The Brentford Pages

• One or more of the various works sidings would serve as an interesting setting for a minimum-space layout. For instance, to model one of the Firestone sidings all you need is a single point, a handful of grimy buildings and tanks, and a fiddle yard that serves as the main branch line (see map above).
  
  
• The passenger services might at first seem rather uninspiring, but that depends on your needs. In 1904, Trumpers Crossing Halt was opened South of Southall as the only stopping place other than Brentford itself. If you're looking for a simple and quick small-space layout, Trumpers Crossing is certainly an option. There is something fascinating about these tiny suburban halts, often located rather solitarily in the intermediate landscape of developing (yet not quite developed) suburbia. Throw in a railmotor or railcar and you can have a through station in a very small space.
  
  
• The dock itself also provides an obvious feature for modelling. If you have sufficient space, a most awesome and intriguing layout could be modelled, but there are also opportunities for us space-starved modellers: You could focus on just one or two of the dockside sidings, with a couple of barges along the quay and a crane to service them. If you're into structure modelling, the dock had a number of warehouses and of course the fascinating shipping shed, where trains and barges met beneath a large roof.
  
  
• Brentford Town station offers the rather unusual opportunity of modelling a station raised above the townscape. The station was located half a mile from the docks, in the built-up area where the line was raised on a viaduct to cross over various roads and the Grand Union Canal. If you like brick arches, girder bridges and an urban feel, there is good scope here. Whether or not one chooses to add a little more spice to passenger operation, the Workmens services employed on the line provide an excellent excuse for running short trains of downgraded stock - perhaps in the austere but distinctive all-brown livery used on such services from the 1930's onwards.
  
  
• Apart from these more obvious possibilities, the line itself also had various detail features which could add something unusual to a layout. Most remarkable was perhaps Windmill Bridge, where the line crossed the Grand Union Canal and a road, all above one another. There's a diorama for you! Indeed, the presence of the Grand Union Canal provides a generally interesting aspect to the branch, with the two crossing each other at several points on the line, including two locations very close to each other between the station and docks.

More info

As far as I know, there are no books dedicated entirely to the Brentford Branch and docks. Indeed, if an actual prototype location is to be modelled, some independent research will be necessary. However, a number of broader publications have chapters or sections describing the branch. Those I know of include:

The Internet has little offer on the branch, but the following links may be useful: