Milk Traffic

In the early photos of Hallatrow there are always lots of milk churns and in 'Through Countryside & Coalfield' it quotes figures for milk traffic over the branch in 1925. For Hallatrow it quotes over 7000 churns. The milk was sent either to London (via Frome) or to Cardiff (via Bristol). All this traffic had gone by the mid-1930 as Express Dairies took over collection direct from the farms by road.

14xx at Scaleforum 2014

Whilst at Scaleforum 2014 last weekend I took the chance to give my GWR 14xx, an Airfix body with a High Level chassis, a run on the Risborough & District MRC's test track. After a strutting start it completed several laps, in both directions, without stoping. Earlier in the day I had spoken to Andrew Ullyott to see if I could give the loco a run on his 'Wheal Elizabeth' when the show started to run down on the Saturday, as you can see.

Working Timetables

Originally when the layout was designed I had intended to set it in 1923 (just after the grouping), however I later decided to set the layout just after the opening of the re-modelling of Hallatrow and the opening of extension of the Camerton branch around 1909 - 11.

I visited the Public Records Office (PRO) to obtain copies of Working Timetables (WTT's) and other documents. However all the sections of the WTT's are bound together and because of the fragility and condition of the pages it is not possible to get good copies of the pages.

I was then told that there were a number of WTT's published on the web and just after that a post was put on a GWR web list asking for WTT's of the branches of the GW main line in Devon in the BR period. The reply gave details of a site with copies of a number of BR(WR) working timetable plus a number of 1911 GWR WTT's. Fortunately this included sections 3, 4 and 5 (i.e. 3 being Reading, Westbury, Taunton & Weymouth, 4 being Bristol and 5 being Weston, Taunton & Exeter). The Bristol section includes both the North Somerset and East Somerset.

A Dean's for Hallatrow

One of the photos I have of Hallatrow shows Dean Goods no.2395 with a goods train posed in the station c.1912. Fortunately some time ago I picked up a Mainline Dean Goods off a second hand stall at an exhibition. Some Sharman wheels were acquired at a Leatherhead Scaleforum so all that remained was a compensated chassis kit for the loco and tender, these being acquired from High Level.

The High Level loco chassis minus pick-up's

The High Level tender kit can be built as either beam
compensation or with CSB. I chose the CSB version.

The body's have been temporally re-united to the chassis's
to check for height.

More work on the Signal Box

Things have been moving on slowly lately but now the roof have been completed.

The slates are Slater's with Scale Link ventilators and other
bits of evergreen rod.

However, the time has not been wasted, in August a trip to Somerset and the West Somerset Railway. This allowed me access to the signal boxes on the line so that I could research the interior of the Type 7 on the line, Bishops Lydeard and Blue Anchor.

Interior of Bishops Lydeard box.

A new Station Building - part 2

I thought add another photo of the station building, this time with the canopy in place. The valance was an Exactoscale etch purchased many years ago.

This photo was taken from the platform side, which is the opposite side
under normal operating/viewing conditions   

The Type 7 Signal Box

As my model of Hallatrow depicts the station before the footbridge was built and after the re-modelling, i.e. late 1909 - 1910, the type 7 box is required. As I don't have a plan of the box I did not fancy counting bricks but the is a plan of the Bishops Lydeard in the book on the West Somerset Line - The Minehead Branch.

The plan was re-scaled to 4mm and and a mock up made to see how it would look on the layout. This proved to be not imposing enough, Bishops Lydeard box only had/has 33 leavers whereas Hallatrow's had 62.But by cutting and pasting the plan an additional 2 windows are added, making a better looking mock up.

Fortunately the distinctive windows and doors are available from Modelex, being those from the Chuchward kit.

Front view of box 

Side and front showing the Churchward etch windowsand doors which are
held in place with 'Blu-Tack'. The brick work is South Eastern Finecast Flemish Bond.

The signal box temporarily in its place on the layout with the embolic roof.