I've not posted here for a while, so here's a bumper crop!
A summer afternoon at Kemble Junction on the 'Golden Valley' line from Swindon to Gloucester, sometime around the early 60s....
Pannier Tank 57xx class no. 4612 simmers gently in the bay platform for the Tetbury branch with a single coach, a van and a couple of empty 5-plank wagons. The starter is 'off', but the train seems in no hurry to leave!
BR are trying out Railbuses to help threatened branchlines and here's one on the Cirencester platform waiting to leave with the 14.05 service. Sadly, the railbuses didn't succeed and the Cirencester and Tetbury branches closed in 1964.
Pannier tank 57xx class 3669 comes off the branch with some vans so now the railbus can commence its short journey to Cirencester.
Highly unusual motive power for the mid afternoon Cheltenham to Paddington express. The usual Castle class has been replaced by rebuilt Jubilee 45735 Comet. Strange to see an LMS loco at the head of a set of pristene chocolate and cream Mk1s. Not that the small boys playing football to the left of the footbridge seem to care!
56xx class loco 6645 is well off its usual beat hauling coal trains in south Wales as it heads north from Swindon with a mixed set of mineral empties. Perhaps a running in turn from Swindon works? The train is leaving the entirely cosmetic tunnel built at the behest of Squire Robert Gordon as a condition for running the railway over his land so he wouldn't have to see any trains from his residence at Kemble House!
An unidentified 57xx sits idling in the coal exchange sidings as the 56xx pulls away in the Gloucester direction.
The van train finally gets the right of way to head up the main line in the Swindon direction, seen here in two contrasing views above and below the stone road bridge carrying the A429 over the railway. Yet another 57xx sits in the Cirencester yard headshunt.
With thanks to Gary Price (LMS_MAN) for the locos and Chris White for the BR(W) signals that inspired me to build this layout.
Paul