East Fife Central 'Lochty' Railway

[Dava]

I'm gathering ideas for my next Gauge 0 small layout project, the long-considered Scottish light/rural railway. 

 

One of the influences is the East Fife Central branch to Lochty, the last mile of which became the Lochty Private Railway from 1967-1992.

 

The Oakwood Press book [by Hajducki, Jodeluk & Simpson, 2015] on the line is recommended, and shows the economy of the track layouts at the stations, Kennoway, Monave, Largoward and Lochty, any one of which could be the basis of a layout project. In its latter years of BR operation, it was worked by the Hunslet 0-6-0DM  diesels which became class 05, to be released by Heljan next year.

 

Each of the stations had a brickbuilt Goods Office, which all appear to be to the same design and dimensions from the contractor, John Howard. This would be an attractive model and one survives at Largoward in a residential plot, as below. It would work well as a lasercut kit.

 

If anyone has a drawing of the Goods Office, or a frontal elevation photo, or even the length of the building, this would be a help. I don't expect to be in Fife till next year.

 

The first photo is from the East Fife Central Railway  book, taken by Owen Duffy.

 

 

The second is edited from the http://myrailwaystation.com/ credited to 'K.Ma'.

 

 

Please add any thoughts, photos, links or other material about the Lochty Branch here. 

 

Dava

[Ian Kirk]

Hi,

 

I was with the late Owen Duffy when he took the photographs. Only a schoolboy at the time! We also measured the sites up. (I was there to hold the other end of the tape)We were both Members of The Kirkcaldy Model Railway Club. It was just after the line closed but before it was lifted. Unfortunately I have no idea what happened to the plans we drew up but can still remember his suicidaly fast driving around the narrow twisting roads of Fife. Owen died young but I think his widow passed his railway stuff on, perhaps to the Lochty Group. I will ask Pete Westwater next time I see him.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

[Dava]

Ian,

 

Thank you, what a coincidence you were there. I was in touch with Pete Westwater over the weekend as the KFRPS published a book on the line [now out of print] and I wondered if it had any information on the buildings. I've not heard back yet.

 

I usually get to Fife once a year in May [for Mrs Dava's birthday] and hope to locate the KFRPS at Kirkland Sidings on a day they are open. Hopefully I can get the owner's permission to measure the Goods Office if I don't have better information by then. My estimate from the photos is 12 x 24 feet, based on the yellow grit bin in the recent photo, but this is unlikely to be very accurate.

 

Dava

[Graham R]

You could count bricks and make an allowance for pointing. That's likely to be about as accurate as you get from scaling from a photo anyway. Measure up a few bricks on old buildings locally to get an average size.

 

I'm sure it will make a nice model. Good luck with the project!

Graham

[keefer]

the KFRPS book 'The East Fife Central Railway' (1999, ed. Jim Rankin, ISBN 0-9528535-1-5) has a slightly cropped version of the same photo shown above, but no other information.

There is also a very basic schematic track plan.

 

link to the 1914 OS 25-inch map (this is at the bottom of the sheet, so the scale is just off-screen): http://maps.nls.uk/view/82880916#zoom=4&lat=1855&lon=8973&layers=BT

 

EDIT: did a quick scale off the map and allowing for resolution/ my eyes etc., i get  a very approx 23' x 12', which isn't far off your own estimate

Edited November 23, 2016 by keefer

[Dava]

Thanks Keefer, that's helpful. Jim Rankin's book is out of print anyway.

 

I'll have a look at the OS maps and do some brick-counting to check the dimensions.

 

Dava

[Dava]

I'm very grateful to Peter Westwater for locating photos of the Lochty Goods Office, taken by the late Owen Duffy, probably on the visit which Ian Kirk refers to above (thanks to Ian also!).

 

These give a flavour of the East Fife Central line shortly after closure with the grass growing over the line- see the buffer stop in the first photo, is that a youthful Ian Kirk among the wildflowers?

 

 

The most useful photo is the front elevation of the Goods Office. I'd assumed the building was symmetrical with a central doorway and windows equidistant on each side. This photo shows there were two sizes of window. There is a smaller office to the right, with a smaller front window and a gable end window. On the other side of the doorway is a larger room, possibly a goods agents' bothy, with a single window. There are two chimneys so both rooms presumably had fireplaces. 

 

 

 

So with these and knowing the size of a brick: 'old imperial bricks were 9" x 4.5" x 3.25"and allow about three eights of an inch for the mortar' (thanks Peter!) I can do some brickometrics and make a much more accurate drawing - and, eventually, a model.

 

Thank you, gentlemen!

 

Dava

[keefer]

Dava, i must first apologise - i didn't look at any other locations on the line because i had it in my head you were only looking at montrave.

i have now re-read your post and i see the remaining office is at largoward, in the grounds of Station House.

Doing a search on property site rightmove.co.uk gave the full address and postcode, which i then googled.

Among the results was a planning application to extend the 'ticket office': http://planning.fife.gov.uk/online/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=M66CA9HFT8000

One of the documents listed just happens to be a scale plan view of the proposed alterations, which rather helpfully also shows the dimensions and original layout - front door goes into a small lobby with doors into each of the two rooms - also of note are the adjacent triangular corners, presumably the location of the fireplaces.

 

http://planning.fife.gov.uk/online/files/73918B2033D09509239AD77C9C9CBE6D/pdf/12_02545_CLP-03_-_APPROVED_PROPOSED_FLOOR_PLAN-881341.pdf

 

8140 x 4150 (mm) i think gives 26' 8^​1/₂​ " x 13' 7^1_/2 "

 

also scaled elevations: http://planning.fife.gov.uk/online/files/CD379E4AD1259F909B9095A05DB5A09C/pdf/12_02545_CLP-04_-_APPROVED_PROPOSED_ELEVATIONS-881343.pdf

Edited November 30, 2016 by keefer

[Dava]

Keefer,

 

Thank you so much! Great detective work. I couldn't open the drawings on the ipad last night but they work fine on a laptop. They give the original building sizes and the elevation is a good sketch, in N Gauge you could probably print out & assemble it! I won't post it on here as its probably copyright to the architect. I'm hoping to start building it over the weekend & will post progress on here.

 

Dava

[JohnR]

Check out some of the stuff by Ian Futers - he actually did quite a few layouts based on Lochty. He might even have some prototype information.

[keefer]

Keefer,

 

Thank you so much! Great detective work. I couldn't open the drawings on the ipad last night but they work fine on a laptop. They give the original building sizes and the elevation is a good sketch, in N Gauge you could probably print out & assemble it! I won't post it on here as its probably copyright to the architect. I'm hoping to start building it over the weekend & will post progress on here.

 

Dava

 

Glad to be of help Dava, though i must admit it was lucky the owners decided to alter it in such a way that it needed planning permission!

I think i'd used that kind of search before for another former station building or something - v. useful as usually there are dimensioned plans.

 

looking forward to seeing your model

[Dava]

I've been working on the Lochty/Largoward goods office slowly over the past few weeks but the Xmas break has given more time. The side & end walls are cut from double thickness of mounting board [real design proofs which have been waiting 16 years to be re-used!] and yesterday I assembled the carcass of the building. I'll start scribing the brickwork onto DAS tomorrow. It's quite a big building in 0 scale but from the dimensions supplied its accurate. Photos to follow.

 

Dava

[NeilHB]

I've been working on the Lochty/Largoward goods office slowly over the past few weeks but the Xmas break has given more time. The side & end walls are cut from double thickness of mounting board [real design proofs which have been waiting 16 years to be re-used!] and yesterday I assembled the carcass of the building. I'll start scribing the brickwork onto DAS tomorrow. It's quite a big building in 0 scale but from the dimensions supplied its accurate. Photos to follow.

Dava

Looks like an interesting project Dave, I shall be following with interest.

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

[Dava]

Just a quick shot from the workshop of the Goods Office carcass. The windows and chimney assembly are also there. The building sits in a foamboard base. The inside roof is trial fitted and shows the graphic design origins of the boards. It doesn't  look great but I aim to start the brickwork later today.

 

 

Dava

[Ian Kirk]

Hi,

 

Looking good. I must check back here more often.    That was a young version of me in the photograph of the original Lochty terminus.  I think that I was looking for the switches of that point or perhaps marking the position for Owen's photograph. Not knowing what an excellent resource there would be 50+ years later in old maps we were trying to record the track layouts. Measuring having proved too slow we paced it out as best we could and sketched out the arrangement of each station.

Somewhere I have seen a book of old photographs (IT may have belonged to John Cameron) which recorded the opposite end of the lines history and was I believe produced by the contractors. Steam shovels and contractors loco  with tipping wagons, half built structures and finally the stations with shiny new buildings and clean ballast.

 

Compliments of the Season to all on here.

 

best wishes,

 

Ian

[Dava]

Thanks for your comments and help, Ian. Some of the builders' photos (John Howard) were included in the Oakwood Press  book on the line published last year.

 

Yesterday I experimented with scribing brickwork onto DAS on the chimney, but although this part was acceptable, I could see that producing accurate and consistent brick courses on the whole building would not work for me. I have used DAS for stone courses and freestone successfully, but not brick. Scribed foamboard [too  late at this stage] or moulded plasticard [i dont have any] would have been other options. So I've used Kirtley Models brick paper, the result is quite acceptable. I've spent the evening cutting the yellow brick facings out of cream paper and hope to add these tomorrow, after we have the traditional post-Christmas day out on the Great Central. I'll post a photo when these are on.

 

Dava

[Dava]

Just a  quick photo of the Lochty goods  office. I've added the facing bricks [cut from paper] around the windows, door and corners. Windows and interior to follow tomorrow, then the roof.

 

 

Dava

[Dava]

Update on the 'Lochty' goods office holiday project. I added the roof, windows, door, chimney stack and pots, barge boards. All made from card.

 

 

The roof slates need a bit more toning down but I've found the right grey to do this. The gutters and downpipes need to be made and added. I will make some interior furniture/detail as it may be illuminated inside when complete. Finally the base needs scenic treatment.

 

I've not yet decided how the building will feature within a future layout concept, but the Scottish light/private railway  based  in part on the Lochty branch will be part of it.

 

I was looking at the track plans in the Oakwood Press book and they show Largoward, the busiest goods station, as having trailing sidings but no loop. However a builders photo shows a pair of points and a loop road. I found this when tracing the route of the line on the excellent National Library of Scotland 25" OS map series from 1914. Sheet 021.04 clearly shows Largoward having a loop with  headshunt/runaway siding at each end. http://maps.nls.uk/view/82880934

 

This certainly adds to the operational interest for a possible model based on Largoward. Possibly the loop points were removed at a later date since the sidings could have been shunted by the branch freight returning westwards from Lochty?

 

Dava

[Marly51]

Really interesting project, Dava, and lovely model. Fascinating history and research - look forward to seeing how it develops.

I spent my first three years living in Auchtermuchty and am very fond of Fife.

Marlyn

[Dava]

Thanks Marlyn,

 

I know 'Muchty well. The Lochty building was finished and is on a shelf in the workshop. Other projects and distractions took over so I have yet to start the Scottish light railway but it's planned for sometime in 2018. I have a gypsum mine to complete first!

 

Dava

[Russ (mines a pint)]

Check out some of the stuff by Ian Futers - he actually did quite a few layouts based on Lochty. He might even have some prototype information.

 

This was what first interested me in this location as far back as the 1980's - oddly if you google the name Lochty in realtion in  it brings up Ian Futer's various diesel depot layouts with the same name , for the closest representation you have to look out for Lochend  , which used a simarlar track plan to the real Lochty. Buildings based on Eyemouth as I recall as full passenger facilities provided-  have magazine article cant remember which mag/date. 

 

I was over in Fife a couple of weekends ago and also picked up the  KFRPS book 'The East Fife Central Railway' as Keefer recommended. The last few years of BR operation give lots of pics of the 05 shunters and a kind of light railway type of atmosphere, which I personally find even more inspiring than the Lochend interpretation. 

 

​The building looks great and hope there is more to come! 

 

[Dava]

I came across a copy of 'The East Fife Central Railway' book by the KFRPS in the Emporium at Loughborough GCR today during the autumn steam gala. It doesn't add too much to the later Oakwood book other than useful detail about the type of goods traffic from each of the stations and operational detail, as well as the KFRPS preservation era which I remember.

 

I like 'Baldastard Colliery' as the name for a layout, especially pronounced in an East Fife accent, but the colliery and siding were only open for a short time [1902-4] so limited potential. Apparently Y9 and J69 were among the permitted locos, did they ever run on the line?

 

If the Heljan 05 gets seriously discounted in gauge 0 it's a possibility....

 

Dava