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Odiham's Railway – A False History

 

Odiham gained its railway in May 1878 when the Farnham & Basingstoke Diversionary Railway (A subsidiary of the London & South Western) opened its single line between a West-facing junction just to the North of Wrecclesham to another West-facing junction to the East of Hook, in the vicinity of Harding’s farm. The name of the subsidiary company made the intent of this new line clear – to provide a diversionary route for the Eastern portion of the South Western main line. By local campaign, however, intermediate stations were provided at Crondall and at Odiham.

 

Crondall’s station was situated on Well Road, a short way to the West of the village it served and was the line’s only passing place. Odiham’s station was situated alongside Firs Lane, with the Alton Road crossing over the line immediately to the West. A siding branched off, after the bridge, to serve a chalk pit, the remains of which are still clearly visible. Both stations were quite substantial, considering the small communities they served, with Crondall being especially noteworthy in this regard.

image.png.4f7341d57e1b775e2dd9a8691bf21689.png

Crondall Station in the early 1900s, with a train from Farnham arriving into the Down platform. The locomotive is one of the Adams ‘415’ Class, which remained prevalent on the line into the 1920s.

 

Odiham Station was more sparse than its Southerly neighbour, being smaller on account of its single platform. Both possessed substantial goods handling facilities which were, arguably, disproportionate for the small size of the villages.

 

The line continued in its diversionary role until the early 1900s, when the South Western Mainline was quadrupled. The complications of a rather unnecessary branch line joining the new 4-track mainline, the potential disruption of express traffic and the extra capacity gained by the quadrupling meant that the section between Odiham and Hook was taken out of use in 1901, with Odiham becoming the terminus of what was now a branch from Farnham. Service was accordingly limited and following the incorporation of the LSWR into the Southern Railway in 1923, the decision was taken in 1927 to rebuild the station at Odiham to make it a more efficient operation. It was to be better suited to its new role as a terminus. The platform was rebuilt to a length adequate for two coaches, though only one could be run-round, and a single siding was provided. A new station building, smaller than the original, was constructed to replace the previous large LSWR structure. Facilities at Crondall were also rationalised, thought the loop was retained and the station not rebuilt to the extent of Odiham.

 

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Royal Air Force began developing a field to the South of the village and to the Southeast of the station as an airfield, with permanent grass runways being created from 1934. A siding was laid, adjoining that for the chalk pit, to aid with construction. This would be retained afterwards for supplying general supplies. The airfield was officially opened as part of 22 group in December 1936, following significant pre-war RAF expansion. The station headquarters was established on January 11th, 1937. The Southern Railway saw an opportunity here to use Odiham to provide a civil aerodrome for Basingstoke, with future potential for it to be served by Railway Air Services. As a result of this development, the branch up to Odiham was electrified by July 1937 as part of the Southern’s Alton and Portsmouth electrification scheme. As well as providing the proposed aerodrome with an electrified railway service, it provided a revenue-earning destination for trains terminating at Farnham which could get them off of the main line to Alton.

 

Electrification also brought the advantage of increasing passenger numbers and encouraging development around Odiham and Crondall. At this stage the branch was one of very few single-track electrified lines on the Southern system, with some issues with power-drops at the Odiham end of the line initially. Service was generally provided by a single 2-Car EMU, generally of the 2-BIL variety. The civil aerodrome at Odiham never progressed beyond ideas and the electrification.

 

Following the outbreak of war in September 1939, and the hard-surfacing of the runways at RAF Odiham, traffic naturally increased on the line. Extra sidings were laid alongside the base and a small Andrew Barclay saddle tank was supplied, requisitioned from the Blackstone Pier Initiative in Kent for the purposes of shunting the sidings and the collection of wagons from the station. In 1941, the platforms and loop were extended (both having been shortened in 1927) to accommodate the increased traffic for the RAF base. Steam troop trains appeared on the branch intermittently during this period. Traffic remained buoyant after V.E. Day with the relocation of Transport Command to RAF Odiham in June 1945, and service to serve the base remained reasonable into the 1960s.

 

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A 1946 Map showing the railways in the area.

 

Throughout this time, however, passenger receipts on the branch had been falling, with the service gradually being reduced until final closure to passengers in 1972. The stations at Odiham and Crondall were closed, the loop at Crondall was removed and for a few years the line remained as a single, un-signalled, siding from Farnham. Operations to serve the RAF base. The siding remained in use until 1981, the RAF no longer having a requirement for the connection.

 

A small group of volunteers from the nearby Mid Hants Railway attempted to revive the line as a heritage concern, but the division of labour between the two lines was deemed to be unviable and since 1983 the line has remained mothballed. The basic, post 1972, infrastructure remains just about intact but the station sites at both Crondall and Odiham have been redeveloped

Edited by sem34090
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It's been a very long time since I painted any figures, and it really shows -

IMG_20190731_164038.jpg.1fdc2b2d7afab99c92478fffe57fe5c8.jpg

IMG_20190731_204214.jpg.e89f3ac6cffc5b648d01180512b195c5.jpg

IMG_20190731_204353.jpg.01eb340965a10b510c95a726a958b018.jpg

IMG-20190731-WA0001.jpeg.a425fe96d4fe41c51ef2fab1ba6b25cf.jpeg

You will note that I made some changes as I went. This was because in the interim I had a chat with someone who knows vastly more about late 1930s fashion than I do.

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Good old Airfix... aka Dapol. You still can't beat some of their figures and the softish plastic is good for chopping them about. I like the car, who makes that?

For figure painting I tend to use a wargamers method which is to spray them overall matt black, then block in the basic colours with a reasonably wet brush and then highlight the raised folds and other edges with drier and drier brushes of lighter shades of the base colour.

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2 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

Good old Airfix... aka Dapol. You still can't beat some of their figures and the softish plastic is good for chopping them about. I like the car, who makes that?

Yep - They were the cheapest almost-period ones I could get.

2 minutes ago, Martin S-C said:

For figure painting I tend to use a wargamers method which is to spray them overall matt black, then block in the basic colours with a reasonably wet brush and then highlight the raised folds and other edges with drier and drier brushes of lighter shades of the base colour.

Might try this next time.

 

For now, though -

IMG_20190731_223919.jpg.fd0b6ccda3ee6a2b5972c798033ec5f6.jpg

IMG-20190731-WA0003.jpeg.c025d5e9cf174ceeb4f2989afba0b0a0.jpeg

The Austen 7 is an Oxford Diecast product, seen here engaged in espionage...

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8 hours ago, sem34090 said:

 

IMG_20190731_204353.jpg.01eb340965a10b510c95a726a958b018.jpg

Portrait of the Artist, acrylic on plastic, 2019.

 

7 hours ago, sem34090 said:

 

IMG-20190731-WA0003.jpeg.c025d5e9cf174ceeb4f2989afba0b0a0.jpeg

The Austen 7 is an Oxford Diecast product, seen here engaged in espionage...

Mr Ken Andrews, of Leighton Road, Slough has concealed himself extremely well. He could be almost anywhere. He could be behind the wall, inside the water barrel, beneath a pile of leaves, up in the tree, squatting down behind the car, concealed in a hollow, or crouched behind any one of a hundred bushes. However we happen to know he's in the water barrel.

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Actually, Miss Brenda Snoggins, also of Slough, is in a frightful cob with Mr, Andrews, “I told you not to drive your car off the road on to that soft ground, what were you thinking of? Now we’ll have to go back to the pub and ring a local farmer to tow us out!!” We all know what Mr. Andrews was thinking of....

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5 hours ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

Portrait of the Artist, acrylic on plastic, 2019.

Thank you for lifting my spirits with that line!

Quote

Mr Ken Andrews, of Leighton Road, Slough has concealed himself extremely well. He could be almost anywhere. He could be behind the wall, inside the water barrel, beneath a pile of leaves, up in the tree, squatting down behind the car, concealed in a hollow, or crouched behind any one of a hundred bushes. However we happen to know he's in the water barrel.

Ah, should have thought of that myself!

3 hours ago, Northroader said:

Actually, Miss Brenda Snoggins, also of Slough, is in a frightful cob with Mr, Andrews, “I told you not to drive your car off the road on to that soft ground, what were you thinking of? Now we’ll have to go back to the pub and ring a local farmer to tow us out!!” We all know what Mr. Andrews was thinking of....

Well... (That's where they're going to anyway - It's the other side of Crondall.)

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16 hours ago, sem34090 said:

Yep - They were the cheapest almost-period ones I could get.

Might try this next time.

 

For now, though -

IMG_20190731_223919.jpg.fd0b6ccda3ee6a2b5972c798033ec5f6.jpg

IMG-20190731-WA0003.jpeg.c025d5e9cf174ceeb4f2989afba0b0a0.jpeg

The Austen 7 is an Oxford Diecast product, seen here engaged in espionage...

 

Don't know if it is worthy of note, from memory, the pictured Austin 7 is a post-1929 production type, earlier models had a split screen. 

( in my mis-spent youth I owned a total of seven examples of both types,, best Meccano set ever made ! Everything , except the rivetted Chassis A-frame , held together with bolts, and totally dismantleable in an afternoon !) 

Edited by DonB
Repositioned text
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14 hours ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

Portrait of the Artist, acrylic on plastic, 2019.

 

Mr Ken Andrews, of Leighton Road, Slough has concealed himself extremely well. He could be almost anywhere. He could be behind the wall, inside the water barrel, beneath a pile of leaves, up in the tree, squatting down behind the car, concealed in a hollow, or crouched behind any one of a hundred bushes. However we happen to know he's in the water barrel.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Watson of Ivy Cottage, Worplesdon Road, Hull, chose a very cunning way of not being seen. When we called at their house, we found that they had gone away on two weeks holiday. They had not left any forwarding address, and they had bolted and barred the house to prevent us from getting in. However a neighbour told us where there were.

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This is silly - The whole premise is silly. I'm the senior officer here and I haven't had a funny line yet. So I'm stopping it.

 

And I know I haven't quoted that correctly but I can't be asked to go and look it up!!!

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On 01/08/2019 at 22:43, sem34090 said:

I can't be asked to go and look it up!!!

When our daughter was about four we suggested it was a good thing to pick up her toys after she'd finished playing with them and her reply was "I can't be asked." Me and the wifey looked at each other in puzzlement and said "What do you mean?" Her reply was "You say that when you're told to do something!"

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image.png.11983c0c0b42e081aeee91ee55cb304b.png

Forgive me Lord (Edwardian), for I am sinning.

 

I really need to change the title of this thread. And strictly speaking I ought to have it moved elsewhere.

 

I say this as today has caused me to look at possibly changing Blackstone West's period from being 1914 - 1930 to being 1934 - 1939, maybe even 1947. This is because my love of Southern electrics has been reignited, and there is no way I can get away with any of those remotely near Hastings any time before 1935, the 3rd Rail being laid sometime in 1934. Added to this is the fact that much of my stock is only, really, suitable for the mid-1930s! Some of it is actually a bit too early, really, but not massively so.

 

As such, if I do commit to third rail on Blackstone West (I have plenty of time to change my mind!) I shall be in possession of the following layouts/ongoing projects:

  • Odiham - SR Steam and Electric, 1937 - 1942 (00)
  • Blackstone West - SR Steam and Electric, 1934 - 1939 (1947 - 00)
  • Lillie Bridge - London Transport Steam, Electric and Diesel (Circa 1935 - 1971 - 00)
  • Kimmeridge - Fictional SR Dorset Narrow Gauge, 1955 - 1965 (009)
  • Southern Heights Light Railway - Fictional SR London/Kent Narrow Gauge Steam and Electric, 1937 - 1947 (009)
  • Untitled - Fictional Light Railways, somewhere, Steam, 1930s/40s (O, O-16.5)*

As will no doubt be evident, there is not a single layout there which can be described as 'Pre Grouping' in any way! There was Ivychurch but this has been abandoned and its board will now be forming Odiham's fiddle yard. However, this is not to say that I have forever abandoned the fair land of the pre-grouper - Far from it. I still possess a fair amount of pre-grouping stock, and will continue to amass what I can. In time, hopefully, a layout will be mustered to accommodate this. It will probably be smaller than Blackstone West

 

*Incidentally, this layout was an ebay Purchase. It bears one Exhibition plaque, this being for the Astolat MRC show in 1997. If anyone is able to give the identity of the layout I would be very appreciative!

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Certainly the F9 has featured here a few times, so I shall be interested to read that!

 

If you don't mind it being basic, I could potential draw up CAD for some of the interior details for you?

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24 minutes ago, sem34090 said:

Certainly the F9 has featured here a few times, so I shall be interested to read that!

 

If you don't mind it being basic, I could potential draw up CAD for some of the interior details for you?

That's interesting about the interior details. I was planning on detailing the carriage interior and making the roof removable. I have no pictures of the interior but do know that a toilet was positioned in the front left hand corner, some easy chairs around the sides with a table in the middle. I believe there was some sort of buffet facility in the right hand corner. It has progressed to a coat of primer over the weekend. I will update the post soon.

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6 hours ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

Interesting. The only 4-2-4 I can think of off the cuff. Very nice mate. 

You need to get out less, and do more reading...

BENo40.jpg

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IMG_20190518_182814.jpg

Some of you may recall this lot...

 

Now,  I'm trying to work out what to do with all of the early loco bits. My initial thoughts have been to investigate possible use as the early Sharp, Stewart 2-2-2s I imagine were employed by the Blackstone & Marshland Railway from the 1850s, but this might be a non-starter.

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