A layout by the Croydon Model Railway Club
Contact: Richard Preece
The model is based on Hemyock the terminus of the Culm Valley Line. The line was built as a light railway from Tiverton Junction on the main line from Paddington to Exeter to Hemyock Village and more importantly its dairy, which became the chief source of traffic. Just before the entrance to the dairy a small station was constructed with a spur for the platform and sidings containing a locomotive shed, goods shed and carriage shed. It was a remarkably well equipped station for such a small area. The light railway, which took three years to build, due to the workmen defecting to work for the local farmers at harvest time, was, after nearly four years of independent life, somewhat unwillingly purchased by the Great Western Railway Company in April 1880. The last passenger train ran on 7th September, 1963 with goods traffic continuing until final closure in 1975.
We have recently adopted the correct direction of approach to the station. A departure from the prototype is the creation of the Hemyock Branch of the Grand Western Canal.
By keeping generally to the original uncoloured route availability we have set ourselves a problem. However, locomotives are gradually appearing from kits and scratch building. Rolling stock is largely kit built with a smattering of scratch built items.
