A nasty reverse curve on the northern end of Platform 1 at Banbury Station was a source of derailments for many years.

To rectify this problem, Platform 1 has been curved at the end to allow a smooth transition into the northern throat. This has allowed for faster and more reliable running through the station.

A number of pictures showing the changes can be found below.

You'll be pleased to see that this post is the first in a while not to refer to new walls being installed on the railway!

As a Christmas treat, I've attached some photos of a recent trip to the National Botanical Gardens in Washington DC where I found an outdoor railway where all the buildings and bridges were made entirely of plant matter.

The display included scenes from multiple countries, including Australia's Barossa Valley, each depicting a type of agriculture that has defined a particular region.

The pictures below reflect work done on the Gosport, Winchester and Bradford aisle of the railway. New red brick walls were installed at Winchester and behind Solihull and parts of Leamington Spa whilst a large new stone wall was inserted along the mainline between Bicester North and High Wycombe. Whilst dad was initially worried about how the stonework would turn out, we were pleased with the final result which incorporated a subtle mix of colours typically found in stone work.

One wall led to another and another...
The recent lockdown resulted in the construction and reconstruction of 12 walls across the layout. Following the recycling of some test arches for Marylebone, Birmingham Snow Hill received a new arched wall. 

Shortly after, following many years of disgruntlement concerning Nottingham's pictured wall, relative to the larger arches behind the station, a major project was undertaken to replace the three small arches with six large ones.

As you'll quickly notice, the new arches made the old "superior arches" look rather rough which resulted in the application of a Slaters stone cladding to all 16 existing arches. This resulted in a completely refurbished 19 arch wall behind the station.

We also took the liberty of applying a new station sign across the entrance and some period BR notices.

​A selection of photographs from the project can be viewed below.

A couple of videos have been recently uploaded to the BC Youtube channel.

The first shows the railway running in 2012 mode whilst the second shows a locomotive change at Sheffield Victoria since electrification. 

John's prototype arched wall for London Marylebone was repurposed and extended to produce a new row of arches to reinforce the wall behind Birmingham Snow Hill. The first picture shows the arches in place without the new stone work above the arches and the second shows the completed wall.

Following derailments on the UP main between Low-Level and West Bromwich, the old Graham Farish track was removed and relaid to smooth the transition between baseboards. This has resulted in improved running across the joint.

With the recent return of modern trains (2012?), a nasty incident was reported on the northern approaches into Birmingham Snow Hill. A London bound Wrexham and Shropshire express derailed on its approach into Platform 3. No casualties were reported and the Head Gangster has dismissed questions about poor track quality!
​The reason for the derailment remains under investigation. 

Following the donation of a sand wagon by Mick, the new wagon has been put into service and is seen delivering sand from Gosport to the sand drying plant at Sheffield shed. The wagon joined a Gosport to Great Central oil working.

Following months of work, the Sheffield Victoria to Manchester Piccadilly Electrification Program has been completed.

Electrification was undertaken exclusively with Triang Catenary while we utilised a combination of original Triang and scratch built masts.

Two Triang EM2s have been fitted with fine scale wheels and eight pickups to adhere to modern railway standards and have performed admirably since being pressed into service earlier this year.

​A video is below.

The third sleeper train on Banbury Connections, running between London and Scotland, has been fully commissioned.

A Dapol Stanier Brake Second kit was acquired. Unfortunately, the maroon colouring on the kit looked a bit too plum. Rectifying this was more complex than first thought and required three coats of rail match BR Maroon. On the positive side, the coach, complete with a new paint job, lining and crest looks superb. Dad also insisted on the interior seats being painted!

The two LMS 69' sleeping cars were also reliveried from LMS to BR. From our biased perspective, this is a substantial improvement. Given the high level of resistance on the white metal bogies of the 12 wheel sleeper, the other sleeper was an 8 wheeler which has been re-bogied with Lima bogies already, had its under frame replaced with a Hornby 69' restaurant car body. This has resulted in superior operational reliability and performance. 

To make way for the Sheffield to Manchester electrification, the diesel depot, which has been inappropriately located around the turntable for many years has been moved to a new site on the northern end of the station. This allows Deltics coming off the London trains to be refueled for the return trip whilst an electric locomotive takes the train to Manchester. The diesel refueling facilities at Sheffield have been relocated to the diesel depot, making space for the electric locomotive storage siding.

​A picture of the EM2 in the electric siding (previously the diesel refueling bay) and the new diesel depot is below. The diesel depot received a significant upgrade with new brick and concrete sides to replace the Hornby printed sides.

The engine shed, half a Triang northlight, which was previously located where the diesel depot now stands has been moved to the locomotive roads around the turntable and supplemented with a second engine shed kindly donated by Mick.

​Much to the sadness of Triang lovers, the engine shed has been modified to look more prototypical and the missing roof vents were replaced with cardboard ones.

​A picture of the new shed following these modifications can be seen below.

It has been five years since Banbury Connections' last major extension from Wolverhampton to Birkenhead and Shrewsbury (connecting to Machynlleth). 

Following a couple of years of planning, Banbury Connections is pleased to announce its latest extension plan which includes the addition of London Paddington Station and the GWR main line to Cornwall. This will be achieved by widening and lengthening the shed by another metre, enabling the addition of a second London terminus and mainline to Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.

A map of BR in 1962 with the existing and proposed lines on Banbury Connections is presented below.