Given this thread has already been started I might as well plonk it here....
Shelvington:
In The Beginning (pardon the repeats):
Layout Name - Shelvington
Scale/Gauge - p4
Size (length/width/height... not forgetting to include operating space!) -Stage 1 4.7m x .45m with stage 2 6.25 x 3.25 in an 'L' max width .45m
Potentially an exhibition layout
End-to end
BR/SR early 1975Era/region/location
I enjoy the painting side and my mate enjoys the construction - which I think he does, exceptionally. But my real passion is BR (SR) in the blue/grey era. His mum's parents lived in Fairlands, near Guildford and an aunt and uncle lived in Woking. So childhood holidays always involved trips on BIGs and CIGs, REPs and TC's, Tadpoles, Vep's and 33's on West of Englands, the Waterloo and city stock and of course VECs and TISs on the Isle of Wight. So it is our aim to build a layout in the Surrey/Hampshire border somewhere in the Guidlford/Aldershot/Woking triangle.
The fictitious history is that the LSWR build a direct line to Farnham off the Portsmouth Direct at Worplesdon, which became a junction station and was renamed Mayford (which it is actually closer to than Worplesdon) the line passed through Worplesdon Village and skirted around the site of the the 1930's Fairlands development before arriving in Shelvington (the layout is going to sit on a shelf in the hobby room!). The line continued on with a station at Normandy, and then under the Guildford -Reading line near Ash. The fictitious line then joined the actual route of the Guildford - Farnham via Tongham line with stations at Ash Green and Tongham, joining the Aldershot -Farnham line at Farnham Junction. Shelvington became an important junction station with the arrival of a secondary line from Guildford. Tired of wranglings with the SECR for joint running over the Reading -Rehill line (actually the LSWR built the Guildford-Ash bit - but that doesnt work for my story!) the LSWR built a line which left the Portsmouth direct North of Guildford at the fictitious location of Wooden Bridge Junction (where the A3 passes under the Portsmouth Direct). This line curved around the north west districts of Guildford, passing under the Aldershot Road at Rydes Hill, where the Southern provided a precast conrete halt in the 1930's (inspiration is Three Oaks on the Ashford-Hastings line), before joinging the Worplesdon -Farnham line at a four platform 'V' station at Shelvington. This line continued on to join the LSWR mainline East of Farnborough Main, with a loop back to Ash Vale. Only the line from Mayford Junction to Farnham was electrified by the Southern at the time of the Alton electrification. The attached map gives an idea of my work of fiction!.
Dear Mr Beeching saw no value in the the lines continuing west beyond Shelvington, but the Lines east to Woking and Guildford were profitable. Shelvington station was rationalised to just the central platforms forming the 'v', most of the buildings were demolished and a clasp building in the height of 1960's modernism erected (see Wool). Signalling is largely still mechanical (signal box similarly based on Wool), although colour lights have arrived for the platforms which didn't have a signal at the east end. In the early 70's one of the other platforms was rebuilt for the stub half hourly DEMU service to Guildford with every other train going on to Redhill and Tonbridge, two DEMU stabling roads and a refuelling point are also now provided.
So having set the scene, progress to date is.
4 of 7 baseboards built.
CLASP station building complete
Signal Box about 80% done.
Substation complete
Track 2 of 7 points built (P4)
Tadpole Class 206 built, Class 205 in the paintshop (now BR blue with superdetailed roof).
there will be lots to identify it as a modernish (it is set nearly 30 years ago!!!) image Southern layout, with Alder Valley buses, concrete buildings, warm red brick and tile hung buildings.
And of course the Farnham line nearby was a regular host to test trains, so expect to see a W&C single car, 4 Vec and possibly a 2PEP (aluminum one is enticing)
So watch this space for pics of the trains, buildings and progress.
