Work on 'The Works' layout that I've been building has slowed to a crawl as it's limitations begin to dawn on me so I thought I'd start afresh with something based on a real location. As I didn't want to stray too far from the Tyne Dock to Consett line, I've decided on a layout based on Pelton Level, an outstation of Tyne Dock shed on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway. To date, I've only seen two photographs of the site both of which appear in Railway Bylines Issue 4, Volume 1 from June 1996.
Templot track plan is below and is a simplified version of the real thing which had another two lines at the front and an additional in front of the rearmost line. The orange box represents the engine shed and the blue box what was, I believe, a water tower.

The site has a number of different levels with the land falling away on either side of the line, the rearmost is the beginning of Eden Hill incline, the shed itself is at a lower level that the lines in front of it and the short siding behind the shed climbs towards the water tower but as, we don't have working brakes on our models I'll be modelling it flat.
The 'main line's at the front led, to the left Craghead, Burnhope and West Pelton Collieries while to the right led to Waldridge Incline, the head of which would make an interesting model in itself but I couldn't make it fit in to the size restrictions of the SGW...
Coal obviously dominates while motive power was N8, N9 and N10s and various colliery engines with 03 and 08 shunters in later years with some records indicating the closure of the shed in 1951 albeit it was still in partial use until 1960.
Nothing remains at the site now which is now a golf course...
So, that's the plan, now for the execution...
John