Crisis Rail Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Evening... After the demise - sale and rethink of a few non-starter powered dioramas built and discussed on this forum here is the latest offering to be most probably shelved Ever bought - currently live or lived in or considered buying a property backing on to a railway of any sorts? We had the chance and viewed one such place back in 1990 with our first foot on the ladder - a terrace overlooking the Preston to Blackpool line Virgin HST's to Euston were common then although given the endless Unit Tractional dross the novelty would have worn off I am sure. I have had this idea of a Stabling Point backing on to a Terraced property with a ginnell by the side of a factory - also being close to the National Grid won't be a selling feature - anyway thought I might give it a go. First structures mapped out with J Gavs' Helly 47321 as the starring traction - nice.... Suggestions stories and ideas most welcome or in the bin it goes. Ian. Jon (Peakdaleworks) advised me of the wrong tanks fitted on 321 - anyone with some spares willing to sell? - Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 My grandmother lived in a terraced house backing onto the LNWR Springs Branch at Belle Green Lane, Ince Wigan, I just about remember swinging on the level crossing gates just before this bit of the line closed around 1958. I decided to make a second small layout, and this was my choice. The trains were sparce, just a clunky old WD 2-8-0 or 8F and a few wagons, the line having been singled by then. Here is the real thing back in the early 50's, more or less how I remembered it. The bridges seen thru the level crossing gates and up the lane, both plate girder, are the former Whelley loop line. Nothing like this now, everything you see has gone, now new houses and green parkland. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 You have carried this off quite well - good - Signalbox looks well goosed - it must have made for interesting times living in the terraces - do you have an actual postcode to view on Google earth? Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 I don' t have a postcode, the co-ords for google earth are 53 32 47 47 N 2 35 54 54 W Nothing recogniseable, though if you zoom out you can see the line of the trackbed down to the main line at Springs Branch, and all of the Whelley Line, which is now a footpath. The former Kirkless iron works & many collieries are now landscaped over. Quite pleasant round here these days, especially along the canal towpath, now block paved. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Two of my great-aunts lived in houses backing on to the railway at Burry Port- great visiting them as a kid, in the latter days of steam on the Fishguard line. A great-great aunt (she was my grandmother's aunt, and lived to 98) had a bungalow built new in the late 1960s right next to the main-line on the other side of Burry Port station. On my dad's side, a great aunt kept the 'Old Castle Hotel' on Bryn Terrace- this went one better, in that the railway (part of the Nevill's Dock network) ran in the road in front of the front door. She lived there in the 1930s, but the railway lasted until 1967. Most urban areas had properties 'hugger-mugger' with the railway- having stayed in such premises, one soon got used to the proximity of regular trains. Track machines were another thing- when I stayed in Heaton Grove in Newcastle, the Dynamic Track Stabiliser brought the ceiling roses and cornicing down! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 On my dad's side, a great aunt kept the 'Old Castle Hotel' on Bryn Terrace- this went one better, in that the railway (part of the Nevill's Dock network) ran in the road in front of the front door. She lived there in the 1930s, but the railway lasted until 1967 I have an interesting little book about this line, bought from the Dean Forest railway shop. Its entitled "Nevill's Docks and Railway Company" by Michael Denman (ISBN 0 9535848 5 2) published by The Wider View. There are several good photos of Bryn Terrace, with, as you say, trains passing right outside the front door. This whole area begs to be modelled, and would be ideal for conversion to modern image type of scene Crisis Rail is seeking. A search on google images for LLanelli railways brought this up Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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