dseagull

Job; I think you are right in that this plan would make it more suitable to go with the Jigsaw approach - but perhaps one slight amendment would make it even easier; If I changed the point leading to the headshunt for the coal siding (marked on the plan as having the Goods Store and Yard Office alongside it) to a right hand, rather than a left, having it running parallel to, and curving slightly with, the lower of the 'loop' roads, it would make the track area a lot thinner, and therefore, (perhaps) easier to go with this method?

Thanks All - I like the way this one 'flows', to my mind it looks more prototypical than the previous ones. Mikkel - Thanks for a useful couple of links! - I have the AC Elliott book on the Cuckoo Line, which has a drawing of the similar structure at Hailsham, so may use that, but if not and I go something more freelance, it would be like the one in the link! - Very characterful, and a lovely looking model by Pete Morris too.

So after the last two plans I've been continuing to play around, and re-reading the excellent 'An Approach to Model Railway Layout Design - Finescale in Small Spaces' book which has given me so much inspiration for this project. With that in mind, and a nagging 'is it the best use of space' thought in the back of my head regarding 'V2', see Version 3 below. This borrows shamelessly from Iain Rice's 'Witheridge' plan in the aforementioned tome (Page 44, and sadly I can say that without even having to look it up!), in that the station becomes a 'Bitsa', with the runaround loop moved into the yard to make things a little more interesting and operationally engaging. It fits all of my 'wants' in, at the expense of losing the 'river' frontage (which was, in any case, causing me a few headaches, especially with the proposed Jigsaw construction). Scenic Thoughts As I mentioned, this plan does borrow somewhat from 'Witheridge' - in particular, the arrangement of Station Building acting as a view block for the hole in the sky, a tiny hint of fence, then a loco shed. Small sheds like this - more of a 'shed to cover a loco' than a true Engine Shed of the 'depot' variety weren't uncommon (As far as I know! - there was one until the 1880s at Hailsham, for a start, which was similarly placed to this one). In the previous paragraph I mentioned that this one loses the river frontage - however what it will allow me to do is fit in the start of the sloping downland at the back, which along with the river, is a key feature of the area - though unfortunately I think that without adding another 2-3 foot (and that's being optimistic!) in depth, the 'White Horse' would just look silly. Operation Passenger services would pull in to the platform from the left, with the loco running Bunker-first. This would then be hauled into the upper part of the loop, loco detaches, runs around and pulls the train back into the platform before heading off to Alfriston again. Goods workings to the Shingle loading sidings at the Haven would obviously run straight through, whilst local goods traffic would be split in the loop (or platform road) before being taken off to the 'general' siding, the coal siding or the brewery. I did think about a slip, rather than the 'ladder' of points, but thought it a little 'expensive' for such a small station. Again, everything from Alfriston (With the possible exception of the shingle trains, as there would be a loop at the loading area) would arrive bunker-first. Your thoughts are, as ever, both welcomed and appreciated!

Certainly looks very nice to me!

True Job, but it is a similar concept - I suppose the Jigsaw theory just takes it a step further from Mikkel's excellent idea.

Just been re-reading this Mikkel - I believe Iain Rice calls this principle the 'Jigsaw' layout. It's something I'm keen to embrace on my Cuckmere Valley project - mostly for the practical reasons that it will be easier to store, and eventually transport, seperate modules rather than one long 8' x 2' lump, but also because the gaping chasms of baseboard joints tend to stick out like a sore thumb to me on so many excellent layouts - when I read the pages in question, it got me thinking 'there must be a better way' I'm not quite sure where to begin, myself - but perhaps a mockup (quarter-size) might be the way forward, to see if it 'works' (Using, perhaps, Card and straws instead of wood and dowels)

Another fiddle stick here too, Job - so that trains to/from the shingle loading can run straight through, as well as allowing the passenger loco to run around.

Yes, I think it flows better too. There would be a 'fiddle stick'/cassette, and I agree, would be tempted to lose the trees (or move them to the other side of the river) to accomodate a signal box as well.

Further thoughts....

Many thanks for your thoughts Job - how about V2 (attached)

Now that I've written the history and dreamt up the rationale, it's now time to think about the layout. Attached is the first draft of Litlington, my chosen station. I am hoping to draw up a nice 'pen and ink' plan, but wanted to make sure everything 'fits' properly. It is pretty much as per the 'Route Guide' published recently, except I've decided that the brewery entrance would be better 'offstage' - it just seems to suit the open feel of the place a little more. There is room for a few changes - I'd quite like to fit a flint-built cottage on there somewhere - but I'm quite happy with what I've come up with so far. 'Fits', of course, is a bit subjective - there is 'no room at the inn' for an 8' long lump - and of late I've been erring towards the smaller, portable (who said exhibitable, quiet there, the Mrs is watching ) layout as my 'weapon of choice'. On that note - I have been reading of the 'Jigsaw' design principle, which sounds ideal, particularly as I've always had an aversion to the (often unavoidable!) 'baseboard join chasm' often seen, and the plan has been designed with this in mind. Would welcome any thoughts, especially on the Jigsaw method as, apart from in a couple of Iain Rice's books, it isn't something I have read a lot about.

Thanks - As much as I'd like to model the early era (I must say I find some of the early Stroudleys in particular very easy on the eye!) - soldering is not at all my forte, so I think it will be early SR - the Bachmann E4, a Terrier or two, the Birdcage stock etc. Not set in stone yet, but this is what I'm leaning towards at the moment.

Isfield The Cuckmere Valley Line began at Isfield, with services departing from Platform 3. Facilities at Isfield were shared with the Wealden (Lewes-Uckfield) Line Station, with A.E Lavender the local coal merchant, also involved with sand, granite and the shingle extracted from Cuckmere Haven. Whilst most passenger trains terminated at Isfield, a few ran onto the Wealden Line, pausing at Platform 1 before continuing towards Uckfield, Eridge (for connections to Hailsham and Polegate via the Cuckoo Line) and Tunbridge Wells West (for connections to London). Leaving Isfield, the line turned quite sharply away from the course of the section of the Wealden line which continued towards Lewes, skirting the ancient Plashett Wood. Crossing farmland, the line then curved gently round before running close to Shortgate Lane to enter Laughton. Laughton After entering the village, the line crossed Laughton Road before entering the station, just off the present day Church Road. At Laughton a single platform was provided with a loop, small goods shed (similar to that at Horam on the Cuckoo Line), small livestock holding pen, and a seperate siding to serve the various brickworks. Leaving Laughton, the line passed close behind the village school and All Saints Church, built in the 13th Century and containing the remains of two 18th Century Prime Ministers, both members of the important Pelham family, continuing on the gentle curve to head for Ripe. Ripe A short time after leaving Laughton, the line ran into the western side of the small hamlet of Ripe. Here, a basic halt was provided with a single siding for coal and 'smalls' traffic, dealt with by a small 'booking in' office staffed by a part-time Clerk. Berwick Leaving Ripe, the line crossed the main Lewes-Eastbourne 'East Coastway' line by means of a simple overbridge, passing the outskirts of the village of Selmeston, with the station opposite the Church (St Michaels & All Angels). At Berwick, another loop was provided, with a single siding for freight for the village (larger facilities being provided off the East Coastway line at the station which, upon opening of the Cuckmere Valley line, had been renamed Berwick & Selmeston. A headshunt from this siding ran to a loading dock, adjacent to which was the 2-Foot Narrow Gauge siding of the Ludlay Brick and Tile Company. Alfriston Shortly after leaving Berwick the line changed direction, curving over the Alfriston Road before running alongside the River Cuckmere, from which it would take it's name. Alfriston Station occupied a pretty location, built on a gentle curve just off North Street, close to the centre of the village, and boasted a goods store as well as livestock pens. Litlington Leaving Alfriston, the line curved to cross the Cuckmere, before running into Litlington, the terminus of passenger operation on the line. Here a loop is provided, as well as basic goods facilities and a siding running to the Long Man Brewery. Litlington, as with Isfield, is also the location of a coaling stage with water tower (fed from the river), to enable locomotives to be refueled prior to the journey either down to the coast, or back northwards. Following Litlington, the line takes a reasonably straight path alongside the river, crossing again at Exceat, before terminating close to the shore - a loop is also provided. The East Sussex Transport & Trading Company also maintains a small siding for stabling a shunting locomotive, which although plated to work over LBSC metals as far as Litlington Station, is primarily used to shunt loaded wagons into the opposite track of the loop, to enable empties to be delivered straight to the loading platform. Sources; All information on Narrow Gauge Lines from http://cambrianmodels.co.uk/eastsxng.html .

British Railways was formed from the Big Four in 1948, with, again, little except signage and numbers on rolling stock changing for the Cuckmere Valley Railway. During the 1950's, the tourists began to drift away - tempted by other parts of the network, with the era of the Holiday Camp in full swing. Still the little railway soldiered on - but in 1963 came a double whammy which the railway would not recover from - firstly the famous and feared report of Dr Richard Beeching recommended the line for closure to passenger traffic - declining receipts blamed despite a local campaign to save the line, with some of the descendants of the original backers involved in an at-times bitter campaign. Freight too was on the decline, but the appetite of the construction industry for ballast - ironically to increase the road-building programme to replace railways all over the country - kept the gravel and shingle extraction going, which would have been enough to preserve the branch as a freight only line. It was not to be. A year after the withdrawal of passenger service, the East Sussex Transport And Trading Company ceased trading (1), cutting the need for the line dramatically. This time it was the end, and full closure was complete by January 1965. Perhaps as a result of their main transportation method ending, the Ludlay Brick and Tile Company at Berwick closed in 1965 (2). Of the Stations, Litlington, Alfriston, Laughton and Berwick passed quickly into private ownership, following demolition and removal of track, whilst the halt at Ripe, a wooden structure, quickly became derelict and was dismantled in early 1970. The trackbed, too, was sold off piecemeal, mostly to local farmers who re-incorporated it into the same fields that their ancestors had seen severed a hundred years previously, whilst new housing at Alfriston, Berwick and Laughton removed all but the faintest traces of the line in those villages. The freight-only section from Litlington to the coast also reverted to its natural state - with the Cuckmere Haven becoming a popular tourist attraction in its own right. Isfield, however, after initially facing a similar fate, had a far happier ending - the Wealden Line had been closed in 1969 after another, more drawn out battle between local residents and what had now become British Rail (3). The station was purchased at auction by Dave and Gwen Millham (4), and restoration to former glory began immediately afterwards, with track relaid along the route of the line towards Uckfield. What had now became known as the Lavender Line passed into the ownership of the Lavender Line Preservation Society in 1991, with remaining artifacts, including original Station nameboards, of several Cuckmere Valley Line stations displayed in a small museum in the restored Signal Box. Things would come full circle in November 2011, when 'Rileys Railway' opened to the public alongside Platform 3 at Isfield (5) - meaning that once again, and although much smaller, trains run along a tiny part of the route of the Cuckmere Valley Railway. ('Rileys Railway' at the Lavender Line, Isfield) Sources; 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckmere_Haven#History 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick,_East_Sussex#Berwick_industry 3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealden_Line#Public_enquiry 4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender_Line#Restoration 5 - http://www.lavender-line.co.uk/news/newsarchive/news-20.htm

'The Grouping' as it came to be known saw The LBSCR merge with the South Eastern & Chatham Railway and the London & South Western Railway, as well as several smaller companies, to form the Southern Railway, one of the Big Four. For a while, little changed, although gradually LBSC fixtures and fittings began to disapear to be replaced by the roundel of the Southern. At Litlington, a new 'White Horse' was cut in 1924 to replace the original which had become overgrown (1), whilst the Brickworks at Laughton reached their peak of production. The Grouping also saw new stock work the line - with former SECR locomotives, particularly James Stirling's O Class and Harry Wainwright's 0-4-4T H Class becoming common, the latter continuing the 'Motor Train' trend of the early part of the century, with Push-Pull working dominating on the route. Coaching stock too changed - one of the main policies of Robert Maunsell, the first Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway, early in his tenure, was to standardise the wide variety of coaching stock he had inherited, which would eventually lead to stock originating from the former rivals of the LBSC featuring regularly on the line. Late in the 1920's, with further suburban electrification, came the first regular 'standard' services, rather than Push-Pull workings, with Billinton's E4 Class 0-6-2 Tanks, as well as former SECR 'Birdcage' Coaching stock, to accomodate the growing tourist visitors to Alfriston and Litlington in particular, with the locomotive using the loop at Litlington, previously the main preserve of the Ballast and Gravel workings, to run around - locomotive 2562, once named Laughton, performing the first run. Things, however, would not be so rosy for ever - a change in policy resulted in the shingle no longer being used for ballast from 1932 (3) although extraction continued for use in construction, including new Coastal defences at the Haven, whilst the Great Depression also saw the end of the Brickworks at Laughton (4), although it did not bite as hard in the South East as in other areas. The 30's soon gave way to war again - with troop and munitions trains again operating down the branch towards the coast - this time with the added problems caused by the Luftwaffe, with Laughton struck by a Doodlebug with tragic consqeunces and Berwick suffering bomb damage - many of the windows in the church were blown out (5) and the Cuckmere Line station also damaged in the blast. Repairs were completed soon after the end of the war, whilst the line also enjoyed troop trains again, with the returning soldiers retracing the route they had taken years earlier on their way to demobilisation. By the end of 1947, things were again back to normal - only for the formation of British Railways to bring further changes. Sources; 1 - http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/hillfigs/littling/littlin.htm 2 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Railway_(UK)#Carriages 3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coastway_Line#Crumbles_Branch 4 - http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/laughton.php 5 - http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/berwick.php

Many thanks Gerry - your efforts, slow or otherwise, certainly sound interesting! - living locally I'm planning on a lesiurely drive around the area with the camera and the family (so no doubt stopping at the various tea rooms!) to take photos of 'interesting things' - modelable buildings/trees/general landscape shots, that kind of thing. I've not quite decided which of the stations I plan to model first yet - but like you I plan to adapt architecture from elsewhere (the A.C Elliott Cuckoo Line book will, I suspect, prove invaluable!).

Following the somewhat fractious planning and construction of the line, the route settled down quickly to return a modest profit over the first few years of operation, with the shingle and brickworks especially profitable traffic. For a short time, there were two 'Berwick' stations - before the one serving the main line was renamed Berwick & Selmeston. Services were operated by the LBSCR, who had regained their financial stability by the middle of the 1870's (1), with Stroudley's A1 Terrier, D1 and later D3 Classes regular performers, alongside of the last of the Craven-designed engines in the earliest days. As with many similar routes, passenger services were mostly in the hands of motor trains, whilst the pretty G Class 2-2-2 Singles were tested on the line following their withdrawal from the main Portsmouth route after the introduction of Robert Billinton's B2 Class (2), one of which, Number 346, was named Alfriston (3). By the time the Cuckoo Line had been completed and a spur installed connecting Tunbridge Wells West with Tunbridge Wells Central (and therefore, on to London), timings were changed so that trains arrived at Isfield in time for smoother connections with onward services. By the late 19th Century, tourism was beginning to come to the Valley - in 1896 the fledgling National Trust had purchased Alfriston Clergy House for £10 (4), whilst Tea Gardens at Litlington (5) added to the nearby attractions. Consideration was also given to constructing a further branch from Laughton through to meet with the Cuckoo Line at Hellingly - serving the hamlets of Upper & Lower Dicker, the successful Dicker Pottery industry (6) and the McDougalls Flour Mill at Horsebridge, although this would never take place, despite some preliminary earthworks being dug at both ends of the line - instead, the company sought to placate the owner, Uriah Clark, by offering reduced rates on horse-drawn transport to instead distribute the Potteries wares from Laughton whilst by 1921, the Flour traffic had become important enough to warrant a shelter at Hellingly. Map Data Copyright Google Maps 2013. Original Source; http://goo.gl/maps/YJbdC The early years of the 20th Century were more fraught - especially after the summer of 1914, with the dark clouds of World War One looming over Sussex, as well as the rest of Europe. The war brought extra traffic to the line, with troops, munitions and stores travelling down to Cuckmere Haven as an alternative to the very congested Brighton Main Line route (7), before being marched to the port and the waiting ships, whilst material excavated from the beach was also widely used throughout Sussex in the hasty construction of defences. During the war the LBSCR, as well as other railways, came under Government control, but this had little impact on the line, although there were few families in the area not touched by the conflict. By 1923, when the LBSCR was merged with others to form the Southern Railway, the line had begun to recover, with the tourists again beginning to return to the area - with the addition of tea rooms, known as Drusillas at Alfriston ( 8 ), as well as the resurrection of a Medieval 'Brew House Chamber' in Litlington, which quickly became known as the Long Man Brewery (9) . On the motive power front, the continuing electrification of the LBSCR's suburban lines in and around London had seen further cascading, with at least one member of the very attractive B1 Class locomotives (10) undertaking duties on the line. Sources; 1; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LBSCR#Later_nineteenth_century 2; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_G_class 3; http://www.semgonline.com/steam/g-single_01.html 4; http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/alfriston-clergy-house/history/ 5; http://www.litlingtonteagardens.co.uk/#/tea-gardens/4555501499 6; http://www.decorative-antiques.co.uk/histories/dicker.htm 7; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London,_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway#First_World_War 8; http://www.drusillas.co.uk/about-drusillas- 9; http://www.longmanbrewery.com/our-story/ 10; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LB%26SCR_B1_Class

The Cuckmere Valley Railway had a curious history - born from the aspirations of Victorian entrepreneurs in the trying circumstances of the 1860's and the battles between two companies, and ended, like so many rural routes, by the ex-Technical Director of ICI. The story begins some 20 years earlier. The Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway built a line from Brighton to Lewes which opened in June 1846. Three years later, this was extended to serve Eastbourne, with the line opening on the 14th May 1849 (1), now operated by the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway (LBSCR), which itself had been formed from the Brighton Lewes and Hastings Railway, amongst others, some weeks after the initial line had been opened. For some years, the residents and businessmen of what would become the Cuckmere Valley line would have to travel some way afield in order to reach the routes of the Iron Horse - during 1858, the LBSCR opened a branch from Lewes to Uckfield, with intermediate stations at Barcombe Mills and, most importantly for the line, Isfield, whilst thirteen years previously the LBSCR had also provided a station - often erroneously thought to be for the benefit of a certain Horatio Bottomley (2) - at Berwick, whilst in the other direction the LBSCR had extended their Newhaven branch to Seaford in 1864. That may well have been that - but for inter-railway rivalry. Dating back many years, the LBSCR - and her original constituent railways - had a difficult relationship with the South Eastern Railway. An agreement back in 1848 had strove to normalise relations and begin sensible, harmonious co-existence, but when the SER Chairman and Secretary reported to shareholders in 1863, they included a list of the difficulties between the two companies with reasons that they considered the original agreement breached (3). With local businesses in the area thriving - prime agricultural land throughout with plentiful produce, a brewery, as well as brickworks at Laughton and the growing needs of the railways for ballast, several entrepreneurs sensed an opportunity. They had a trump card too - one which would eventually prove vital. During late 1862 and early 1863, the businessmen and landowners petitioned, on more than one occasion, the Chairman of the LBSCR, Leo Schuster for a railway. Schuster's uncharacteristic initial hesitancy caused the main backers to switch tactics - as they began to speak to the SER, who were very keen to reach the East Sussex coast, with the potential for access to the rapidly expanding seaside resorts of Brighton and Eastbourne, themselves. This threat to the dominance of the 'Brighton' on the Sussex Coast forced Schuster's hand, with Chief Engineer of the LBSCR, Frederick Banister, quickly taking charge of planning the route. Banister had men in place by August of 1863, with the first train departing Isfield along the new route eighteen months later. The timing, for the original promoters, could not have been more - or less, if you were a shareholder of the LBSC - fortuitous. In May 1866 London bankers Overend, Gurney & Company collapsed, plunging the UK into a financial crisis (4), causing the abandonment of several, and the postponement of other (5) lines, with Schuster departing as a result. The line itself, operated by the LBSCR, began at Isfield, with trains using Platform 3 of Isfield station on the 'Wealden Line' - a simple walk across either the platform or level crossing to the west of the station (6) to connect with services to Lewes in one direction or Tunbridge Wells in the other. From Isfield, the single track skirted the Ancient Plashett Park Wood, before pausing first at Laughton, home of two of the promoters of the line, both engaged in the brick industry, with Laughton an important producer (7). From Laughton, the line ran to the tiny Hamlet of Ripe, deep in the agricultural heartland of Sussex and very much a farming community ( 8 , before heading towards Berwick. Berwick, as mentioned earlier, had been connected to the rail network as long ago as 1846, with a station on the Brighton-Eastbourne line of the LBSCR. This station however was in a place more convenient to the railway than the local population, being around two miles from the centre of the Village (9). Another Brickworks, with another of the main backers of the line behind it is found here - the Cuckmere Valley line bridging the Brighton-Eastbourne line with a station in the centre of the village perhaps of more use to the locals than the original. After Berwick, the line turned to run alongside the recently-straightened River Cuckmere that would give the line its name, stopping next at Alfriston, the largest of the villages served. This had previously been smuggling country, with the notorious Collins Gang effectively running the town until the transportation of their leader in 1830, with the backers keen to turn the fortunes of the village around (10). Leaving Alfriston and continuing towards the mouth of the river, the railway terminated - for passengers, at least - at Litlington, the location of a Horse cut into the chalk hillside to mark the coronation of Queen Victoria (11). Freight, however, continued southwards, right to the mouth of the river where shingle was extracted from the estuary for use in construction, and indeed ballast on the railway itself (12), by the East Sussex Transport and Trading Company, the owner of which was another of the original backers of the line. Looking for a Station by Station Guide? - Find it here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1330/entry-11576-a-journey-down-the-cuckmere-valley-line-station-by-station/ Sources; 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastbourne_railway_station#History 2 - http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2441539 3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway#Deterioriation_of_relations_with_the_SER 4 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Banister#1860.E2.80.931896:_Chief_Engineer.2C_LB.26SCR 5 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Brighton_and_South_Coast_Railway#1867_financial_crisis_and_its_impact 6 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isfield_railway_station 7 - http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/laughton.php 8 - http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/ripe.php 9 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick,_East_Sussex#Berwick_Station 10 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfriston#History 11 - http://www.hows.org.uk/personal/hillfigs/lost/littlin.htm 12 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckmere_Haven#History

Firstly, an explanation. Since I bought the Iain Rice Book - 'Layout Design' (from the Haynes 'Realistic Railway Modelling' series) a few years ago, I've been keen on some of the ideas included - principally that of the holistic approach to design, rather than my current/previous method of blundering in with an XtrkCad plan and often making avoidable mistakes along the way (ref the Shed layout, where the curves are too tight to run things properly...) What will follow and will develop into at least one (and at the current enthusiasm level, more than one!) layout based on a single concept - a line that never was. One of Iain's suggestions was to write up a fictional history of your line. For the last couple of evenings I have been doing some (Fascinating!) research with the aim of doing that, and tonight present the first part. The reason I have chosen a Blog, rather than a layout thread, is that it will hopefully let me group things together in a more structured way - this won't be a conventional 'here's a plan, here's the baseboards, here's the first of the track' etc thread - instead I will no doubt meander between different aspects (the fiction, the baseboard design - which will be a new direction for me as well, the stock etc).

Thanks for that, much appreciated. To save clogging this thread up, I've started another on the subject here Back on topic.... One way of thinning your collection of magazines - flog the pages, 1 article at a time...