Echo

The National Library of Scotland holds Ordnance Survey maps at 5 ft to 1 mile for greater London. The relevant sheet probably just shows the signal box projecting from the retaining wall That would give you a start on scaling the building.

I suspect it was a one-off. Maybe the GERS could help? I like the solar panel on the roof.

I have walked the line a few times now. It must have been very atmospheric in the good old days, before global warming Looking forward to seeing this one progress

A posher diagram I am desperately trying to think of a silly French-sounding name for the layout with little success. 'Pôtes Noudelles' is about the best I can think of so far.

Further refinement of the design has taken place and I am now happy enough to build it. That doesn't rule out further changes, of course! This shows the scenic area displayed over a map. All of the vertical track in the lower half of the diagram would be underground. and this is the overall plan, without the map. The overall size is around 2ft wide and 1 metre deep - necessary to hide trains and trams outside the scenic part of the layout in all 4 directions. A reasonably wide frontage would allow the display of photos etc and an explanation of how the funicular was operated. Trams would be serviced by traversers and the line to the main station by a cassette system. The obligatory turnout is on the tramway. Here's the photos again just to complete the picture...

Studio Scale Models do a kit, but that is 150 Euros and you still have to buy wheels, motor, gearbox and assemble it and paint it. http://www.studio-scale-models.com/j15.shtml For such a specialised model, the OO Works model is reasonable value for money really.

A first stab at the track plan. Light blue trackwork is hidden track. I have replaced the wagon turntable with a sector plate, which should make shunting infinitely easier. Just an idea at the moment. Whilst the main viewing position would be from the RH end, a reasonable view might be obtainable from the bottom side too. I can form a better opinion when the layout is being built. Lots still to work out, including what to do with the tramways off the scenic part of the layout......but I feel I am getting somewhere! The main funicular will be operated by gravity and a rope made of cotton thread. I should be able to operate the terminating funicular with a motorised loco as the gradient on its track doesn't start until it gets into the tunnel. I am thinking of a powered steam tram loco for the wagon shuttle between the funicular and the main line. Not sure about the street tramways yet - depends on the period I model to some degree. Might even be steam powered. Just to clarify, this will be 2mm scale with 9.42mm gauge trackwork. Everything will pretty well have to be scratchbuilt anyway, so it makes sense. As to the period of the model, I am torn between inter-war and mid to late C19. Stock may well be different to that running in Lausanne. I quite fancy something a little more French for some reason. I am still studying photos and other information on the Internet to work out exactly how everything should be operated, but I am slowly getting a good insight. An explanation will follow in due course.

Did a bit more research this evening, including finding more pictures and a bit about how the line was operated. This is totally different in all sorts of ways to anything I have tried before, so maybe an ideal subject for the DJLC layout. Here's a nice photo, though I would be able to get little of it in the model The funicular station is just to the left of and behind the tram. Lots of interesting operational issues to sort out first though - like how to shunt the wagons, for example.

I was looking back over some very old ideas this afternoon, as it was raining heavily outside. This one could just be the smallest, weirdest DJLC idea so far... It is the station of the Lausanne-Ouchy Railway, directly opposite the main railway station in Lausanne - a standard gauge funicular that carried wagons as well as passengers. There was a link to the main line across the Place de la Gare, via a small turntable. This one would have to be viewed end-on from the Place de la Gare, as in the photo below. A turnout would have to be conjured up to fit the rules, but it would be fairly easy to fit one in. To complete the madness, I could move the location a short distance north to the Duchy of Grand Fenwick, complete with knights in shining armour. The craziest thing of all is that it might actually be a perfectly workable idea

.........or alternatively, model just the station throat. York old station was another idea I considered. The bit from the city walls to the overall roof is almost exactly spot on for the DJLC, if you exclude the goods shed and a couple of sidings in the foreground.

Sorry folks, but I have decided to develop Sadley Knott (AKA Dudley) as a long term layout, free from the constraints of the DJLC. I think I will feel much happier building an extended version right from the start. I will probably set up a new topic or blog for it - but only after a lot more planning and research etc. Planning a layout both for the DJLC and as an extended version for later on at the same time was doing my head in. Just too many complications and compromises! In the meantime I am never short of ideas, so a new DJLC idea will appear here in a while. My latest thinking is that the DJLC offers an opportunity/excuse to try something just that little bit different - or maybe very different! Not just the layout, but the stock as well. This time, I hope to design something just to fit the DJLC rules and not for modification later on. Should make life much simpler - and hopefully a little more laid back!

Had another look. The best fit for the first word is definitely 'ASHES'. I am pretty sure now that the other mystery word is 'STOREKEEPERS'

Nice idea - still spelt Guilford though

Looks more like 'signalmans' than 'stationmasters'

I suggest the first word is ASHES

Here's the latest track plan. I got my estimate of the width wrong in my last post - the width is pretty much the same as it always was, so I could only model as far as the retaining wall at the back for the DJLC and no further. That is fine. I have subtly moved a few turnouts so that tiebars don't end up under scenery. Otherwise, this version is pretty true to the 1963 prototype. The white area shows the scenic bit for the DJLC. The yellow area roughly show where the baseboard would extend to. The greyed out area would not exist in the DJLC version. At the LHS I would have to move the station buildings slightly to the right to allow half of the footbridge roof to be modelled. This is an apex roof, so the model would look odd without any roof showing at all. At the RHS of the scenic area, I would have to model a temporary retaining wall and bridge girder, to be replaced by a model of the real bridge and retaining wall in due course. If only we were allowed another 150mm in length! If I were building this purely for the DJLC I could probably live with the compromises. The more I look at the photos of the real thing though, the more convinced I am that it would make a far more satisfying model with the full yellow area modelled - plus a wider area at the front and rear too. In fact, all of that plus modelling the full width of the real road bridge on the right and just a tiny amount of the cutting beyond would make my perfect model - all on a board around 1 metre long..

Checking up on some BR-era track changes, I came across some 1960s 1:1,250 scale maps on a well known map site. I hadn't noticed these before, so suspect they are fairly new. The quality of the scans seems much better than with others on the site, so I indulged in digital copies covering the whole station area and the cutting leading up to the tunnel. From these I shall produce the absolute definitive plan for the model. These 'modern' maps have 1/10 KM squares drawn on them, so it is relatively easy to check the accuracy. Perhaps inevitably, the proportions are subtly different to other maps I have inspected. The area I plan to model looks marginally longer than previously estimated, but also slightly narrower. The former is a bit of a pain, but the latter is very good news. It means I can model a bit of scenery beyond the retaining wall at the back of the diorama. The map suggests I got one or two track details etc. very slightly wrong on my previous track plan. With that and the marginally different dimensions from the 1963 map, I plan to redraw the track plan from scratch. As Stuart suggests, there is a lot of modelling involved. I am looking at this as my ultimate 2mm model railway though, rather than just for the DJLC. The extra effort should be worthwhile.

Yes, Norwich was cut off from the outside world for a while

There seems to be less than nothing on M&GN and constituents' carriages on the web. I guess the E&M and previous companies could have owned a pretty varied roster. Are there even any books covering the subject?

Thanks Don. As I hope to extend the scenic bit after the DJLC, there needs to be parallel track placed where it should be for at least 1-2 coach lengths beyond the current scenic area in both directions. The current baseboard covers that area. That means I can put the cassettes and any deviation from the real track plan on fiddle yard boards either side of the scenic board. If I curve the running lines slightly towards the back at different radii, I can achieve the required separation without affecting the way trains look on the scenic area. Also, flaring the lines out would leave gaps for me to get my clumsy hands in to insert or remove cassettes. It also means that if I ever decided to extend the scenic area even more, I can just replace the non-scenic board/s without affecting the scenery already built. That, at least, is the theory!

Britain From Above suggests a maltings building just across the river from Norwich loco shed with buttresses a bit like those in the mystery photo. Unfortunately the building was largely destroyed by bombing in WW2 so no longer has a roof in the BFA photos. See https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW024415 or https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW024401

The North Staffordshire graduated to LNWR styling after the square cornered era. I have looked through several books and see nothing that shows a similar kind of styling to the photo at all. My betting is still that its some kind of family saloon, or similar. It appears to have a compartment at the LHS as the view through the windows is very dark and a saloon on the right, as you can see windows and scenery beyond. The carriage looks in really good condition too - maybe newly-painted even?

What about the Corris Railway then? Taken over by the GW in 1929.

Railways that weren't grouped surely form a group in themselves, if unofficial. This group could not have existed before the grouping.

Don, I drew the plan up in Templot a few weeks ago. It is generally quite straightforward. Just one single slip, a 3-way tandem turnout and a curious outside slip where the slip part is the (almost) straight road. The rest are just ordinary turnouts. I modified things slightly to avoid getting point blades in inaccessible places, but otherwise it is pretty faithful to the original. The big question is what happens 'off the pitch', so to speak. At the platform end, (RHS on the above diagram) several tracks are in close proximity, making cassettes awkward to fit in. I may need to make the non-scenic section longer so I can flare the tracks out enough to squeeze parallel cassettes in simultaneously. Some of the cassettes will need to stay in place for longish periods, as trains will inevitably be parked part on the cassette and part in the scenic area - particularly the GW up platform, where all trains waiting at the platform will park over the twilight zone and beyond.