West Sands - BR (SR) Electrified south coast branch terminus - MISSING PHOTOS SLOWLY BEING RESTORED

[Geep7]

I do have an MLV kit to build, and was hoping there might be some justification for running it.

 

My other slight worry, other than the oil traffic, is running other freight services.... I do still have modelled on the layout a siding with coal bins and a siding with a loading dock and provenders store.

 

I'm not sure, but by '69, coal traffic would be rather limited, so perhaps the coal siding would now be used as loco stabling. I guess there could still be a flow of the odd couple of vans of fertiliser or seeds to / from the provenders store.

[Geep7]

 

"The service will now terminate at West Sands, all change please, all change"

 

 

 

History

So, having been deliberating over this for some time, I have finally decided to change the layout name to West Sands, and relocated the layout down to the south coast on the Hundred of Manhood Peninsula.

History supposes that the Southern Railway did in fact take over the West Sussex Railway (The Selsey Tramway), and rebuilt the line to full railway standards. As there was not enough room at the original West Sussex Railway terminus at Selsey Town, a new terminus was built near the beach at West Sands, with a halt being provided at Selsey Town. At the Chichester end of the line, a connection was made with the Coastway route facing towards the Brighton direction, with the regular West Sands branch train sharing the same bay platform as the Midhurst line trains until passenger services ceased on the latter line in 1935.

 

 

 

In 1938, along with the rest of the West Coastway line, the branch to West Sands was electrified and west facing chord constructed allowing services from the west to access the line. The electrification and chord construction was justified by the increase in traffic from holidaymakers travelling to Selsey and the adjoining holiday parks. A pier was also constructed at West Sands beach to allow a ferry service to operate across to the Isle of Wight.

 

Having been built by the Southern Railway, the station buildings followed the typical "brutilist" style and in the early 1960's a small fuel depot was constructed to provide fuel for the ferry service to the Isle of Wight, and also to provide heating fuel for the holiday parks.

The branch continued to eek out a living, however the increasing popularity of the motor car, and the closure of the ferry route in the mid-70's, spelt doom for the line, with closure happening at some point in the mid to late 70's. With most of the route having now been built on, there is very little trace of the lines existence today.

Edited January 8, 2020 by Geep7

[BernardTPM]

 

thorney island-sign 50%.jpg

 

"The service will now terminate at Thorney Island, all change please, all change"

History

 

The Thorney Island branch line closed to passenger services in the mid 1970's, not able to compete with the new de-regulated bus services, and was finally closed to freight on the closure of the RAF base in 1984.

Wasn't bus de-regulation in the mid-1980s? Certainly the 1970s was the monolithic National Bus era.

[Geep7]

Wasn't bus de-regulation in the mid-1980s? Certainly the 1970s was the monolithic National Bus era.

Ah, you're right of course. I got myself confused with the "nationalisation" of buses and assumed that was deregulation. My bus history knowledge is shockingly lacking compared to railways.

 

I have edited the history to now reference the increase popularity of the motor car, which iirc was actually the reason for quite a few lines closing in the 70's.

Edited April 22, 2018 by Geep7

[Geep7]

Hmm, so I might have been a bit quick to change the layout name, as now i've had a couple of weeks to mull things over, and the Thorney Island idea really isn't sitting properly in my mind..... also stumbling over another layout with the same name also has made change my mind.

 

So, the latest thought is to go back to one of my original ideas, and have the layout set on the Manhood peninsula.

This time set just to the west of Selsey, in an area that I think is known as West Sands, at least that's what the holiday park and funfair are called.

 

So the name is possibly one of the following:

West Sands (Selsey)

West Sands

Selsey West

Selsey West Sands

 

Trying to avoid using one of the real Selsey station names, as obviously it's nothing like the real thing.

[Zomboid]

I think just West Sands is best of those.

[Nearholmer]

Yes, and the SR would like it, being ever conscious of what looks good on a poster.

 

I

[Siberian Snooper]

Yea, I'm with West Sands, too.

[Geep7]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. Even my father thinks West Sands is the best choice, so, i've gone with it. It somehow seems right, as Nearholmer suggests, I can just see the poster "West Sands by train", I might even try and have a go at making one.

 

I've edited the history, etc. in post 177 to reflect the changes. Hopefully this should be the last name change this time. 

[Zomboid]

Manhood Peninsula

Snark...

[Nearholmer]

Single to West Sands, please.

[Nearholmer]

There are hundreds of such posters that could be adapted!

[Rivercider]

I do have an MLV kit to build, and was hoping there might be some justification for running it.

 

My other slight worry, other than the oil traffic, is running other freight services.... I do still have modelled on the layout a siding with coal bins and a siding with a loading dock and provenders store.

 

I'm not sure, but by '69, coal traffic would be rather limited, so perhaps the coal siding would now be used as loco stabling. I guess there could still be a flow of the odd couple of vans of fertiliser or seeds to / from the provenders store.

I am very late to this post regarding freight traffic flows in the late 1960s.

You are correct that there was still sporadic freight traffic in vanfits that lasted later, into the late 1970s, seed potatoes from Scotland being one.

There was also the seasonal traffic in bagged beet pulp nuts from the sugar beet factories that went in vanfits. 

Also ICI Severnside was loading out bagged fertiliser in vanfits until 1978/79, Chichester was one of the destinations.

A few coal depots did survive that long as well, most survivors were later adapted to handle hoppers.

 

Whatever you choose I would suggest you run only vacuum braked freight stock, (vanfits or 16t minerals) as the Southern was the first region to

go fully fitted.

 

edit - I have just found this 1969 view of wagons at Chichester, though perhaps some of the wagons are stored out of use?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevs_trains/2978763531/in/photolist-5xdWBV-hFF894-nJED6g-iYvPni-3JrJoB-a131wP-oQ2mk5-a131p2-orXnoV-GggXaK-8Zftuf-3Jw3Af-3JrJ6D-W2ZrcS-5m3KvQ-9FTvPA-baoNt8-ssLWMV-rWTPwK-hFFsgJ-Fn7Hiz-po24UM-op8zgR-5oqaQ3-bz2Wpj-7Tm6bN-nwypmb-8gw8iR-8S9YoE-oVFWD1-bHzMct-3WVZox-pnBKeg-s7RcqA-sLqqTj-pnU1Yz-sa9tLi-pj9y4N-Gi51zx-vvwQj-72y1cr-FEqJi4-6nwgBk-8TjvLT-cE9F2d-fs9GD1-aUZbf6-8fnsXM-3WW1Cg-nKT2kd

 

cheers 

Edited May 11, 2018 by Rivercider

[leopardml2341]

What is more interesting, IMHO, is the cwr pw train mid centre.

[Geep7]

What is more interesting, IMHO, is the cwr pw train mid centre.

Good spot..... ooh, I have a soft spot for pw wagons as well....

[Geep7]

Been a bit quiet on the layout front for the past couple of weeks, as i've been enjoying the rather unseasonal warm weather.

 

Firstly, I should belatedly thank Nearholmer for those posters.... it definitely has cemented West Sands as the location.

 

I have been doing the odd bits and bobs on the layout. The road and embankment from the bridge have been extended a couple of inches to the baseboard edge to counter the removal of the lighting gantry supports.

 

Don't worry, I do plan on taking the layout out to exhibitions at some point, but have changed my mind on the whole presentation of the layout.

 

Originally, it was designed with a full proscenium arch, with the layout height set at about 4' or there abouts.

 

However, I come to think that the layout should be dropped down a bit lower, so that younger viewers can see the layout better. This means the lighting would need to be much higher up, so i'll have to come up with a neat cantilevered lightweight lighting rig. However this is way off in the future.

 

This does mean however, that the layout will be able to be viewed from the station building end of the layout, and the idea is you will be able to look through the front entrance of the station building and out onto the platforms.

 

This weekend i'm hoping to take advantage of the long weekend, and make some progress on the layout extension.

[Oldddudders]

Certainly as late as 1967, there was loading of sugar beet to minfits at Lavant station, the first station from Chichester up the former Midhurst line. This was before the Lavant - Drayton aggregate workings began.

[Geep7]

Certainly as late as 1967, there was loading of sugar beet to minfits at Lavant station, the first station from Chichester up the former Midhurst line. This was before the Lavant - Drayton aggregate workings began.

Thanks, I could probably stretch a point and extend into '69 some agricultural traffic on a branch from Selsey. Would the minfits have been covered?

[Mike Storey]

Certainly as late as 1967, there was loading of sugar beet to minfits at Lavant station, the first station from Chichester up the former Midhurst line. This was before the Lavant - Drayton aggregate workings began.

 

I never knew they grew sugar beet in Sussex! You live and learn.

[Oldddudders]

Thanks, I could probably stretch a point and extend into '69 some agricultural traffic on a branch from Selsey. Would the minfits have been covered?

I don’t think so. I watched the loading process in November 1967, and there was no sign of sheeting taking place while I was there.

[Geep7]

I don’t think so. I watched the loading process in November 1967, and there was no sign of sheeting taking place while I was there.

Which brings me to my next question. How were they loaded?

[Oldddudders]

Which brings me to my next question. How were they loaded?

I think a farm trailer was simply tipped. Although the station had closed to passengers in 1935 the platform was still in place.

 

As an aside, I had a surreal moment in the early 80s, when I found myself standing on one of the platforms at Singleton, next station up the line. No camera on hand, of course.....

[Rivercider]

Thanks, I could probably stretch a point and extend into '69 some agricultural traffic on a branch from Selsey. Would the minfits have been covered?

Here is a train of beet from Lavant at Chichester in 1955, showing the first wagon, which is unsheeted,

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevs_trains/1323513678/in/photolist-31Xmvm-9QYuQL-dwxc6j-dR3PAK-d3m2Uf-hw4f17-9aMDrD-QCr8W5-dfnbSb-bspGxL-ALbH9n-jP9iW3-hb2voV-ENTRP5-9vySZQ-pNF9Pz-VvGaSm-UBKFEH-qxbkU9-adDSw4-9QYurq-fetP5f-dvb2Jo-9QVrQa-f4bB6p-5xK76A-dRhroH-iL3Afq-9QYtCU-dRhsuP-B7pQi6-pFXb7X-QouHdn-cSPDBw-EUZKGb-9QVMd2-N3Hv7R-dR9no5-9zSEbD-8wm6WK-4RWcPM-d182WQ-8wm7HP-JddQtS-RrpPVT-21yhtbY-SWsiGU-5KsVKU-jP9hRh-SxogXH

 

edit and another photo from the same album showing a train, with wagons of various types loaded with beet

https://www.flickr.com/photos/trevs_trains/1794467430/in/album-72157607196127568/ 

cheers

Edited May 25, 2018 by Rivercider

[Geep7]

Thanks for sharing those. I have a couple of mineral wagon kits which would fit the part. Just to figure out how to model sugar beet in 4mm.....

[Nearholmer]

In about 1980, I built a French NG layout (Nambulent-sur-Somme) that had beet as its major goods traffic, and I used something from the kitchen cupboard, dried yeast powder IIRC. It didn’t ferment, once glued with PVA, and it was good because the granules were the right colour, and nicely varied in shape and size ...... lots of other options, various spice seeds etc, are very uniform in size.

 

From what I’ve seen in France, beet is handled more like a mineral than a vegetable, with front-loader excavators being part of the armoury.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Nearholmer