West Wittering - (Now Hill Head)

[FJ1701]

After much deliberation, I have decided to relocate my layout as I wasn't entirely happy with its setting, It is now Hill Head and follows the Lee-on-the-Solent branch off from Fareham. Here is a link below to the new thread:

 

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133236-hill-head-br-blue-circa-1986/

 

Hello there, after designing and building many layouts which have been subsequently dismantled, I thought I would give it another try and here I am with a fresh start. After returning to the hobby only about a month ago, I started drawing up plans on what would become a southern region terminus but with my limited time restraints, I started looking to buy ready built layouts without any scenery to save me hours of time and I finally struck gold.

 

 

After browsing ebay and various other sites for a layout, I found this terminus station with track laid and all the wiring complete. It came fitted with point motors and the baseboards had a solid construction in mind for transporting to exhibitions which is just what I wanted. After winning the auction, I brought it home and here I am creating this thread ready to start this journey showcasing the progression of my new layout. Now enough of the introduction!

 

 

A map showing West Wittering in relevance to Chichester.

 

So what will it be?

 

A southern region coastal terminus branching off the West Coastway line from Chichester travelling down to West Wittering. There were plans to build a railway to West Wittering as part of the light railway to Selsy however they never came to fruition. Although I haven't really decided on what era I want the layout to represent, I will go with my current idea for now however it could change later on. The railway could be based in any time scale if I really wanted from post 3rd rail electrification to present day however I plan on setting it around 2004 giving me access to a large variety of rolling stock. The franchises currently operating through Chichester station are Southern and Great Western Railway however South West Trains once ran a service to Brighton until December 9th 2007 when they ceased operation to Brighton. Freight services from Merehead and Whatley quarry's run to Chichester with the local stone train which is emptied in Chichester yard. Locomotives would then be stabled down in West Wittering awaiting new orders and the occasional stone train would be emptied in the line side drop off at the station.

 

Rolling stock for present day modelling:

 

The rolling stock used on the layout will be based upon the current operations seen on the West Coastway Line, these include occasional appearances from class 377's and 313's which have not yet been introduced to the RTR market. The class 450 will represent the workings of South West Trains along with class 159 providing a regular terminating service for the station class. Great Western 150's and 158's will also be used which replaced the South West Trains service to Brighton in 2007 and as for Southern, I might purchase a class 171 just for the heck of it! Freight workings into the station will be operated with either class 59's or class 66's dependant on the type of service and will try to represent a prototypical stone movement from Merehead Quarry to the line side stone drop of point at the terminus.

 

Track/track plan: The layout will use code 75 track but the spacing of the sleepers will be altered to achieve a prototypical and aesthetically pleasing look. This has already been carried out by the original owner however I will continue his work on the extension. Below is the current track configuration as seen before any alterations:

 

 

Thank-you and I hope you enjoy!

 

Rory

Edited April 14, 2018 by FJ1701

[FJ1701]

Just some pictures of the layout so far: 

 

        

 

    

 

As you can see, a lot of work has already been carried out by the previous owner. The platforms are in place but need to be covered up with brick, the track has been secured down and weathered with the third rail pinned in place. The back-scene dividing the two sections will be removed following the new extension which will be built. A shelf provides extra storage for locomotives and rolling stock and a switching panel is visible in the 3rd picture however this will be replaced with an acrylic control panel with a diagram of the track configuration.

 

Many thanks,

 

Rory

[Siberian Snooper]

Looks good.

[Tref]

Wow, what a kick start to a project! I need to spend more time on ebay! Third rail too! Interested to see how this develops

[CovDriver]

I was also watching this on Ebay so you was the lucky person I'll be keeping an eye on this little project of yours.

 

 

Cheers 

 

Colin 

[FJ1701]

I was also watching this on Ebay so you was the lucky person I'll be keeping an eye on this little project of yours.

 

 

Cheers 

 

Colin 

Thanks Colin and indeed I am however there are so many unfinished exhibition layout projects on ebay at such good price points which are absolutely fantastic but this one fit the bill so I had to get it. 

[FJ1701]

Just another view of the track and the cosmetic third rail which has been installed. This has been pinned temporarily in place but will be glued into its final position once the track has been ballasted. You might be able to see in difference in sleeper spacing comparing the point and the track on the left.

 

 

Rory

Edited November 15, 2017 by FJ1701

[Northroader]

If it’s any help, I mentioned this branch on my thread sometime back; http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107190-washbourne/page-4

Edited November 15, 2017 by Northroader

[puck]

Hi. I seem to recall a layout in Modelling Railways Illustrated around October 1995 similar to this. I believe it was also called Selsey town (?). If memory serves they included freight branches to submarine base. Maybe someone could enlighten?

Good luck with your layout.

Puck

[FJ1701]

If it’s any help, I mentioned this branch on my thread sometime back; http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107190-washbourne/page-4

That's very interesting and many thanks for sharing this with me, did you say that the LB&SCR did have plans to reach West Wittering as your write up was very convincing. 

[FJ1701]

Hi. I seem to recall a layout in Modelling Railways Illustrated around October 1995 similar to this. I believe it was also called Selsey town (?). If memory serves they included freight branches to submarine base. Maybe someone could enlighten?

Good luck with your layout.

Puck

Many thanks Puck, The Selsy Town model railway layout was based on the light railway that ran from Chichester to Selsy. The real railway closed and little remains today, there were plans to extend this light railway across to East and West Wittering but they never came to fruition. As for the submarine base, I'm not sure. Hope this helps.

 

Rory

[Northroader]

No, probably not planned by the LBSC, but I’m very fond of walking in this area, and just slipped a Railway in, as you do.

[FJ1701]

I haven't uploaded in a few days however the layout has been progressing well. First I will show you the proposed extension to the layout.

 

As you can see, the extension takes advantage of the full 9Ft of running space allowing the station throat to be lengthened into the new scenic section where it will curve round to the left and into the new fiddle yard. The new yard will be able to hold 5 coaches at a maximum and will be detachable from the main layout. With the new board coming Thursday, I thought I would start by removing the current scenic divider seen in this photo:

 

  

 

                                  Before                                                                              After

 

I have also taken the opportunity to fill in screw holes/cracks in the platforms and fascia board with some generic wood filler which will be sanded down to a smooth finish so that painting can commence. The same treatment has been applied on the backscene boards (please ignore the backscene colour, its just an experiment!)

 

  

 

Once the filler has dried, I will paint the platforms to seal the MDF and then finish it off with card in the future, the fascia board however will be black to draw the viewers attention to the layout. Many thanks.

 

Rory

Edited November 21, 2017 by FJ1701

[Sasquatch]

Being a big fan of LBSCR termini I will follow this with interest Rory. West Wittering is as about as far out of the way as you can get in Sussex so it will make an interesting subject in third rail electrification. Have you got any explanation as to why the railway company went to the extra expense? Not that you need one of course because it's on the same lines as Kipford's Brighton East which has turned out totally convincing.

If I modeled the Southern, the Kemptown branch would be my choice!  Then again there's Ventnor West!! (more into steam myself, I found the slam door four car units very boring in my youth!! )

 

Regards Shaun.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Sasquatch

[FJ1701]

Being a big fan of LBSCR termini I will follow this with interest Rory. West Wittering is as about as far out of the way as you can get in Sussex so it will make an interesting subject in third rail electrification. Have you got any explanation as to why the railway company went to the extra expense? Not that you need one of course because it's on the same lines as Kipford's Brighton East which has turned out totally convincing.

If I modeled the Southern, the Kemptown branch would be my choice!  Then again there's Ventnor West!! (more into steam myself, I found the slam door four car units very boring in my youth!! )

 

Regards Shaun.

 

Well my initial thoughts on why the LB&SCR would decide to build a railway to West Wittering were people going on holidays. The south Coast was a popular destination for people up north to travel to by train to the seaside and after the Hayling Island line proved to be successful with tourists, the potential for a branch to the sandy beaches of West Wittering was realised. And so the LB&SCR commenced building the West Wittering branch in 1885 (a nod to my love for Back to the future). It's sort of a "what if" type of layout which allows me to broaden my creativity and although the line wouldn't seem financially feasible to electrify, I decided to do it anyway as the West Coast Way line was electrified around 1938 so an emu depot near the terminus of West Wittering would seem believable just like the depots/stabling points at Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. Many thanks

 

Rory

[FJ1701]

Being a big fan of LBSCR termini I will follow this with interest Rory. West Wittering is as about as far out of the way as you can get in Sussex so it will make an interesting subject in third rail electrification. Have you got any explanation as to why the railway company went to the extra expense? Not that you need one of course because it's on the same lines as Kipford's Brighton East which has turned out totally convincing.

If I modeled the Southern, the Kemptown branch would be my choice!  Then again there's Ventnor West!! (more into steam myself, I found the slam door four car units very boring in my youth!! )

 

Regards Shaun.

 

Also I had a look at that Brighton East layout and it's absolutely wonderful, very similar to what i'm trying to create. Ventnor is a fantastic location for a layout, again another southern region (Isle of White) terminus and would be very interesting to model.

[Sasquatch]

Like it! We took many trips to Eastbourne, Littlehampton, Bognor, Seaford and Portsmouth Harbour during the blue/grey era and I have fond memories of all those stations! I do vaguely remember the Kemp Town branch too, not that I ever rode a train on it mind. There is a clear image in my head of a Gronk inching it's way over Lewes road viaduct.

 

We never had a car so if West Wittering had had a railway no doubt we would have spent days on the beach there too.

 

Good luck with the model.

[Neal Ball]

Living a couple of miles down the coast, I will be interested to see this develop, good luck with it.

 

As for a submarine base, I suspect the area is too shallow.

 

Neal.

[Danfilm007]

How long are the platforms? I guess they might only be able to take 3 car trains?

[Geep7]

Looks like you've made a great start with this layout. Will be watching with great interest.

 

I'm pretty sure you've been reading my mind, as I was considering moving my layout Blackhurst down to the coast near Bracklesham Bay (just east of East Wittering). Great minds think alike as they say.

 

With regard to the supposed history, my thought was that perhaps a WW2 airfield was built and then remained as a civil airfield along with a holiday camp. I'm pretty sure there was one at Bracklesham Bay anyway. No reason why Pontins couldn't have taken it over in competition with Butlins over in Bognor. Would give an excuse for Cross Country traffic as well (if you need one that is).

[FJ1701]

How long are the platforms? I guess they might only be able to take 3 car trains?

 

Hi there, here are the dimensions of the platforms from front to back:

 

Platform 1 and 2 are 105 cm long and can comfortably hold 3 car trains. Platform 3 is 120 cm long and platform 4 130 cm long, both can hold 4 car trains however platform 4 can just hold 5. Cheers

 

Rory

[Claude_Dreyfus]

There is/was a very nice P4 layout set in West Wittering...

 

http://www.lbscr.com/west-wittering/

 

Am I right in recalling that Keith Smith (one half of the Middleton Press guys) had something to do with this?

 

Nice to see another Sussex-based layout. I used to go to school and college in Chichester, so visited the area quite frequently...especially the Crown and Anchor in Dell Quay!

 

Look forward to seeing this layout develop. Are you a local?

[FJ1701]

Looks like you've made a great start with this layout. Will be watching with great interest.

 

I'm pretty sure you've been reading my mind, as I was considering moving my layout Blackhurst down to the coast near Bracklesham Bay (just east of East Wittering). Great minds think alike as they say.

 

With regard to the supposed history, my thought was that perhaps a WW2 airfield was built and then remained as a civil airfield along with a holiday camp. I'm pretty sure there was one at Bracklesham Bay anyway. No reason why Pontins couldn't have taken it over in competition with Butlins over in Bognor. Would give an excuse for Cross Country traffic as well (if you need one that is).

 

What a great idea and the airfield would certainly be believable considering the amount of airfields scattered along the south coast which were used in WW2, many thanks

 

Rory

[Dave Searle]

Hi,

 

There is/was a very nice P4 layout set in West Wittering...

 

http://www.lbscr.com/west-wittering/

 

Am I right in recalling that Keith Smith (one half of the Middleton Press guys) had something to do with this?

 

That would be my interpretation of West Wittering in the 1880s.  Originally built by members of  the South London Area Group of the Scalefour Society, it passed though other hands and I ended up with it in 2002.  I am not aware of any connection to Keith Smith.

 

The layout is currently in storage as I am involved in a new 2mmFS layout of Lewes

 

Cheers,

Dave

[FJ1701]

There is/was a very nice P4 layout set in West Wittering...

 

http://www.lbscr.com/west-wittering/

 

Am I right in recalling that Keith Smith (one half of the Middleton Press guys) had something to do with this?

 

Nice to see another Sussex-based layout. I used to go to school and college in Chichester, so visited the area quite frequently...especially the Crown and Anchor in Dell Quay!

 

Look forward to seeing this layout develop. Are you a local?

 

Hi there, whilst I was scrolling through the web a few weeks ago, I came across this interpretation of West Wittering which is a splendid layout. I am quite local to Chichester and Goodwood but have travelled to West Wittering many times inspiring me to model the south coast. Many thanks

 

Rory