Umber is the New Black

[Edwardian]

Two for the space of one?

 

Just a thought.

 

One day, hopefully, I will sell my house and have a reasonable budget for modelling.  This topic was devoted to exploring the possibility, following that Happy Day, of a mainline layout, providing a reasonable run, that would be LB&SC, but that might include SE&CR.

 

To recap, Merstham seems to have been the best bet.  It had a spectacular opening, as two parallel mainlines burst through the Downs and beneath high under bridges, and included a great industrial line.

 

There were some things it lacked, however.  There was SE&CR station on the Old Main Line, but nothing for the Brighton.  The Brighton mainline, the 1899 Quarry line, would feature the top expresses that were very much part of the attraction, the Southern Belle, the City Limited, but there was no equivalent for the SE. 

 

The Old Mainline had a fascinating mix of traffic, including LB&SC services, and through SE coaches for the GW via Reading. However, much of the top express traffic on the SE went via the Tonbridge cut-off, including Boat Trains and the American Car Trains.   The "via Redhill" services using the Old Mainline seem to have been the second string.

 

As mentioned elsewhere, I am considering Dunton Green on the SE Tonbridge cut-off, as the way to see the top SE expresses.

 

So, how about this? Instead of a single scenic section with 2 mainlines, how about two separate scenes, but, perhaps, utilising shared return curves/loops and fiddle yard?

 

These would be physically and visually separate scenes, and so, could represent geographically very separate scenes. 

 

Return curves require a certain width, and this provides the opportunity to do two different things with the space between them.  The scenes could either be facing each other at opposites sides of the room, or back to back in the centre.

 

The SE side of the layout could represent somewhere on Tonbridge cut-off.  I prefer a manageable passing station in a rural setting, in the double-track section south of Orpington and Dunton Green fits the bill and has a considerable bonus as junction station for the Westerham branch. 

 

On the Brighton side, something similar, somewhere south of Redhill.  One of my shortlist must remain Hassocks. 

 

Sure, such a scheme would need time, space and budget that I currently lack.  So, it's for the future.  But the journey, which includes the research, is much of the fun.

 

Is this an entirely bonkers scheme?  Can these two scenes be accommodated? What might it take to realise it?

[Nearholmer]

Had you but world enough and time, it would certainly be possible. Whether it would be wise is another question altogether.

 

Didn't we discuss that often misspelt station Burgess Hill as a possible Brighton two-tracker? Or Wivelsfield, because it had the Eastbourne and Hastings (the other way) trains, including the Newhaven Boat Expresses and special van trains.

 

And, the GWR through trains didn't go north of Redhill, they arrived from the Evil Empire via Reading and Guildford, so wouldn't appear on scene. The LNWR coaches of the Sunny South Express would appear.

 

You could organise races to Paris, starting from Victoria and going via Dover on the one hand and Newhaven on the other, with the SECR winning every time.

[sem34090]

I like the idea... but agree with Kevin's points.

[Edwardian]

Oh come on, two long stretches of mainline, each with a modest passing station!

 

[at my rate of progress - see your point!]

[Northroader]

I always find a big problem is getting something achieved before the next bright idea comes along. Keep it simple.

[Andy Hayter]

Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.

 

Or better said;  Been there, didn't finish that, started this, didn't finish this either and couldn't find time to buy the tee-shirt.

[justin1985]

I've been following these threads with interest - really fascinating prototypes - in-laws live just outside Merstham, so I travel that bit of line quite regularly.

 

One scene is definitely more feasible than two, so how about a little selective adaptation of reality? Just up the road from Merstham is Whyteleafe, on the SER branch line to Caterham, literally just down the hill from Upper Warlingham on the LBSCR Oxted Line. They're certainly within sight of each other. 

 

Obviously the quarry line was built as an express cut off, but perhaps the Caterham\Oxted branch lines could serve as enough of a precedent for there having been a fictional "Upper Merstham" on the upper line. This would give you a bit more operational interest on both, even if not an excuse for SECR boat trains ...

 

J

[Edwardian]

Well, note to self: Sell that bloody house by the end of next year, because by "early 2020" there will be three, yes three LB&SC E1s I'll have to pay for (http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134231-model-rail-announcement/?p=3187829).

 

Well, with an E4, I3, K, and one or two others in the project stack and an Atlantic and a may-be-Okay Terrier on the way, plus Linny's Stroudleys and Billingtons, clearly there will need to some form of layout/diorama-photo plank  set in the southeast  at some point in the future.

 

Thoughts are turning to Burgess Hill for the Brighton as well as Dunton Green for the South Eastern. 

 

EDITED in order to render Sem's post redundant!

Edited June 4, 2018 by Edwardian

[sem34090]

20120? That's well, well over 10000 years off! Will anyone know what an LBSCR E1 is by then?!

 

Three E1's... where from?

[Skinnylinny]

Oh, my poor wallet... And from Rapido, too!

[Edwardian]

I just thought this should be flagged up somewhere in the pre-Grouping section, and, as it's  a Brighton book: LB&SCR Carriages Volume 3 on the way!

 

Well done to all concerned.