
Hartley Poole
‘N’ – ALSAGER MRC
Hartley Poole is set in Somerset in the years between the end of WW2 and nationalisation of Britain’s Railways. The location at the east end of the layout is the William Thomas brickworks at Poole whose sidings gave onto the main GWR line between Bristol and Exeter/Paddington to Penzance. From Poole the mainline runs west, past the Great Western canal at the Nynhead boat lift to Wellington with its platforms, sidings and goods shed (the only feature that survives today). The station was widened to have four tracks in the 1930’s to enable through trains, such as the Cornish Riviera, to pass stopping trains.
Further west the line runs up Wellington bank to enter White Ball tunnel, the Eastern Portal being in Somerset: trains emerge from the western portal off-scene in Devon.
The owner/builder of Hartley Poole was born in the signalman’s cottage in Poole, where his grandfather was the signalman. His father was the engineer-fitter for the brickworks.