Hambleside East (was Dunestone) - BR(S) 60s

[talisman56]

I have acquired a part-finished layout from a former member of the MRC I am a member of. Three 48"x18" baseboards, track laid, wired up and basic scenery. A couple of photos taken by former member attached. I am hoping to develop it into a port/holiday resort 'somewhere on the south coast between Weymouth and Dover'. More progress to follow.

 

[Guest]

Looks like it has the potential to be a right crowd puller that! Good luck!

[cromptonnut]

Looks very much like a layout Ian Stoate used to own many, many years ago - although that was finished and fully operational the last time I saw it.

[talisman56]

Two more pictures...

 

[talisman56]

Well, the garage has been cleared out and the layout erected. After an extensive clean of the trackwork a 2MT 2-6-2T and Class 73/0 EDL were used to test everything out. The 'bay' platform needs to have the platform moved a bit as the steam loco's cylinders are fouling the platform ramp, a few of the points needed a bit of fettling to get them to throw when the point motors were actuated (one is still u/s) and one section of track is completely dead. As I want to extend the platform(s) a bit to take longer passenger trains looks like a complete rebuild of the station structures is in order, but the electrical issues will need to be sorted out first.

 

 

[Guest]

Looks great

[talisman56]

The current motive power available on Dunestone - except where noted, all will be paying works visits to be detailed and weathered:

Dapol LSWR M7 class 0-4-4T no.37 in Southern green - bought 2nd hand from a fellow club member - this one will be making its way to the paint shop to be repainted into BR lined black, and possibly push-pull fitted.



Minitrix BR 2MT 2-6-2T no.41240 in BR lined black - one of my original locos from the 70s - still running well.



Dapol LBSCR A1X 'Terrier' 0-6-0T no.32661 in BR lined black



Farish BR 3MT 2-6-2T no.82041 in BR lined green

Dapol SR Q1 0-6-0 no.33005 in BR black



Farish BR 5MT 4-6-0 no.73158 in BR lined black - another destined for the works to emerge as one of the 73080-89 'Standard Arthurs' as soon as I can get hold of some appropriate name plates



Dapol BR 7MT 'Britannia' 4-6-2 no.70004 "William Shakespeare" in BR lined green



BR Class 08 0-6-0 shunter no.D3729 in BR green (factory weathered)



BR Class 33 Bo-Bo no.D6577 in BR green



BR Class 73 'JA' Bo-Bo no.73 001 in BR Blue - lost a horn unit from the roof of this one (surprise!) - will visit the paint shop to be repainted into original green with grey stripe, and have detailing parts added.



BR Class 73 'JB' Bo-Bo no.E6033 in BR blue - this one will just have detailing parts added and left in ex-works condition.



BR 4CEP EMU no.7105 in original EMU green



BR 4CEP EMU no.7113 in later green with small yellow warning panel

 

[talisman56]

OK, after a long time without update (sorry!) a post to bring things up to date.

The 'left' board has been redeveloped to provide a loco facility, PW siding and PO (Brewery) facility - a before and after picture follows:




And a bit of mocking-up down at the station end 'right' board



2015 was a bit of a bust with respect to any modelling activity, but I'm beginning to get some free time to work on the layout now...

Having long been uncomfortable with the original name given to the layout by the original owner, I've been trying to come up with a definite location (rather than 'somewhere') for the location, and a plausible reason why, bearing in mind it doesn't bear any resemblence to any 'real' location.

Looking at the stock roster, apart from the BR standards and SR stock, I've got mainly LSWR- and LBSC-originated locos, so I'm looking for somewhere where those companies stock could legitimately be seen together, and be on the coast, leading to somewhere between Southampton and Portsmouth as a likely location.

So, a little map searching and history inventing later:



"The Botley and Hamble Railway was a relative latecomer to the area, borne of the frustration of the local merchants and entrepreneurs with the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth concentrating on their own local businesses, and international imports/exports. From a triangular junction between Hedge End and Botley stations on the Eastleigh-Fareham line, it went in a generally southerly direction to a passenger terminus and dockside on the east bank of the Hamble river close to Warsash, with intermediate stations at Botley High Street, Swanwick and Sarisbury Green. A south to west chord to the Fareham-St. Denys line was included to provide a direct route to Southampton and the West Country. Late representations by the residents of Hamble-le-Rice, frustrated by a lack of a direct service to London, resulted in the construction of a 'station' on the west bank and a connecting Ferry service to the railway station. As a result, the main station was named 'Hambleside East', and the Ferry station 'Hambleside West'. Later, the popularity of the Isle of Wight for Summer Holidays saw the establishment of a summer passenger ferry to ease the overcrowding on other routes to the island.



"From the outset, both the LSWR and LBSCR saw both potential and trouble in the new branch line, and after many months protracted discussion between themselves and the directors of the line, agreed to form a joint operating company to run the train services on the line when it was completed. After this initial period of uncertainty, the services settled down to local trains to Eastleigh and Portsmouth via the main line and an intermittent service to Southampton via the St. Denys line, as there is a station on that line which the residents of Hamble-le-Rice can use which is a shorter and quicker alternative. Fast services to London via Eastleigh were run directly in peak hours and by attaching coaches to Southampton-London services off-peak.

"The line was officially subsumed into the new Southern Railway in 1923, and saw a boom in Summer services between the wars as the area around the terminus station was developed into both a commuter town and holiday resort, as well as the staging point for the Isle of Wight. As part of this, the station buildings were enlarged and rebuilt, resulting in a brand-new Art-Deco station building which still exists today. The other railway companies also saw some potential as Summer Saturday services from the GWR and LMS, mainly via the Berks and Hants line, were also introduced. Electrification came to the area just before WWII as the main line was electrified to enable electric trains to run to the newly-established construction and maintenance depot at Eastleigh. The branch was also electrified and the local services to Portsmouth converted to EMU operation, but the other local trains and the London services remained steam-hauled.

"With Nationalisation in 1948 came a new owner and rebranding, but the branch soldiered on relatively unchanged into the 60s. Competition from other transport modes saw the reduction in Summer services and these are now only to be seen in high summer. Local services are still the same, but the steam services are gradually being replaced by diesel, when the new-fangled devices become available. The good Doctor also cast his eye over the branch as part of his comprehensive review of British Railways, but the buoyant commuter services caused him to look elsewhere for savings. The recent proposals for the south coast motorway may have something to say in the matter, but for now, things are looking good."

Extract from 'History of the Railways of Hampshire', pub. 1965.

Hence the change in name for the topic...

Now to get cracking with this little list of things to do:

1) Finish off the remodelled 'left' board - ballasting and other track work, scenery, buildings, etc.
2) Remodel the station approach pointwork to eliminate 'wrong road' working for passenger trains going into the main platform (no.1).
3) Rebuild the station platforms, station building area and car park/approach roads according to the cardboard mock-ups currently on the layout.
4) Finish off the quayside area - harbour walls, water, ships/boats, quayside inset trackwork and surfacing.
5) Develop the 'town square' area on the end of the 'right' board.