Small Western Region urban terminus

[TomJ]

Not sure which is the best place to put this, but I'll try here (mods please move if not). Reading this months Railway Modeller I have been inspired by Ian Futers plans, esp Newcastle Haymarket. I've got a spare baseboard, a few points left over and fancy knocking something up quickly.

 

It ought to be ex WR (as that's my interest and all my spare stuff like signals) and 70s to 80s BR blue - as that's my stock. But I'm more familiar with the GWR branchlines. Where on their system might a small, camped urban terminus be found? Bristol, West London or Midlands? Stretching things even further were there any examples where such a station might have had short l

[Fat Controller]

Swansea, Neath, Cardiff, Pembrey and Burry Port? 

Swansea had a terminus for the Rhondda and Swansea Bay, just around the corner from the Midland's St Thomas.

Neath had Canalside

Cardiff still has Cardiff Bay

Pembrey and Burry Port had the BP&GV station on the other side of the road from the GWR one.

Then there's all the Valley ones, such as Merthyr, Rhymney and Treherbert.

In London, don't forget Brentford.

They may not all be 'urban' (though Burry Port had a fine cinema building between it and the GWR line..), but all are far from the normal idea of a GWR branchline..

p.s. the topic heading has come up twice. Could a Mod amalgamate them, please?

[28XX]

Birmingham Moor Street?

[terry.ecmr]

I had the same dilemma. Decided on West London. Inspired by Minories and various other similar ideas.

 

Have a look at my website

ecmr.webs.com

 

One thing to note.......no visible points on the layout!

 

I'm at various exhibitions later this year and next. If any are within your area come and have a look and a chat.

 

Terry

[rovex]

I suppose the examples given do raise ther question of what you consider small. Newcastle Haymarket is simply two tracks, which is about as small as you can get. Some of the examples are I suspect still relatively large.

 

One station that occured to me, which started out large and has shrunk dramatically was Windsor. If modelling the 70/80s you would probably have lost all the freight side of the station and the considerable number of platforms would have been rationalised down. When I visited a couple of years ago I think it was down to one platform.

[br2975]

Cardiff (Clarence Road) double track leading into a single road platform.

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Intensive passenger service during the 50s and early 60s - auto trains using mainly 64XX panniers, but occasionally 4575 tanks.

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Loco hauled passenger trains employing 41XX, 56XX, 57XX and BR Cl.3 tanks amongst others.

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Also Derby suburban DMU sets.

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Freight trains serving the adjoining Curran Engineering  and Glamorganshire Canal(side) businesses would run around in the station.

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Our club built an exhibition layout of Clarence Road, and another layout later of the nearby Bute Road stations.

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Brian R

[roundhouse]

They may be to far East for you but how about Uxbridge Vine Street (could pretend it lasted into the 70's) or Henley On Thames before it became a single track stub?

[TomJ]

Thanks for all the ideas - lots to research and look up! I'm not planning on copying a prototype but more looking for inspiration for where it might have occurred. It will be a very simple two platform terminus but hemmed in behind lots of retaining walls etc.

I see it as a minor station in a town/city, but not the main city station if that makes sense?

[terry.ecmr]

Thanks for all the ideas - lots to research and look up! I'm not planning on copying a prototype but more looking for inspiration for where it might have occurred. It will be a very simple two platform terminus but hemmed in behind lots of retaining walls etc.

I see it as a minor station in a town/city, but not the main city station if that makes sense?

That's pretty much what I did with 'Earl's Court'

 

It's great fun as you can design it around your own ideas and use whatever stock you fancy.

Hope you have fun building it.

[Andy Kirkham]

How about Bristol St. Philips?

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/6447422489/

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20654194@N07/2054663457/in/photolist-48yFS2-48yFT6-48CHrU-48MHkd-495LiU-4aAyR1-4aATFD-4caBBs-4cjEce-4dTPeC-4fdtyR-4fqmGV-4fwERN-4sjGeH-4yr9wh-4Db13J-4J6bTC-58Sktw-5cizMG-5EwmFt-5Wk4TH-648mys-64giMM-64kZdh-65YBa9-6coFeg-6coFf6-6goMZ2-6E7K2V-6JBJo5-784yoi-7853rc-788yX3-78aAsh-78ceqE-78dQhE-78nxdx-7ncZ5c-7tpLG8-a9sXeW-aPJJ5H-aCLw3a-8UKcbp-9HK23N-bZeMWQ-cMpVPC-8pV8bx-cM2dv9-azTLcr-bAnr6k-8AJNNQ

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20654194@N07/2055449234/in/photolist-48CHrU-48MHkd-495LiU-4aAyR1-4aATFD-4caBBs-4cjEce-4dTPeC-4fdtyR-4fqmGV-4fwERN-4sjGeH-4yr9wh-4Db13J-4J6bTC-58Sktw-5cizMG-5EwmFt-5Wk4TH-648mys-64giMM-64kZdh-65YBa9-6coFeg-6coFf6-6goMZ2-6E7K2V-6JBJo5-784yoi-7853rc-788yX3-78aAsh-78ceqE-78dQhE-78nxdx-7ncZ5c-7tpLG8-a9sXeW-aPJJ5H-aCLw3a-8UKcbp-9HK23N-bZeMWQ-cMpVPC-8pV8bx-cM2dv9-azTLcr-bAnr6k-8AJNNQ-cTkKiQ-bpTRRL

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20654194@N07/6003001620/in/photolist-a9sXeW-aPJJ5H-aCLw3a-8UKcbp-9HK23N-bZeMWQ-cMpVPC-8pV8bx-cM2dv9-azTLcr-bAnr6k-8AJNNQ-cTkKiQ-bpTRRL-7UJSqi-axUUin-cxfipu-bK2N4Z-aPKynT-dTBR3k-dLaXrQ-bw83qq-aL4c9Z-fruDMe-bvWgbw

[fender]

some variation of Plymouth Millbay, pretending it never got bombed/closed?

[Gwiwer]

An urban terminus" might be found in any of the larger cities with many good examples already offered.

 

Greenford gives scope for an interesting mix of operations with multiple levels, trains of different sizes (including a terminal bay) and a triangular layout for extra interest.  Given the number of railtours through there over the years almost anything could appear

 

Uxbridge Vine Street (mentioned above) was seldom busy but had a mix of passenger and parcels traffic at closure and freight in earlier times.

 

Reading Southern with the Thames Valley locals using it via a fictitious link as a terminus?

 

Not strictly Western Region and not lasting into the 1970s but Bath Green Park, already represented in the model world, has some scope for inspiration if not an actual prototype

 

Birkenhead Woodside was definitely urban and was the destination of WR trains from Paddington though again not BR Western Region

 

Yeovil Town was almost a terminus and so far as the timetable was concerned many trains terminated there no matter where they had come from.

 

Barnstaple (WR), Portishead and even Penzance can be considered urban termini and all see or saw a fascinating variety of traffic.

[Andy Kirkham]

Thanks for all the ideas - lots to research and look up! I'm not planning on copying a prototype but more looking for inspiration for where it might have occurred. It will be a very simple two platform terminus but hemmed in behind lots of retaining walls etc.

I see it as a minor station in a town/city, but not the main city station if that makes sense?

As well as St Philips that I mentioned above,Bristol might provide scope for such a fictitious terminus. Temple Meads has always been poorly sited for the city centre and its interesting to speculate on what sort of secondary terminus for local trains could have been built closer to the centre. One starting point might be to imagine that the Harbour Railway that ran behind Brunel's Old Station could have been adapted for passenger use, with an additional platform in Temple Meads at this point so that incoming local trains from Bath or Avonmouth could still serve the 'Hauptbahnhof'.

 

You might imagine that a passenger station has been provided at Redcliffe goods yard http://www.flickr.com/photos/20654194@N07/2056976798/in/photolist-48Lxxd-4fdREB-4fukU1-5NPW2p-6cphrz-78aAsh-8iSYHK-8Db3Qj-axEx9c - perhaps still a bit close to Temple Meads although it could be thought of as an overflow facility for TM. Alternatively, you could imagine the passenger service continuing through the tunnel under Redcliffe churchyard and emerging at Bathurst Basin http://www.flickr.com/photos/21678559@N06/3870378892/in/photolist-6U1GNy-788yX3-dWsp3V-f4YZHw-bk46KS-bAnr6x-ejYoCs-bCgsNn-8W39Ak-8WnKo5-dBeC2u-92v51x-dBeuEh-frDB5S-dBeubC-9NZk9b-8iSYHK-9NWAxP-dMTEbb-7UJoGk-di2wtg-bgKi1a-bkX5nW-9omucR-dogysk-7KGwV1-aqaJ7M-8CbwgT-9NqYXP-9omtH6-dDGfmx-arBkA2 . 

 

At that point the fictional railway might be imagined branching off to the right, crossing the Floating Harbour and coming to a terminus in the vicinity of Queen Square or Prince St.