Modelling a Southern electric sub station

[Fowler44467]

I am currently started work on a small Southern Electric layout, something I have never attempted before. I wish to fill part of the scene with a sub station  as an interesting scratchbuilding project in its own right. However, it seems almost impossible to find any detailed photos or drawings to use as a guide to exactly what to model and how it is arranged. As I am a long way away from the Southern I cannot visit a site to see for myself. Has anyone modelled a sub station before or have an idea of what the equipment is and how it is laid out on site please?

[Dagworth]

 

[John Wass]

Is this of any use to you? Early days of me building "Meopham East Junction in about 2010. The transformer sub does not have a AC to DC converter, this one did get one. It's just a block painted brown.

 

[phil_sutters]

I don't know whether this will lead where you need to go, but there seems to have been another thread on this subject at 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by phil_sutters

[Nearholmer]

This is a big subject, because there are/were multiple types of substation, and they are as distinctive as, say, signal boxes. To the cognoscenti, the wrong substation in the wrong place is as obvious as, say, the Flying Scotsman hauling the 1720 London Bridge to Brighton via Oxted. 

 

We went into a fair bit of detail about the "raft" type, shown in Phil's link above, characteristic of the 1930s electrifcation schemes, in a thread called "West Sands", but I'd really need to know where you layout is set, and when, to give a proper answer.

 

But, rest assured, there are four or five RMWebbers who know or knew these places inside out, so help can be provided.

[Fowler44467]

Thanks for the responses so far - giving me a lot to consider. I am planning a small, therefoelcvveachievable, 

[Fowler44467]

Thanks for the responses so far - given me a lot to think about. I am building a small, therefore achievable, micro Southern Electric layout. It is to be 8' x 15" all in with operations based on 2 car EMUs. Not very prototypical but space is at a premium. The layout will have a terminus station with a single island platform and some sidings in the foreground acting as a stabling point. Scene to be the BR blue into blue/grey era. Low relief station buildings to be an anonymous 'could be anywhere' 1960s design. I have already made my own ARP style signalbox, again in the interest of being geographically neutral. As regards the feeder station I would like to make my own as it should be an interesting challenge. This is why I am enquiring about what equipment would be in a feeder station compound, transformers, rectifiers and whatever else. What do these items look like and how might they be made? I would like to model what is I believe the 1930s standard building, the square concrete structure that I have now several photos of. Was this a SR standard?

 

Graham Rose  (Sheffield Model Railway Enthusiasts)

[Nearholmer]

If you find and read the ‘West Sands’ thread, I gave a pretty thorough rundown on a 1930s substation in that.

 

Feel free to ask more once you’ve looked at that.

 

Kevin

[Geep7]

As I found out when I started making my SR substation, it really is a whole subject all of it's own. I really know how to choose them (it's Spanish overhead catenary at the moment, don't ask!).

 

The info. on my SR layout thread provided by @Nearholmer and others was immensely helpful in making my representation of a Substation. Also, if you have a search for a layout called Shelvington on Google (other search engines are available), that layout has probably one of the best model representations of an SR raft-type sub-station i've seen.

 

There is a link to my 'West Sands' layout thread in my footer below.

Edited November 26, 2020 by Geep7