Train spotting at Finsbury Square

[31A]

I spent a few hours watching the trains come and go at Finsbury Square station a few days ago, and took a few pictures while I was at it.

 

It's a small London terminus (about the size of Fenchurch Street for example); the history books tell us it was built by the Great Northern Railway as their City terminus of a branch line from Finsbury Park.  The similarity of the two station names has confused telegraph clerks and others ever since, but don't let anybody tell you the GN were involved with the GN&C tube line because they couldn't afford their own City terminus!

 

During the middle of the day the station's pretty quiet (although the streets above are busy with traffic); a Cravens DMU burbles away to itself in the middle road between platforms 1 and 2, while a loco hauled set including some wooden-bodied coaches has been relegated to peak-hour use and the coaches creak and click as their timbers expand in the mid day sun:

 

 

Not much going on at the moment then, and in the goods yard a couple of brake vans also slumber:

 

 

Things start to pick up as the rush hour approaches.  By now a lot of the suburban workings are covered by DMUs, and a nearly-new 4-car set arrives.

 

 

Not all passenger trains are diesel worked though, and an L1 waits to take over an outer suburban train whilst an N2 departs for somewhere less distant.

 

 

61139 runs in on a longer distance train, as 61652 waits to set off for Cambridge and its home depot, and a BTH Type 1 stands in the middle road ready to work a train of empty coaches out later.

 

 

 

More to follow when I get the rest of my snaps back from the chemist's!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Do you have a trackplan please, as my copy of "Track Layout Diagrams of the ER" has the page torn out with Finsbury Square on.

[Clive Mortimore]

Hi Steve

 

I have my Ian Allan ABC combine volume, note book, biro, spare biro, and pack lunch ready for my next visit.

 

Looks a very nice layout.

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Whilst we go on about the old cliche of buses going over railway bridges, I think your first picture with a couple of buses (RMs?) parked there really adds immensely to the "London" feel of this rather down at heel station.

[31A]

Do you have a trackplan please, as my copy of "Track Layout Diagrams of the ER" has the page torn out with Finsbury Square on.

 

Hi Peter, obviously the station isn't there any longer so I presume somebody tore the page out after the line closed.  Here's a plan from an earlier date; it's more or less accurate except that the dead end line beside the Down Main has since been extended to become a Down Slow as far as Fiddle Yard (which we think is somewhere near Canonbury) - hope this helps!

 

[31A]

Hi Steve

 

I have my Ian Allan ABC combine volume, note book, biro, spare biro, and pack lunch ready for my next visit.

 

Looks a very nice layout.

Thanks Clive, and to everyone else for all the 'likes'!  Will try and put some more pics up soon - Baby Deltics are also to be seen occasionally, when working!

[31A]

Whilst we go on about the old cliche of buses going over railway bridges, I think your first picture with a couple of buses (RMs?) parked there really adds immensely to the "London" feel of this rather down at heel station.

Well spotted Peter, it is indeed an RM (just went and checked)!  I think it might be a bit 'modern' really, but I've got several RTs and thought an RM would add a bit of variety.  I didn't realise buses on bridges were a cliche when I planned the bus stop to be adjacent to the station entrance, then I read about cliches on here!  In the layout's pre-war incarnation, there were trolley buses....

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Talking of trolleybuses, I can thoroughly recommend "Beneath the wires of London" by Charlie Wyatt. It's the best trolleybus book I've ever read.

[The Stationmaster]

Very nice although not quite prototypical of BR's offices at Finsbury Square - it was where the banking unit was based at one time, part of BR which reportedly consistently made a profit (in the short term money market) in the 1970s.

[landscapes]

Hi

 

Great layout and detail, how about Finsbury Park Station next my old train spotting station in the very early 1960's.

 

Regards

 

David

[Rivercider]

That is fantastic, you have created something very believable. 

I get the impression of faded former grandeur, but a station still fulfilling a vital function in the rush hour.

 

I never got to visit there on my North London spotting trips, so that may partly explain why I never managed to underline all the Finsbury Park allocated Cravens units!

 

Regarding the RM bus, the prototypes were in use in 1958, and the producion vehicles were introduced in large numbers from 1959,

so that is only 2 or 3 years after the introduction of the Cravens units and the BTH type 1.

 

cheers

Edited March 3, 2014 by Rivercider

[trisonic]

Last time I walked around Finsbury Square some poor dear of a street lady had hoicked her skirts up and was taking a crap in the doorway of a banking institution (which I thought was fairly apt). The doorman had a better view because he had opened the door behind her and was having some kind of heated argument with her as she carried on. Great London vignette.

 

Nice layout, indeed. Thanks.

 

Pete.

[CUTLER2579]

Last time I walked around Finsbury Square some poor dear of a street lady had hoicked her skirts up and was taking a crap in the doorway of a banking institution (which I thought was fairly apt). The doorman had a better view because he had opened the door behind her and was having some kind of heated argument with her as she carried on. Great London vignette.

 

Nice layout, indeed. Thanks.

 

Pete.

 

One of the Tourist Attractions of this once Great City. I regret to say.

[bobster]

Great layout - Reminds me of my spotting days in the late 50s/60s at the various london termini that I regularly visited - Never had a camera then, but would have liked to photograph the BTH Diesels that I saw at Liverpool Street Station. 

 

Cheers.

Bob.

[scouser]

Wonderfull layout, great imagination and operational scope. I feel a rush of plagarisation coming on !!! More pics please.

Paul L

[Bibby Line]

Despite being a Southern man (born very close to Bricklayers Arms goods entrance) I really enjoyed the photos.

 

Very nostalgic depiction of a London scene.

 

Eddie

[sb67]

Right up my street this, I'd like to see some more pics please!  Also how did you build the retaining walls and warehouse?

The photo's certainly capture the atmosphere, well done

Steve

[jonny777]

That is an excellent layout, and it really captures the atmosphere of the era and area. It has something of a Moorgate flavour to it.

[PhilJ W]

Last time I walked around Finsbury Square some poor dear of a street lady had hoicked her skirts up and was taking a crap in the doorway of a banking institution (which I thought was fairly apt). The doorman had a better view because he had opened the door behind her and was having some kind of heated argument with her as she carried on. Great London vignette.

 

Nice layout, indeed. Thanks.

 

Pete.

Some time ago as now the bankers crap on us.

[pwr]

I like the look of this

 

Paul R

[31A]

Thanks for all the kind comments and notifications, etc!  Where to begin to answer?

 

A few more pics, anyway.  While 'Darlington' waits for departure time, a down goods sets off behind an O1, tender first to Ferme Park.

 

 

All this talk of buses prompts a look at the street in front of the station, with the usual huddle of red double deckers - mostly RTs in this view.

 

 

The sound of an approaching train brings the attention back to the matter in hand, as 60077 wheels an up 'Parly' from Peterborough under the bridge.

 

 

There are a few 'big engines' about this afternoon, as back at the platform ends we find 'Gladiateur' about to set off from platform 2.

 

[31A]

Very nice although not quite prototypical of BR's offices at Finsbury Square - it was where the banking unit was based at one time, part of BR which reportedly consistently made a profit (in the short term money market) in the 1970s.

 

Ah thank you, so that's what goes on behind the frosted windows of this office then!

 

 

 

 

I think the real one might have had an address in Artillery Lane?

[31A]

Talking of trolleybuses, I can thoroughly recommend "Beneath the wires of London" by Charlie Wyatt. It's the best trolleybus book I've ever read.

 

I went off the idea of trolley buses when I couldn't work out a way to terminate the wires at the rear of the layout (where they would have met the backscene), and at the front of the layout (where they would have ended in thin air); I also thought they would be quite vulnerable when you have to lean over the layout, etc.  Pity really, I thought they would be quite a distinctive touch.

[hornbyandbf3fan]

A B17 and an O1 in one picture! Damn I'm jealous!

[aac]

Thanks for all the kind comments and notifications, etc!  Where to begin to answer?

 

A few more pics, anyway.  While 'Darlington' waits for departure time, a down goods sets off behind an O1, tender first to Ferme Park.

 

P1000185RMWeb.JPG

 

All this talk of buses prompts a look at the street in front of the station, with the usual huddle of red double deckers - mostly RTs in this view.

 

P1000198RMWeb.JPG

 

The sound of an approaching train brings the attention back to the matter in hand, as 60077 wheels an up 'Parly' from Peterborough under the bridge.

 

P1000208RMWeb.JPG

 

There are a few 'big engines' about this afternoon, as back at the platform ends we find 'Gladiateur' about to set off from platform 2.

 

P1000175RMWeb.JPG

A great thread. Looks like we have another out of the Bradfield Glos Square/Waverley West/Peterborough stable! Good stuff and congratulations. Looking forward to seeing more.