Birmingham Moor Street 
Scale 4 Soc W.Midlands Area Group P4 gauge 4mm scale
Birmingham Moor Street was built initially as an entry into the 2007 DEMU ‘Minories Challenge’ competition, the brief was to build a terminus station with three platform faces on a 7 feet by 1 foot baseboard.
The layout represents the terminus side of the station in central Birmingham opened in 1909. The Moor Street terminus handled suburban services to the south of the city, Leamington Spa and Stratford upon Avon until its replacement by the current through station when Snow Hill reopened in 1987. The station building and terminus platform were restored in 2006 and reconnected to the network on 11 December 2010 by Chiltern Railways.
We can operate the layout in the transition period between steam and diesel traction or in the British Rail corporate era of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. In the former era, most suburban services are in the hands of Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) but some steam hauled trains are still to be seen. Freight and parcels trains reverse here to use the connection to the neighbouring goods depot. Later, suburban services are entirely in the capable hands of DMUs but we have imagined that the goods depot remained open so freight and parcels trains can also be seen.
The Group extended our layout both length and width ways for the 2008 Scale four Society/DEMU challenge to lengthen the platforms and include one of the three wagon hoists serving the lower level of the goods depot. The layout has been simplified and shortened to fit the space available but the key features of Moor Street’s station building and the three platforms are modelled, including working signals of the traverser and wagon hoist.
Control is by Lenz DCC or by conventional DC. Working signal operated by model aircraft servos have been scratch built by members of the WMAG as were the structures and scenic features.
