BGLR : The tram line

As well as the narrow gauge Birches Green line my layout also has a HO scale tramline. This began as just a way to put something on the bridge over the layout. Originally it was going to be a static track just for scenery purposes but when I bought a great Roco tram I thought I'd expand it into a proper secondary layout...

Phase 1 of the tram is shown in yellow on the plan above, it was quickly followed by phase 2 which needed a board extension and gives the tramline it's current terminus. Phase 3 is shown in green and will require a new board which will be on top of the existing layout. This will also provide a good backdrop to the left side loop of the main line.

It shouldn't prove too difficult to built phase 3, the hardest part will probably be to find a suitable piece of wood!

Long Buckby and the walk to the wharf

Yesterday I went to Long Buckby in Northamptonshire. It is a pleasant little town (or maybe should I say large village) with a pretty church and remains of a castle. Though Buckby Castle nowadays is just a mound. I took photos of Long Buckby which you can see here.

I also walked down about three kilometres to the Grand Union Canal at Buckby Wharf, an "interesting" walk on a country road without a pavement! You can see my canal photos here.

Arriving at Bromsgrove

A West Midlands Railway train arrives.

Walking the waterways (22) : Trent & Mersey

The Trent & Mersey Canal links the North West and East Midlands. The canal was intended to link the rivers Trent and Mersey with another link to the Bridgewater Canal. Plans began to be made for the canal in the mid-1700s with support coming from Josiah Wedgwood who wanted the canal to transport his pottery factory wares in Stoke-on-Trent. In 1766 work finally began on the canal, Wedgwood himself cutting the first sod of soil. The canal was completed in 1777.

The canal is still fully navigable from it's junction with the Trent at Derwent Mouth in Derbyshire to the Bridgewater Canal in Cheshire. The Trent & Mersey Canal connects also to the Coventry, Shropshire Union, Macclesfield, Caldon, Staffordshire & Worcestershire and Erewash Canals along it's one hundred and fifty kilometre route.

Building the canal meant overcoming a number of formidable obstacles and the canal includes Harecastle Canal which is over two and a half kilometres long and the Anderton Boat Lift which lowers boats over fifteen metres to the river Weaver.

Alrewas near Lichfield

Fradley Junction

Just North of Stoke

Stoke-on-Trent

Stone

Willington

BGLR : The right signals

A couple of years ago I bought a couple of working colour light signals. They were supposedly N gauge (my layout at the time was N) but looked a bit chunky. To be honest they don't look far off the right size for the HOe Birches Green layout. However I have decided not to use them as they look a bit... well cheap.

I've bought this kit for a number of dummy signals. Hopefully i'll be able to build them and install them around the layout over the coming weeks.