Basingstoke Engine Shed

[30368]

Whilst my research has revealed some very useful images of Basingstoke shed and yard you can never have too many.

 

So, I would be very grateful if anyone has images of Basingstoke Engine Shed, in any era, particularly of the turntable and coaling stage and the area to the East of the shed, i.e. the collection of office and stores buildings. Many thanks.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Oldddudders]

'Southern Sheds', Hawkins & Reeve,  OPC 1979, has only one page devoted to Blazingsmoke. There is a track layout, dated 1946, a general view of locos on shed, and one of the shearlegs with a tank loco beneath. 

[Ian Morgan]

The Farnham club created a fine N gauge model of Basingstoke, so I would expect they had amassed a fair amount of research material.

 

[30368]

Thanks Ian's

[Pobrien]

These have been in my Flickr account for some years, so you may well have seen them. 

They were taken in 1967, the final year of steam on the Southern

 

 

 

 

[Right Away]

Interesting shot of 35007 with a 5100 gallon tender No 3127 which she acquired in Sep '66.

[30368]

Many thanks for the pictures of "Blazingstoke"*, you can never have enough really. Sorry I didn't reply earlier, missed it.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

* Copyright Oldddudders 

[Oldddudders]

2 hours ago, 30368 said:

Many thanks for the pictures of "Blazingstoke"*, you can never have enough really. Sorry I didn't reply earlier, missed it.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

* Copyright Oldddudders 

Copyright not claimed! I think the Blazingsmoke moniker was common currency on the South Western, the one SR Division on which I never worked. Rather like Tipsy Jill, Screaming Alice and Burglar Bill on the Central. [Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace and Burgess Hill] 

[Right Away]

.... and was Gene Pitney really only 24 miles from Tulse Hill?

[Fat Controller]

On 08/07/2019 at 16:17, Ian Morgan said:

The Farnham club created a fine N gauge model of Basingstoke, so I would expect they had amassed a fair amount of research material.

 

Wasn't there also a 4mm scale model?

[30368]

20 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Copyright not claimed! I think the Blazingsmoke moniker was common currency on the South Western, the one SR Division on which I never worked. Rather like Tipsy Jill, Screaming Alice and Burglar Bill on the Central. [Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace and Burgess Hill] 

 

You missed so much - SW always seemed to be the premier Division to those of us whom did work there!

Edited October 3, 2019 by 30368

[The Border Reiver]

Here are a couple of photos I took of the shed

 

82020 at Basingstoke shed taken while on a RailRover 9 August 1965

 

73080 and 15233 at Basingstoke shed taken while on a RailRover 14 August 1966

 

 

[Oldddudders]

On 03/10/2019 at 08:59, 30368 said:

 

You missed so much - SW always seemed to be the premier Division to those of us whom did work there!

I note my former skoolmate Chris Wadey has 'liked" this. BR was well-represented at skool (in '60s Dorking), not least by Graeme Taylor, from the year above me, who went on to be a very senior civil engineer - and whose father was F.P.B Taylor, then Divisional Manager, South Western. 

[30368]

Dear All,

 

I have come to the conclusion that whilst it will be fun to lay the track, wire up the point motors etc... life is too short and there are many out there that are much more experienced than me. Besides, I like building my loco's too much.

 

Can anyone recommend someone who can reliably and at a reasonable price complete these tasks for me? I have the track and many point motors and a motorised turntable. I am happy to do the scenery. The track plan is Basingstoke Shed yard with the SW main line running past and a fiddle yard at one end. It is simple DC only. Hope someone can help! Located about 12 miles west of Salisbury in rural Wiltshire.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

PS Just ignore this plea, as my wife and four daughters seem to do most of the time anyway. I am progressing the layout and enjoying the tasks.

Edited July 26, 2022 by 30368

[ianbudd]

Dear Richard,

I came across this post while trying to identify the location of a trip with my late father, probably very early 1960s. Scanning in old negatives I found loads of photos of a Basingstoke open day which included a side trip in a 'bubble car' DMU to Eastleigh. I remembered the day but thought it was Swindon until I looked at the buildings!

[30368]

19 minutes ago, ianbudd said:

Dear Richard,

 

Ian, I can't thank you enough, these are some of the best images of the shed, as I remember it, I have seen. The turntable pics are really great and will help me to get a more accurate version on my layout.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[ianbudd]

Richard, here are four more...

[PaulRhB]

Does anyone have a plan and photos of the GWR shed at the Eastern end, that closed in 1950? A friend is looking to base his shed on it but only has a fairly poor photo that doesn’t show the style clearly. 

[Nick C]

Great to see those photos - and strange to think that almost nothing visible in them survives - of all the structures shown, only the station buildings/canopies and the Rising Sun pub (white building in the background of the turntable photo) still stand...

[30368]

T

On 26/07/2022 at 11:03, ianbudd said:

Richard, here are four more.

 

Many thanks Ian. Really good images and so kind of you to scan and post - useful to many of us I am sure. As Nick C states, next to nothing survives mostly built over. Still strong in my memories though. Of particular use are the views of the turntable, I have located very few in my research so you are adding greatly to our knowledge of the shed and its equipment.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

Edited July 29, 2022 by 30368

[Keith1952]

 Might be a bit late but here are a couple of images I took at Basingstoke in 1967 from slightly differing angles to the ones you already have. This was 2nd July.  

[30368]

7 hours ago, Keith1952 said:

bit late but here are a couple of images I took at Basingstoke in 1967 from slightly differing angles to the ones you already have. This was 2nd July.  

Many thanks Keith, still building the shed yard so these images will help a great deal.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Vanfit]

On 02/10/2019 at 21:09, Oldddudders said:

Copyright not claimed! I think the Blazingsmoke moniker was common currency on the South Western, the one SR Division on which I never worked. Rather like Tipsy Jill, Screaming Alice and Burglar Bill on the Central. [Gipsy Hill, Crystal Palace and Burgess Hill] 

 

As the son of a Basingstoke railwayman I can confirm railwaymen would almost always refer to Basingstoke as Basing (not to be confused with the nearby village of that name).

 

Wonderful evocative pictures of the shed, unfortunately although I spent many hours trainspotting on the bank overlooking the shed I was too young to own a camera. There was a missing upright in the metal spear fencing, as long as we didn't actually go onto the tracks we were tolerated.

 

I did occasionally 'borrow' my Dad's camera, but was too young to take good pictures, here is one of the V2 that stayed over at the shed, i think it failed on a railtour, big excitement for us lads but not many of us had an ER Ian Allan book to record it!

 

 

 

 

[30368]

1 hour ago, Vanfit said:

As the son of a Basingstoke railwayman I can confirm railwaymen would almost always refer to Basingstoke as Basing (not to be confused with the nearby village of that name).

 

 

Many thanks Van. I have a couple of V2s so I can replicate (almost) your great image. Thanks for taking the trouble. My brother and I stood on the same bank by the spear fencing, most school morning, to see what was on shed. That would have been 1961-62. What department was your Dad in ? I was an SR CM&EE apprentice. 

 

I started my railway apprenticeship at Eastleigh Works on Monday 2nd September 1963 and living at Old Basing - caught the train at Basingstoke. I only worked on 70D once, retrieving a failed Crompton in 1964.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

 

[Vanfit]

Hi Richard

Wish I had seen this superb memory evoking thread before.

 

Dad was on the footplate as a fireman before moving to the S&T until he retired. BTW 30368 was the engine he was firing shunting the down yard while i was being born in the local maternity hospital!

 

I was at the shed or station (down side London end of station) whenever i could until the end of steam and a little after, so i guess from 1960 to 1969. and went to primary school at Old Basing and started a CM&EE craft apprenticeship in Swindon 1971.

 

There are more pics of Basingstoke and the shed and I will post when i can find them (lol) and loads of anecdotes about the railways and the railwaymen in Basingstoke. If you are interested hopefully some of  those might be useful to you.

 

Mike