Weymouth trackplan 1950s

[34091 Weymouth]

Hello everyone

 

I wondered if anyone could help me out in tracking down a good, clear trackplan of Weymouth station & goods yard in the 1950s. 

I've found a few online but they are not very clear. I'm trying to gather information so that I can build a layout that's a representation of Weymouth. I'm never going to fit it all in to 16ft but I would like to get a clear track diagram so I can design a layout that has the essence of the station, goods yard & loco shed. 

 

Can any of you guys help?

 

Cheers

 

Si

[Joseph_Pestell]

Usual advice is to look up OS maps either via the National Library of Scotland or www.old-maps.co.uk. old-maps has been playing up a bit recently and NLS has more functionality.

 

When you say that you have 16' length, is that just for the station? Or for the whole layout? If for the station, you should be fine.

 

Edit to add: Just re-read and see that you want the MPD as well. That will be a challenge in 16'. Full trackplan and signalling diagrams also in Vol 4 of Historical Survey GW Stations.

 

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Joseph_Pestell

[Nick Holliday]

Try old-maps

As you can see they've got OS maps at a large scale for 1938 and 1958, and the section I've shown is the even larger 1958 map. There may be a few minor errors as the OS cartographers weren't always that bothered by track details, but, with a few photos you should be able to make sense of things.

i hope you're modelling in either T or Z scale if you want to get it into 16 feet! Best of luck compressing it. It might help that the NLS maps have a measuring tool, the downside is that most of their large scale maps are from Victorian days, but some features should remain common into the twentieth century, as a guide to the space the station really takes up.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

I can recommend "The Story of the Westbury to Weymouth Line" by Derek Phillips. Gives track plans and signalling diagrams as well as photos etc. There are a few gong on eBay for around £16 at  the moment.

[34091 Weymouth]

1 hour ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

 

Edit to add: Just re-read and see that you want the MPD as well. That will be a challenge in 16'. Full trackplan and signalling diagrams also in Vol 4 of Historical Survey GW Stations.

 

 

 

I know it's a challenge to fit everything in. I'm only planning to use the trackplan to take the best bits & make a layout that has the look & feel of Weymouth. 

Hopefully with the buildings looking something like itll pass.

[34091 Weymouth]

1 hour ago, Peter Kazmierczak said:

I can recommend "The Story of the Westbury to Weymouth Line" by Derek Phillips. Gives track plans and signalling diagrams as well as photos etc. There are a few gong on eBay for around £16 at  the moment.

Thanks Peter

 

I've found one on ebay & placed an order.

[petethemole]

Signal box diagrams are available on line for Weymouth Junction and Weymouth Station boxes, here: https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/cdsrps.htm.

Click on the links for low-res versions.  They are not to scale but clarify what was a quite complex layout.

[34091 Weymouth]

2 hours ago, petethemole said:

Signal box diagrams are available on line for Weymouth Junction and Weymouth Station boxes, here: https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/html/cdsrps.htm.

Click on the links for low-res versions.  They are not to scale but clarify what was a quite complex layout.

 

Thanks Pete that is exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully I can get a good a4 print from it & then I can start to dissect parts of it to create a nice layout that has the look & feel of the station.

[jointline]

The problem I found when modelling a similar situation in my garage is what sort of access do you want for your trains to a circuit or fiddle yard?  If a bridge cut off/scenic break is being used, and 36" radius curve beyond it, you have immediately lost three feet of your station space.  Also think about signalling, and whether or not the block sections, if any, are a realistic length.

Best of luck!  Remember Weymouth in the '60s, and would make a great model with unlimited space!

[mdvle]

On 16/05/2020 at 10:06, 34091 Weymouth said:

I wondered if anyone could help me out in tracking down a good, clear trackplan of Weymouth station & goods yard in the 1950s. 

I've found a few online but they are not very clear. I'm trying to gather information so that I can build a layout that's a representation of Weymouth. I'm never going to fit it all in to 16ft but I would like to get a clear track diagram so I can design a layout that has the essence of the station, goods yard & loco shed.

 

While the online maps may not be as detailed as you like, they should be more than good enough to allow you to start and get an idea if what you want is feasible before you invest money in the research phase.  For example, you can take the number of tracks in the station and create a rough set of the trackwork, and working with your train lengths get an idea of how much space you need for the station.  If it looks feasible, then start with the research to get the exact track layouts to try and fit.

 

Using the NLS and Old Maps website it looks like the station/goods yard would take about 20' to model to scale, and the engine shed and associated trackwork another 17' (and of course then the space between the two).

 

Now it all depends on what you want, and your definition of essence, but it would seem to be quite a challenge to compress them (and of course it will also depend on whether you want accurate length trains, or are you going to run shorter trains).

 

Please note I am not trying to discourage you - as I said, it depends on how much compromise you can accept - but creating layouts is a fight against the reality that the real railroads use a lot of space, and the larger the station the harder it is to capture the essence of the station in the space most of have available.

Edited May 17, 2020 by mdvle

[34091 Weymouth]

Mdvle

 

Some very good advice there & certainly some I've already been working on.

I got a track diagram from a link Petethemole sent. What ive done is started to draw boxes around the areas of track I want to feature on the layout. 

Due to space restrictions I'm aiming for a 6 coach train which is a compromise but I dont mind that. 

The main station area I want to model in a compressed form, i would like to get the goods shed in but it will mean loosing many of the sidings around I'd also like maybe 3 coach sidings. 

The vision i have in my head it wont be Weymouth exactly but as long as it has the parts I'd like to model I'm sure itll be a nice project when finished that captures the basis of Weymouth. 

 

I'm hoping to get a trackplan drawn this evening so I can start work on the actual layout. 

 

I'm currently clearing space in the room I have to build the layout. I've also drawn a diagram of the baseboard sizes that I have to use in the room. Which will help determine what I can fit in the room.