Having stopped two builds (Princess Coronation and Castle) to gather my thoughts and gain strength to continue I have done some thinking down in the the train room. About Penmaenpool and if it has a future.
Some time ago on a different forum LarryG was contemplating change because he couldn't see operations at Carrog being interesting enough. This struck a chord because at Penmaenpool, even on a summer SO timetable, the station was a very sleepy place. Attractive? Yes. Busy? No. I was also restricted to route availability but I like big tender engines and I already have some ex-LMS locos and coaches.
I have enough space for a continuous double oval with 6ft minimum radii. I would like to run 6 to 8 coach expresses but also a wide range of lesser trains. I have often thought about a station on the North Warwickshire Line and Earlswood would be a good choice because it was where the heaviest trains were banked up from Stratford-upon-Avon. But such a layout would be a round and round. No interesting terminus facility to make life interesting. I also have a 60ft turntable which would be surplus to such a layout.
For some reason I never thought about Moor Street Station, the northern terminus for the line. Until now!
I would have to invoke several Rule 1s, but not as many as you might think. Moor Street was not just a suburban terminus. It had the GWR Northern Division main line running past into Snow Hill Tunnel. It had long distance trains pulled by tender engines such as Castles and Halls. It also had visits from auto trains on a Honeybourne/Worcester service and LM(R) trains also visited both the terminus and passed by on the through lines. Much of the evidence for these comes from warwickshirerailways.com. Remember that during the WCML and New Street electrification program there were all sorts of diversions.
Plus there were the traversers! Space saving releases for tank engines but rated to 170 tons so large tender engines could be released to turn at "Tyseley" (where the turntable would be used). I have done a quick sketch using Anyrail software and the railway room could handle a double oval with one long storage loop running along the walls with a spur off to Moor Street running diagonally across the room. There is a
track plan from 1914 when about half the station was in operation and I would freeze this plan as still being active in the 1950s.
Another advantage is the availability of ready to plonk buildings, etc. I would not necessarily reproduce the restored station building, fine as it is, it might be done in half relief, while I could put Penmaenpool's engine shed to good use as a staging point for busy suburban tank engines! The back scenes would be cityscapes from the period, well illustrated on-line.
Goods trains? Only on the main line but as anyone who spotted at Snow Hill will attest, the centre two tracks were always being used for fast and local transfer freights, pulled by anything from a pannier to an 8F or Black 5. I would not model the extensive GWR goods shed at Moor Street, simply not enough space.
So, more thought is needed but the existing framework would need only minor alterations and all the track could be re-used. What have I got to lose?
Paul