JoeFerrito

This gets better and better every time I look at it! I know your initial thought on this plan was it was too "up to 11", but I'm sort of amazed by how much it tempts me! My one thought is that from looking at it, the goods platform and the top local platform don't have direct access to the down relief line – is that the sort of thing you might just imagine away with another crossover further along the line? Seems like it would be a fun exercise in the signal box trying to get traffic in and out of here at peak times!

Been contemplating that. I think something along those lines should be possible – would definitely make it a lot easier to run longer trains!

Took a shot at adapting @Peter Kazmierczak's sketch (which, again, was *lovely*, and I made a very loose adaptation!) and came up with this. Still have my 3-way point on the carriage siding which I probably don't need but sort of like the appearance of, and tried a wye into the goods depot yard. All roads are accessible from both the up and down lines which I like, and realistically this would probably still be using turnover engines, but I like the appearance of the releases plus their inherent benefit to make the goods shunting easier. I don't like the S-bends from the down line to P4 and P3 to the up line, but I don't know if that's a dealbreaker. Could also probably replace the slip off the carriage siding/relief road with a straight diamond, but again, not entirely sure. The goods yard is still set up as a kickback which probably isn't ideal, but it makes the shunting interesting! All that said, however, that "turned up to 11" design is incredibly interesting... there's definitely a lot going on, but I don't entirely hate the idea of the layout being super busy like that... decisions, decisions. Again, it would help if I was 100% set on exactly what I wanted, but I'm leaning more and more in the direction of "cramped, crowded & slightly crazy urban terminus!" Joey

This one is definitely speaking to me, to be honest with you! Might have to play around with that! Joey

Not a problem at all, Clive – really enjoying seeing those pictures!

Something along these lines, perhaps? Wondering if I could potentially fit the second goods siding in, but on the whole I like this better. I see what you mean about the curve doing a lot for the aesthetics – need to train my brain to think in something other than straight lines!

100% fair – I really struggle with designing stuff that looks organic. Maybe something like this, truncated upper platforms and shifting the points to the goods warehouse down? Would have to insert some sort of physical justification for that but that shouldn't be impossible to do.

Once more with feeling! Needed another single slip to make the lower platforms work – this way you can shunt off all the platforms using the up line, which with that just being a diamond you couldn't before, while still allowing an arrival into P3 and P4. Crossover added up top to make goods working a little more palatable – theoretically with the carriage siding/release road on the station now the pilot should still have plenty to do, especially with the thought of tender locos on some longer distance services. Trying out the three-way point for the pilot spur on the bottom – not sure how prototypical that would be, but I like the added spacing between the pilot spur and the points into P1/the release road. There are definitely a good amount of reverse curves here, but I'm not sure how to help that at this point! As you've all pointed out, this is more "Crutched Friars in vague spirit" by this point, but I have to say I don't mind the direction it's heading in. "Greyfriars" has a nice ring to it!

Fair enough! I guess I'd say any point during BR is probably acceptable for the era – I have some early crest stuff and I like Blood & Custard, but the collection's not advanced far along enough for that to be a deciding factor. It could definitely be set pre-BR, but I also run into the problem that I like a lot of the standard classes (more on the small side, but I could somehow squeeze a Britannia or Clan in here...). Diesels I can take or leave. As far as a passenger terminus goes (suburban, urban or otherwise) I like the idea of intensive in-and-out working of commuter trains, having the pilot move coaches around, etc., and I'm also intrigued by the possibility of building something with working signals. The non-passenger side of things isn't entirely necessary, but it would be nice to occasionally bring a short freight onto the layout to switch (er, guess that would be "shunt") a goods depot/warehouse. Location on the Midland Region is primarily again for stock reasons – I like Fairburns, Black 5s, Jinties, etc, but specifically where isn't super important to me. I'd like to convey the feel of a real-world location even if it's not 100% bang-on. I'm a freelancer in my American modeling, so I'm used to that sort of thing! I think I settled on this plan because I've always been intrigued by Minories but something about it just hasn't done it for me – I think it's having to swing the running lines up away from the platforms on the curve, while I know that gives you some advantages I've just never been 100% on the look. I'd like something with that general spirit, but perhaps with a little more flexibility for tender-engine operation, at least on one or two of the platforms. Sorry, I'm realizing none of this sounds particularly coherent, but I guess that's where I'm at!

And to be honest, much as I like the original plan, I think the flexibility offered by some sort of modded variation would be nice, especially if it allows for some more plausible operation of tender locos into the lower platforms. It also seems nice for the sake of allowing more parallel arrivals & departures rather than getting bottlenecked on the slip heading up to the top platforms. I don't think I mind the top two being dead-end roads to give the pilot some more work to do, though admittedly I'm not wild about the placement of the pilot spur. Not entirely sure how I feel about the whole goods shed/warehouse situation – that's obviously going to be a pain to shunt, but perhaps the relief road between the two bottom platforms makes that a little more logical? This is the same problem I've run into for a while doodling around with Minories, so it's great to hear some thoughts on this derivative plan! Joey

Because I can't leave well enough alone, thought I'd doodle with the idea of expanding the southern platforms a bit to allow a release road down the center. We're probably reaching the point of this not really being the original plan anymore, but to be honest I care less about that than having something that'll be interesting to play with, and theoretical express platforms could justify a Jubilee or Patriot or two...

Now that's intriguing! Seems to fit within the space if we call it a 12 foot board – I agree with removing that station building. Seems like all the pointwork in the throat can fit on a 6 foot board, which is a bit longer than I'd prefer but should be able to fit. And then the other 6 feet for the platforms could probably be split into two as well... I like that! As you say, it does have the problem of the reverse curves, but that's probably not insurmountable.

Thanks for all the responses so far! I'm envisioning this set sometime in the 50s, preferably on the Midland Region but not entirely sure where – London or something else. As far as available physical space, I've got roughly 16x2 feet to play with, though I could stretch it to 18. I'm still planning on designing it to be able to fold up or disassemble into sections for a move since I spend about 3 months out of the year in a different house. I should say that I'm hoping that length would include the fiddle yard. Joey

Hi all, Longtime reader of the "Theory of General Minories" thread and always wanted to build some sort of steam era urban terminus, both as a distraction from my own freelanced American modeling and to help convince some of my friends on this side of the Atlantic that I'm not crazy for my enthusiasm for British steam! For a long time I've contemplated a Minories or some variation thereof, but nothing ever really caught my eye until I started burning through the blue CJ Freezer PSL track plan book and came across #43, Crutched Friars. To my eye, for some reason, this looks a little bit nicer than Minories, and it's piqued my curiosity, to the point that I'm having to restrain myself from plonking down the money on some Peco track and wood for some baseboards right this minute! I've always had an interest in early BR (and I've already got some early-crest locos & coaches) so I'm thinking of setting this up as some sort of London Midland Region commuter terminus. Guess I just wanted to ask a couple of questions to the general audience before I really kick off this project: Has anyone ever taken a serious look at/built this plan before and has any tips to offer? Are there any obvious flaws with the track plan/any changes you might make to the pointwork to make the station operate more smoothly/interestingly? What sort of traffic would a station like this potentially see/what prototype stations could I look at for some inspiration? Obviously there would be the commuter services, but I'm not sure what else I could theoretically work into it, especially with the included goods shed What's a good place to start looking for how I might signal a station like this? Again, I apologize if these are stupid questions – I'm fairly serious about my US modeling but as far as British Railways go, I'm definitely more on the amateur side of the equation. Thanks again! Joey

Adrian, That website's brilliant! You're right, easy way to lose a few hours. Thanks for pointing it out!

Yeah that was sort of my dilemma. At this point I'm less concerned with the stock (I can always buy different stuff online that my shop doesn't have) and more with making a model that looks real and is interesting to operate. The only real "given" that I have is a mainline station with a decent amount of traffic, with engines at least as big as 4-6-0s (be they Jubilees, Castles, B1s, what have you) on the passenger services. I'd like *some* form of operational interest - goods yard, junction, banking, something like that. I guess my main issue is that I know British engines fairly well but I'm not so great on knowing routes and stations. Thanks for continuing to indulge me, Joey

I'm in the northern midwest - I think the gent who owns the shop likes all kinds of foreign stuff as there's a good deal of Marklin and Rocco in there too. The more I look at Brent the more I like it. That said I'm not entirely wedded to Western motive power. The other thought that keeps circulating in my head is Bromsgrove since there's a good deal to model there and banking adds some operating interest, plus the station footbridge allows a good way to hide the running lines as the climb starts. This whole prototype business is hard. Though I have to say I like the research.

Thanks for the responses so far, guys! I guess I never really considered the space thing - two family friends both have layouts that expand well beyond 40 feet in one direction so that's my regard to "massive," anyhow. All those suggestions seem like good places to start research - got a few hours to kill this afternoon so I'll get to work on that. As far as preferences go... hmm. That's a tough one. I can't say i really have anything specific I'm looking for. Perhaps a small goods yard to kick some wagons around in between the mainline traffic. Nothing too complicated - I'd like to hand-lay the track and don't want to drive myself crazy with pointwork, but then again this is a long term project so if it's worth doing it's worth doing right. Another question - where does one go about finding details on this sort of thing? Just google "X station BR track diagram?" Thanks again, Joey

Hi all, This American's been bitten by the British steam bug again. I'm a freelancer in US HO gauge so I'd like to go the opposite direction here and try to accurately reproduce an actual location on the BR network. Something in the late 50s, I think. Someday I'd like to tackle Skipton station since I have a love for the S&C, but for availability of models alone (my local shop has a good deal of GWR power for some reason) I'd like to go with something Western Region. Anyone have any interesting mainline station suggestions? I'm fond of the mainline to Bristol (the Bristolian being a favorite train of mine) but I'm open to any/all ideas. I have about 20x10 to play with, so nothing massive, but I'd like something on which I have a bit of operating interest - branch junction or something maybe. My apologies if this isn't what this section is for, as well as my lack of knowledge - that said I'm in school to become a professional historian so the research side appeals to me. Could just use a prod or two in the right direction! Best, Joey