Rivercider

What you have arrived at here, by accident or design, is a version of an 'inglenook' shunting puzzle with three sidings. A freight train running anti-clockwise can stop and shunt at the station. If shunting is something you enjoy then there could be a challenge in shunting a passing train to detach and attach traffic while getting wagons into the right siding. Clockwise trains are restricted to passenger services, but if a DMU became available then a realistic service is possible. cheers

Box, for Box bank cheers

Exmouth Junction, for the bank from Exeter St Davids to Central, Barnstaple Junction, for the bank up to Mortehoe & Woolacombe (from both directions) Taunton, for Wellington bank. cheers

Searching Flickr for 'B4 Southampton' this came up. Posted by Charlie Verrall of B4 no.96 Normandy, cheers

I just found this on Flickr when looking for something else. Cardiff Canton c1970 by John Turner cheers

Here are some more short formations. I think they might have appeared before on other threads. 6Z68 a Speedlink special working to Westbury (vice 6O68 Severn Tunnel Junction to Eastleigh) passes Stapleton Road behind 31121. 30/9/81 Speedlink trip from Exeter Riverside to Exeter Central with 2 ferry vans for the Premier Transport depot. Guinness was a regular traffic to there at the time. Passing through St Davids behind loco 33021 9/7/85 Speedlink trip for Derby Road leaves Ipswich Yard behind 47146. 11/11/83 cheers

Would the brake van requirement be because at that date the guard would not be permitted to ride with the driver, and there is no rear cab on a class 20? I think the restriction also existed on pairs of class 20s unless there was communication between the 2 cabs? cheers

One layout I have seen several times is Dovington Camp by the Clevedon and Portishead Armchair Modellers (CLAPHAM). They run a good selection of rolling stock including rebuilt and modified wagons. Have a look at their website. cheers

Yes it was Central Hall for me too. Dad took me once in 1972. Then in 1979 my first visit to the Bristol show at the Victoria Rooms. Following a house move and downsizing I have been clearing out a lot of old stuff and found all the old exhibition guides. I have kept a select few of the old ones. Central Hall 1972 included a Gauge One layout, the Glynt Valley Tramway, Milk Wood (brilliant), Ashmelton, South Bedfordshire Locomotive Club, Tramway Layout, Midhants, Bawdsey Branch, Malahide, Bristol Victoria Rooms 1979 included, Edenwood, Sevenhampton, Bolton Abbey, Castle Rackrent, Lambourn, Milkwood again! Kingsmouth, Happy days, cheers

I managed to capture a few photos of short trains back in the 1980s. I think many of them would have been local trip workings, and also engineers trains. A short engineers train at Manchester Victoria behind 47309. 6/9/84. Norwich Thorpe Junction, a local trip behind 08205. 6/7/81 York Yard North 20130 arrives with a trip from Hessay MOD 25/7/84. 40181 departs Arpley Junction 23/3/82. cheers

A quick look at VesselFinder shows that there are daily arrivals and departures from Grangemouth of vessels including tankers and container ships, though only up to a maximum deadweight of 15000-16000dwt, cheers

Yesterday evening I saw shipping movements at dusk for the first time since we have moved to Teignmouth. VULIN sailed for Rotterdam loaded with ball clay, while VESPER arrived from Klaipeda. The port tug/dredger TEIGN C was again acting as pilot boat. These shipping movements always attract attention from folk along the sea front and back beach. Port tug/dredger TEIGN C escorts VULIN away from the Western Quay at Teignmouth on the start of the journey to Rotterdam, 24/3/2024 VULIN is about to make the turn to port, Shaldon is on the far bank. 24/3/2024 As VULIN heads away for Rotterdam TEGN C conveys the pilot to the VESPER inbound from Klaipeda. 24/3/2024 VESPER passes the Point with Shaldon and The Ness across the River Teign. 24/3/2024 Almost there. VESPER heads toward the Western Quay at Teignmouth with TEIGN C in close attendance. VESPER will now swing and berth facing downstream. 24/3/2024 cheers

I think Sheep Dip is particularly well done and more interesting because of the different views. A bit like a well designed small garden where you cannot see everything at once. Well done cheers

I have seen Hobbiton quite a few times now, and it was good to catch up with it again at Nailsea today. It is a lovely little layout with a great atmosphere which always makes me smile, cheers

I enjoyed the show at Nailsea, it is always one I look forward too. There were some lovely layouts, and some friends to catch up with. When I was watching Bunkers Lane the young operators were doing a grand job. cheers

Hi Rob. It was good to see Sheep Dip today at Nailsea, it is a lovely little layout. I enjoyed the show, and hope to catch up again at the SWAG do. cheers

I think you have covered the freight side pretty well there, those are all trains I remember from my visits. Regarding the nuclear flask traffic travelling on ordinary services. I worked in Bristol Area Freight Centre from 1978, so knew about the flask traffic specifically to/from Bridgwater (for Hinkley Point), and also for Oldbury/Berkeley which was handled on local trips working from Gloucester New Yard. Here is photo from 1980 at Bridgwater of 7M22 Exeter Riverside to Bescot. This train would have also called at Gloucester New Yard to attach flasks from Berkeley. Departing Bridgwater behind 47335. Behind the loco are empty gunpowder vans, then three highfits loaded with ball clay. Then some vanfits and the flask for Sellafield. Note that barrier requirements meant that the flask could not be marshalled next to the loco or brake van in those days. 12/9/80. Earlier than that the train from Exeter Riverside ran through to Warrington as 7M67, later curtailed to Bescot as 7M22.. Passing Bristol Temple Meads behind 31254 7M22 an instamatic snap with two flasks in the formation, 17/1/79. cheers

I don't know the Bodmin area well, but was there ever any railway proposal to create a triangular junction south of Bodmin General to permit through running without reversal in the station? Is the geography of the area suitable that a chord line might have been built before the area was built up? cheers

In my opinion many stations are longer than most of the trains that call there, my memory starts from the late 1960s when there were many cutbacks and closures taking place. I only have a glorified shunting plank, and only operate 2 coach or 2 car DMUs, but I deliberately included a platform 4 coaches long that dwarfs the trains. With the space you have if you hope to run a loco plus 4 coaches then a platform capable of handling loco plus 6 would not be unrealistic if you could fit it in. You could also include a second smaller station or halt with shorter platforms where only short local trains call, cheers

I like Newquay, and have stayed there several times in recent years. We have used the train to get there for both day trips and a short hotel break. I think the main benefits of the proposed Cornish Metro are the intended improved journeys between Falmouth/Truro and St Austell, and also the improved service over the Newquay branch. I agree that there are unlikely to be many through journeys made of the whole north/south route. At present the Newquay branch service is two hourly. In the summer timetable when IETS work a couple of return trips those trains run non-stop over the branch, which means the service provided to intermediate stations is virtually useless - I know as we sometimes stay in Bugle, where there is a lot of new build housing. A lot of hotel and bar staff who work in Newquay cannot afford to live there, so a decent train service will be of use, I did see some of the local TV when the proposed service was announced, and found it strange that it seemed as though some folk of a position of influence in Cornwall would rather not receive the investment. cheers

If in this parallel universe passenger services to Padstow had survived the Beeching cuts the line would have been heavily rationalised. The former LSWR route via Launceston closed and passenger services formed by DMUs from Bodmin Road and Bodmin General. I don't see freight traffic surviving to Padstow, but Wadebridge did remain open for freight, and this may well have lasted until the early/mid 1980s, handling bagged fertiliser and seasonal beet pulp nuts and seed potatoes. Then perhaps a financial case might have been made to upgrade the Wenfordbridge branch to handle CDAs when the clayhoods were life expired, so clay traffic might have run until relatively recently. We can dream cheers

I think that had Padstow managed to retain a rail connection it was always going to be via Bodmin Road, and Bodmin General. The LSWR route to Padstow via Launceston and Wadebridge had been on borrowed time. Bude would have been a more likely rail survivor in my opinion. cheers

In the early 1970s there would still be a lot of Fisherton Yard and the East Yard in use. Have a look on Flickr for example. I took photos later in the early 1980s. Here is a view looking into Fisherton Yard with the pilot 08658 stabled between duties. By this date the yard was used mainly to stable the exhibition coaches I believe. 23/4/80 The East Yard was still busy into the 1980s, it handled ballast trains to/from Meldon Quarry, and also Speedlink traffic though in the 1970s it would have been busier, there are a number of MOD depots in the area that saw a lot of traffic. Looking from the platform towards the East Yard, 7V00 for Meldon Quarry approaches behind 47152, 17/7/85. For a layout set around 1970 these yards would be active, but in order to make it fit in a reasonable space I would leave them out and imagine them to be off scene, or heavily rationalise them, just as the plan posted by Cruachan. cheers

That is uncanny, I had never seen that plan before, but is pretty much as I envisaged. I think I might have left out Fisherton Yard to make the board narrower, perhaps just retaining one road there. One other thing I don't like there is a departure from the up bay runs wrong road into the fiddle yard, but otherwise that looks a good plan cheers

Salisbury has always been an interesting place but even if someone had plenty of space, time, and money then compromises would still have to be made as explained above. By leaving out the former GWR station / coal yard / exhibition carriage sidings to the north then the width of the layout would be manageable. To me the spirit of Salisbury includes the bay platforms, particularly platform 6 at the east/London end, which would make the layout very long, though the severe curve at that end can be used to advantage. By leaving out the former steam shed at the west end, and Salisbury East Yard at the London end then it might be possible to recreate something of the character of the place. In his booklet 'Track Plans' CJ Freezer shows how he was able to produce plans for a version of Exeter Central. In real life the station area including carriage sidings at each end stretches for about 40 feet in 00, pretty much straight too. He was able to produce a plan that fitted into a 25 foot x 10 foot room that kept much of the original, though at the expense of leaving out some sidings to reduce width. He was able to produce an even smaller plan to fit a 15' x 8' room that kept many of the main features. Getting hold of a copy of the booklet would give you an idea of what might realistically be fitted into a space, Edit - I have a few memories of travelling through Salisbury at the end of the steam era, but more of the early diesel era. If I wanted to recreate services through Salisbury in 1970 I would accept a compromise of a loco plus 6 coaches for the Waterloo - Exeter line. A loco plus 5 coaches for Cardiff - Portsmouth, A loco plus 4 coaches for Salisbury - Waterloo semi-fasts. A 2-car DEMU for the Salisbury - Southampton stoppers, and a 2-car DMU for the Salisbury - Bristol locals. Even then the station length is going to be about 10' including platform 6 at the east end. To do justice to a version of a much reduced Salisbury a 15' x 8' room might do it, a double track circuit with fiddle yard on the opposite side. A Warship or two for the Waterloo - Exeter, a Hymek or two for the Cardiff-Portsmouth and freight off the WR, and a class 33 or two for the Waterloo - Salisbury semi-fasts and ballast trains from Meldon. A DEMU and DMU for local passenger would then be a basis for a train service. At a push perhaps 5 coaches would suffice for the Waterloo - Exeter with 4 for the Pompeys, and 3 for the semi-fasts. Good luck. cheers