Firecracker

The station building is going to be low relief, so no bother there. There’s photos of three sides of the goods shed on the web. The missing side overlooked a siding that’s now a platform and I’ve assumed the goods shed is a museum/tearoom (Goathland anyone?), so they’ll probably have knocked a door through onto the platform anyway. The provendor store I’ve assumed is a workshop and will emerge from two ratio kits (the Bachman one is too wide). The only other builiding (apart from huts and the odd shipping container) is going to be a bit of a nod to the history of the line, it remained as a rural branch line due to the Midland a) failing to provide connecting services and b) building the Settle -Carlisle, so in preservation it’s acquired a Midland signal box... Owain

The idea with the rolling stock is to have classes that have survived into preservation, standards, black fives etc. Nothing too oddball, possible 3 LMS compartment non-corridor coaches may form one rake alongside the mk1’s (purely because I’ve got them and like them) also a LMS pug (assume to be ex industry, probably owned by a volunteer, emerges on high days and holidays to shunt or trundle around with a brakeman or two). Concerning numbers of individual locos I’m not intending to model stuff that’s already preserved, it’ll either be something where classmates survived (such as the standard tank) or one of ‘the ones that got away’, say 76080 scrapped at Barry, or 44781, ex 15 guinea special, scrapped after being used as a film prop. Basically it’s intended to feel like somewhere you’ve visited, whilst being complete fiction ( and unless someone very rich buys the station and goods yard, demolishes a house and rebuilds a bridge, never going to become reality). Another idea that’s kicking around is to create a feeling of the site having evolved. For instance, there’s going to be an inspection pit on the goods shed road, outside the provendor store. This dates from when the goods shed was the loco shed, before the MPD (possible subject of an extension) was built and has been taken over by the wagon group (may have something under repair parked on it). To add interest to the operating there’s lots of little ideas, such as the outer of the two yard sidings extends into the car park, to be used for low loader delivery’s and also pway wagons are loaded there by hiab lorry. South of the station is single track with the second line going to the shed (shades of Grosmont), north is a stretch of double track (shades of GCR). The track plan is pretty much the south end unchanged, originally there were other sidings at the north end plus much shorter platforms, the platforms have been extended for 5&6 car trains, the space formerly occupied by the sidings is now the car park. The only major change is I’ve moved the south crossover slightly north (originally on the road bridge beyond the yard throat)for two reasons, one model, one full size operating. First point motors on a bridge - no point making things difficult and by moving these to inside the yard points (remember, south it’s single track) reduces the number of facing points that a passenger train encounters, hence making HMRI/ORR happier. Anyway, hope this helps. If anyone wants to find out a bit more about the prototype, two books to find are ‘The Ingleton branch -A lost route to Scotland’, Robert Western, Oakwood press and ‘The little north western railway’ (also covering the Skipton-Heysham line), Martin Bairstow. At Sedbergh the goods yard has been taken over by a coal merchants, the goods shed and provender store survive (google should chuck up some photos) and the station building is now a holiday cottage (photos also on web) Owain

And a few more, giving a better idea of the track plan (apologies for the background clutter of the garage). The Hornby goods shed is a pageholder, ditto the battered ratio concrete store. Owain

As threatened, here’s the return to the hobby for me. Basically it’s Sedbergh, on the Low Gill - Ingleton line, as if it was rebuilt as a preserved railway. The reasons go roughly as follows: I’ve always wanted to model what I see around me and if I do modern image on those terms, it’s a bit depressing (as the previous effort, Teesside Coil, a modern image (uncompleted) P4 effort showed, all dereliction and graffiti). Sedbergh is local to where I grew up, and I’ve always fancied modelling the line, because I feel it’s ideal (regular scenic breaks, fantastic bridges and lovely tiny stations (literally, one platform at Sedbergh was only two coaches long). A little history, the line was intended as an alternative route to the North, due to rivalry it only ever was an unremarkable rural branch line. Closed in drips with the track finally lifted in 1968, most of the formation and structure survive. This is where fiction starts. Rebuilt north from Sedbergh to Low Gill due to a missing road bridge south of Sedbergh (TRUE), this 4 mile line was later extended south to Barbon, where the track bed is blocked by a housing development (TRUE). The roughly 7 mile long line then entered into a period of consolidation, building a new motive power depot to the south of Sedbergh (replacing the use of the goods shed at Sedbergh, allowing the development of the goods yard into something that bore less of a resemblance to Steptoe’s yard. Now, following prolonged negotations, a deviation line, avoiding the housing at Barbon is on, so the railway pushes southwards..... A bit about the model, it’s in finescale OO, using the new Peco bullhead track, plus some flat bottom for a little variety. Control will be DCC with peco (or similar) motors on the points, kaydee couplings on the stock. Rolling stock - the aim is that ‘preserved’ feel, so it’s locos that went to Barry (Standards, a pannier, LMS designs etc). There’s a few diesels, including an ex fragonset 31 that’s been ‘borrowed’ for Pway work. Most of the coaching stock is the ubiquitous mk1’s, there’s an assorted goods fleet, plus a selection of Pway stuff, including some newer designs (well, if the SVR can acquire a Rudd or two...). The look I’m aiming for is again ‘preserved’, so the standard tank is clean, but there’s tatty Pway wagons plus that 31 needed a repaint several years ago and hasn’t improved with keeping... Anyway, there’s a few photos of the latest progress, enjoy. Owain

Evenin’ all, Just thought I’d break cover and say a bit. Getting back into the hobby after a break of 10-ish years (buying a new house and having a career change from fighting recalcitrant scientific equipment to spannering on the full size things for the NYMR being the partial cause). Anyway, I’ll start a thread on the new project (fictional preserved railway set at Sedbergh, on the Low Gill to Ingleton line, in fine scale OO) once I’ve found the spot. Owain