Wheeltapper

Although I have never worked at Bath Road I have been familiar with it since spotting days in the mid 1970s,

many happy hours spent on Temple Meads no.12 platform. Followed by 30 years of commuting to or through Bristol,

my train home usually went from no.10 or 12 platform, so I witnessed the sad decline.

 

The subject of engine sheds is both complicated and fascinating at Bristol and would benefit from some in depth research.

Originally an Engine Shed was located at the Bath Road end of the Brunel Building. The structure for that must now be located inside the section used as the Brunel Exhibition Centre as it was right at the end of the platforms 12 and 15 . Those numbers being in use when I used the station a lot in the 1960's . The platform numbering changed to be as shown in the quoted post at a later date when the station was reduced in operational size.

The Bristol and Exeter Company had engine sheds on two or maybe three different areas of the station at different times and their works on the later Bath Road Site.

Bath Road Steam Shed was part of the 1930's rebuilding programme and was replaced in the 1960's by the Diesel Depot.

So thats at least seven different engine sheds that have been at Temple Meads and then you still have St Phillips Marsh , Barrow Road and possibly the Avonside Company Locomotive Works at Avonside Wharf to add into the equation.

I believe there was a model railway club associated with the Hydrographic Office at Taunton, and some of the people from there were supposed to be building a 7mm model of Edington Jct. One of them who I know assured me (this was 6 - 7 years ago at least), that it would be completed 'within a year'.

 

I never heard any more.

Lets just say that as far as that establishment is concerned that comes as absolutely no surprise at all !

The trust has a static model of Highbridge in an old coach or shed at Washford, it was donated by someone and presumably used to work. I once saw a model of Henstridge, but it was years ago, and I've also seen West Pennard, and an N gauge Cole too . At the Brighton Model World exhibition a couple of years ago, there were 2 N gauge models of Midford next to each other !, and of course there's the new(ish) model of Blandford.

 

Some of these were of questionable quality though.

 

I've always had the ambition to build Templecombe, but I need to move house or have an extention built for that !

I made a start on layouts of both Burnham and Edington Junction but changes of circumstances stopped both projects getting very far . I always liked the idea of Highbridge Works as a Depot layout but the one station I do want to do if I ever have the time , space and money is Wells (Priory Road) as the track plan would be great from the operating point of view especially if you had a GW Operator and a S & D Operator and programmed in plenty of S & D shunting moves that could potentially block the GW through route as happened in real life.

Talking of Mac Pyrke and Berrow Branch it was a lovely little layout for that time. Some years ago we had our layout next to them at the 'old' Warley exhibition (pre N.E.C.) and at lunch and tea time they stopped the sequence, put a notice on the layout to the tune of 'gone for a break' (I can't remember the exact words) and just went and left the layout.

I think they did that at other shows as I certainly remember standing by Berrow for sometime awaiting the return of the operators to restart proceedings.

There was a much more relaxed attitude to exhibiting back then , even to the extent that some layouts had a cardboard clockface they would put on the layout when the operators went for a break saying something like " Next Performance at .......or Next Train Departs at .............." with the clock hands showing the time. No-one seemed to even consider as a remote possibility then that if a layout was left unattended anyone would attempt to steal any of the stock. How things have changed.

Some of the shots taken around the level crossing have to be the most realistic bit of scenery I have seen for many a year .

Outstanding Work - more photos please.

Well the obvious one to mention is Bath Green Park by the Taunton Model Railway Group, I do wish though that having built such a good model of a real location, that they'd run the real timetable (ok, speeded up) and correct train formations.

Thats one that had slipped my mind .

In addition I know there have been layouts of Burnham on Sea, Midford ,Writhlington , Midsomer Norton,. Chilcompton and Evercreech New but I dont think I have ever heard of ones of Templecombe , Highbridge , Bridgwater or Glastonbury and I know nothing of ones from south of Templecombe though I know there are some.

Over the years there have been many S & D actual or inspired layouts.

Probably the most iconic was Mac Pyrkes Berrow Branch which I first encountered at a Model Railway Club 's exhibition at Central Hall Westminster and then which featured in Railway Modeller on a number of occasions.

Going through some old Railway Modellers I came on a new one ( to me anyway) in the July 1999 RM called Broad Sidlinch - a large permanent S & D Layout which had some interesting scenic features .

It goes without saying that there are several awe inspiring S & D layouts around today including some by contributors to this Forum but I would be interested to know what others stand out in peoples memories ?

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I wasn't even awear there used to be a steam shed there untill you mentioned it. I don't think I've ever even seen any photos of that.

What year would you say the diesel depot was built? 1960ish?

 

I think the steam shed was replaced in about 1962 give or take a couple of years . It had occupied virtually exactly the same site and area the new diesel shed was built on and had a very similar track layout . AFAIK that Steam shed was built in the mid 1930's when Temple Meads was massively modernised and expanded, before that there had been a Round House with 4 turntables on the site which originally was part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway Company's Locomotive Works ( the B & E version of Swindon) which built broad gauge engines . Surprised you have not seen any pictures of the shed as there are hundreds that have been published , most books on railways in Bristol or about the GWR seem to have a fair few as one of the station platforms being longer than the others provided an ideal vantage point for spotters or photographers to watch the comings and goings in the shed yard by being right next to it.

I really don't know about that, Wheeltapper.

What I made reffrence to earlier was more of a bridge then a tunnel. It was at the very back of the depot building on the far right. - Don't know if we're all talking about different things....

I hate to think how many decades ago it was that I was last around there but from memory the TM avoiding line that also gave access to the Marsh Shed ran along the back of Bath Road Shed at right angles to it and there was a turntable there as well . I dont know if or when that line was removed in which case from your description of the" bridge position" it could have been the Bath Road Bridge over the St Phillips Marsh line we are talking about or its remotely possible it may have been something that dated back much further when the steam shed was built on the site of the Bristol & Exeter Railway Company Locomotive Works and Running Shed in about 1935.

It is however your rendition of the clock that screams Bath Road to me . How we hated that clock when it was first put up as it represented the fact that horrible new diesel depot had replaced the steam shed we grew up with.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the tunnel has been opened up in the past decade or so.

Maybe somebody with better local knowledge could say for certain.

I didnt know there was a tunnel at Bath Road or are you meaning the one on the Bristol Harbour line that went under St Mary Redcliffe Church ?

DD has very kindly made a photographic display section on which it will be able to pose wagons , 00 on one side and by turning it round there is an N Gauge area on the other side . He has made a superb job of it and I hope to be able to start cataloging and photographing the wagons that have been donated very soon .

One of the side effects of some of the chemo theraphy I have had is damage to the nerve endings in my hands which means some days I have no use in my hands at all but on other days you may not realise there is anything wrong and I can do most normal activities . To catalogue the wagons and take the pictures I have to just hope I am having a good day at the time.

The task is getting bigger by the day - some days our poor postie cannot carry all the parcels as so many are arriving . The sorting office have started sending out a van just for us . For example yesterday 13 parcels of donated wagons arrived on the van with more on the normal delivery.

It makes me very proud to be part of a hobby which is fortunate to have so many very generous people as participants and I can assure everyone that this generosity in kind and spirit will be put to the very best use possible in the interests of other cancer patients.

I pondered on this very point 12 months ago - have a read of 'A Day Out':

 

http://www.rmweb.co....1071-a-day-out/

 

The only entry on my blog that never generated a comment, hence I thought the idea was of limited interest!

I missed this post first time around but I have to say I think it would be a great idea , a sort of cross between Pendon and Pecorama.

It got me thinking what layouts I would include that I have seen in the past and that have influenced by modelling and my attitude to the hobby.

So my dream Model Railway Museum would include the following which immediately spring to mind but which do not form a complete list.

Craig & Mertonford (P.D.Hancock)

Pendon (Roy England and Team)

Berrow Branch (Mac Pyrke)

Buckingham ( Rev Peter Denny.)

Island of Sodor (Rev. W Awdrey)

Charford (John Charman)

Torpoint (Guy Williams ?)

Marthwaite (David Jenkinson)

Broad Gauge Workshops (Mike Sharman)

Yatton (Bristol 4mm Group)

Some of these are still around under different ownership and I guess the others are long gone so it is just a dream.

This model seems to be attracting a lot of interest on narrow gauge forum sites - and the shots of the test build look very good.

 

(For what it's worth, I believe the prototype was actually built in the UK!)

 

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I think the prototype was built by the Birmingham Carriage and Wagon Works .

There have been kits for Irish and IOM railcars - ok I know they are different gauges but it may be possible to use parts for a freelance construction job. I once saw a K 's LMS Rail Bus kit converted to narrowgauge and that looked quite good.. Do any of the Japanese manufacturers produce anything suitable ?

Hello Rick,

Excellent Pics of the "Clay & Milk Wagons". I'm modelling early 1900's. Could you possibly advise regards model-wagon type(clay) for that era and who manufactures them, and what "steamer(s)" would pull them? Looking forward to the Viaduct Re-build,

Kind Regards,

Michael Thornberry.

Michael

Firstly appologies to Rick for coming in on his thread but in answer to Michael's question in 1900 the now preserved Beattie Well Tank (then numbered 298) was based at Wadebridge for use on the china clay traffic . It would probably have been in the green LSWR livery then . China clay was carried by the GWR in 5 plank end door wagons which had the addition of a seperate 3 part zinc floor fitted and the load would have been covered by a tarpaulin which would have been badly stained. China clay was also transported in very large barrells ( I think they were known as Hogsheads.)