Hayling Eastoke ~ July 1969 | A Hayling Island Project | Ballasting Begins!

[AireValley1962]

EASTOKE - A terminus station on the Hayling Island branch - if it never closed.

So, the real history behind the line is this: The Hayling Island line was opened by the LBSCR for goods on 19 January 1865, and for passengers on 16 July 1867, running from Havant, across Langstone Harbour, to Hayling Island station. SR was handed over operations by the LBSCR at Grouping, and BR took over the line from the SR in 1948. In late 1962 BR decided that the wooden swing bridge over Langstone Harbour would need replacement sooner than later, and despite the line operating at a profit, took measures to close the line by the winter of 1963. The last train left the Hayling Island terminus for Havant on 2 November 1963.

 

Now, what if the SR had extended the line to the southeast, towards Eastoke? What if holiday maker traffic increased to the beach and caravan park on the southeast corner of the island? What if, instead of closing the line, BR replaced the bridge, and upgraded the PW infrastructure? And [a very big "what if"], what if the MoD had built housing for the families of Royal Navy personnel on the east side of Hayling Island?

 

Well, plenty of passengers would travel the line. There would be some goods traffic for the shops and households too, along with a bit of a parcels service as well. So let's say that BR kept the line south to the Hayling Island terminus, and also onwards to the fictional station at Eastoke. Thus we come to the period of 1968 - 1972. BR green is beginning to give way to BR blue, older 2-HAL's and 2-BIL's take the passengers, and Class 33's alongside Class 73's grumble along with the goods traffic. The line should give decent profit for another 5 or 10 years. The older steam infrastructure still lingers here and there, but third rail rules(bearing in mind of course, that the original line was run only by A1x and the like due to loading restrictions - Rule One applies here).

 

Here's a quickly marked up screenshot of Google maps with my idea - original LBSCR line in orange, fictional BR(SR) line in red.

 

 

(railmaponline.com has a much better view of the original line, if anyone cares to look).

 

We shall imagine it's a sunny summer Friday, a few goods trains are being shunted together, the MLV arrives with some parcels, and the EMU's are starting to bring people out from the city to their homes and holiday caravans for the weekend and bank holiday. An electro diesel may be stabled overnight, ready to take an early morning train back to Havant and the main line. That's the picture I'm trying to create, with plenty of Rule One invoked, but enough prototypical basis to prevent it from seeming too far fetched.

On to the practical side of things:

 

I was planning on building a small 38"x16" BR(SR) diorama to showcase my collection of Southern Region stock, but then somehow the track plan morphed into a terminus station, and the baseboard grew! So, I am going to have a 48"x18" scenic board with a 30"x18" fiddle yard - dictated by the sizes of plywood and lumber in my garage. Track is Peco Code 75 for the scenic section, with electrofrog points, and code 100 for the Fiddle Yard, left over from my previous layout's FY. The fiddle yard style will be either traverser or turntable type.

Track plan is pictured below, and is set in stone, so to speak, because those are the only points I have, and I'm not buying any more! Point operation will be by wire-in-tube with SPDT switches to change frog polarity. Control will be traditional analogue with a Gaugemaster panel mounted controller, partly to keep costs down, and partly because DC common return wiring is what I'm most familiar around and enjoy messing with, even in my day job.

 

 

(Plan not to scale, but a good idea of what I want to achieve - the other end of the run round loop is off-stage).

Of course, this is all purely an excuse to use up my remaining scenic materials, ballast, wire, already-built-kits, bridge, platform pieces, a random SR signal I had, etc., etc.. My parents are actually quite pleased I can get rid of stuff from both the garage and basement by building it into a layout. I've already sold off a fair bit of my London Midland Region stock, whilst keeping my favourites, to fund the extra bits and pieces needed(as well as another, non-railway project, but that's another story).

There won't be much in the way of updates yet, at least until I get the baseboards built(this week, hopefully), but I'd already asked for some advice regarding signalling elsewhere on here, so thought a new thread would be a good way to get the axles rolling - no pun intended, of course.

Here's a planning picture or two to get a feel for the idea. Obviously, I won't be using this baseboard - too small!

 

 

 

Cheers, Will

 

P. S. Does just "Eastoke" sound alright, or should it be something like Eastoke Road, or East Oak, or Hayling East or something? 

Edited May 5, 2020 by AireValley1962

[Tim Chambers]

Will,that is brilliant, an excellent scheme! A very convincing history, not something that you always find on even the finest of layouts.I've been looking for a location which might be suitable to house my Bils,Hals, 33 and 73 and lo and behold here's one! I'll try and make mine a tad different perhaps so it's not too obviously poaching!

Nothing wrong with "Eaststoke" at all but possibly "Hayling East" or "East Hayling" is slightly more convincing?

Many thanks and best wishes, Tim.

[Geep7]

Great idea for a little layout. And a great back story too.

 

You might want to have a look at my West Sands thread, as that's also in the same area (although further along the coast at Selsey) and era, and there is plenty of discussion on there about potential traffic flows (especially goods) and infrastructure, if it would be of use.

 

Looking forward to seeing this develop.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Geep7

[AireValley1962]

9 hours ago, Tim Chambers said:

Will,that is brilliant, an excellent scheme! A very convincing history, not something that you always find on even the finest of layouts.I've been looking for a location which might be suitable to house my Bils,Hals, 33 and 73 and lo and behold here's one! I'll try and make mine a tad different perhaps so it's not too obviously poaching!

Nothing wrong with "Eaststoke" at all but possibly "Hayling East" or "East Hayling" is slightly more convincing?

Many thanks and best wishes, Tim.

 

Thanks a million, Tim. If you find the idea suitable for a project as well, go for it! I found it quite fun doing the research for the history and plan. 

 

Hayling East does have a nice ring to it too.....shall have to mull it over before getting a sign made up.

 

Will

[AireValley1962]

7 hours ago, Geep7 said:

Great idea for a little layout. And a great back story too.

 

You might want to have a look at my West Sands thread, as that's also in the same area (although further along the coast at Selsey) and era, and there is plenty of discussion on there about potential traffic flows (especially goods) and infrastructure, if it would be of use.

 

Looking forward to seeing this develop.

 

Thanks Geep - I actually just found your thread by the suggestion of Nearholmer after asking a question about signals and the like elsewhere on this forum. I had an enjoyable read through the other day.

 

Selsley had interested me, but I like finding and making up the story for might-have-been lines, and fell for this Hayling Island one.

 

Will

[puck]

There’s a very similar suggestion for Eastoke as a 3rd rail terminus in the book “Modelling the British Rail Era”. It proposes 4VEP unit and an oil terminal (from memory) and is about 13’ with fiddle yard (again from memory). I do like your compact plan. 

[Nearholmer]

Hows about that?

 

You could include on your layout a model of The Lifeboat Inn, established in C19th by my great, great grandfather and his wife, after they made enough from a previous pub, near the Souhsea Ferry, to expand their trade.

 

As a layout idea, I think its a pretty good one, and it would have reduced the mega-traffic-jams that were such a feature of the island in the latter part of the 60s and in the 70s (may still be, but I haven't been there in the meantime).

 

If you can, it would be good to leave the platforms long enough for a 4-COR, because they were cascaded onto such services as new units were delivered for the Portsmouth Direct. I think 3142 was the last survivor, and was eventually corralled at Brighton for preservation. For some weird reason I remember seeing it, and I think a 2-BIL, there on the day of some big royal extra-bank-holiday in 1972 (was it the 20th anniversary of HMQs accession?).

 

[EDIT: I think I must have dreamed-up the extra bank holiday, I can't find any mention of it anywhere .......... it was definitely on a BH in 1972 though.]

 

 

Edited February 10, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Brian D]

 

Nicely compact layout plan, Will.  Looking forward to watching this develop. Now following.

 

Regards,

Brian.

[AireValley1962]

2 hours ago, Brian D said:

 

Nicely compact layout plan, Will.  Looking forward to watching this develop...

 Thanks Brian. I'm looking forward to developing it too - been too long since I actually wired up some track and made something run.

[AireValley1962]

2 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Hows about that?

 

You could include on your layout a model of The Lifeboat Inn, established in C19th by my great, great grandfather and his wife, after they made enough from a previous pub, near the Souhsea Ferry, to expand their trade.

 

As a layout idea, I think its a pretty good one, and it would have reduced the mega-traffic-jams that were such a feature of the island in the latter part of the 60s and in the 70s.

 

If you can, it would be good to leave the platforms long enough for a 4-COR, because they were cascaded onto such services as new units were delivered for the Portsmouth Direct.

 

Thanks for the information, Nearholmer. I may indeed include a pub at the station end.

 

Unfortunately I will only have room for 2-car units, but both platforms will be long enough for them. My mother has said 7 feet is long enough. Considering my brother has multiple radio controlled aeroplanes measuring in each at over 4ft wingspans, it's reasonable. We both share a modelling room in the basement measuring 10'x11', so we do with what we can.

 

Cheers.

[AireValley1962]

Well, I cut most of the wood for the layout tonight. 4'x1½' scenic board top and 3'x1½' fiddle yard top.  ½" ply may be a bit overkill for a baseboard top, but I didn't spend any money for it, so there! 2x1 framing underneath - nothing special, but I actually managed to measure and cut everything the right length - for me, that's an amazing feat.

 

 

Tomorrow I shall bring my drill and driver home from work and pilot drill the holes, and then screw the main scenic board together. 

 

 

Now to buy some cork underlay for the track and to get everything at the right height. 

[AireValley1962]

Alright, scenic board built - track fits nicely, cork to be purchased tonight, and a long weekend coming up, so I hope to have all the track laid, and droppers fitted, and the landforms started by Tuesday.

 

[AireValley1962]

The track is now all measured and cut, and I have cut out the cork underlay and glued it down - weighted, of course, with many copies of Hornby Magazine, Railway Modeller, and RAF Yearbooks. 

 

 

 

Now to cut and solder all the droppers to the track whilst waiting for the glue to dry.  Then I can fix the track down.

 

Cheers,

Will

[gc4946]

Just to say our family stayed briefly on Hayling Island during summer '69 in a caravan along Rails Lane pending more permanent accommodation in Waterlooville.

"East Hayling" could be the name of the station terminus. I imagine there could be a halt at Beachlands for the amusements too. At the time the 4CORs were predominant on the Portsmouth Direct but could easily stray onto the line.

[luke the train spotter]

Nice start mate! I like where this is going and the history behind it all is very convincing. Regarding the signalling what did you what to know? With a track plan like that I can see a lot of little shunt signals in use as well as quite a few home signals on the end of all the platforms. 

[AireValley1962]

17 hours ago, gc4946 said:

Just to say our family stayed briefly on Hayling Island during summer '69 in a caravan along Rails Lane pending more permanent accommodation in Waterlooville.

"East Hayling" could be the name of the station terminus. I imagine there could be a halt at Beachlands for the amusements too. At the time the 4CORs were predominant on the Portsmouth Direct but could easily stray onto the line.

 

Thanks for sharing, gc4946. Unfortunately anything over 2 coaches won't fit, but as you say, plenty of opportunity for passengers, so lots of trains.

[AireValley1962]

10 hours ago, luke the train spotter said:

Nice start mate! I like where this is going and the history behind it all is very convincing. Regarding the signalling what did you what to know? With a track plan like that I can see a lot of little shunt signals in use as well as quite a few home signals on the end of all the platforms. 

 

Thanks old chap. Yes, I figured out that 3 home signals and 3 ground signals will do the job admirably - I'll post a signalling diagram soon enough. The signals regulating entry to the station are off scene, up the line a ways.

 

Cheers,

Will

[AireValley1962]

Alright, I got the track all cut and pinned down, and all the droppers soldered to the rails. Tomorrow, cut the landforms out of foam and, totally unrelated, pick up a brand new, old stock WWII Mk. II Canadian Brodie helmet(that's one of my other hobbies - military collecting).

 

 

[AireValley1962]

Close up of how the droppers are fixed under the baseboard, and also the copper clad joint at the end of the baseboard - a bit messy, but there are droppers soldered there too. 

 

 

[AireValley1962]

So, landforms out of ½" insulation board have been roughly cut to shape. They are larger than they will be due to the fact that I shall cut them down to a nice smoothly curved landform. 

 

 

The idea is that the line to the terminus slopes down to about 10 - 15 feet below the surrounding town - enabling a main road to be carried on a bridge over the line, and a small road to come down to the little yard from the right hand side.

 

 

Beer is an excellent British imported ale called Lancaster Bomber that I find quite nice, and is half a quid less than local so-called craft stuff at the liquor store. 

 

Cheers,

Will

[Brian D]

10 hours ago, AireValley1962 said:

So, landforms out of ½" insulation board have been roughly cut to shape. They are larger than they will be due to the fact that I shall cut them down to a nice smoothly curved landform. 

 

 

The idea is that the line to the terminus slopes down to about 10 - 15 feet below the surrounding town - enabling a main road to be carried on a bridge over the line, and a small road to come down to the little yard from the right hand side.

 

 

Beer is an excellent British imported ale called Lancaster Bomber that I find quite nice, and is half a quid less than local so-called craft stuff at the liquor store. 

 

Cheers,

Will

 

Great progress Will and excellent choice of beer - I picked some up in an Asda supermarket near Preston on our way back from the Lake District last July and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I have not seen it stocked locally here in Essex. 

Cheers! 

Regards, 

Brian. 

[AireValley1962]

So, went out to get some nice pine to finish up the woodwork for the layout. 18 feet each of 1x2 & 1x4 provided ample strength yet still light enough construction of the fiddle yard, and I added some framework on the main baseboard to bring it up to snuff as well. 

 

The fiddle yard is going to be traverser style using some drawer runners I purchased for a decent price, and has a 30 inch deck. 

 

Hopefully I can get all the track laid by tonight. Then I have to wait for some switches from eBay before finishing the wiring. 

 

Finally, for wire-in-tube point control, does anyone care to share what they've used before? I've found some 22 gauge piano wire and flexible tube from a radio controlled aeroplanes shop in the UK, but shipping is rather expensive for £15 worth of wire and tube.

 

Pictures below illustrate progress made today.

[AdeMoore]

William try these £1.99 shipping on my last order http://www.modelshopleeds.co.uk/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Piano+

 

[wigancg]

This looks a super compact layout here, Will. I’ll be following with interest.

 

Keep up the good work, mate

 

Chris 

[AireValley1962]

1 hour ago, wigancg said:

This looks a super compact layout here, Will. I’ll be following with interest.

 

Keep up the good work, mate

 

Chris 

 

Thanks Chris!

 

Hopefully it shall provide some interesting operational value.

 

Cheers,

Will