GWR morning school train

Posted byTrevorPosted inBydemill operations, Great Western Railway in 7mm scale, GWR Bydemill (Highworth), Layouts I have designed or built, Operations

This is a second possible train for the schedule on Bydemill – my 7mm scale layout depicting the Great Western Railway in the Edwardian Era. Once the first train of the day has delivered newspapers and collected carloads of milk in churns, I envision the next arrival being a branchline passenger train, ready to take residents of Bydemill to Swindon and beyond.

Since it’s the first proper passenger train of the day, it’ll also transport children from Bydemill and elsewhere on the branch to school – and my understanding is a separate, 3rd Class coach dedicated to hauling the kiddiewinks wouldn’t be out of the question. We can’t have the youngsters disturbing the adults – not even for the short journey up the branch.

In reality, the All-3rd would probably have been included in the consist when the train was built in Swindon. But it’s more fun if the crew gets to add it at the terminal. So, here’s the sequence for this unlikely train…

The train approaches Bydemill from Swindon, with three carriages in the consist: two Brake-3rds sandwich a 1st/2nd Class coach.
The train makes its first stop at the platform and allows early-bird travellers to alight.
The crew uncouples the locomotive – a 517 Class tank engine – and pulls forward into the tail track to take on water.
Watering finished, the engine reverses through the loop and drifts past the coaches.
Having run around its train, the crew pulls ahead onto the platform track…
… then reverses into the goods yard…
… before proceeding up the shed track…
… to the ram, where it collects the All-3rd.
The crew pulls back, clearing the shed track switch…
… then propels the all-3rd onto the train. Passengers – including school children – may now clamber aboard. Don’t do this! And don’t do that!
With the starter signal showing green, the train pulls onto the main…
… and heads for Swindon.

This was another fun set of moves to make, and will add variety to the typical “arrive – run around – leave” operating pattern of a branch line passenger train. I will run a few of those during the day. (That said, I haven’t yet added a mixed train. While it could fit anywhere into the schedule, I think I’ll work out the moves for that one next.)

He’s coming along…

(There will eventually be a number of posts about the trains on the schedule. You can find all of them in the Bydemill Operations category.)

Published by Trevor

Lifelong model railway enthusiast and retired amateur shepherd who trained a border collie to work sheep. Professional writer and editor, with some podcasting and Internet TV presenting work thrown in for good measure.