BRILLSDYKE BREWERY

Take yourself back to the halcyon days of the nineteen thirties. England is at
peace. Summers are long and always warm. Motor transport has yet to make
its invidious presence felt. The railways reign supreme and the Brillsdyke
Brewery is now at its zenith. At the helm is one Zebidiah Bentley Clerihew
D’arley heir apparent to this famous family firm. Heir apparent? Yes. Alas his
father (Archibald Makepeace Ignatius D’arley) who was wont to ‘over sample’
the wares, has taken himself off to foreign climes after a rather unfortunate
incident with one of the bottling maids. Today all is well with the world. Ale,
Beer, Porter, Stout, Indian Pale Ale, Mild and Best flow out in casks and
bottles, via the stores. Hops, yeast, timber, coal and necessary requisites for
running a brewery flow in via a branch from the Brillsden line. Water, of the
finest quality, comes from a spring high in the Pennines flowing through stone
conduits that date back to Roman times. Recent excavations prove the
existence of an alehouse, on this very site, dating back some eighteen
centuries serving the needs of the near-by Roman settlement of Slack.

Before the coming of the Railway, goods were handled by a twig off the
branch of the Brillsden Canal. This waterway gained a place in local folklore
when on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s coronation it was filled as far as
the first lock with Best Bitter for the locals to come and dip their pots in. It
was overlooked that Crawshay Bailey’s cows used to drink from it. There was
a roaring trade in the resulting alcoholic milk-which the astute Bailey
patented. It sells well to this day in the better class pothouses. The canal was
filled in to provide a trackbed for the railway. Movements within the Brewery
are taken care of by an eclectic collection of industrial locomotives now
housed in the converted stable block. The outside world makes its presence
felt with the steady comings and goings, through the Grand Arch of main line
locomotives belonging to the LMS, the upstart successor to the fine old pre
grouping companies. Master D’arley, complete with top hat, looks on and
wonders what the world is coming to “square top fire boxes? Humbug!” The
battery loco has been explained away to the Master as a patent fireless
locomotive that hums. Thank goodness the treadmill was removed in his Great
Great Grandfather’s day and has been superseded by a tandem compound
engine that supplies all the power for the diverse machinery around the works.
This is fed from two wetback marine boilers purchased, at a very reasonable
cost, from Messrs. William Beardmores of Glasgow, these also take care of all
the steam needs for the whole of the works.

Casks, barrels and crates are made here at the Brewery. Timber is seasoned
for several years by the Railway Co. and delivered, as needed, to the WW I ‘tin
hut’ near to the cooperage.

The layout.

Baseboards are wood. Track is metal. Buildings are card. Electric is via copper
wire. Scenics are none of the afore mentioned. Details provided upon request.