Modelling Traffic Patterns

[B.Meldon]

How coal is delivered to an area or railway was dependant on several factors and changed over time.
I will take the FR as an example.
When the steam locos were introduced all the coal came by sea, later with the arrival of the standard gauge railways it became more cost effective to have deliveries by rail. The FR largely switched to oil firing in the 1960

[Graeme Dunbar]

Yes, I can see that this makes sense on a railway network or a long line that would have "supply dumps" along the route.

I wonder for instance whether it might be more economic to send a "light engine" off by itself some distance to be refuelled than move resources to an awkward location, or whether engines might be swapped part way.

I'm not sure I understand the point fully.  In the case of a valley where coal is imported via the harbour, coal trains would have to be marshalled to deliver coal to every town and village on the line for the benefit of domestic and commercial users alike.  Adding another truck's worth for the railway would involve a very low marginal cost in terms of fuel resources.  Perhaps I'm missing something here.    ???

I suspect the coal usage is probably the other way round in a scenario where a NG railway serves the communitry rather than standard gauge, with domestic coal consumption being dwarfed by the amount needed by the railway. Only where the railway served a major industry or city would it be as you say.

It would appear that the annual per capita consumption of coal for domestic use remained fairly constant at under a ton from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2NfFI60MMx8C&pg=PA95&lpg=PA95&dq=household+coal+consumption+in+1900+in+uk&source=bl&ots=Eg1DA0J_s2&sig=wpxXavUOsSm4XkBWwDmEIrmvw5E&hl=en&safe=active&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=household%20coal%20consumption%20in%201900%20in%20uk&f=false

My guess is that those figures are biassed towards city consumption and that in mainly rural areas served by NG railways it is much lower. I'm sure there are exceptions and if the "big house" had an orangery it probably consumed more fuel than all the households from miles around!

I'd be interested to know what the largest population in the UK that was served by a NG railway and not standard gauge was. Of course there is nothing wrong with biassing geography and history in favour of NG railways for the sake of modelling.  ;)

[rhobat bryn]

Of course there is nothing wrong with biassing geography and history in favour of NG railways for the sake of modelling.  ;)

I've been found out!  Damn you Graeme D!!!   (smiley shaking a clenched fist in defeated frustration)    ;)

[Tigger]

"...With regards the domestic coal, my plans include a coal merchant's line in the goods yard where it is distributed locally..."

Peco do packs of 24 filled coal sacks.  I recently took delivery of a few loads for domestic coal up at Tawel-Llety.

[rhobat bryn]

How coal is delivered to an area or railway was dependant on several factors and changed over time.
I will take the FR as an example.
When the steam locos were introduced all the coal came by sea, later with the arrival of the standard gauge railways it became more cost effective to have deliveries by rail. The FR largely switched to oil firing in the 1960’s and that came by road. However the amount of coal needed would have become uneconomic to be delivered by rail anyway.

On a line without a direct standard gauge rail connection the change from sea to rail would have taken place in the 1920’s with lories bringing the coal by road from the nearest railhead. By the time of the second world war the use of ports for local non bulk deliveries of any kind had dropped to a very low level although outgoing cargo, again mainly bulk items, remained common. When this change to road deliveries happened it would have been easy, depending on the condition of the roads, to have the coal delivered direct to the station where it was going to be used rather than the railway having to transport it. By the second world war there were very few placed that did not have roads good enough for coal lories.

So it all depends on the situation of your railway and the date it is set.

Brian Meldon

The railway is definitely set before the use of the internal combustion engine in the area.  In my mind, I'm thinking 1880-1910 but don't hold me to that.  There is no standard gauge connection, the idea being that trade is conducted by means of coastal sailing ships.  It's also my intention that all the ships should be sail-driven though I may have to revise that view as steam-driven vessels were certainly around at this time.  However one thing I am definite about and that is that there will be NO CLYDE PUFFERS!

[MickT]

....................though I may have to revise that view as steam-driven vessels were certainly around at this time.  However one thing I am definite about and that is that there will be NO CLYDE PUFFERS!

Why ever not Rhobart? Puffers certainly traded as far south and even further than your own location. I've seen a photo of one in Pentewan harbour, Cornwall for example.

Mick

[B.Meldon]

The railway is definitely set before the use of the internal combustion engine in the area.  In my mind, I'm thinking 1880-1910 but don't hold me to that. 

Not a diesel loco in sight then and no ex WW1 WD locos either.
That could be a bit restrictive on what you run!
Brian Meldon

[rhobat bryn]

Why ever not Rhobart? Puffers certainly traded as far south and even further than your own location. I've seen a photo of one in Pentewan harbour, Cornwall for example.

Mick

"It tends to be a bit of a modelling clich

[rhobat bryn]

Not a diesel loco in sight then and no ex WW1 WD locos either.
That could be a bit restrictive on what you run!
Brian Meldon

No diesels were allowed to run as the deacons of the local chapel considered them to be the spawn of the devil!   ;)

Or more credibly, diesels have never appealed to me, though I admire the craftsmanship of those who produce some splendid models.  You are more likely to catch me out on the year of the locomotives I will be using (and I'm sure that you will) but I shall cross that bridge when I come to it.

As regards to no diesels being restrictive, are there not enough steam locomotives going around or have I missed the irony?

[invercloy]

Cilche? Cliche? What about those of us who should have puffers on our layouts?  :D

Glad to hear you're thinking of modelling an early era, Isle Ornsay will be 1913/14.  It helps justify having a busier line as you'll be modelling it at it's height, rather than a period when it would have likely been in decline.

[Graeme Dunbar]

Of course there is nothing wrong with biassing geography and history in favour of NG railways for the sake of modelling.  ;)

I've been found out!  Damn you Graeme D!!!   (smiley shaking a clenched fist in defeated frustration)    ;)

Aha! (in a Rabbit and Pooh sense, not Alan Partridge). I'd like to do a layout based on where I live near the NE coast of Scotland, but I'm still trying to think of reasons why NG might have thrived.

[garrywhiting]

Aha! (in a Rabbit and Pooh sense, not Alan Partridge). I'd like to do a layout based on where I live near the NE coast of Scotland, but I'm still trying to think of reasons why NG might have thrived.

Graeme, I know it's a few miles south of you, but a coastal steam powered ng line with the nickname "Arbroath Smokie" is surely irresistible!

[DeadHorse]

So, the narrow guage railway would be referred to as 'The Finnan'.
The 'other guage' would obviously be 'The Fickan' :-)

[Graeme Dunbar]

Aha! (in a Rabbit and Pooh sense, not Alan Partridge). I'd like to do a layout based on where I live near the NE coast of Scotland, but I'm still trying to think of reasons why NG might have thrived.

Graeme, I know it's a few miles south of you, but a coastal steam powered ng line with the nickname "Arbroath Smokie" is surely irresistible!

;D :D

Worse puns exist round these parts! Meldrum Meg was the local loco (or perhaps the train) on the Meldrum branch. Of course the shop in the village is the Meldrum Megastore.

Arbroath smokies -  from this man: http://www.arbroathsmokies.net/ (Mmmm, gurgle, drool (after Homer Simpson)) straight from the smoker at the Port Soy boat festival.

Unfortunately the name is more or less taken with a (very) NG railway that exists in Arbroath and it runs along side the main line: http://www.kerrsminiaturerailway.co.uk/

[rhobat bryn]

Cilche? Cliche? What about those of us who should have puffers on our layouts?  :D

Then it's a cultural icon!    :D

Glad to hear you're thinking of modelling an early era, Isle Ornsay will be 1913/14.  It helps justify having a busier line as you'll be modelling it at it's height, rather than a period when it would have likely been in decline.

I really wanted to capture the spirit of a Welsh Wales seaport at its height when there was a considerable amount of global trade by sailing ship.  If I model it at a later period, then I would have a number of modelling problems: sailing ships would no longer have carried that trade, the internal combustion engine would have replaced the railway as the main form of freight transport (as it stands, everything has to be carried by the railway thus justifying its busy nature), and the economic decline would have well and truly set in by the end of the First World War.  Therefore I have given myself the provisional time period of 1880-1920.  I intend to choose my locos on the basis that I like them.  Thus I may end up with some anachronistic choices; but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In the meantime, I'm very much looking forward to seeing Isle Ornsay in the flesh at Sparsholt.  I shall be needing some inspiration and encouragement by then and I doubt that I'll be disappointed.    ;D