Vardnoodleblast

Thanks for the in-depth explanation. I feel their pain but rest assured I remain patient, non-frustrated and a loyal supporter of Kernow! I have enough frustration with Apple computer products, I can't spare any for anyone else! the next time I pass through California I intend to detour to Cupertino with a large garden gnome with the intent of inserting it in their CEO. Fortunately I found just such an item protruding from a gentleman who apparently has or had a railway modelling white metal kit making (or accumulating) business and interpersonal skills modelled on those of a scud missile. On the label it said 'A Gift from Cornwall'...................

Yes, I was a shareholder of SLP and 30064 was steamed at Liss during the tenure. I had the pleasure of a turn at the regulator there. I think the story of the SSC has been recorded elsewhere so I won't reiterate that. On one occasion a DMU excursion from the WR stopped at Liss and the passengers had the opportunity to ride behind 30064 in the Maunsell BCK 6686 and the two Bulleid CK's, one Bulleid Society, the other belonging to Henry Frampton-Jones. The DMU was taken into the LMR exchange sidings where the coaches were normally berthed. The train then ran up to the exchange siding junction and then reversed to Liss platform. Not particularly a breathtaking scenic ride. I don't recall any SSC steam workings to Liss Forest Road. We did take a PW trolley up there on one occasion, recovered a sleeper and some other PW components and then returned to Liss by force of gravity. I recall it being quite an exciting ride as we had enough momentum to take us all the way to the SSC compound at Liss LMR platform! The stock berthed in the Exchange Sidings did suffer from minor vandalism as it was unprotected. The move to the Bluebell saw the eventual demise of the SLP but there we did have one members event and were able to drive 30064 on the headshunt at Horsted Carriage Shed. I was still at school at the time and turned up new hardwood buffer stocks for the SEC passenger brake 1601 (ex-Chasewater) on the lathe in my woodwork class. That was forty years ago! To my knowledge they were never fitted and must therefore, I presume, still reside in he van itself.

Thank-you for the insight on that matter. I am not interested in turning this thread into a 'whinge-athon' on pre-ordering. Personally I appreciate Kernow's entrepreneurial approach to providing LSWR / SR prototypes, be they loco, wagon, or signal box. Indeed, I do feel an obligation to demonstrate support for the initiative shown by acquiring one or multiple copies of the items produced for my stockpile even though incorporation in a layout may be some time away. I am and will continue to be patient, lack of arrival of an O2 is not going to stop the world rotating on its axis. However, I was just simply somewhat taken aback to read that new orders are being fulfilled in 24 hours (again, well done), and concerned that my order had fallen into a black hole. Given the gestation period of this project, and this would be a suggestion and not a complaint, it may have been an idea to send out a direct but bulk email when the first production models were received for distribution to all the pre-order customers simply to acknowledge the order was still in place and the process being conducted to effect delivery. That would be a nice, more personal touch that reinforces a sense of appreciation for support for the project and the patience exhibited. Yes, it does seem counter-intuitive that strict date order is not the criterion for despatch but the main point for me is the uncertainty that the order is still alive even though it's listed (recalling the issue with 2-BIL pre-orders with Hattons). That of course became a non-issue but the Kernow productions seem to be much more 'bespoke' and the risk on missing out maybe higher it seems. Patience is a virtue of mine but I don't subscribe to the view that "the meek shall inherit the Earth - if that's OK with everybody else" but to reiterate this is an observation, not a complaint!

USA 30064 was at the erstwhile Southern Steam Centre at Liss together with all the SLPCo rolling stock prior to the move to the Bluebell. Prior to that the loco was kept in the goods shed at Fareham. Stock listed as part of the SLP collection but belonging to member Mr. Henry Frampton-Jones, including the Bulleid CK went elsewhere. Maybe this post-dates the period of your interest being early 70's. SLP kept stock at Droxford on the closed Meon Valley line before the move to Fareham.

For those with an Isle of Wight O2 interest, I found the following essay on a net trawl. Penned in 1993 the author describes similar experiences to my own in the 1960's, travelling to the Island by train from Waterloo, followed by a 'bob-about-on-the-briney' and a tram ride down Ryde Pier to the Esplanade. There I was able to watch a procession of O2's descend to St Johns Tunnel to Ventnor and Cowes, never to be forgotten. http://www.jaggers-heritage.com/resources/Isle%20of%20Wight%20holidays.pdf

Thanks for the post. As I have purchased items from them in the past couple of weeks, pre-committed to the '71' etc., they have my up to date card details on file and my email address. I have not contacted Kernow as I observed the 'no hassle' request. So, just a bit surprised to read that new orders are being met promptly (good, well done!) while I wait patiently on.

Interesting! Ordered 30182 plus two more variants in 2010 and no sign of it yet! Hmmm! Patience is a virtue.

That would be the Charmouth Tunnel - it is still there but bypassed by the new A35 alignment now. A quick read around indicates this and the Beaminster tunnel were built during a period when a number of turnpikes were being built in Dorset and they were a result of that process, giving easier graded routes between towns and villages. Elsewhere in the district the Seaton & Beer Railway (i.e. the Seaton Branch) constructed a toll bridge over the River Axe at Seaton. It was one of the first structures (including the toll house) constructed in concrete. It was completed in 1877, two years before responsibility for roads passed to local authorities and turnpike construction ended, at least until the advent of toll roads in 'modern' times.

My pseudo history assumption is the route would have been single track with selective pre-investment in doubling in a similar way to the Barnstaple Junction to Coleford Junction line. I know Beaminster has featured in many model railway schemes. In reality it stubbornly managed to avoid connection to the rest of the country by rail despite the logic of its location. There is also a kind of irony in that the road tunnel on the A3066 north of Beaminster looks for all the world like a former rail tunnel! Built in 1830 it pre-dated the railways in the area by quite a way.

All a bit of a commercial chess game with a big overprint of geology. The choice of reaching Exeter via Dorchester or Salisbury was made on the fact that surveys by Locke showed the 'coastal route would necessitate steep gradients, tunnels and curves - the Y&E alignment obviously made more commercial sense plus the economic potential of the inland route was probably superior. So, no surprise on the choice made. The Seaton Branch following the natural grain of the land would lead to Shute village and thus a connection made at Axminster would end up duplicating the main line alignment anyway. Similarly, going from Charmouth to Axminster would be an easier construction task going inland at Charmouth rather than via the coast largely due to the task of climbing from sea level to some pretty high elevations surrounding Lyme before dropping down to Axminster. That's before any debate about construction along the high water mark through Black Ven. Fortunately in the model world we can opt for the spectacular as such a line would surely have been. In my scheme the steep gradients from Lyme Regis near sea level to Axminster will be an excuse to introduce banking operations for SO westbound trains and exotics just because they take my fancy!

Good! Didn't want to be sitting on a source of information that may or may not have been discovered on the web. I follow your topic with interest as my own layout aspiration (in planning) is for a Y&E station that is a junction located in the Seaton Junction - Crewkerne section. The design envisages a connection with the Dorchester-Exeter line. The core track layout concept is broadly Barnstaple Junction with the Dorchester line being substituted for the Ilfracombe line. The centre road allows for down-fast trains to pass stopping services or freights similar to Seaton Junction. The station buildings are ready to go on the layout, the Axminster buildings on the down side and in the up direction there is an island platform building, freelance design but based on components of Robert Antell's published Topsham Station drawing. My design uses the stretched single storey component with a run of canopy on both mainline and loop elevations. The implication from a pseudo history perspective is that the track layout was 'as-is' at the time the line originally opened and not a rebuild as at Seaton Junction. The rationale for the junction layout and traffic needs for loops etc. is that the line to Dorchester joined at this point. Historically that is stretching things as the extension from Salisbury was chosen over and above the route from Dorchester. However, what if the Dorchester line was built as a secondary route to capture Bridport? Being aware of that original plan to extend from Dorchester to Exeter, I sought information on the routing of the proposal to little avail until I discovered this link: http://www.freshford.com/railway_charmouth.htm Among the schemes shown herein is a proposed route via Bridport and Charmouth to Lyme Regis. What makes this interesting is that the Charmouth to Lyme route was via a coastal route. So my concept is that my junction is probably in the Axminster-Chard section with the branch descending to sea level in Lyme Regis and thence via the coast to Charmouth. I intend to model the junction and as a separate module, a section of the coastal line emerging from a tunnel beneath Lyme and curving to follow the cliff line. From an operational perspective it will add interest for working diversionary traffic, Summer Saturday only trains, etc. Maybe unlikely that the axle loading would permit an MN but it is a work of fiction anyway! Anyway, I hope you are able to make progress with your part of the Y&E. It serves as a 'nag' for me to get on with my own!

Wondered if you had found this website? Includes some views outside and inside the dairy. http://umborne.org/2011/07/seaton-junction Hopefully of use /inspirational!

False alarm - evenly spaced driving wheel axle centres rules out an MN. Back to the wishlists / Golden Arrow / kits / conversions / scratchbuilding...........

Riddles? Is that a second order clue???? E.J Thribb (19 1/2)

As a 'yoof' I had a brief encounter with the Wimbledon Model Railway Club (in the early '70's I think it was) and at the very tail-end of their show which took place at Latimer Road Baths I was permitted to run one of my own locomotives on the Worting Junction layout. It was a much treasured Wrenn WC carefully renumbered as 35006 "Peninsular & Oriental S.N.Co." with numbers and plates from an expedition uptown to Kings Cross Models . And so for the very first time that I exhibited any piece of my rolling stock I proudly drove 35006 out light engine from the fiddle yard and over the flyover in front of an audience of just two people. The adult of the pair made a very audible and dismissive comment - "Hmmm! A short Merchant Navy". Clearly was a member of that species that get's off on their own importance, indistinguishable from the rest of us apart from the fact these people never ever suffer from haemorrhoids as they are all perfect (in the words of Steve Martin in the 'Man with Two Brains) 'azaelias' - ( ).

Romsey fits the Type 1 signalbox need - suggest Googling Romsey Signalbox images to confirm.

Switching the discussion from the Honiton Station: Platform views thread, in the search for the perfect Yeovil & Exeter layout inspiration it is also worth remembering that stations on the route in time went through evolution with traffic growth, Seaton Junction being a prime example. Going back to the original track layouts can offer operational inspiration. For example, Axminster's layout saw simplification over time with the removal of the goods line from the Lyme Branch to the down-side yard and a crossover from the down yard to the up through involving a diamond crossing of the down main. I have read that a re-building of Axminster was in prospect at one time with the station buildings planned to be located on an over-bridge adjacent to the existing road over-bridge. Island platforms with loops would provide additional operating flexibility. Architecturally, it would probably have looked like the rebuild at Templecombe, quite modern / art deco and only missing conductor rail from the scene. A similar story to Seaton station. So a 'what might have been' on an actual location as opposed to an additional station. One method I have used aid the thought process is to take photocopies of the wee maps in the Middleton Press book, enlarge/reduce so the scale is the same. Then I literally cut & paste elements of several stations together using the double track main line as the common datum to see what 'floats the boat'. For a concept station on Honiton Bank, study of the down yard design at Crewkerne could be relevant. The LSWR appears to have minimised the need for expenditure on earthworks (due to gradient) upon which to accommodate the yard by resorting to kick-backs (non-monetary!) and diamond crossings to make efficient use of the space. From a layout design perspective that is helpful if you need a compact layout as well as being operationally challenging.

Dawlish Breach: England Cut-Off Although I suspect the political interest in the Dawlish breach and a diversionary route will last until approximately one nanosecond after the next general election result, the debate on here is very interesting and it would be good to think that there would be a sensible review by NR of all options to redevelop the rail network through Devon and Cornwall. I recall taking a daytime Penzance-Paddington HST some years ago and at some point en route in Cornwall, from my rear-facing seat, seeing the aft power car and most of the train out of the left hand side window squealing its way around a tight curve on bull-head rail. How that could be left unaddressed in an age where transit time determines commerciality? Look across the Channel to see the propagation of TGV service to their NW Atlantic Coast for example. I would agree that any putative investment in the ex-LSW route could not simply be on the basis as a diversionary option, so, let's look to a bigger vision for rail in and to the SW! Do a proper job of reinstating and improving the LSW route to Plymouth via Okehampton and extend the franchise to that large unused terminal facility at Waterloo. Yes, more re-instatement of double track on the Salisbury - Exeter road, but put the route back to doing the job it was created for. No reversals required! That does not imply downgrade to the coastal route at all. Noting the fact that passenger journeys today exceed those of the pre-Beeching network and every re-opening seems to generate far more traffic than projected, one might think of it as creating more capacity in the Plymouth and east market. Such a move could deliver significant economic stimulus and route options (how about a Dartmoor Circular service?). Noting comments from the SW business community about the projected cost of lost business resulting from the current closure, the cost-benefit analysis in favour is being set out by the hour and this situation has a very high probability of being repeated in years to come. Good luck to the NR team taking care of the immediate problem. Awful conditions to be carrying out the task in. On an earlier post I saw the concept of a bailey type bridge being dismissed as an option. However, I recently saw just such a solution in use on Austrian Railways where a remote area, significant stone-arch under-bridge had collapsed and a steel span had been placed over the gap, overstepping the abutment walls by some way. On a subsequent visit the whole lot had been replaced by a new reinforced concrete bridge. Also, many moons ago while gainfully employed by the DCE Wimbledon, I recall we had large stocks of military trestling in reserve for just such events. This kit played a role in doing rapid repairs to blitzed bridges in WWII and I believe, some of it was still in place and functioning in the 70's. Different scenario to that in Devon though.