I continued to get sidetracked, buying wagon kits on eBay, an Autocoach detailing kit and wheels and also managed to pick up a pair of Airfix B-Set coaches from the EMGS which I'm waiting to arrive. They'll all go on the list.

 

For May, my plan is to:

• Complete the chassis for 4803 (finally!) so that she moves under power
• Complete 3 more wagons (2 7 planks and a Tube C)

If I can do these, June will be the month that some more track is finally laid.

 

[darthmh]

You've made a good start,  really nice wagon kits.  if I may ask how did you make the sector Plate?

 

Martin

 

[mullie]

I live on Portland and we visit West Bay often (well we did) using the car park on the former station site. The station is now a rather nice cafe. West Bay is a nice to drive as the coast road from Portland is stunning on a nice day. Another follower.

 

I completed an HLF  oral history project on the railways of Portland around 18 months ago (link to a thread is below) and did have preliminary discussions with a potential partner about doing the same thing relating to the Bridport and West Bay branch. Sadly it hasn't come to anything yet.

 

Martyn

[dougidle]

On 01/05/2020 at 15:54, darthmh said:

You've made a good start,  really nice wagon kits.  if I may ask how did you make the sector Plate?

 

Martin

 

 

Thanks Martin - the sector plate was pretty simple to build although it took a bit of thinking about. I screwed a bit of wood underneath the baseboard and drilled through both the baseboard and the lower wood. I then used the hole to draw an arc using a pencil on a string anchored in the hole. I cut the plate outing screwed a large piece of MDF underneath to act as a floor. I then put a piece of dowel in the original hole and cut the sides of the plate. Hopefully that makes sense. I

 

On 01/05/2020 at 21:21, mullie said:

I live on Portland and we visit West Bay often (well we did) using the car park on the former station site. The station is now a rather nice cafe. West Bay is a nice to drive as the coast road from Portland is stunning on a nice day. Another follower.

 

I completed an HLF  oral history project on the railways of Portland around 18 months ago (link to a thread is below) and did have preliminary discussions with a potential partner about doing the same thing relating to the Bridport and West Bay branch. Sadly it hasn't come to anything yet.

 

Martyn

 

Thanks Martyn - I will give it a listen.