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Llanthony Sidings


BLOSS

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Hi All

 

just thought I'd post some pics of my new layout Llanthony Sidings set in the mid 80's and inspired by the Gloucester Docks branch.  The layout depicts the scene in the final days of operation and is an Inglenook shunting puzzle layout.

 

Hope you enjoy them

 

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Hi D600, thanks for your comments. I was a bit rushed yesterday in starting the post as I was at work hence the brief description!

 

Basically I am in the process of planning a larger layout in my loft, but in the meantime I thought I'd create a smaller layout whilst the bigger once gets planned out and constructed.  It's also extremely hot in the loft at the moment and with this layout being more portable i can pretty much carry it around anywhere in the house and have infact been working on some of the scenics in the garden during the last week or so. 

 

A bit of background;  I live in Gloucester and as a kid in the mid 1980's I remember seeing the overgrown sidings down at the docks and the Blue Circle cement plant which was rail served.  The line split fromt the South Wales main line at Over Junction and eventually led to a network of sidings before which the single line crossed over Llanthony Road - hence the name of the layout.  Sadly I never witnessed any train movements as by this time the sidings had been mothballed and as far as i know were never used again, although there was talk in the late 80's of re-opening the branch to allow a railtour to use it in connection with an open day at Gloucester Horton Road depot, but this never came to fruition. 

 

Whilst I am not recreating a faithful replica of the docks complex, I was inspired to use the docks branch as a convenient setting for an Inglenook layout.  To set the scene I invested in a low relief warehouse building as well as some card warehouse backscenes.  As per the Inglenook "rules" there are 3 operational sidings, two of which can hold 3 wagons and the remaining one to hold a maximum of 5 vehicles. 

 

For anyone not familiar with Inglenook layouts I can recommend this website http://www.wymann.info/ShuntingPuzzles/Inglenook/inglenook-layouts.html, which is excellent.

 

Wagons on the layout are generally vans types such as VAAs & VDAs, I also use open wagons such as OCAs. Motive power is provided by a BR class 03 or 08 and plans are to invest in a private owner loco too. For scenic interest I have also added a small siding for the resident loco and an non operational siding in the foreground leading to a private scrapyard (this siding is not wired up). 

 

The three working points are also Peco with Peco motors and the layout is conventional DC.

 

I will add some more pics soon.....

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I used to do lots of deliveries around Gloucester in the 1990's and found the Docks area fascinating. Some bits of the rail network still showed up at the time - old rails by warehouses & across roads - NOT the rails laid "cosmetically" by the Council Offices (NorthWarehouse?) I should add.

The books by Ben Ashworth of Steam in Gloucestershire are invaluable for showing what used to be. For instance I would never have guessed that Trier Way was the old rail link from California Crossing on the Eastgate line to the Docks, had I not seen Ben's photos.

Truly a bygone Era, but the flavour of it is well captured by your layout! Very nice. :)

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  • 2 years later...

Hi all, just thought I'd continue my old thread with news that Llanthony Sidings is, alas, sadly no more...however I am working on a replacement - Llanthony Sidings Mk.II, which will be smaller and more portable but hopefully still crammed with great detail. Era is BR Blue circa 1988/9. The layout again will be good old DC and will be an Inglenook style shunting layout. Track and point motors are Peco. Tonight I put some boards together and drilled holes in the boards where the two points motors will eventually go. I hope this time to include some water (missing from the Mk.1 version) and a small boat or barge to complete the scene. I like the idea of lots of quayside clutter littering the quayside and the general feel of the area to be one of neglect and decay.

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