Liam

22 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

You must be gutted to be missing the glorious snow and ice we currently have?

Absolutely, it breaks my heart and it will likely have all gone by the time we return home.

Have a wonderful blessed Christmas everyone. I extend warm greetings from Mauritius. 🙂

15 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

I too fancied Savernake as a location, and an excuse to combine GWR/BR(W) with Southern. But struggled with how to get any "roundy-roundy" running out of the prototype layout.

 

Have you found a way?

Yes, having a fiddle yard to terminus micro layout that maximises the space available. To have a roundy roundy layout with both of the lines would make for a very good club layout that would definitely appeal at exhibitions, but you would need to compress the space between the two different routes and you would need to find a scenic break for the south end of the MSWJR. 
 

I won’t be making much progress on further planning over the next week because I’m currently in Mauritius!

Whilst on a 350 yesterday heading home I did some drawings of what Savernake was like in reality (taking into account my mess up of drawing the Kennet & Avon Canal) and how it would look like in my world where there was the one combined goods depot instead of two separate goods yards. 
 

So, although I forgot to include the station, here’s Savernake in reality...

And Savernake in my world...

This morning I measured one of the four sections of the baseboard I have underneath my layout - 2ft 7.5 inches by 2ft...

23 minutes ago, hmrspaul said:

Why have you quoted me?

I am fully aware that A4s, other Pacifics, Peaks, and other type 4 diesels all worked these lines through to Scarborough, Ampleforth etc. What I was saying was what was an S15 being used for. It completely confused me because I had never seen the programme before. I am reasonably sure a freight loco used on the South Western wouldn't have appeared in North Yorkshire in the late 1950s and early 1960s. 

 

Paul

I quoted you because you were talking about Heartbeat, a programme I enjoy, and I agree that sometimes they relied simply on whatever locos the NYMR had in operation at the time. That seems to have been the case in the episode you mention, because I vaguely recall that episode and I may well be wrong but I don’t think that the S15 was supposed to be in any other location but the North Riding, be that in a normal scene or one depicting a fairy tale (which was likely also set in the local area).

Another episode saw thieves use a ‘rogue’ engine (in this case an ex GWR 56xx) to make off with several wagons of wine and spirits. Again, a 56xx shouldn’t be in that area normally but if the criminal underworld have control of it then anything could happen.

On 16/10/2022 at 23:00, hmrspaul said:

That was the first Heartbeat I had seen and had no idea what was going on because of the S15 clearly part of the programme. A few episodes in I realised the entire thing was intended as a fairy tale or cartoon. What I didn't understand was why the NYMR couldn't have turned out a late BR era finished steam loco when that was the period that most of the programme was based in (although they took a lot of liberties with social history)

 

Paul

On a few occasions they got it right, such as having a BR Standard Tank and their 4MT too. Other locos, such as Sir Nigel Gresley and a class 40, may have appeared in the Eastern Region but unlikely on the secondary route that was Malton to Whitby. That said, I went to Ampleforth and I gather from speaking to someone else who went there in the 1950s/60s that when the railway line was open A3s would haul the London bound school trains between Gilling station and Kings Cross.

3 hours ago, DCB said:

Not too sure the MSWJR is ideal for micro layouts, mainly lengthy through fitted freights.   Cirencester originally had the MSWJR works and one building remains Ennervale near the fire station.

I supposed I could set the wagon works at Cirencester or Cricklade, which might save the plans from being too complicated, but the idea is to take a slice of the MSWJR and put it in a micro layout.

The setting for this layout is Savernake, which was where the Midland & South Western Junction Railway ran parallel to the GWR’s Berks and Hants route until Wolfhall Junction, where the MSWJR went over the GWR line to proceed south towards Andover and Southampton.
 

This is an idea for a micro layout, although if my memory serves me correctly and each of the four boards at home measures 2ft 6in, then it could be a bit too micro! 
 

Around eight years ago we had some baseboards constructed, and they were four sections that would screw together to form a baseboard that was either 5x4 or 6x4 in size. I suppose the four boards together would lend themselves to a N gauge roundy roundy, but what I’d be looking to do is to use two of them to have a fiddle yard to terminus OO gauge exhibition layout.

I’m taking inspiration in particular from the layouts of Chris Nevard and Rob Gunstone@NHY 581

of this parish), and the layouts Croft Depot and Albion Yard also offer inspiration. My instinct to look for shortcuts was to have one board for the scenic section and another one for the fiddle yard, but that wouldn’t be a very good choice. 
 

A more sensible option might be to devote 1ft of one board to the fiddle yard, then the rest of the layout is the scenic section. 
 

I’d like to keep the track plan straightforward but with scope for entertainment. It would be good to have run round facilities, as well as a small goods depot like building for the wagon works. 
 

The premise of the layout goes quite a way from reality, but that’s the fun! The idea is that where in reality there were two separate small goods yards (one of the many results of the contempt the GWR held the MSWJR with), my story has there being only one joint goods yard which is a dead end because of the Savernake Road, so locomotives generally set back to drop off and pick up wagons, although there is a run round loop for locos on small workings. By the mid/late 1950s (when I would look to set the layout in), goods interchanges are minimal but British Railways Western Region has considered it a strategic location, so they have converted a goods depot there to a wagon works. It is practically the overflow to Swindon works, and MSWJR-rostered engines are sent to pick up and drop off wagons when the time calls for it. This includes an ex GWR 8750 and an ex SR N Mogul. All forms of wagons relevant to the area are repaired at Savernake, be they ex GWR, SR, private owner or BR design. 
 

I can’t confirm that this will progress to anything, but it looks a very appealing project to maximise the use and entertainment appeal from a small space, and so I welcome your feedback and maybe also track plan suggestions.

Many thanks,

Liam 

3 hours ago, sb67 said:

I'd agree with Liam, that is a tempting track plan! I've seen a few photos of that layout, I'd love to see it in the flesh if it is still on the circuit. 

 

@Liam Did you find any info on Templegate wagon works? Dave is a fine small layout builder and Tudwick Road siding is a very nice small o gauge layout based on a real location, worth checking out, it inspired me to build one of my layouts. 

 

 

Yes Steve, I came across the thread for Templegate on here and at Warley I also took a few photos of it. A OO Gauge version would allow more room.

My take on Hepton Wharf would do away with the fiddle yard on the right and the scenic section would end about where the level crossing is.

Hi all,

Next year I plan to partake in a form of holiday popular with 21 year olds and go on an Interrail.

My dad has actually been doing a few Interrails this year, and his most recent one saw him go from Geneva to Warsaw via Basel, Zurich, Munich, Vienna and Prague. (He flew out and back to Birmingham from the end points). 
 

My journey won’t be quite as action packed but there will still be plenty to see and do; the current plan is to get the Eurostar from St Pancras to Lille, then change for the beach line via St Quentin to Reims. Two nights there to allow for an exploration of the Champagne-Ardennes region, then into Belgium to visit one or two of the Trappist monasteries with breweries. After that, the idea is to head to the coast (probably via Lille) to Dunkerque, then follow the coast for as much as possible to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches. 
 

I’m also thinking of adding to it a bit by doing a loop just beyond Normandy; down from Lison, through Avranches to Rennes, a quick TGV ride to Le Mans and then up through Alençon, Argentan and Caen to Bayeux. I’m currently thinking to return by Cherbourg-Poole as it would be an easy journey from Poole port to my relatives further up in Dorset, although I haven’t ruled out St Malo-Portsmouth.

I’d be grateful for any advice on the routes I’ve mentioned and their reliability, and I know that there are one or two RMwebbers who live in north-west France who could maybe offer local advice on getting around and good places to stay and visit. (Never tried Calvados so surely the best place for it is in an orchard in Normandy 😉).

Thank you very much,

Liam 

15 minutes ago, The Lurker said:

I used to play cricket at Delapre Park on occasion. Friends tell me it's no longer used for league cricket, nor the Racecourse with its overlapping pitches

That’s right. I don’t think Delapré is used for any competitive sport now, but football and rugby takes place on the racecourse.

1 hour ago, NHY 581 said:

Hepton Wharf as extended to the right ( as you look at it ) 

 

Thank you very much Rob, that is one very tempting track plan!

At home I have a baseboard that is split into four equal parts, and I believe put together they measure 6x4 but for some reason 2ft 6in springs to mind as being the length of one piece. Nonetheless, there’s always the potential to squeeze a lot out of a small space (as long as it doesn’t look cramped).

1 minute ago, Siberian Snooper said:

Something like Burbage Wharf, just west of Savernake, Wilts.

 

 

You must be psychic - in my mind I had an idea to have a small goods depot alongside the canal at Grafton, and imagine that a spur ran to it from a loop that trains from both the GWR main line and the MSWJR could access...

In addition to my 8750 Pannier I also have a Heljan Western. The theory could be that it ran down from Swindon on the MSWJR for light running in (far fetched I know) and they needed somewhere to stable it while a few goods trains bound for Southampton Docks passed on the line down towards Andover.

Also currently having a look for a second hand Bachmann 43xx or SR N class...

Hi Rob, I like your recent proposal of the Sheepey Light Railway. There is always something appealing about light railways - at Warley there was a wonderful layout set on the Weston, Clevedon & Portishead Railway, along with its Terrier. Here’s a photo: 

Another brilliant light railway layout is Rolvenden, on the KESR. 
 

My mojo seems to have reignited after Warley, and I saw one layout in particular in O gauge set at a wagon works. Ideas have sprung up of a OO gauge version (my gauge) and Western Region (a lot of my stock would suit it, such as my Bachmann 8750 and numerous Toads). Although other ideas are pushing towards a railway/canal interchange, maybe in a rural spot on the Kennet and Avon. 

I took this photo last week in the grounds of Delapré Abbey in Northampton. Wonderful place and steeped in history too - the Battle of Northampton, one of the major battles of the Wars of the Roses, took place on these fields in 1460, and resulted in Henry VI taken prisoner.

53 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Bus?

Not exactly short of bus services in the West Midlands, although I heard the queue for the X1 to the NEC on Saturday was pretty horrendous.

There are other ways to get from Birmingham to the NEC by bus. A couple of chaps I was talking to in Solihull whilst waiting for the X12 had travelled to there from central Brum on route to the NEC.

 

It was - I reached the bus station building at Birmingham International (bottom of the escalators) at 18:15 and at that point the queue for the X1 spanned almost the whole length of the building. With them being every 20 minutes and no guarantee of enough room on the next one, in the end I hopped on the X12. This went a much slower route via Castle Bromwich and dropped me off in central Brum just under an hour after we set off from BHI. A slow journey, but I’m not sure waiting for the X1 followed by the 20 minute journey would have got me there much sooner. 

16 minutes ago, Din said:

 

£356.40

 

I know, I'm acquainted with the dozy sod who bought one of them!

That’s also the exact price of a 7-day standard class All Line Rover with a railcard. Something I’ve managed to do twice!

Both going in and getting away from the NEC was a nightmare for me; Phil and Neil picked me up from my house in Redditch at 08:50. We reached the slip road for Junction 6 around 20 minutes later, and were stuck there for the best part of half an hour. The traffic marshalling efforts only seemed to slow us down further, meaning we were parked (at North 11 car park, almost as far away as you can get) almost an hour after setting off from Redditch.

Hopefully Phil and Neil had a stress free journey back down the M5 but it took me an hour and a half to get from Birmingham International to my relative’s house in Edgbaston, mainly because the queue for the fast Birmingham bus was a mile long and I ended up hopping on the slower one which went via Chelmsley Wood and Castle Bromwich. 
 

I’ll post some pictures of the layouts tomorrow. I suppose I spent more time away from Smallwood than with it, but even though I made a few signalling errors when I was driving I did enjoy being an operator at Warley for the first time. I think the temperature of the hall was OK - certainly I never felt the need to remove the gilet I was wearing. 
 

Before Warley I said to myself that I wouldn’t get any more rolling stock. I kept that vow but I did make a few other acquisitions; a show guide as a memento, a fireman’s style mug, a SkaleScenics tree which I won from the BRM stand (thank you very much guys!) and then also this book, which my dad will enjoy as he worked on the railway (and did regular night shifts) during the time which the book focuses on. 

38 minutes ago, newbryford said:

Had a great first day with Deadmans Lane. Looking forward to Sunday.

It looked amazing Mick, I spoke to one of your operators and would have spoken to you if operations weren’t so demanding. 🙂

Did any of you hop on a 350 at BHI at 17:50? Loads of people got on, and it can’t be beyond impossibility that among the crowds were some Warley setter-uppers.

I’m attending as an exhibitor for the first time with my mates at Redditch MRC and our layout Smallwood. I’ll also be hitching a ride with @Phil Bullock and @Downendian - many thanks to both of you once again! 

2 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

Yes I thought that but had already drunk It all !

https://abbeyshop.ampleforth.org.uk/1-case-of-ampleforth-abbey-beer-238-p.asp

😉

29 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

With you on that one Mike! Lucky this bottle of proper beer didn’t fit so I had to drink it….

 

 

 

Cheers!

A bottle of Ampleforth ale might fit in that gap though...

3 hours ago, Downendian said:

Great stuff Phil. “Operators inadvertently exiting sidings without selecting correct route” I’m guilty of that one for sure on Abbotswood I! Can’t wait to see the full set up.

Neil 

Or just as bad, as has happened to me on a few occasions with different layouts, “Operators inadvertently hitting a siding’s dead end without selecting correct route”...

It doesn’t seem that I mentioned it on this thread at the time - last year I ordered from Amazon this wonderful book by Steph Gillett. It starts with several pages about the history of the line, then through pictures it takes you along the full length of the route from Cheltenham to Southampton (and there may be a photo of the dockside station too). Definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more about this incredible line. 
 

Had to be done. 🙂

One thing I’ll say to anyone watching it is that you should compare the film to the original story rather than the classic 1970 film. This way, it’s easy to pick out the continuity of the story and the character traits, and in this respect there’s quite a bit to unpack.