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Adventures in Code 40 - The Corstorphine Branch


scottystitch
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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

My inclination would be to view from the outside.  My thinking is that no matter where the viewer is, due to the curvature of the layout everyone would be able to see what was coming/going without being blocked by another viewer.

 

I assume you mean the outside of the curve, which is obviously from the south looking north.

 

On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

I'd also be interested in seeing if there was any evidence left of the footbridge at the station throat...

 

There isn't any obvious evidence of a footbridge left.  Looking at your map above, I had a look today at what would have been the location of the footbridge and I couldn't see anything.  If there are any remains, all that will be left is the foundations buried under vegetation.

 

On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the contour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters. 

 

1614717707_IMG_20201115_1152161.jpg.6ce60b386b37cc8a459c4a6e6ceb3b2d.jpg

 

This is condition of the former station building at Pinkhill as viewed from what would be the front edge of your proposed layout.

 

1039110222_IMG_20201115_1152401.jpg.6eaad7fef7a941a98f386d5658f67e84.jpg

 

This is the view from the overbridge at the former Pinkhill station looking towards what was Corstorphine Railway Station.  I note that there is a lot more vegetation nowadays than there was in the historic photographs above.

 

719170373_IMG_20201115_1152561.jpg.e50248875abb8916747ff3a9dc6d5b17.jpg

 

This is the view from the same location, but looking towards the southwest and shows that the terrain slopes up slightly from the walk/cycleway and then becomes steeper towards the road - ie it is a road embankment that has been built on top of ground that was rising slightly.

 

327261866_IMG_20201115_1152471.jpg.4b31ed9aee9a139313daa14a664ad002.jpg

 

Again, this is the view from the same vantage point, but looking more north-westerly.  The ground is generally fairly flat, but there is a ditch, that's probably about foot foot deep that runs along between what was the former trackbed and the rear fences of the properties to the north.

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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the contour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters.

 

695687477_IMG_20201115_1146031.jpg.513339cb45fbb74c783e0bd737eea9aa.jpg

 

This is a view from the bend in the road, where Traquair Park East joins Pinkhill.  The road is below the level of the trackbed.  The steps give some idea of the height difference between the road and the former track bed.309850705_IMG_20201115_1146311.jpg.54a6ad19615de19f2d7971d58ceb25de.jpg

 

This is the view from the bottom of the steps in the above photograph looking along Pinkhill towards the former Pinkhill railway station.  In general, the gradient of the road is fairly constant, although it does get a bit steeper closer to the bend that brings it across the railway at the former Pinkhill railway station.  This means that the contour effectively changes from railway embankment at this location to a railway cutting, which is actually a road embankment as you get closer to the former Pinkhill railway station.

 

938856450_IMG_20201115_1146581.jpg.9a9474cab7c4d7ff052382e7a811c3d9.jpg

 

This is the view from the former railway trackbed looking southwest toward Traquair Park East, which shows the bend from which the first photograph above was taken.

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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the contour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters.

 

928692749_IMG_20201115_1148091.jpg.aa124bc76485f76a32497eabf811b548.jpg

 

This is a view from the walk/cycleway a little to the east of the steps from Traquair Park East looking towards the former Pinkhill railway station.  This shows that the ground falls away from the former trackbed towards the properties to the north which creates a hollow, which was presumably for drainage.651191285_IMG_20201115_1149111.jpg.5fe01db97deda045d8fc3f969ca279ea.jpg

 

This is taken slightly further east at the point where there is no significant level difference between the walk/cycleway and Pinkhill.  Again, this is looking towards the former Pinkhill railway station.

 

363484804_IMG_20201115_1149481.jpg.c17669fc7fa19129a3b61b20f901839c.jpg

 

This is the view from Pinkhill road at the location where it is about the same elevation as the former trackbed, again looking towards the former Pinkhill railway station.  It is probably from this point that the gradient of Pinkhill road starts to become more significant as it climbs towards the overbridge.

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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the contour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters.

 

599430976_IMG_20201115_1150321.jpg.502e515aba3b28770b6dd761135bccae.jpg

 

Leaving the walk/cycleway at the location in my last post, where the former trackbed and Pinkhill road are about the same level, this is a view from further east, again looking towards the former Pinkhill railway station.

 

429609670_IMG_20201115_1151321.jpg.653118a378ada1630c683798e6eff1d4.jpg

 

This is a similar view from slightly further east, again looking towards the former Pinkhill railway station, somewhere similar to the location that the photograph of the B1 above was taken from.

 

1754580947_IMG_20201115_1152081.jpg.e44622bc0c16f8938a8694c9f7425e85.jpg

 

This is the view from the bend in Pinkhill road as it curves from being parallel to the former railway on the immediate approach to the overbridge at the station.  This is looking towards the northwest with the line towards the former Corstorphine Railway Station to the left.

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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the contour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters.

 

1917621248_IMG_20201115_1216481.jpg.2137888307c8e08ea66e3086e53f43ed.jpg

 

Not part of what you intend to model, but the above photograph shows what remains of the former Pinkhill railway station looking west towards Corstorphine.  The former station building, which is situated on the overbridge can been seen between the trees.  There are paths from both platforms up to road level, which can be seen to the left and right of the photograph.

 

This is obviously what would be a fiddle yard for the proposed railway layout, but given the proximity of the platforms to what you intend to model it gives a good excuse for trains leaving and entering the fiddle yard at low speeds - ie up trains are slowing down to stop at Pinkhill railway station, while the down trains are likely accelerating from a standing start on the other side of the bridge that would form the scenic break.

 

1824050147_IMG_20201115_1217521.jpg.37b19050bb19342429a38e91a16675f5.jpg

 

This photograph is taken from between the platforms at the former Pinkhill railway station looking towards Corstorphine and shows the shape of the arched overbridge.  This is probably the drivers view from a down train waiting to depart from Pinkhill railway station.

 

1951201684_IMG_20201115_1218241.jpg.ed731074198e9be9490e68e7d09a47ff.jpg

 

Emerging from under the overbridge, the above is a 'drivers eye view' of the Pinkhill road embankment to the left.  This is effectively the same view as in the second photograph of my first post, but from the level of the walkway, rather than from the overbridge.

 

585395365_IMG_20201115_1218511.jpg.7cc02444079eeada010576166d4ec5cb.jpg

 

At the same location as the above photograph (ie as the driver emerges from under the Pinkhill overbridge), this is looking towards the northwest and shows the ground rising slightly from the former trackbed, before it drops into a ditch between the former trackbed and the properties to the north.

Edited by Dungrange
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On 13/11/2020 at 13:17, scottystitch said:

Some photographs would be very welcome.  In particular I'd be interested in seeing the countour North and South of the trackbed formation, particularly around the bridge and up to the point where Traquair Park East veers South West, for starters.

 

1128881516_IMG_20201115_1223061.jpg.7459af6e4974d01661cb61e166b642fb.jpg

 

The above image was taken from the hollow / draining ditch that is situated to the north side of the walk/cycleway to try to show how deep it is.  I had to select a location where it was possible to climb in and out safely.  This was taken somewhere close to where the former trackbed and Pinkhill road are around the same elevation.

 

1629820862_IMG_20201115_1219211.jpg.00c18f8f6ca8280fd601e9c2fcfedede.jpg

 

Above is another 'drivers' eye' view of Pinkhill road embankment similar to the one in my last post, but slightly closer to Corstorphine.

 

1743641517_IMG_20201115_1220481.jpg.c8dd3d3166b66f2d6436fb1dddea40a8.jpg

 

Again, another photograph of the same Pinkhill road embankment, but slightly closer to Corstorphine than the above photograph.

 

1837689036_IMG_20201115_1219541.jpg.a3c37046b29bca96342ccce8e9178d92.jpg

 

The hollow to the north of the former trackbed is a bit difficult to photograph along this stretch, but hopefully the above might help to give you an idea of what it looks like from the top.  It was being unable to take a good photograph from the top that made me deviate from the path into the ditch for the first photograph in this post.

 

Anyway, I hope that some of the above photographs may be of some assistance to you (or anyone else who may have similar plans for this location).

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Thank you @Dungrange, these are most helpful.  Helpful indeed.  It gives me something to sketch out.

 

I think the best thing to do is to have only the trackbed on risers and then have the surrounding earthworks built up or down on both sides.  I need to work out what height to have the risers.

 

Re Pinkhill, my intention is to model at least part of the platforms, even though they will be under the bridge , so that anyone looking under the bridge towards won't just see an empty void.

 

The next train going on to the scene will be cued at Pinkhill before emerging proper towards Corstorphine.

 

I wonder when the bridge was arched on the underside. Certainly all the photos I've seen of my time period show it in its original form as a girder type bridge, straight across.

 

I suspect the arching is reasonably recent.

 

Best


Scott. 

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3 hours ago, scottystitch said:

I wonder when the bridge was arched on the understand. Certainly all the photos I've seen of my time period show it in its original form as a girder type bridge, straight across.

 

I suspect the arching is reasonably recent.

 

That's not something that I'd picked up on, but yes, it appears that installation of the arch is a recent addition once the original bridge failed a structural inspection earlier this century.  To be honest, I had always wondered why the bridge seemed to be a hybrid of a steel girder and stone arch.

 

A quick search on Google throws up a company called Torus Design, whose page on their capabilities in relation to 'bridge inspections and assessments' show the work they undertook for City of Edinburgh Council and the railway bridge at Pinkhill is the one that they showcase.  There are a few photographs of the works being undertaken.  It appears that the existing girder span was left in place (so the view is unchanged from road level), with the arch installed underneath.  There is also a before and after photograph - the before one may be of interest to you - and one of the photographs of the arch being installed shows the underside of the bridge that you will want to model.

 

https://torusdesign.co.uk/project/bridge-assessments-and-inspections/

 

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Hi again Scott,

 

Not sure if this is too late for your modelling but I picked up a book this week that has two photographs taken on the last day of passenger service; they show two different trains, one each at Pinkhill and Corstorphine.  Both trains are 2-car Met Camms though one is GSYWP while the other is BFYE.

 

Hope that's of interest.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

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On 06/11/2020 at 18:37, scottystitch said:

There is also this fantastic image of a B1 at Pinkhill:

 

BI at Pinkhill

 

Best

 

Scott.

 

I've just come across this and will follow with much interest, as I was on the last train from Corstorphine in December 1967.  I also worked for many years in the Forestry Commission HQ building which overlooked the branch formation, and regularly used the foot/cycle path along the branch to and from Balgreen for lunchtime walks.  The footbridge was behind the back of the FC building and I can recall it being dismantled sometime in the 1980s.  At the east end of Pinkhill station the track superelevation must have been quite considerable: as you can still see, the Up platform is significantly higher than the Down one at that end.

 

The caption to the B1 pic says it's an "early evening suburban passenger train" and it could well be the 5.18pm from the Waverley: IIRC this remained loco-hauled latterly, maybe up until closure, while everything else was usually Gloucester or Met-Camm DMUs.  With some friends from our school railway society I made a trip specially on the 5.18pm one evening - can't recall the date, but it was Type 2 diesel-hauled by then.  I believe the train may have been a rush-hour extra working using stock  which had arrived from somewhere like Perth, and usually left from Waverley's Platform 19.  On arrival at Corstorphine the loco ran round and worked the train away as ECS, so we had to await the next North Berwick DMU for our return.

 

HTH -

 

Alasdair

 

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On 20/11/2020 at 15:08, AJCT said:

I've just come across this and will follow with much interest, as I was on the last train from Corstorphine in December 1967.  I also worked for many years in the Forestry Commission HQ building which overlooked the branch formation, and regularly used the foot/cycle path along the branch to and from Balgreen for lunchtime walks.  The footbridge was behind the back of the FC building and I can recall it being dismantled sometime in the 1980s.  At the east end of Pinkhill station the track superelevation must have been quite considerable: as you can still see, the Up platform is significantly higher than the Down one at that end.

 

The caption to the B1 pic says it's an "early evening suburban passenger train" and it could well be the 5.18pm from the Waverley: IIRC this remained loco-hauled latterly, maybe up until closure, while everything else was usually Gloucester or Met-Camm DMUs.  With some friends from our school railway society I made a trip specially on the 5.18pm one evening - can't recall the date, but it was Type 2 diesel-hauled by then.  I believe the train may have been a rush-hour extra working using stock  which had arrived from somewhere like Perth, and usually left from Waverley's Platform 19.  On arrival at Corstorphine the loco ran round and worked the train away as ECS, so we had to await the next North Berwick DMU for our return.

 

HTH -

 

Alasdair

 

Thank you Alisdair,

 

That is all very very helpful and of great interest.

 

I'm guessing the Type 2s would most likely have been what would later become Class 26s?

 

Best

 

Scott.

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On 30/11/2020 at 14:01, scottystitch said:

Thank you Alisdair,

 

That is all very very helpful and of great interest.

 

I'm guessing the Type 2s would most likely have been what would later become Class 26s?

 

Best

 

Scott.

 

Yes: unfortunately I have no notes from the time (very remiss, I know) but the Type 2 would almost certainly have been one of the Edinburgh-based Pilot Scheme BRCW Type 2s of the D5300-5319 series.  Neither do I recall what livery the train was in, but a BRCW in GSYP with a BSK/SK/CK/BSK set in maroon would probably recreate it appropriately....  Because my layout is set in the 1960s I tend to use 12-hour clock and pre-TOPS terminology, which is what we spotters knew back then !

 

Just found - possibly another pic of the 5.18pm, this time at Balgreen: see link - 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/holycorner/8097882877/in/photostream/

 

HTH - Alasdair

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On 13/01/2021 at 14:27, 65288_62C said:

The use of big engines on the Corstorphine Branch is the stuff of legend.  Unfortunately I do not own the copyright so cannot reproduce them here but I have copies of the following photographs in my collection (all of which I think came from Stuart Seller)

:

22/02/59 - A3 60099 awaiting departure with a train for Edinburgh.

25/05/62 - A2 60536 with a returning schools' special from Edinburgh Zoo

09/05/63 - A4 60023 with the 14:42 Corstorphine to Waverley (3 non corridors!)  This was a Tweedmouth working which continued as a stopping service to Berwick.  Presumably the A4 had been borrowed by Tweedmouth.

15/06/63 - A3 60060 with the 14:40 Corstorphine to Waverley (as above).

 

As indicated by a previous post, at various times the stock of one of the afternoon services from Perth stabled overnight in one of the carriage sidings at Corstorphine.  This then formed a morning departure at about 08:30 into Waverley.  According to the Railway Observer, anything from a Clayton to a Deltic could be found at the head of this train.  Unfortunately, no details of specific locomotives are given.

You can add the following to this list,

 

A1 60147, North Eastern (then allocated to York) on 30th April 1964 with the 2.42pm train to Edinburgh.

 

Cheers

David

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I came across this fantastic film of 'Past railways of Edinburgh.' Have you seen it? At 38:00 in, there is colour footage of Corstorphine station and Balgreen Halt in 1966. The film is a treasure trove of long gone Edinburgh railways.

 

Edited by Gziffo
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On 20/11/2020 at 15:08, AJCT said:

.............. The footbridge was behind the back of the FC building and I can recall it being dismantled sometime in the 1980s..............

HTH -

Alasdair

 

Found a pic I took of the demolition in Jan 1985 - not brilliant but I've brightened it up a bit - as you can see a lot of it had gone by the time I got out with the camera.  Interestingly, you can still see one of the gateposts of the "occupation crossing" which presumably predated the footbridge.

 

Alasdair

CI-21 Jan 1985 demolishing footbridge behind FCHQ.jpg

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