Redhill

[John Oxlade]

Well, I finished off the main portion of the baseboard for my model railway in the shed (this was dictated by space rather than what I wanted to model). I think I will extend it a bit round the corner so I have somewhere to go.

 

I have been toying with the idea of what to build. I have lost interest in my US models and have been steadily selling them off for the last year or so. I have bought a few British items after "suffering' an attack of nostalgia. I always liked the potential in a model of Redhill (my home town station), but to do it all would require a HUGE amount of space; far larger than even the whole garage would allow. However, my main interest was the Redhill to Reading activities, so what I might do is model the whole station (slightly compressed) but not have the mainline go anywhere, but model the branch around to Reigate (which went on to Reading). This will mean that a lot of the track won't go very far (if anywhere), but will make a nice backdrop for the main focus.

 

I'm not sure if anyone has ever attempted to do anything this mad before.

 

Watch this space.

 

Oh, and what do you think of the idea?

[Oldddudders]

Yes, the station would take a bit of modelling, even without the main line in either direction. That long crossover - I was once told the P Way referred to it as "the bastard" - that led from the down platform to Reigate could be interesting to build. Not far round the corner towards Reigate, on the down side, was Bacon's Siding - serving a tannery, I believe. This had a lovely tall old structure, rather like a mill, which would be good if you had any room left. I have never found a picture of it.

 

You don't specify an era, but in later days B Box allegedly had rusty levers, despite being enormously busy. A detail to include!

[roundhouse]

John

 

Just let me know if you need any photos. I have very few of the station back in the 1980's before the semaphore and boxes went but can get you photos of any part of the station (that has public access).

 

You have a natural break with the footbridge just North of the platforms and if modelling present day then you can use bushes to the South.

 

Heres a shot of a Virgin cross Country Voyager back in 2006 coming round the curve from Reigate.

 

Ian

[Joseph_Pestell]

How big is the garage? Could you take the mainlines through the outside wall for a turn round the garden?

[phil-b259]

Track plans for todays layout (which is pretty much unchanged from the days of mechanical signalling) can be made available if you want.

[phil-b259]

Yes, the station would take a bit of modelling, even without the main line in either direction. That long crossover - I was once told the P Way referred to it as "the bastard" - that led from the down platform to Reigate could be interesting to build. Not far round the corner towards Reigate, on the down side, was Bacon's Siding - serving a tannery, I believe. This had a lovely tall old structure, rather like a mill, which would be good if you had any room left. I have never found a picture of it.

 

You don't specify an era, but in later days B Box allegedly had rusty levers, despite being enormously busy. A detail to include!

 

One rumor I heard was that in the run up to the Brighton line resignalling, thoughts turned towards rebuilding Redhill to something like Haywards Heath providing more platforms and potentially a simpler layout. However because Redhill had recently received some significant investment in new track - that long crossover was specifically mentioned plus the presence of Sand trains and other freight meant that the plan was rejected with the resignalling eventually being done with minimal layout changes.

[Oldddudders]

One rumor I heard was that in the run up to the Brighton line resignalling, thoughts turned towards rebuilding Redhill to something like Haywards Heath providing more platforms and potentially a simpler layout. However because Redhill had recently received some significant investment in new track - that long crossover was specifically mentioned) plus the presence of Sand trains and other freight meant that the plan was rejected with the resignalling eventually being done with minimal layout changes.

And 30 years later I think the sand is long gone. BLRS did look closely at layouts, and its remodelling of Windmill Bridge and the Selhurst-Norwood area was worthwhile. I think it also did good works at Coulsdon North, (nee Stoats Nest, renamed after the 1910 smash, and now back to the original).

[10800]

I'm not sure if anyone has ever attempted to do anything this mad before.

 

Watch this space.

 

Oh, and what do you think of the idea?

 

I know of someone who is doing the whole of Redhill, in P4 ...

[phil-b259]

And 30 years later I think the sand is long gone. BLRS did look closely at layouts, and its remodelling of Windmill Bridge and the Selhurst-Norwood area was worthwhile. I think it also did good works at Coulsdon North, (nee Stoats Nest, renamed after the 1910 smash, and now back to the original).

IIRC I was told the sand traffic ceased only a couple of years after the new signalling was commissioned, possibly as a result of BRs push to withdraw vac braked revenue freight. It was certainly it was gone by 1990 and over the past few years the works site has been redeveloped for housing. Incidentally I have also been told the old oil terminal at Earlswwod was only lasted 6months after the south junction was remodeled.

[roundhouse]

There is still a bit of track on the incline up from the old sidings at Holmthorpe industrial estate up to the mailine but it has been disconnected for many years. The sidings are now redeveloped as parking and commercial use with new flats and housing on the old sand pit buildings.

 

There were plans to add an extra platfoem when extra coess country services started running but that was shortlived and all cross country services have ceased. A real shame as we used to make use of them a lot to get up North without crossing London

 

However the extra platform has been raised again as Redhill often suffers from congestion and particularly in the rush hour, any slight delay with one train can soon escalate into major delays. I am guessing that it will be a seperate platform on the old run round sidings next to platform one.

 

For a while there were quite a few Channel tunnel freights passing through Redhill, turning onto the Tonbrisge line which was the reason for electrifying that line.

 

One improvement in recent years has been the addition of a weekday London Bridge to Reigate service outside the peak hours.

 

A lot of trains now join and split in the peak hours with one train since last Decembers timetable change, spliting into three portions.

 

Ian

[Joseph_Pestell]

I remember looking at the layout there years ago. It did not look difficult to move the station north a bit so as to be able to use ordinary pointwork.

[John Oxlade]

Wow, a lot of replies in a short time...

I'd be modelling the 70s/early 80s and a track plan would be handy. I found (via Google) a photo of the panel in B-box.

To save space I'm probably going to make all of the pointwork myself anyway, and yes, the long crossing going over everything from platform 3 to the Reigate line will be "a challenge".

The shed is 4m wide and 6m long, but is also my workshop and storage for the 7.25" gauge locos and stock (this is what is going round the garden), so I have a shelf 600mm wide along the back wall at chest height (I like high layouts for the near-to-eye-level view), but will extend around 3m along the side wall to accomodate the Reigate branch. It isn't really enough space, and if you look at Google Maps, you'd need a football field to model the station to scale and with fiddle-yards on each of the four routes.

I was born in Redhill in 1964 and lived there until I moved all the way to Salfords (about 3 miles) in the 1990s, emigrating to New Zealand in 2005.

I know there was a tannery around the Reigate line somewhere, but I travelled it often from the 1970s and don't recall seeing the siding, so I don't know whether that is my failing memory or whether it'd long gone.

I remember the sand traffic well (Dad was a driver at Redhill) and my window overlooked the line through Redhill as we lived down Wiggie Lane - the last house right next to the bridge.

I was also shocked to see that there's nothing of the sand sidings left and, as someone said, the old sand processing site is now housing. There's even a roundabout in the middle of the old exchange sidings. I don't recognise it any more. :-(

I spaced everything out yesterday and I can get platform 3, the down and up fast lines, platform 2, platform 1 and two sidings on the front, so more-or-less everything, on the main board. The platforms will be long enough to hold 8-coaches (not 12), and on the curve round to Reigate I should be able to get the old small yard in too. So I may use the mail-conveyor as a view-block on the platform as I won't be able to get the north-end pointwork in. A little artistic licence may be required to make the platforms a bit narrower than they should be and the buildings on the down-side will be low reliefe, but it does fit.

I am still wondering if it'll be enough operational potential or if I am wasting a lot of space on track that won't do much? I could always park a 4-VEP on the down fast waiting or the crossing to clear! Seems a lot of money to spend on something that won't actually go anywhere.

Another thought I had was to just model the Holmethorpe exchange sidings, but that would offer even less operational potential for the mainline stock.

OR... model Reigate, and at least get the electric shuttles.

I dunno, like I said, still pondering...

[John Oxlade]

Or Swanage, or the Weymouth Harbour Tramway. Ponder, ponder. Can't run Tadpoles down there; interesting though they are.

[roundhouse]

Just gone past Wiggie Lane on a late running FCC. A layer of snow fell on Redhill and surrounding areas in the early hoiurs but its melting so no real problems on roads and rail.

A few years back we were thinking of moving and a house in Wiggie Lane came up for sale.

 

Ian

[John Oxlade]

Just gone past Wiggie Lane on a late running FCC. A layer of snow fell on Redhill and surrounding areas in the early hoiurs but its melting so no real problems on roads and rail.

A few years back we were thinking of moving and a house in Wiggie Lane came up for sale.

 

Ian

Which one? We lived in number 11 - the last one before the bridge.

[John Oxlade]

Just gone past Wiggie Lane on a late running FCC. A layer of snow fell on Redhill and surrounding areas in the early hoiurs but its melting so no real problems on roads and rail.

A few years back we were thinking of moving and a house in Wiggie Lane came up for sale.

 

Ian

PS. What does FCC mean? In my book it is Florence and Cripple Creek but somehow I doubt that's what you meant.

[roundhouse]

First Capital Connect.

They took ober the franchise and renamed the Thameslink services. There used to be a regular hourly service stopping at redhill but now its just a few rush hour ones and surprisingly they are more reliable than Southern services in the morning whihc means these trains are getting busier.

 

I think it was the white building. Theres a new house right next to the bridge but cant remember if that was there back in 2005.

[John Oxlade]

First Capital Connect.

They took ober the franchise and renamed the Thameslink services. There used to be a regular hourly service stopping at redhill but now its just a few rush hour ones and surprisingly they are more reliable than Southern services in the morning whihc means these trains are getting busier.

 

I think it was the white building. Theres a new house right next to the bridge but cant remember if that was there back in 2005.

I was back there in Nov 2012 for my Father's funeral and there wasn't any "new" house there. Numbers 10 and 11 were bought by the railway when they thought they'd quadruple the line between Earlswood and Coulsdon - which never happened - so they then sold them off to railway staff. Dad bought #11, another driver at Redhill bought #10. The "white" one I know of is #9.

[roundhouse]

Ah, my mistake.

 

Not actually been into that road - only passed by of the train. I am not a native of Redhill but have lived in this corner of Surrey for most of my life.

 

Reigate station would make a nice model if the old station building was modelled before they pulled it and the canopy down to build an office block.

 

On another note, last itme I was in Hamilton (1994) we caught the train from the underground station to Tauranga.and Rotorua. I believe those services have ceased now?

 

Ian

[John Oxlade]

Ah, my mistake.

 

Not actually been into that road - only passed by of the train. I am not a native of Redhill but have lived in this corner of Surrey for most of my life.

 

Reigate station would make a nice model if the old station building was modelled before they pulled it and the canopy down to build an office block.

 

On another note, last itme I was in Hamilton (1994) we caught the train from the underground station to Tauranga.and Rotorua. I believe those services have ceased now?

 

Ian

Indeed, the passenger services in New Zealand are pretty pathetic really. Some suburban traffic around Auckland (just being electrified) and Wellington, but otherwise on the north island it is just Wellington to Auckland; no other passenger services. On the south island you can go from Picton to Christchurch then Christchurch to Greymouth - that's it, apart from some preserved services.

[jools39]

Funny that this should come up now. I have been looking at doing something similar for a while and started the baseboard construction yesterday!

 

I will be doing a "simplified" version of Redhill, using it as a base for the plan rather than an exact replica.

 

I also was a driver at Redhill and knew your Dad for many years, and in fact he was the driver on my first ever 2nd man turn back in the mid 80s!

 

Regards

 

Jools

[bobster]

Any update on this John ?.

 

Cheers, Bob.

[John Oxlade]

Time and priorities Bob. Not done much with the 00 at all recently.

[bobster]

Just found these that I took at Redhill in 1980/81 - Shows how busy the parcels traffic was - Very Interesting track plan.

 

Cheers, Bob.

[bobster]

A few more from 1980/81.

 

Cheers, Bob.