Broadwindsor

[Rocketman54]

To complete an engineering formation a Cambrian Models GWR 6-ton hand crane and match truck were recently assembled, quite a testing task (given the assembly instructions!) but the end result was worth it, a very characterful addition.

 

 

An ageing 4 wheel brake coach completes the ensemble - a Ratio kit.

 

 

 

[Rocketman54]

The Marshwood Vale line links Weymouth to Taunton via Chard (Chard & Taunton Railway taken over by the Bristol & Exeter Railway then the GWR). In doing so it also offers a through route to North Devon via the Taunton-Barnstaple line and thereby becomes, effectively, 'coast-to-coast'. Some recently acquired Hornby Hawksworth coaches in BR maroon allows portrayal of the classic combination of this stock with a Churchward mogul, so typical of Taunton-Barnstaple route services during its later years before closure.

 

 

An SR S15 with a short engineering train waits in the loop while a Barnstaple-Weymouth service draws in

 

[Rocketman54]

Against the backscene at the factory end of the layout are a couple of scratch-built low-relief buildings, one houses a bakery and offices for the dairy and the other is a small stables, loosely based on the standard GWR brick built design. With intensive railway use of horse-power until the mid-20th century, stable blocks - sometimes of considerable size - were often found near goods facilities yet seem to be less commonly represented on steam era layouts.

 

[RobertFrench]

What a fabulous scene you’ve set. I particularly like the way you’ve compressed a lot of visual interest without overwhelming the eye – it feels right and believable despite potential prototypes likely having quite a bit more space between… well… everything really!

 

Im at the earliest of early stages in thinking of building my own layout and trying to strike the balance between a larger but not unlimited space, a desire to model somewhere familiar to me, whilst allowing everything to ‘breathe’.

 

You might be deliberately retaining the mystery by not showing it, but I’d love to see how you’ve factored in the fiddle yards at the extremities – you’ve obviously got a lot of stuff and I’m interested in how you’re making that work too.

Thanks for sharing,

Robert

[Rocketman54]

The Urie/Maunsell N15 'King Arthurs' were a mainstay of Southern/SR Exeter-Bournemouth passenger services on the Marshwood Vale line from the 20's until the later 50's when withdrawals began in earnest. All gone by the late 1962. Depicting the mid 1950s, 30803 'Sir Harry le Fiske Lake', with the smaller 6-wheel tender, heads a rake of 'blood & custard' stock on a Bournemouth - Exeter train.

 

 

This type of secondary route was a natural stamping-ground for Bulleid light pacifics, which took over more services following the demise of the 'Arthurs'. The recent acquisition of Hornby West Country 'Wilton' allows me to stretch time forward a little towards the mid-60s and the final few years of Southern Region steam.