Trenance

Building a Great Western branch terminus.

It has often been said in the model press that the GWR branch terminus is a hackneyed subject for a model and has been done to death. In the 1960's and 70's when many layouts were strongly influenced by the writings of C. J. Freezer, this may have been true, certainly many schemes based on the ubiquitous Ashburton appeared in the modelling press during that time. Ashburton was often cited as the 'typical' GWR branch terminus; in fact it was quite the opposite, the famous timber train shed, was most unusual for a country branch station, and apart from Moretonhampstead was almost unique. In more recent times, the Great Western branch line as a generic subject for modelling has been well researched and published (Williams 1991 - 93) proving that there is really no such thing as a 'typical' GWR branch and that it was a highly diverse and individual subject. In fact, in recent years models of GWR branch termini seem to have become scarce, with very few appearing at exhibitions.

We are working on a new OO scale layout depicting a medium sized urban station based somewhere on the borders of the LMS and the GWR. The track used is Peco Code 75 so a wide range of ready to run,and hand built stock can be run on the layout.The project is designed for modellers of all abilities and experience.