Kidmore End LAYOUT NOW SOLD
Essentially the ubiquitous GWR brach line with a small, hidden, fiddle yard. Board size estimated at 5' x 1' but for ease of storage (on top of a wardrobe) & transport is split into two equal 2'6" x 1' boards. This was my largest layout to date (July 2011) breaking away from my self imposed "four square foot max" rule & would be the last for a while (the Household Manager decreed).
Proposed Trackplan
Intended trackplan (another Brant Hickman design) & scenics. The trackplan & scenics necessitated three baseboard levels; the river, an embankment, & track level above....plus a hill covering the fiddle yard. A small, single track, GWR terminus station was proposed with a headshunt permitting a loco run round, plus a siding behind the platform which could accommodate either passenger or freight stock. Railway structures are primarily from the "ready to plonk" suppliers, suitably modified & weathered, and include the station building, signal box, and goods shed. At the right hand end a small fiddle yard with a single point allowing two very short storage lines is hidden beneath the hill (mound). Trains enter the scenic section through the tunnel. The emphasis of this layout is on scenic work with the trains taking an almost secondary role. Despite the limited trackwork, three trains can be run on the layout at the same time affording good operational interest.
The location and track plan are completely fictitious, used simply because I like GWR type country stations & provides great scope from the lessons learned in the building of "Kidmore Magna" which, potentially, could be joined via one of the fiddle sidings.
I can't however take credit for the trackplan above, I "borrowed" it from a 1997 "Model Rail" magazine & probably the finished layout may only bear a passing resemblance to that originally intended.
Layout completed July 2011.
Line History
The 1862 rail route took the main line from the West Country to London through the 190yd long tunnel under Devizes castle (dismantled 1648 leaving just the mound) and, on exiting to the East, immediately over the Wilts & Berks canal. The line through Devizes was provided with a moderate service having four London bound trains as late as 1957.
The Kidmore branch, having negotiated the canal, also entered the town beneath the castle mound. The station’s single platform had generous provision for the two small villages nearby offering a contributory service to Devizes. Until about 1923 the line had the distinction of servicing the Avon Vale Iron Company who boasted two separate sidings. The remaining yard building from that era now being occupied by Swensons Monumental Masons.
The goods yard was in use until closure and, in later years, with wagons often being stored in the run-round loop. Coal was received until closure.
The Kidmore branch closed somewhat earlier than Devizes’ demise in April 1966 with tracks being lifted in 1964.
Factoid, of course.
The 1862 rail route took the main line from the West Country to London through the 190yd long tunnel under Devizes castle (dismantled 1648 leaving just the mound) and, on exiting to the East, immediately over the Wilts & Berks canal. The line through Devizes was provided with a moderate service having four London bound trains as late as 1957.
The Kidmore branch, having negotiated the canal, also entered the town beneath the castle mound. The station’s single platform had generous provision for the two small villages nearby offering a contributory service to Devizes. Until about 1923 the line had the distinction of servicing the Avon Vale Iron Company who boasted two separate sidings. The remaining yard building from that era now being occupied by Swensons Monumental Masons.
The goods yard was in use until closure and, in later years, with wagons often being stored in the run-round loop. Coal was received until closure.
The Kidmore branch closed somewhat earlier than Devizes’ demise in April 1966 with tracks being lifted in 1964.
Factoid, of course.
Exhibitions Attended / Booked:
Oct 2011: Beaconsfield MRC
Feb 2012: Newbury MRC
April 2012: Amersham & District MRC
May 2012: Thames Valley Expo
Nov 2012: Letchworth MRC