This is a Club Layout built by a team of Club members
This is a fictitious port situated on the South West coast; it was built to serve the little fishing village of St Arbor which then became known as Port St Arbor. The Great Western Railway recognised a need for express trains to get the catch, primarily mackerel, crab and lobsters, to the London fish market at Billingsgate in the shortest possible time. Consequently they decided to link Port St Arbor to the Great Western mainline. The line passed into Western Region control when British Railways was nationalised.
Over time the village slowly grew as more and more business was attracted to the area and although by the 1970’s the fish traffic had declined considerably the small but the deep-water harbour proved attractive to coastal shippers who wanted to move goods quickly inland or across the Channel. This plus a certain amount of trade from the oil industry and the need to maintain the remaining fish trade links helped to keep the line open. This need became even greater when the line to Brixham was lifted.
Today there is the early morning and evening DMU or ‘Bubble Car’ for the port and harbour workers and an infrequent but useful passenger service for shoppers who don’t relish the torturous drive to the nearest supermarket many miles away. Goods consist mainly of oil, coal, goods, parcels and various amounts of bulk freight whilst the majority of locomotives and diesel units running today are typical of those seen on the Western region of British Railways circa 1975.
April 2024
Layout shown at Norwich 6th April – some issues with stock and performance (electrical failure) hopefully now addressed for coming weekend showing at Bawdeswell 20th April
exhibition requirements
| Layout Size | 12′ x 2′ |
| Operating space | 12′ x 5′ |
| Number of operators | Three |
| Number of cars to transport | Two |
| Maximum distance for travel | Negotiable |
| Tables & chairs required | 1 table, 2 chairs |