The Story Behind The Model

Midchester is a cathedral city in the west of the midlands, a part of the big conurbation with Birmingham at its centre.

At the time that the railways were being built, it was still a small place and it was only much later that it began to grow, basing its increasing wealth and population on industry and commerce. So, during the railway building era, the main railway route by-passed the area some two miles to the east. This meant that as growth occurred, industries and commerce requiring a railway connection located some distance from the centre of the new town alongside the railway trunk route.

By 1900, Midchester lacked a railway service to its centre and the city fathers were not at all impressed by this. Little land remained free for a railway to be built, and the railway authorities in Paddington and Euston thought it would be prohibitively expensive to provide a through route from the main line to the city centre. However, it was agreed that what was effectively a branch line could be laid from the junction to the city centre, through a number of cuttings and a few short tunnels, and that services along the main line which stopped at the junction would be connected by this branch to the city centre.

The city station is small, with short platforms and no facilities other than a couple of lay-off sidings. It was built with tank engines and three coach suburban trains in mind; indeed, the land available precluded anything larger.

As steam services were replaced by diesel in the sixties and seventies, it became possible to add a short fourth platform where tank engines had been coaled and watered and had waited their turn. A building was added which spans the platforms and connects with a somewhat modified main building. This building was kept in sympathy with the surrounding brick structures and replaced an open-air walkway with steps which originally linked the platforms to the main building. Through services to the city station were introduced from a number of other places, thus obviating the need for passengers to change at the junction station.

After privatisation, traffic leapt enormously and the station is busy throughout the day. Trains from many companies link the city with stations to the north, south, east and west, without the need to change at the junction station two miles to the east. An intermediate station, Colmore Cross, has been opened between Midchester City and Midchester Junction. This has increased rail traffic even more.

Download the Exhibition Manager's Guide for Midchester City (includes track plan for Exhibition Programme). Click Here.
Download a description for an Exhibition Programme (also includes track plan). Click Here.
Download layout dimensions and operating space requirements. Click Here.

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