Connahs Quay 1906. Travelling hopefully.

[jon price]

Connah's Quay 1906

The layout, which I hope to enter for the challenge represents the Deeside terminus of the Buckley Railway in 1906. At that point, as a branchline of the Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway, it had just been absorbed by the Great Central Railway. Traffic generated on the Buckley Railway was mostly coal and bricks, with connections to the L&NWR in the North, and the GWR and Cambrian in the South. The Buckley Railway intended to run a passenger service, for which a platform was provided at the rear of the L&NWR station, but this never happened. The intention is to represent that service using WM&CQR stock.

Baseboard 1 is a much reduced version of a larger, barely started, layout. Baseboard 2 will be completely new. Much of this features on my workshop thread.

Baseboard 1 (actual 8.91 square feet scenic area. Total dimensions 24” x 57”)
Structures:
The original Connah's Quay and dock
Buckley Railway office
Quay House Inn and associated farm buildings
Coppack Bros. And Co ship owners and chandlers
Railway:
Four sidings on Connah's Quay, and a stub of track which would have led to Connah's Quay field and second dock (not represented). An elevated section of the main L&NWR line Chester to Holyhead with the end of the station platforms. The exit from the quay passing under main line towards Buckley and Wrexham

Fiddle yard 1 joining baseboards 1 and 2. (33.5” long)
Representing the cutting to the quay and the exchange sidings and platform behind the L&NWR station

Baseboard 2 (9.92 square feet available for scenic area. Probable dimensions 18” x 57”)
Structures:
Cuttings
Railway Terrace (possibly)
Prince's Brickworks
Railway:
The line from the quay, and the line from behind the L&NWR station, emerging from bridges under High Street. Trap sidings for runaways, and facility for splitting trains, pinning brakes etc. Sidings at Prince's Brickworks loading bank. No obvious vision block at end of baseboard.

Fiddleyard at the end of baseboard 2. (33.5” long)
Representing the main line to the Dock locos engine shed, to Buckley, and eventually to Wrexham and the connections to the rest of the world

PA030015.JPG

[Worzels Works]

Hi Jon, exciting to see this as a subject for a layout, I've had the occasional look at WM&CQR locos over the past week since seeing this spring up, are you going to be doing/do you have a model of that beasty 0-8-0 saddle tank?

[jon price]

Hi James. I'm hesitant to commit to how many locos I mught manage to make! I have a practically complete No.17 from an abandoned project, but since these were used for passenger service on the Wrexham to Seacombe line, and probably too large for the Buckley branch this won't be making an appearance.

At the moment I am about to attempt to complete No14. a Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST, which will be a reasonable guess for the proposed passenger service. It was actually used as a relief engine on the Ffrwd and Vos branches so I think this is reasonable. The docks were worked by two outside cylinder Hudswell Clarke Rogers 0-4-0Ts, No7 and No9, which by 1906 were quite different from each other both in shape and livery, and I am fairly confident I have a working chassis to build a body on.

The line itself was worked by two pairs of locos. One of these pairs was No.8 and No.6. No.6, originally an 0-6-0 tender engine built for the Manchester and Birmingham in 1846, rebuilt as an 0-6-0ST by the LNWR, and then variously a WMCQR 0-6-0ST, an 0-6-2ST and, by 1906 an 0-8-0ST. I'm aiming to build No.8, a Sharp Stewart 0-6-0ST, for which I have the etches for a chassis of sorts, and the patterns for the body. but if I get carried away with this project No.6 would be a logical follow on as I have the etches which could be the makings of a chassis.

I also have most of the etches towards a GCR Class 5 0-6-0ST. This class appear to be the first GCR locos sent to the railway after the merger and were used at Connah's Quay.

So to start with four locos: No.8 (Sharp Stewart 0-6-0T), No.9 (Hudswell Clarke Rodgers 0-4-0ST), No14 (Manning Waredle 0-6-0ST), and GCR Class 5 (0-6-0ST), which I think is plenty to be going on with.

Jon