Studland, A Purbeck Might-Have-Been

[Calidore]

A History

 

Studland will depict a very small terminus at the end of a ‘might-have-been’ spur from the main Swanage branch in Dorset. Though primarily handling goods, the station will still retain a skeleton passenger service by the time period of the model, 1955-1961.

 

There are several reasons why such a brach might in fact have been built. The Isle of Purbeck had a very large number of ball clay pits and mines, which saw several horse-drawn and then steam-powered narrow gauge tramways built during the 19th and early 20th centuries by the Fayle and Pike companies. A transfer point also existed to the Swanage branch at Furzebrook, from which trains of clay hoods headed up towards Wareham and beyond behind everything from 4MT tanks to end-of-their-days Bulleid pacifics.

 

As well as the clay, the Studland peninsula specifically saw significant military activity during WWII. Anyone who has visited the area may well have seen the ‘Dragon’s Teeth,’ lines of large concrete pyramids installed along the coastline designed to impede enemy tanks in the event of invasion. Concrete pillboxes and observation posts such as Fort Henry were also constructed on Studland, from which the Allied rehearsal exercise for D-Day and various defensive wargaming exercises were observed and controlled.

 

 

The route as depicted above is imagined as having been the result of a partnership between the Fayle company and the LSWR. In reality, Fayle built a tramway from the wharf at Goathorn on the tip of the Studland peninsula, south towards Studland village, and then west to Norden in 1907. The line was operated by narrow gauge steam engines and was perhaps the first true clay railway in the area, replacing what had been horse-drawn plateways until that time.

 

In my timeline, the LSWR built this branch line on behalf of Fayle (this being c. 20 years after the main Swanage branch was completed) with a number of sidings along its length to serve the clay pits, as well as a couple of halt stations. Traffic declined by the 1930s but MOD operations soon made the branch a vital supply route for the strategically important area. After war traffic ceased, the line lingered on serving as a goods and passenger link for Studland village, as well as serving occasional traffic for the wharfs linking the peninsula to Poole, at the former MOD sidings.

 

The Layout

 

This will be a slightly disorderly build, and I’m planning to take my time. I am currently building structures first, whilst deciding on track layout and other details. The station will be modelled with the exit to the main fiddle yard at the Corfe end, and the exit for the spur towards the MOD sidings just up the line at the other. Total scenic area will be approx 5 1/2’ x 18”, though I have space to stretch both dimensions slightly if I wish to.

 

Studland is a beautiful part of the world and one of my favourite places. Leafy lanes and hills lead there from Corfe, then give way to wild heath and exotic purple heather contrasting with the sand and the sea. I hope to do justice to it in the model, in a small way.

 

 

 

The real Swanage branch is naturally the primary inspiration for the visuals and atmosphere I’ll be hoping to create for the railway itself, but several other tiny outposts of the former LSWR are also important. Hamworthy Goods provides the impetus for a former (or in this case nearly-former) passenger station ending up primarily used for handling goods traffic, with the associated hotchpotch infrastructure having been added over the years. The Longparish and Bulford branches provide a precedent for the single-coach-and-van passenger workings which served many of the tiny lines hanging by a thread in the 1950s, a phenomenon not limited to Devon and Cornwall.

 

To prove I’ve been doing some modelling after all this waffle, here’s the first piece of Studland. The water tower, based on the Swanage example, which will sit on a small loco siding. No shed or turntable planned, just this and a coal stage. Recently described in one of the historical mags as “a gloriously eccentric confection and surely a joy / challenge for any modeller” — who could resist?

 

 

 

The real thing.

 

Any questions or comments most welcome. More at some point soon — the motto for this project is there’s no rush…

 

Adam

[SouthernRegionSteam]

Ooh, I love the sound of this!
I too find Studland and the surrounding area absolutely beautiful; having spent many holidays in the Purbecks, and doing my A level geography coursework on the sand dunes at Studland itself. The core idea sounds incredibly interesting, and the water tower looks great, too. I'll be following this one closely!

[Ian J.]

It's a beautiful area. My S&P idea is located in part at least in the same general area, although I'm taking a different 'route' with a slightly different alternate reality angle where the geography and geology vary a little and the place names are almost entirely made up (albeit with a distinct flavour of the names from that area).

[petethemole]

Another Studland fan here. This looks like a promising project.  The suggested route of the line obviously doesn't directly affect a model of Studland station, but might I suggest you look at how the local topography would affect the route.  To avoid expensive earthworks I think such a line would have been routed north of the chalk ridge from a junction in the Furzebrook/Norden area.

[Bochi]

It is a beautiful spot, quite magical - and currently under threat of fracking to add to the existing interest in conventional oil drilling.

 

The backstory for the proposed layout is convincing! Looking forward to hearing more about it.

 

[Calidore]

Thanks for all the interest and likes, folks. Glad to see there are fellow fans out there.

 

On 23/04/2020 at 23:04, Ian J. said:

It's a beautiful area. My S&P idea is located in part at least in the same general area, although I'm taking a different 'route' with a slightly different alternate reality angle where the geography and geology vary a little and the place names are almost entirely made up (albeit with a distinct flavour of the names from that area).

Thanks for pointing out your project Ian, I hadn't come across it before. Looks like you've put a very impressive amount of thought into the history and context, it's very well planned out. Also based on exactly the bits of railway I'm very interested in, and sounds quite Hardy-esque too. I'm working my way through your blog entries now.

 

On 23/04/2020 at 23:15, petethemole said:

Another Studland fan here. This looks like a promising project.  The suggested route of the line obviously doesn't directly affect a model of Studland station, but might I suggest you look at how the local topography would affect the route.  To avoid expensive earthworks I think such a line would have been routed north of the chalk ridge from a junction in the Furzebrook/Norden area.

Thanks Pete. You're quite right, and I've certainly taken some liberties with the landscape on the route I've mapped out. I might look into finessing it as we go along, although I'm trying not to get too horrendously bogged-down (I've had so many ideas develop for a little while and then be binned for being 'not right' according to my own standards). But to prove the accuracy of your suggestions, that's pretty much exactly the route which the 1907 Fayle route took. Supposedly the line occasionally conveyed children to school in Corfe, so I thought aside from being a bit different for the sake of it I'd also include a connection to the branch at the down end so that trains could call at Corfe rather than skipping it out.

 

 

Thoughts are turning to some early track planning, and also to the main station building. Criteria for the station building are to be small enough for the location and character of the scene, and vaguely characteristic of the area without being a copy of either Swanage or Corfe (both too big). On that basis, I've been considering various stations on other parts of the LSWR and environs which could be architecturally copied but translated with a purbeck stone finish. In the lead at the moment is Bailey Gate, from the Dorset Central half of the S&D.

 

By Ben Brooksbank, via Wikipedia, under Creative Commons Share-alike. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bailey_Gate_railway_station#/media/File:Bailey_Gate_Station_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1741936.jpg

 

I like the fact that this building is a single storey, and has a couple of interesting features like the end wall nearest the camera here (I'm sure there's a technical term I don't know for this). The stations on the DCR were all slightly different variations on this design, but I think this is the most interesting. Wincanton is another similar possibility and has the advantage of being in stone originally, but I can't seem to source as many useful photos for reproducing it.

 

Another thought was Easton, from the Portland branch, but this is perhaps a little too small. Besides that, I've always felt this is just a bit ugly with the right-angle turn in the roof.

 

 

Both Alwyn Ladell, Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. https://www.flickr.com/photos/alwyn_ladell/6865681131/in/photostream/

 

 

Plenty to think about, but that's all part of the fun after all. I think it might help to get cracking on at least a mockup of the Bailey Gate example and see where that takes me.

 

Thoughts welcome as always.

 

Adam

Edited April 27, 2020 by Calidore

[rob D2]

Beautiful area to put a might have been in !

[Calidore]

A few early thoughts on track plan, using the high-tech method of paper on carpet and line drawings on the laptop.

 

 

The curve between the station throat (off scene left) and the straight platform section is more pronounced in reality than in the photo. Buildings are all very roughly sized. But I think this incorporates most of what I want, and manages to use only large radius Peco turnouts, so I can stick with bullhead throughout.

 

The layout will be set in summer, but just for fun here are a couple of atmospheric murky shots from happier times. My last trip down in December, for Winter Warm Up.

 

 

 

Adam

[AdeMoore]

Another Studland and Southern fan, on the watch list the water tower is a cracking bit of modelling.

 Cheers 

[stivesnick]

Adam 

 

Comments and questions about your initial track plan. 

 

Does the engine use the water tower and coaling from the platform headshunt or does it travel to the adjacent siding?

 

Have you any idea how to deal with the joint between the layout and fiddle yard? Having three tracks disappear and the goods shed close to the edge may make this difficult. You could move the goods shed over a bit and try to fit a bridge in to disguise the end of the layout. Or will there be a further scenic board?

 

In your first post you mention a MOD depot - will this again be off-stage? 

 

Finally, I would consider omitting one of the front sidings to make that area look less crowded and allow a bit more space for scenic treatment along the front of the layout.

 

Hope this is helpful

 

Nick

 

[Calidore]

Thanks for the interest folks.

 

3 hours ago, stivesnick said:

Adam 

 

Comments and questions about your initial track plan. 

 

Does the engine use the water tower and coaling from the platform headshunt or does it travel to the adjacent siding?

 

Have you any idea how to deal with the joint between the layout and fiddle yard? Having three tracks disappear and the goods shed close to the edge may make this difficult. You could move the goods shed over a bit and try to fit a bridge in to disguise the end of the layout. Or will there be a further scenic board?

 

In your first post you mention a MOD depot - will this again be off-stage? 

 

Finally, I would consider omitting one of the front sidings to make that area look less crowded and allow a bit more space for scenic treatment along the front of the layout.

 

Hope this is helpful

 

Nick

 

 

Hi Nick, thank you for your helpful thoughts and questions. The loco siding is the one in front of the headshunt, i.e. the water and coal facilities stand between the two lines and face towards the front of the board. This also relates to your question about the MOD sidings -- they are imagined to be slightly further up the line beyond the station, so off scene to the right on my track plan. In that way, if I decided to add a fiddle stick to the right hand end I could shunt trains up towards the sidings and the loco facilities would be the visual block for that exit.

 

You raise a useful point about the main fiddle yard -- the plan is a three-road sector plate at the moment. I've seen this done on a few layouts on here and elsewhere with three exits onto the scenic board, but this might be easier to plan on the physical board.

 

I'll see what happens regarding the goods shed again when I'm at the stage of physical mock-ups; I'm trying to avoid a bridge mostly on account of wanting the front left of the board to have a gently rolling slope down towards the board edge, where the heath scenery will go. Likewise the sidings -- if I have two, the area around them will be left as open as possible, but you might be wise to suggest reducing to one. The plan also has everything shifted very far forwards though in order to leave space behind the platform for buildings -- in reality I might not need as much space there, so I might be able to bring some of that space to the front instead.

 

 

Still mulling over building options whilst working on bits of other projects at the moment. I'm pondering the possibility of reducing the building to a shelter affair, although that might make the goods shed and lockup buildings look overkill. Any thoughts welcome.

 

Adam

[DLT]

Great project, lovely place!  Had several summer holidays in the Swanage/Purbeck area.

I would think this would have more of a light-railway atmosphere, perhaps with timber and corrugated iron buildings? Just a thought.

I will be following keenly.

All the best, Dave.

[hayfield]

Just come across this thread, had the pleasure of staying close by a few years back and enjoyed the bay, love the water tower and the bridge at Both Alwyn Ladell is what I was looking for

[Calidore]

23 minutes ago, DLT said:

Great project, lovely place!  Had several summer holidays in the Swanage/Purbeck area.

I would think this would have more of a light-railway atmosphere, perhaps with timber and corrugated iron buildings? Just a thought.

I will be following keenly.

All the best, Dave.

Hi Dave, thank you. You might be exactly right, you know, I'm starting to wonder about that too. I first envisaged this as being very much an extension of Corfe and Swanage in character, but when I think about putting in even a cut-down version of a building from either place it just seems too much. One instructive example elsewhere on the LSWR might be Bordon, especially with the military railway connection. A couple of very inspiring pics I've just come across as I've been thinking about it:

 

By 'Lamberhurst', via Wikipedia, under Creative Commons Share-alike. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bordon_railway_station_(1956).JPG

 

I do like the goods shed behind the platform here, and the fact that the track arrangement and surroundings are very simple but still cultivated enough to say 'station' rather than 'halt'. Also the station building is charming and might be just a perfect fit with the 'light railway' feel you describe whilst still being firmly LSW in provenance.

 

Mike Morant via Disused Stations, http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bordon/bordon(mike_morant1.1965)old4.jpg

 

This is the benefit of taking some time to think about all this whilst getting on with a few other modelling bits in the meantime -- I haven't gone charging in and then changed my mind or regretted it, for a change!

 

Adam

Edited May 8, 2020 by Calidore

[Crisis Rail]

What a fantastic plan.

 

Yes - another fan as you say - Corfe Woolsgarston and Kingston were our go to "second home" holiday destinations from 2003 to sadly not as often now as time marches on and the family grows up.

 

We were to make a visit down last month for the Swanage Diesel and Bovington Museum events but as we all know - best laid plans and all that.

 

I have a started but stored Micro very loosely based in fiction only on an Oil Yard concept with Crompton Blue Class 33 Traction and the Furzey - Wytch Farm Well complex.

 

 Chris Nevard also had the excellent Arne Wharf which in reality is a picturesque nature reserve.

 

Just wondering how the tunnel would look through Ballard Down from Ulwell to Studland....!?

 

Watching.

 

Ian

 

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by Crisis Rail

[Calidore]

On 10/05/2020 at 14:03, Crisis Rail said:

What a fantastic plan.

 

Yes - another fan as you say - Corfe Woolsgarston and Kingston were our go to "second home" holiday destinations from 2003 to sadly not as often now as time marches on and the family grows up.

 

We were to make a visit down last month for the Swanage Diesel and Bovington Museum events but as we all know - best laid plans and all that.

 

I have a started but stored Micro very loosely based in fiction only on an Oil Yard concept with Crompton Blue Class 33 Traction and the Furzey - Wytch Farm Well complex.

 

 Chris Nevard also had the excellent Arne Wharf which in reality is a picturesque nature reserve.

 

Just wondering how the tunnel would look through Ballard Down from Ulwell to Studland....!?

 

Watching.

 

Ian

 

 

Hi Ian, thank you for your comments, sorry I didn't see them until now. I do like the sound of your layout; I've always thought the genuine volume of oil and clay industry in the area makes it such an ideal choice for any number of models depicting small branch line extensions and goods lines. Please do share if you get the layout back out and into a state you're happy with. I hadn't seen Arne Wharf, despite being very familiar with the rest of Chris Nevard's work, but having glanced at the pictures I'll take a closer look later.

 

On the point of geology, I agree it might be rather a huge task, but I suppose the LSWR had its fair share of ludicrous undertakings scattered about on fringe branch lines, joint lines and the like. There's a great Southampton University page with huge amounts of information and photos (I haven't read it all yet) which nicely shows Ballard Down and the evocatively-named Nine Barrow Down behind it, about 1/3 down the page here: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/~imw/Harry-Rocks.htm

 

-------

 

So an update on the project.

 

From the outset this scheme has suggested two very obvious layouts as part of the same project, namely Studland station itself, and the MOD sidings which I have placed at the very end of the line to the north of the station. I'm still making good planning progress with the station layout (eg having firmly decided on the station building being based on that at Bordon, above) but quite a few unknowns remain re track plan etc. By contrast, I've had a ready-to-roll plan in mind for a layout depicting the MOD sidings, which could eventually be joined together with the station board or operated separately, so I'll be building that first.

 

There are several advantages to this order of proceeding:

1) I already have the track plan, building layout, and scenic treatment almost entirely developed in my head.

2) I have all the track, board, and most of the building materials I'll need to crack on.

3) By virtue of being a bit on the sparse side, it will allow me to go to town on the scenics (heather etc) which I mentioned at the start and which will set the tone for the whole project. It is also much closer to where these elements of flora exist in real life, being right up on the heath / nature reserve on the map above (apologies to the resident birds, who will be minimally disturbed!)

 

So to get things moving, I bit the bullet this morning and sent St Mabyn to the great railway room in the sky, recovering track and buildings as I went. I've seen many people on here talk about projects which they always knew weren't quite 'right' and they were never fully happy with, and ultimately I knew that layout was one of those. However, the great thing about this hobby is that everything is a learning experience, so as I chopped it up I reflected on the things I was unhappy with, as well as the things which had gone well:

 

1) Fun to shunt, but ultimately I didn't enjoy having to shunt every train on to the scene with the engine at the rear.

2) Parts of the board were too 'flat earth'.

3) All of the visual interest was at the back, I think for fear of 'blocking' the view, but this meant the foreground was boring and plain.

4) Too much grass. I'd been aiming for sidings very much in the middle of a field, but it didn't look right. I also rushed and used a shade of grass I knew I didn't like.

 

The good points:

1) Buildings and weathering were good

2) Upon demolishing it, I found my construction methods were a lot more robust than I had expected. Baseboard, scenics, track and even grass were all set solid and took a lot to shift. This has given me confidence!

 

So with the above three sets of considerations in mind I have made a start on the MOD sidings. To keep myself honest, the criteria for the build are recorded here in public view!

-- Operational interest in the track plan

-- Visual interest and detail at the front to draw the eye to the foreground

-- Proper ground cover

-- No flat earth

 

 

Plan: gravel road running the length of the board front, Nissen huts x2 in front of the track at the left end (fiddle yard), stores building front right in front of the loop headshunt (to create a nice bit of interest as engines disappear behind, and to give a detailed front scene in the foreground of the board), and loading platform rear right accessed across the tracks. In front of the road, the front left corner, and remaining space at the back will be grass, heath, and flowers. A smattering of anti-tank installations etc (maybe even one or two small dragon's teeth?) on the heath areas. Simple, no?

 

 

Testing out some train lengths -- should be a good plan to shunt warwells and the like around.

 

With newfound impetus I'll be cracking on with the Nissen huts and stores buildings next. Progress!

 

Adam

Edited May 20, 2020 by Calidore

[Calidore]

More evidence of modelling rather than rambling -- Nissen huts now completed for the front left of the board in front of the fiddle yard entrance. I'll see how they look once positioned on the layout, they might go on a plinth / loading dock to raise them up a bit.

 

 

 

Rather pleased with these.

 

Adam

[Calidore]

Thought I'd do a more WIP-type update as well, as I've not written up much of my method with the water tower or the Nissen huts. Track is fixed down and just needs a couple of hours to fully dry before I can spray it with Humbrol 29 as base colour and get on with ground work.

 

Meanwhile, I've been testing road surfaces:

This is a little dark but almost what I'm looking for as the surface for the dirt road along the board front. The base is textured wallpaper, skimmed over with filler to reduce the relief (the left end here is what it looks like before filling). After this the surface is painted with a light cream-brown ('Oatmeal' according to Wilko!), then the shading is a combination of a darker brown ('Earth Hue') stippled and dry brushed, and Humbrol Dark Earth and Peco Ash Dust powders over the top for variation and a slight texture. The Dark Earth had the most severe darkening effect out of the lot, so I think if I leave that out of the final version it should tone down just fine with the Ash Dust and Earth Hue.

 

The shell for the stores building is done in my usual 5mm foam board and the scene is pretty well shaping up how I wanted, which is good. The cladding will be sheet metal and the main door a sliding affair. The B4 disappearing behind is just how I'd intended so I'm sticking to my objectives so far.

 

On the subject of motive power, 30093 has been a definite target for both the station layout and the sidings layout since I started planning. The rest of the lineup in general is what you'd expect for the area, i.e. Drummond types, Ivatt 2MT etc, and a Q class is also in my sights. 30093 was chosen specifically based on its history of working the Poole Quay and Hamworthy Goods lines when based at Bournemouth, so it seemed like the obvious choice as being likely to have worked this line had it existed too. On a similar basis of local flavour, the Q class is likely to be 30548 -- the plan is Golden Arrow resin body on a Bachmann C Class chassis. As an interim measure my Q1 is likely to appear, although it's slightly off-territory. Bringing the time period forward slightly, I've also been trying to justify a blue 07...

 

Workings to the MOD sidings will be a combination of 'through' trains where the train engine has stayed on all the way to the end of the branch, and local trip moves with a smaller engine bringing up wagons left down the branch at Studland station by whatever larger motive power brought them there.

 

Finally the scene at the other end, coming on from the fiddle yard.

 

Thoughts on any of the above always welcome!

 

Adam

Edited May 30, 2020 by Calidore

[Crisis Rail]

On the Purbeck theme here is the resurrected Furzey Oil (unnamed as yet) micro I started a while ago as you requested a view. Something and nothing but one thing it’s totally unprototypical . Just an excuse to run Type 2 Crompton at the opposite modelling ends of the country. 

 

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Crisis Rail

[PaulRhB]

Lovely idea and modelling so far but one thing with your map, how does it get through the huge Ballard Down at Ulwell without a very long expensive tunnel?  

My Lulworth Castle uses a similar premise but heads west to Lulworth, assuming the tramways were upgraded to standard gauge, but unlikely to have had the money to tunnel through the Down. It’s very steep on both sides having walked over it many times so tunnelling would be the only option. 

(copyright a Google terrain maps)

If you swapped to the North side of the Down it saves a huge amount of engineering and is quite feasible. If it came off at Norden you could always create a village around the houses at Brenscombe or Rempstone. It’s also rather close to the existing line on the South side  
The MOD connection to Studland is perfectly plausible with the huge exercises there in WW2 and the continuing use of the beach up to today for assault landing practice. They also hid some large rail guns on the branch when invasion was expected. 
Whatever the story behind it is the modelling is super!

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by PaulRhB

[Paul H Vigor]

With regard to military matters, don't forget "Starfish" on Arne!

[petethemole]

Nissen huts were erected on a brick or concrete plinth. This one has concrete, but others at the same site were brick, so you could mix them.

[Crisis Rail]

8 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Lovely idea and modelling so far but one thing with your map, how does it get through the huge Ballard Down at Ulwell without a very long expensive tunnel?  

My Lulworth Castle uses a similar premise but heads west to Lulworth, assuming the tramways were upgraded to standard gauge, but unlikely to have had the money to tunnel through the Down. It’s very steep on both sides having walked over it many times so tunnelling would be the only option. 

If you swapped to the North side of the Down it saves a huge amount of engineering and is quite feasible. If it came off at Norden you could always create a village around the houses at Brenscombe or Rempstone. It’s also rather close to the existing line on the South side  
The MOD connection to Studland is perfectly plausible with the huge exercises there in WW2 and the continuing use of the beach up to today for assault landing practice. They also hid some large rail guns on the branch when invasion was expected. 
Whatever the story behind it is the modelling is super!

 

 

Yes - as I mentioned in an earlier post I thought this would be an expensive but not altogether an unfeasible route -  also upsetting the residents of Woolsgarston would be a bit of a risk! -  no 19th Century navvie manpower as was on the S&C and there is a war on of course.

 

Maybe consider doing "a Dawlish" and skirt the coast? 

 

All good fun.

 

Ian

[Ian J.]

17 minutes ago, Crisis Rail said:

 

Maybe consider doing "a Dawlish" and skirt the coast? 

 

 

Oi, I'm doing that in my S&P idea

[Crisis Rail]

10 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Lovely idea and modelling so far but one thing with your map, how does it get through the huge Ballard Down at Ulwell without a very long expensive tunnel?  

My Lulworth Castle uses a similar premise but heads west to Lulworth, assuming the tramways were upgraded to standard gauge, but unlikely to have had the money to tunnel through the Down. It’s very steep on both sides having walked over it many times so tunnelling would be the only option. 

(copyright a Google terrain maps)

If you swapped to the North side of the Down it saves a huge amount of engineering and is quite feasible. If it came off at Norden you could always create a village around the houses at Brenscombe or Rempstone. It’s also rather close to the existing line on the South side  
The MOD connection to Studland is perfectly plausible with the huge exercises there in WW2 and the continuing use of the beach up to today for assault landing practice. They also hid some large rail guns on the branch when invasion was expected. 
Whatever the story behind it is the modelling is super!

 

 

Of course! - a no brainer - through the Corfe gap to Godlingston Heath with a diversion round the Aggleston Rock!

 

Ian