Jump to content
 

GW Branch Line Station Buildings


Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Premium
17 hours ago, eastglosmog said:

If you are looking for a West Oxon example, the Fairford Branch is a useful example.  Built by two companies (Witney Railway and East Gloucestershire Railway) later taken over by the GWR.  Buildings of wood in the Witney section, brick, stone and corrugated iron in the East Glous section (which included the new Witney passenger station).  Apart from Witney, the original station buildings did not have awnings (Cassington and Carterton which were later additions, did).  Station buildings seem to have been on the side nearest to the population center* they were meant to serve and goods yards likewise (so were on same side as main buildings).  Witney goods yard was separate from the passenger station, being the old Witney Railway station, which might be a useful feature if space is limited.

* often several miles away, as far as the East Glous was concerned.


On the Fairford Branch website there are some interesting colour photos of Eynsham, part of the original line to Witney.  Although the paint has faded, it supports the comment re: Toller (see below) that stations weren’t necessarily repainted in BR days, as it looks like light stone from the top of the doors upwards, with presumably dark stone for the lower panels (I’m not very good with colours - to my eyes it could almost be chocolate, but I’m assuming that’s my eyesight and it would be dark stone).
 

There are also some platform side photos that show the Station building lower than the platform with steps down into the building- presumably the platform here was originally lower and then raised.

 

On 27/06/2020 at 09:22, melmoth said:

 

Toller station building in fact dates from 1905 and was built by the GWR a couple of years after they acquired the line. Colours would probably have been a combination of GWR light and dark 'stone' shades. I don't think it ever got repainted by BR.


Thank you for the clarification on dates.  I’ve now seen a colour photo on the internet which backs up the colour scheme.

 

It looks like the colour I had been thinking might be white in old photos can be more reasonably assumed to be light stone.  This makes sense, as I’d understood white to be a more recent or post-war colour (in general - ie: house window frames), the basic reason being all the smoke from having coal fires everywhere.
 

 With cladding painted in GW stone I think I can then assume that door panels could be light stone, with frames in dark stone.

 

I’m just getting started with the layout, but checking all this now will help me target my budget in the right direction.  The only unbuilt kit I have in my box at the moment is a Ratio Castle Cary Station, which won’t fit this layout (it was bought for a previous idea).  The real question all this leaves me with is why I’m not modelling a prototype location, but maybe that’s for next time....

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

If you want a nice GWR wooden station building which is basically waiting rooms only there is an excellent extant example in London - painted in a sort of pastiche of light & dark stone colours.  One of the photos also gives a glimpse of the much shorter building on the opposite platfom.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52581810@N02/32275250698

 

https://hydeparknow.uk/2016/06/26/east-north-acton-blues/

 

!00% genuine GWR structure  erected c.1920 and very easy to go and have a look at (it was on my list for a day out sometime this Summer as it is one of several GWR buildings in original or fairly original condition on the E&SBR section of what is now the Central Line - goodness only knows if/when I'll get there to look at them).

 

The main booking office building at street level also still has much of its original GWR style although the one at North Acton has had a modern bit added at one end.  

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Acton_stn_entrance.JPG

 

Edited by The Stationmaster
  • Like 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

 

 

Logically one also needs to think about how the horsebox was attached to/detached from a passenger train and that in turn depended on the places betweenwhich it was moving and the facilities for loaing/unloading at those places plus the availability of engine etc power to shunt the horsebox.

 

But it does seem that horseboes being shunted had to be marshalled immediately behind the motive power - enjoy

 

 

 

I have a Southern Railway General Appendix for 1934, and that makes no mention of marshalling instructions for horse traffic, other than that care must be taken when shunting, and also that loading 'wherever possible, to vehicles which will travel with their headstalls in the direction of the engine.'

 

Also that empty vehicles 'should be conveyed, wherever possible, by goods services....'

 

cheers 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
44 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

If you want a nice GWR wooden station building which is basically waiting rooms only there is an excellent extant example in London - painted in a sort of pastiche of light & dark stone colours.  One of the photos also gives a glimpse of the much shorter building on the opposite platfom.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52581810@N02/32275250698

 

https://hydeparknow.uk/2016/06/26/east-north-acton-blues/

 

!00% genuine GWR structure  erected c.1920 and very easy to go and have a look at (it was on my list for a day out sometime this Summer as it is one of several GWR buildings in original or fairly original condition on the E&SBR section of what is now the Central Line - goodness only knows if/when I'll get there to look at them).

 

The main booking office building at street level also still has much of its original GWR style although the one at North Acton has had a modern bit added at one end.  

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Acton_stn_entrance.JPG

 

 

Thank you - a narrow platform too: the small size of the building makes the traditional platform clock look rather large! (I note it's a more traditional style of clock than in the blue era photo).

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 28/06/2020 at 19:01, Rivercider said:

I have a Southern Railway General Appendix for 1934, and that makes no mention of marshalling instructions for horse traffic, other than that care must be taken when shunting, and also that loading 'wherever possible, to vehicles which will travel with their headstalls in the direction of the engine.'

 

Also that empty vehicles 'should be conveyed, wherever possible, by goods services....'

 

cheers 

Back in 1891, the LBSCR had a few things to say about Horse Boxes and Carriage Trucks:

HORSE BOXES AND CARRIAGE TRUCKS IN PASSENGER TRAINS

In attaching these to Trains which are formed of two portions, Station Masters must see that the Boxes and Trucks are put in the proper portion of each Train to save shunting at any Station further on the road.

HORSE BOXES, CARRIAGE TRUCKS, &c., TO BE TRANSFERRED AT JUNCTION STATIONS

Stations sending Horse Boxes, Carriage Trucks and other Vehicles by Passenger Trains must advise, by letter, if time permits, or by telegraph if necessary, the Stations where a transfer has to be made, also to state in what part of the Train the Vehicles are placed, and their destination, so that the detaching and attaching at Junctions, &c., may be done with the least possible delay to Trains.

PASSENGER TRAINS BACKED INTO SIDINGS OR ACROSS ROADS TO TAKE ON OR SHUNT OFF VEHICLES

Vehicles on Passenger Trains have been thrown off the road through the Trains being backed into Sidings or across one line to another to take on or Shunt off Vehicles. This practice of Shunting Passenger Trains should be avoided as much as possible.  In many cases it is done unnecessarily, and when the Vehicles could easily be put on the Train or pushed into the Siding, as the case may be, by hand, if a little more exertion was used by the Station Master and his Staff.  Station-masters must please see to this, and prevent as much as possible the backing of Passenger Trains into sidings to attach or detach Vehicles.  Travelling Inspectors must also give this matter their particular attention, and report every case of unnecessary Shunting of Passenger Trains.

As The Station Master has concluded, the final placement of horse boxes in passenger trains would depend largely on how it was going to be dealt with at their destination. Bob Essery, in one of his many books on Railway Operation for Modellers, did promise to explain it all, but I haven't been able to find exactly where he hid his explanation, so I am none the wiser on this topic, but, as the instructions above suggest, the Station Master was expected to know when assembling the train, and, as modellers, we do tend to forget that man- (and horse-)power was a common shunting solution into BR days.

What the instructions also remind us is that many trains had portions attached and detached en-route, and if there was any "tail-traffic" associated with a particular portion, ideally it would be made part of that portion, so that it would be dealt with easily. No doubt there were occasions when time pressure or other considerations made it easier for the attaching station to simply place the vehicles at the front or back, and leave it to the splitting locations to sort things out, but ideally each portion would have its NPCS included, and hence the occasional appearance of horse boxes etc scattered almost randomly within the train. Since most horse boxes had reasonable wheelbases and at least fitted with screw couplings and through brake pipes, they could safely travel anywhere in most passenger trains, but obviously they were a bit of a nuisance if within an otherwise corridor train, although I suspect on trains which split several times, this might be seen as a blessing to the staff who had to deal with the disconnections/connections at the junctions.

It's interesting to see that the LBSC had the same problems as modellers regarding propelling stock across pointwork!

Edited by Nick Holliday
PS regarding shunting added
  • Like 2
  • Informative/Useful 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

On 27/06/2020 at 09:22, melmoth said:

 

Toller station building in fact dates from 1905 and was built by the GWR a couple of years after they acquired the line. Colours would probably have been a combination of GWR light and dark 'stone' shades. I don't think it ever got repainted by BR.

 

Toller station building was indeed built by the GWR after a fire destroyed the original station provided by the independent Bridport Rly. Co.  The photo appears to have been taken shortly before the line closed in 1975 and at the time the building was in very faded Southern Region green and stone colours.  The station was repainted in the early/mid 1950s by the SR after they had taken over responsibility for the line from the WR in 1950 - all WR lines in Dorset were transferred to the SR as part of a reorganisation of regional boundaries. The SR took over responsibility for maintenance, etc. but the train service continued to be operated by the WR from Westbury and Bristol.

  • Like 1
  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

One thing to remember about tail traffic in relation to portions was that by 1920. (and probably earlier although I can't find a date from any of my reference sources) any four or six wheeled vehicles had to be marshalled at one end or the other of the bogie vehicles in a train, it was forbidden to mix them,  This might possibly tie in with the banning of six wheeled passenger vehicles from forming part of a train running between Companies which was originally intended to apply from some date in 1914 but which was dropped due to the war and not introduced until after the war.

 

Interestingly Essery's  book on passenger train operation has a photo, taken 'in the 1920s', of a bogie NPCCS brakevan marshalled between two lots of six wheelers at the head of a passenger train.  There's also a photo of a horsebox marshalled next to the engine of what probably is a passenger train but I can't find any reference in that book to horseboxes having to be marshalled front and I'm sure its publication long post dates the comment from someone or other that horseboxes had to be marshalled next to the engine.

  • Informative/Useful 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...