pentland Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Hello, I'm a long time lurker getting the benefit of the vast quantities of wisdom and fantastic layouts on the site. I'm based in the south west but originally from the north east coast of Scotland and, when time, space and cash all neatly coincide, my plan is to build a layout of... ...St Cyrus station, on the Montrose to Brechin branch. I see that there's been a fair bit of chat already on the site about this particular branch line, all of which has been very informative. In fact, I'm amazed at the amount of information available about this quiet railway which happened to benefit from its coastal route, picturesque stations and villages (and I'm obliged to say the best scenery!). We're between properties just now, so when I'll get to make a start on the layout, I have no idea. My initial plan is to start with the buildings and, armed with OS maps, lots of photos and - hopefully - drawings from the National Records of Scotland I'm piecing together as much information as possible. So far I've almost pieced together views from all angles of the station building and platform, have some information on the goods shed and adjacent loading stage, and will be back in St Cyrus later this month when I can survey what's left of the site (not a lot). I can remember that when I was in my late teens in 1990 the goods yard was still there - without buildings - but lacking foresight, I didn't take any photographs... Anyhow, I'll go back to lurking and, all being well, I might have something to report back at some stage! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Welcome aboard, and hope you enjoy your stay on board. Scottish sound good- esp your planned part of the world- its a bit of a neglected area, so look forward to reports on your progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Welcome to the forum. It looks like you have a plan, so good luck with it and keep us posted. You will find plenty of advice and inspiration on here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted May 9, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hello and welcome, That's a great plan, that is to start with research and then build the buildings. Not much space, or money, required and you will have something to show for all your hard work. Plus you will be honing your skills for when you do lay track in anger. And, for sure, we would all like to see progress posted here. Enjoy your stay in RMweb land, Kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bon Accord Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 pentland, Good choice! My long term aim is to build a model of Johnshaven, which as you know was two stations up the line and where as a youngster I'd spend my summers with my Grandfather. Last year I walked from Bervie to Montrose along the line of the trackbed (as far as possible), and there isn't much left in the St Cyrus area - the embankment which once ran across the fields to the North of the village is slowly but surely being removed by the local farmer and the station site has predictably gone over to housing, as has those in Johnshaven and Gourdon. I've always thought this line would have been absolutely perfect from a preservationists point of view. What period are you going for? In BR days the passenger service was worked by ex CR 0-4-4T tanks, but this finished in 1951. As I'm sure you're aware the goods traffic was invariably J37 heaven, with the occasional grease driven engine thrown in (I have seen a photo of a class 20 on North Water viaduct). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Thanks for the welcomes, everybody. One thing that I can promise at the moment is that progress will be slow, owing to work, travel and a lack of a house! In terms of the era, the late period of St Cyrus (mid 50s until closure in the 60s) is most attractive to me, though judging by the photographs, other than become a little bit tired looking, the station didn't change very much over the decades - nor the buildings immediately surrounding the station until new housing developments appeared in the 90s. I've seen lots of photos of the J37s, mainly on the railtours or goods services, but haven't seen any photos of the ex-CR tanks yet. I was thinking just the other day how bizarre it is to consider that St Cyrus once had Class 20s passing through! I'm kicking myself for not taking photos back in the 90s whilst the goods yard was more or less there, and the platform was still visible. I'm pretty certain that the old loading stage was still evident, with Bervie's recycling area being the last example. The last vestige of the railway that I know of, apart from the Beach Road bridge, is the station fencing at the footpath leading up to the road bridge. Jim - I'm looking forward to watching your progress with Johnshaven. Both Johnshaven and Gourdon stations were in nice locations for modelling. Don't know if you've seen this film of the line, with the omnipresent J37 - Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 I'll start-up a thread on St Cyrus, but in the meantime I've received a 1948 copy of Railway Magazine - an eBay purchase - which has an article on, and five photos of, the M&BR. It has a bit of information on the 1946 services, and a cracking photo of a North British Railway C15 sitting at Bervie Station with a couple of carriages. This is a nice bit of closing the circle, as I have an O gauge C15 or C16 - not sure which - scratchbuilt in the 70s and 80s by my dad, and it's this model which rekindled my interest in building a model railway. I'm unlikely to have room for an O gauge layout, but all the same it's great to see a C15 on the line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcm@gwr Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Hello pentland, Welcome to the forum. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted May 11, 2013 Author Share Posted May 11, 2013 Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium 45156 Posted May 28, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 28, 2013 A belated welcome aboard from me too. Regards Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted May 28, 2013 Author Share Posted May 28, 2013 Ta! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nth Degree Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Another belated welcome! Sounds like a cracking plan you have and I'll look out for your layout thread. I'm a fan of Class 15s too and I'd love to see a pic of your model if you have one to hand? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 Thank you! I haven't been on the site in a while owing to work etc, but here's a photo of the C16 (or C15?). Excuse the dust - it's been stored in a cupboard for a few years and has only now seen the light of day. With a bit of luck it'll be either on display or in use later this year. Sitting behind it is a Gauge 1 live steam LNER Q6 (I think - will have to research!), the running of which is going to be another long-term project. I have made some progress on St Cyrus though - producing drawings of the station building, and surveying the station road bridge. It's not much progress, but hopefully that will improve over time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 Though I haven't been posting on the site, I have been getting massive inspiration from the layouts here. We still haven't solved our house 'problem' and I'm still working most of the time, but in my free time I've been continuing my research into the layout even though its birth looks as far away as ever. I'm constantly amazed at the number of photos that were taken of the M&BR; for such a rural and quiet line, it certainly attracted a lot of photographs. As there seem to be at least two potential M&BR layouts in the pipeline, I wonder if a specific thread might be in order as 'mutual aid' for the research? As I delve into St Cyrus station, the questions continue to increase. A new photographic find usually answers a couple of questions, but throws up another couple. Typical mysteries are: I have a photo (from the NBR Study Group, I think) showing point rodding appearing from under the platform; there's no signal box, so was there a ground frame or were points controlled from inside the station building? I've pieced together photos of the goods yard, but not a lot about the goods shed - I can see the back, but not the front! There's a nice shot of Bervie in the 30s showing a hoist; I'm assuming that St Cyrus had identical equipment. And so it goes on... One nice find is a shot of Johnshaven Station with a Scammel Scarab on the platform: unless it came by train, that'd have been some journey up the A90 from Montrose! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 As yet another book has arrived - 'Angus Railway Group, Steam Album Volume 2' - as does another photo of a non-RTR locomotive. In this case, it's a North British Railway G4 crossing the River Esk on the magnificent viaduct. If ever there was a railway location devoid of ready-to-run stock... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 now this has intrigued me as visit the Arbroath /Montrose area two or three times a year have visited bridge of dunn and the caledonian but didnt know this existed have walked along parts of the line from stvigeans thats now a footpath Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pentland Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 There unfortunately isn't a lot to see these days. The two viaducts - Lower North Water Bridge viaduct and Den Fenella viaduct - are intact, as are most of the bridges, and the track bed can still be traced for a fair amount of the line. Very little exists of the station sites nowadays, and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't photograph the St Cyrus goods yard whilst it existed... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 now this has intrigued me as visit the Arbroath /Montrose area two or three times a year have visited bridge of dunn and the caledonian but didnt know this existed have walked along parts of the line from stvigeans thats now a footpath Close same region different railway, St Vigeans goes to Bridge of Dun then on to the Kinnaber Junction, The line to Inverbervie comes from Broomfield junction in Montrose. Mr B Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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