Dale

I used to play on those old barges when I was a kid. No doubt health and safety would go crackers these days. I have had another play and even stretched the front out a bit to make some more space for the canal scene. The canal running alongside the railway is really important to the layout - the old and the new as it were, but I am struggling to make things seem natural. Canals didnt like to meander much but I need to exit off the front of the board. The route also copy's the route of the river cam in Dursley (almost?) The locks are Ryeford Double Lock's. A few changes to loop and platform lengths too, as well as removing a crossover.

were these the same Trow's (barges?) that are driven up on the mud near purton? D.

I will get on to that asap. I wanted the mill to lay along the canal against the long wall but need to orientate it to give concealment to the scenic break. Certainly something to play around with. there are plenty of cloth mills with direct boat access but it's an area I need to read more about. You learn all sorts of things when building model railways. My idea was the Mill would be suggestive of the area - there were a lot of wool mills, it was the main reason for the laying of the line, before the arrival of Listers etc. There were also mills at Cam and Uley. The canal is placed where the river was in Dursley, but a canal is again suggestive of the area. The merchants of Dursley looked at Stroud with envy.

At Dursley it was a facing point but there was no head shunt. The main line was used as it was 1 engine in steam but here, to add more entertainment, I have embellished an added more features. I want to keep some of the flavor of the prototype but i need to entertain joe and his public I will look at the diamond/single slip though, makes sense on this plan. See attached for a quickie. D.

I take your point about headshunt size. try this on for size...

I have managed to make a bit of space at the front of the layout but I am not sure how my canal and mill scene would fit in any more.

OK, I have played around a bit and made the changes suggested, but it has come at the price of the canal and cottages which were set along the front of the scene. There inst room for them anymore sadly but see what you think? D.

A bit of development - an alternative scenic break with the track being view blocked by the mill building and trees. have simplified the engine sheds area a bit too. D.

My plan for the front is to model the Thames & Severn/Stroudwater Navigation with the lock gates at Wallbridge. Obviously not Dursley but its the flavour of the area I am after. Like Stroud Wallbridge, you can see from the plan that passenger services play second fiddle to freight workings. D.

Would any of the resident track plan prototype guru's care to cast a glance over this plan? The track basis is Dursley but with added MPD - a bit of prototype mixed with a bit of fiction. Any obvious mistakes or issues? D.

Hi folks. I may be blind but looking at the brake end of my Hornby model, I don't see a bracket to hang a lamp on. Now on a track with joint running, I believe that a lamp would have to be displayed appropriate to the regional practice of the owners of the next box. I.e., the next section is operated by the GWR so discs off and lamps on... but where to put it??? D.

Sloppy-ploppy??? really Tony, shame on you Dale.

H1414 it is then sir, many thanks for the guidance. D.

Would H1413 be the right model to become that engine Dave? I would love an excuse to have two.... One black e/crest, one green l/crest. D.

Many thanks Dave, looking forward to getting my paws on one. Just amended my pre-order list with hattons. I had ordered H1413 last night as it looked 'reeeel pwrety' (as cleetus might say) but grubby black it shall be. D.

Afternoon all, Apologies for not having my own source books to check up on this question myself. I would like to pre-order one of these smashing little engines with a mind to renumbering the model to 1441, a long time Gloucester engine. Could any one advise me of a suitable base model which would have the correct combination of top feed, whistle etc. I imagine given it's closeness in numerical sequence, H1413 Engine number 1444 would be a sister engine but I suspect things are not so simple. I am really looking for an engine for the Berkeley Road to Lydney run in the late 50's. Many thanks. D.

I wish there was a way I could block this clown's auctions from coming up in all my searches but alas i have yet to find the blanket block seller button, just the search by search option

Perhaps a complete contrast, something great and possibly western?

Hi Alan, I just got my new Bachmann 43 before coming away to work so it's not even been out of the box yet. looking at yours though (we got the same one) it will be first on my bench when i get home again. D.

Going to convert to the Layout Thread option to encourage the feedback and advice I will need as the layout progresses. Thanks for your comments gents. D.

I'll news has arrived. A friend has pointed out that Barnstaple Junction was LSWR and not GWR so I may be building a new TT ????

Thanks Bob. I have made a few amendments to the plan, mostly adding detail. If any one can offer some signalling advice I would welcome the input. I wonder if the signal I have labeled 'UP ADV START' would actually be a fixed distant? I think initially the open space at the front of the layout will be pastureland. It scenically supports the farm feature and is quick to model. I may add a village scene later as time allows but the field option is a quicker road to completion. I want to have the layout ready for exhibition in a basically complete state in 2 years. I wonder if the village scene would make it all look too cluttered but time will tell. I am also at a loss as to what to put behind the station buildings to blend into the back scene board. The whole rear aspect is a sloping bank, giving more evidence that the scene is a vale scene, but I cant run tree's all the way along the back. What I dont want is any hard lines against the 2 D backscene... I guess its going to be a hedge or something. D.

I think I am just about there with the track plan. I know there is nothing original or fresh about it, but the plan meets my requirements for operational interest and plenty of scenic space. The theory is a wooded valley and a farming market village in the depths of the countryside. Off scene, the single track branches much like Bodmin, with one branch meeting the main line and the other passing a china clay quarry, a couple of small villages and eventually at a river queside. All this opens up the Bodmin through traffic, shunting and run around's that will make operation interesting. It would have been nice to have seen the branch separate in scene, with two bridges over the river, but i couldnt find enough space to make it look right. The presence of the turntable is still in question. There are a lot of plus points:- audiences like to see it working, it add's more operational interest and with a hefty pinch of salt, opens up light engine running in turns from the nearest sheds (and thus an excuse to run one of my beloved Hall's with a toad in tow). The TT is a Cowans and Sheldon Metalsmith brass kit. Whilst the GWR had a preference for over girder types, they wern't exclusive. The turntable at Barnstaple Jct was of the very type I have (if it can be lifted from my old and ill fated layout) and I would rather reuse what is a lovelly TT I already have than build another one.

Mike, drop me a pm will you. Don't think my emails are getting through to you. Dale.

Ahh, that was very much a typo, should have written red. D.