7mm Corwen Road

jonte

Western Thunderer
Hi Larry

Sorry to see you agonising over this.

The same thoughts expressed by Rob have crossed my mind too, but it’s a shame to lose the those wonderful structures which you’ve obviously put so much effort into, especially as I rather suspect you quite enjoy the art ;)

I kept thinking how you could possibly keep them while maintaining some air of plausibility - if you don’t mind me being so bold as to say so - and I think it was the style of the station building that threw up a possible(?) solution, albeit the station building isn’t quite as grand as yours:

Disused Stations:Cardigan Station

Even the signal box seems quite large for what is merely typical country BLT:

cardigan railway station - Google Search

If you throw in one of those lovely little turntables and a tiny engine shed, you’ve a full house.

It’s even in Wales:)

Best of, whatever you decide.

Jonte

Edit: From memory, there are a couple of photos in one of Stephen Williams’ Branchline books re the engine shed/turntable. If you’d like to see them, just PM me and I’ll send you a copy. Jonte
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Thanks Jonte. Those photos are useful and add to my own researches done in the past half hour. I don't feel so bad about the size of my signal box now :).

The goods sheds on the Cambrian mainline and some branches are quite large. So too are signal boxes even where there are few points. Four Crosses (26 levers) had six points and 'Pool Quay' had a runround and one point off to a goods shed. Buttington Junction signal box (28 levers) looks to be no larger despite the number of points and signals.
 

Andy P

Western Thunderer
My two penneth if I may Larry. I would even slew the Shed out a bit as well to leave room for a round conical water Tower by the short stub behind it
WEB Fresh start 11.jpg
WEB Fresh start 11 - Copy.jpg
 
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
I've tried out all the suggestions but to be honest they didn't produce much more space in the yard and I ended up back where I started. However, the suggestions did prompt me to order a smaller signal box (Barmouth ~if it is available in 7mm). Also the goods shed looks slightly smaller now that it has lost its external goods office. The adjacent platform represent a cattle dock. There is plenty of space for coal bunkers too...

WEB Fresh start 13.jpg

The goods shed now has an internal office instead (better suited to the chimney in fact)...
WEB Goods shed mods 6.jpg
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Oh Dear Larry !, you do seem to be finding it difficult to fit all this in, ever considered 00 scale by any chance ?...........:)

Moving swiftly on (start the car, I might be leaving the area very quickly !), don't forget you will probably still need a trap (sorry !) catch point at the exit from the yard.

On a more serious note, what about a nice little loco shed in the empty area beyond the platform and signal box at the rear of the layout.

5.19.28BB.jpg

This could be facing the platform as here at Ashburton, shown here as converted for some other use​


7.34BB.jpg

or facing away from the platform, like this one at Much Wenlock Goods Yard, complete with a water tank. That tank doesn't seem to have watering facilities directly for locos, but maybe they were inside the shed.


7.36B.jpg

However a similar tank at Buildwas does have watering facilities. This would avoid the need for a separate water tower or crane.

Just a thought
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the photos Phil. That loco shed does look dandy, but I dont want anything else that will cast a shadow on the backscene. The station building will be disguised with trees ~ I hope. A much smaller signal box will replace the existing one....

As it happens, I have miss-spent all day on this layout question and if this one isn't the one, then I'm going to go narrow gauge. Doh, I've been there already...:p:p

I irked me all along that I couldn't get everything in and yet the other end of the baseboard was bare! Soddit, I gave land over to a headshunt and also a separate coal yard with loads of room for weighbridge and the usual huts. And the beauty is, nowt's at the edge of the baseboard ...
WEB Fresh start 16.jpg

At the station end, there was space to put in an end-loading platform and cattle platform fed straight from Station Road..... WEB Fresh start 14 copy.jpg
 

PhilH

Western Thunderer
Narrow gauge, really ? - mind drifts off into utopian world of cute little engines and......NO ! back to reality


2.20.05BB.jpg

Ashburton had only two goods sidings, one reversing back from the other

4.19.29BB.jpg

I would guess that the reversed siding served an area used for unloading coal judging by the paved surface, just like your latest plan
However a couple of comments if I may - the goods shed is now nearer the baseboard edge and might get disturbed when you're uncoupling the loco at the platform end or shunting the cattle dock and with wagons in the other two sidings it doesn't leave much room for shunting the coal siding, particularly if you get an 0-6-0 tender loco. You could move the goods shed where it was alongside the loop line then have the other siding nearer the baseboard edge as you had it in the previous post. That siding would then be used mainly as a shunting neck for the coal siding although you could turn the end of it inward slightly to serve a cattle dock at its far end or put the cattle dock at the end of the headshunt beyond the coal yard.

 
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Muddysblues

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the photos Phil. That loco shed does look dandy, but I dont want anything else that will cast a shadow on the backscene. The station building will be disguised with trees ~ I hope. A much smaller signal box will replace the existing one....

As it happens, I have miss-spent all day on this layout question and if this one isn't the one, then I'm going to go narrow gauge. Doh, I've been there already...:p:p

I irked me all along that I couldn't get everything in and yet the other end of the baseboard was bare! Soddit, I gave land over to a headshunt and also a separate coal yard with loads of room for weighbridge and the usual huts. And the beauty is, nowt's at the edge of the baseboard ...
View attachment 130492

At the station end, there was space to put in an end-loading platform and cattle platform fed straight from Station Road..... View attachment 130493

That looks the Mutt's nuts Larry :thumbs:, I think you have cracked it old bean !!

Stay safe
Craig.
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Hi Phil, Thanks for the useful photos of Ashburton. As you say, care will have to be taken hitching up a cattle wagon or 'Mogo'. The shed has been all over the shop, but its present location works best because the inclined road is level with the cattle & end-loading platform, which of course is at the end of a headshunt.

Everything was moved around and then a photo was taken. As often as not, a problem was spotted as soon as it was viewed on computer.
 
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3 LINK

Western Thunderer
Larry,

Just a thought, how about having the siding going to the goods shed on a slight gradient, it doesn’t have to be a steep slope. Maybe then the size of the goods shed would not be so overpowering to the rest of the station buildings being sited a bit lower on the layout.

Martyn.
 

simond

Western Thunderer
Or maybe having Station Road coming down from a few inches above baseboard level at the front, to platform height at the rear.

It could perhaps give a credible reason for the limited platform length & limited size of the goods yard?

Atb
Simon
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
The remains of the old platform are only a prop. The length of the platform I shall be building has yet to be determined.

Station road will be on an incline rising from the front of the baseboard. But there will be no gradients on railway lines because my free-running O gauge wagons don't have working brakes. :) Following overnight storms, I found wagons had wandered all over the place on my previous layout.

To be honest, I don't find the goods shed overpowering. The real 'pest' was the cattle dock and wondering where best to locate it. I tend to accidentally demolish them.
 
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paulc

Western Thunderer
Thanks for the photos Phil. That loco shed does look dandy, but I dont want anything else that will cast a shadow on the backscene. The station building will be disguised with trees ~ I hope. A much smaller signal box will replace the existing one....

As it happens, I have miss-spent all day on this layout question and if this one isn't the one, then I'm going to go narrow gauge. Doh, I've been there already...:p:p

I irked me all along that I couldn't get everything in and yet the other end of the baseboard was bare! Soddit, I gave land over to a headshunt and also a separate coal yard with loads of room for weighbridge and the usual huts. And the beauty is, nowt's at the edge of the baseboard ...
View attachment 130492

At the station end, there was space to put in an end-loading platform and cattle platform fed straight from Station Road..... View attachment 130493
Hi Larry , thats it mate , dont fiddle with it any more as it looks perfik .
Cheers Paul
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
Cheers Paul, following a day in which I was determined to crack-it, the points can now be prepared with PL-33 switches in readiness for track laying.

The layout remains simple and manageable for single handed control, and now the back-shunt provides what is arguably the most important factor of all ~ fun! Oh dear, I'll be calling it a trainset next... :eek:... :D
 

LarryG

Western Thunderer
My sleeve snagged on the goods shed chimney three times this morning, so it's been put in a less prominent place on the office roof. The loading bay is back where it started so I could move the shed back closer to Station Road and leave plenty of room for coupling up wagons....
WEB Goods shed mods 7B.jpg

The back wall was then made good again...
WEB Goods shed mods 7.jpg
 
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LarryG

Western Thunderer
Not a lot to show for a days work, but adding detail often takes longest. The platform was built wide enough to take the original peaked platform canopy. A straight line taken from shed-exit to the dead end showed the platform would have to be angled slightly so there was some faffing there. The whole platform was paved seeing as it is busy in from Spring to Autumn with walkers. However the station building sits within the paving to eliminate shadows around the base. Edging slabs were marked out on matching thickness Plastkard then the whole structure filed down...

WEB Platform O 3.jpg

Stone platform face. It is a low platform typical of Cambrian stations...
WEB platform O 2.jpg

That table has been around the garden a few times...
WEB Platfrom O 5.jpg
 
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