Cheshire Railway Modellers

This is a layout I am building based on Brookwood cemetery near Woking.

Necropolis - Prototype History
The Necropolis scheme started by a Act of Parliament on June 30th 1852 to be run by the London Necropolis Company & was finally established in 1853 when a private terminus was built outside of Waterloo station plus the line in to Brookwood cemetery which was consecrated on the 7th of November 1854 opening to the public 6 days later from then on a daily funeral train ran. The L.S.W.R provided the rolling stock for this service building 6 hearse vans each van could carry 12 coffins split onto two levels. In 1899 two more hearses were built this time carrying 24 coffins each split onto 3 levels these vans were numbered 377 & 378 being re numbered by Southern Railway 1425 & 1426. The last of these vans, 1426, was still in SR livery in 1950 but there is no known date for when it was finally scrapped.

The first London terminus was at York Street & was used until the 11th of February 1902 when a new one opened at 188 Westminster Bridge Road, the move came about because the station at Waterloo was improved. Westminster Bridge Road Station was then used until 16th April 1941 when it was hit in the heaviest bombing raid during the London Blitz, this day was known by Londoners as The Wednesday. Notes from the SR air raid log book state:
11.02 pm ….stock in Necropolis sidings damaged by fire
12.05 am …. Damage to railway arch near Newnham Terrace & Carlisle Lane (arch is near the Necropolis Station)
1.35 am …. H.E & Incendiary bombs fell on the Necropolis sidings at 10.30pm 1 coach wrecked. Saloon coach & 1st burnt out plus the end of another burnt out.

On the15th/16th of April 1941 the station closed for good and the rest of the railway saw little use from then until 1945 the LNC stopped all rail services. The line into Brookwood Cemetery had two separate stations and a siding for the stone masons’ yard. The station builldings were built out of wood, both to the same design, trains were propelled onto the branch as there were no run round facilities.

Necropolis - Model History
I am not building Brookwood but basing this layout on it.
Around 5 years after the LNC opened Brookwood in my history the LNC opened a new cemetery southeast of London as trade was improving and to ease traffic in Brookwood.
In the new cemetery the line was built with run round facilities at all of its stations which were built from stone & brick with a small loco servicing facility near the first station.
On the site of the new cemetery there was already a stonemasonry business who paid for two sidings to be laid into their yard to aid delivery of stone plus the carriage of outbound statues for other locations. 

I have the basebords built and am now assembling the required stock from kits.