The branch line was closed and lifed before I was born. As a child, we would take family walks along the trackbed. I was always fascinated by what was left of the branchline and always wondered what it would have been like to travel on the line. When railways simulators became available, I wanted to try and recreate the line. First on Auran's Trainz and then in Dovetail's Train Simulator, which I prefer.
Yes, Wombourn is currently spelt with an 'e' at the end. However, when the Great Western Railway (GWR) built the railway, they spelt the town's name without the 'e' at the end and this is how it was referred to in all subsequent railway publications until the line's closure in 1968. Some say that the GWR spelt Wombourn without the 'e' to avoid confusion with Wimbourne station in Dorset, on the Southern Railway. I find it a little hard to believe that the GWR would change the name of a town solely to avoid confusion with another town in another part of the country. It is clear that the decision to name the station Wombourn and not Wombourne occurred relatively close to the opening of the line, as the 'e' was clearly removed from the Signal Box nameplate at Wombourn. Analysis of Ordinance Survey (OS) maps at the time the railway was being built reveal that the name of the town was spelt without the 'e' at the end (See this map). It is quite possible, therefore that the GWR noted that there were two ways to spell Wombourn, one with and one without the 'e' - and perhaps did choose the former to avoid confusion with Wimbourne.
Although I was born in Wolverhampton, I moved to the United States for work. Forgive my US spelling...
I use 3D studio Max, Photoshop, Illustrator and (sometimes) PowerPoint to make the models. I have retrieved original GWR plans for a lot of the buildings from various archives, including the National Archives at Kew, Wolverhampton Public Archives and numerous plans that were sent via email. For example, I found a company that performed some building work at Old Oak Common and listed the original plans of a Churchward engine shed. While not exactly the same as Oxley shed, with a little modification of the plans, I was able to recreate a building that was very similar to the original building. I also received the GWR type 7B signal box plans from the Gloucester and Worcester Railway. This coupled with numerous photographs that I have in many books published about the line (mainly Ned Williams' seminal publication) or books on railways in the blackcountry. I am also indebted to relatives of the late Geoff Bannister and to the GWR archives in Didcot, who provided some photographs taken by Mike Hale. I am always on the lookout for new unpublished photographs, so if you have any - please do contact me!
Since 2019. It took a long time to work out how to use 3DS to make models accurately. I purchase a license for the software for a couple of months and then go through a content building phase. 3DS is pretty expensive, so I only purchase a license and build when I know I have time to do it. I made a lot of progress during the COVID lockdown. It's a hobby to dip in an out of.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Maiores ipsum repellat minus nihil. Labore, delectus, nam dignissimos ea repudiandae minima voluptatum magni pariatur possimus quia accusamus harum facilis corporis animi nisi. Enim, pariatur, impedit quia repellat harum ipsam laboriosam voluptas dicta illum nisi obcaecati reprehenderit quis placeat recusandae tenetur aperiam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Maiores ipsum repellat minus nihil. Labore, delectus, nam dignissimos ea repudiandae minima voluptatum magni pariatur possimus quia accusamus harum facilis corporis animi nisi. Enim, pariatur, impedit quia repellat harum ipsam laboriosam voluptas dicta illum nisi obcaecati reprehenderit quis placeat recusandae tenetur aperiam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Maiores ipsum repellat minus nihil. Labore, delectus, nam dignissimos ea repudiandae minima voluptatum magni pariatur possimus quia accusamus harum facilis corporis animi nisi. Enim, pariatur, impedit quia repellat harum ipsam laboriosam voluptas dicta illum nisi obcaecati reprehenderit quis placeat recusandae tenetur aperiam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Maiores ipsum repellat minus nihil. Labore, delectus, nam dignissimos ea repudiandae minima voluptatum magni pariatur possimus quia accusamus harum facilis corporis animi nisi. Enim, pariatur, impedit quia repellat harum ipsam laboriosam voluptas dicta illum nisi obcaecati reprehenderit quis placeat recusandae tenetur aperiam.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Maiores ipsum repellat minus nihil. Labore, delectus, nam dignissimos ea repudiandae minima voluptatum magni pariatur possimus quia accusamus harum facilis corporis animi nisi. Enim, pariatur, impedit quia repellat harum ipsam laboriosam voluptas dicta illum nisi obcaecati reprehenderit quis placeat recusandae tenetur aperiam.
