Henley-on-Thames - GWR in the 1930's

[Neal Ball]

Hi Neal, I've just been catching up. What a lot of progress, already the stock is looking good on there. I have sympathy regarding the necessary back-dating, but on the other hand it will be refreshing to see a layout set fully in the roundel period - there aren't many like that now that I think about it.

 

You mentioned boarding up part of the windows. I can see the point of a backscene, but it's interesting: looking at the photos I thought the natural light and backdrop actually adds a pleasing backscene in itself? Just a thought.

 

Edited to clarify.

 

Thanks very much for the comments, very encouraging.

 

Re: the Backscene - with so much light flooding in from the garden, it makes photography difficult. Plus I would rather have a way of masking the railway from any prying neighbours!

[Neal Ball]

I see the 2015 Poll has opened for our votes and no doubt huge debate...

 

I voted as predicted for anything to run pre war...

 

It would be great if a Metro* class / 517 class were to be produced. I guess with some of the obscure diesels getting a production run, there might be a chance(?)

 

I reckon this year, the 43xx** / Manor*** might do well in the Polls and maybe Bachmann will update their models soon.

 

The Toplight*^* carriages get my usual vote and in that category it was almost anything non-Hawksworth. Passenger Brake vans; K22 or K38 please

 

I was surprised at the lack of choice in the Toad Brake*^ van group, but if we get any new design it will be a bonus.

 

Interestingly, there is one thing missing from the Poll :-) A tick box that says please produce more items and keep them in stock longer. Let's have less short run items :-) - Ok maybe economics don't work for that last point.

 

2023 notes: 

Its interesting to look back over old posts - how much has changed in the last 8 years.

*Metro tank - still not available RTR - Instead I built a Se Finecast kit model in 2022/23

**43xx - Thanks Dapol - second batch due 2024

***Manor - Thanks Dapol and Accurascale - although my A/s one has a faulty decoder (18-9-23)

*^*Toplights - We have been promised some from Dapol - in the meantime they are producing the Mainline & City carriages which are due later this month / October 2023.

*^Toad brake vans - Thanks Hornby and more recently Rapido.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 edit

[Froxfield2012]

Just ask for the photo album/binders. There are about 20 of them. Some absolute gems. The best images ever of streamline Coronations in the Lake district I have ever come across. Cannot understand why NRM did not use them with their streamline exhibition a few years back. The GWR collection is outstanding. Some friends and I have gone through it all several times when we have an odd day, though we have never managed to go through all the books in one session. Sadly there is much of the early images missing. This is only known because there are Earley shots in other private collections not covered by York. In addition Earley was a bit of a perfectionist and had a habit of wiping the glass negatives and recoating if he wasn't happy with the quality. Some of his earliest shots were of the Great Bear and he discarded them!!!!!!!!! A couple of privately owned contact sheets being the only record.

 

Mike Wiltshire

I have only just seen this and have a question (probably off topic!?).  If there are only 20 photo albums at the NRM, what did they do with all the plates and negatives they collected from the house at Tilehurst?  The floors were sinking with the weight of glass!  My father was one of those leading the charge for the whole collection to be preserved and the NRM to be the chosen vehicle back then.  I am pretty sure the material was taken.

[Neal Ball]

Can't answer the question about the GWR official photos. A while ago, I asked the NRM if they any photos of Henley and the answer at that stage was No.

 

I have had a look at your Dads photos and they are great. Did he ever venture into Henley on Thames?

[The Stationmaster]

Can't answer the question about the GWR official photos. A while ago, I asked the NRM if they any photos of Henley and the answer at that stage was No.

 

I have had a look at your Dads photos and they are great. Did he ever venture into Henley on Thames?

There are definitely some BR official views of Henley and quite likely some GWR ones too.  The trouble is the NRM (according to the people at Steam) don't know what a lot of the GWR stuff is as they claim to have no records.  Thus they used to print a few every now and then and send them to Swindon to see if anyone could identify them - great fun sitting in the library at steam going through them all (and correcting misidentifications in some cases).  But i have never seen any of Henley among that lot.

 

The best source I know thus far is PK's book as he managed to get photos from various folk known to have plenty of the branch although a lot of them were in later years.

[Froxfield2012]

I wasn't really referring to official GWR photos, but to the Maurice Earley collection: all of Maurice's notebooks and negatives, plus (presumably) some prints.  Maurice definitely did some work at Henley.  As I am sure you know, there is a shot of the station in 1951 in his book the Great Western Scene together with 1927 photos of the Henley train.  I would be surprised if there weren't more.  I am sure you have thought of this as well, but the STEAM Museum people have a large collection of GWR photographs that they are currently working away at cataloguing.

 

Sorry, my father took no photos of Henley-on-Thames that I can find.  Ironic really because he worked at Midland Bank, Henley-on-Thames for a number of years in the 60s.  But by then he had pretty much given up railway photography because of the advent of the diesel and the rugger scrum of people usually to be found when anything "interesting" was around.  The only photo of Henley that I have found is of a Russian Navy rower at Henley Royal Regatta, when the Soviets were THE phenomenon of the regatta back in the 60s. 

 

The members of the Railway Photographic Society were, in many ways, an odd bunch:  the ones I met anyway!  Railway photography was a pretty "exclusive" hobby with only the privileged few given the prized lineside permits that permitted access beyond the perimeter fence.  For the Western Region, these permits were in theory location specific to a relatively short length of the line and excluded MPDs etc.  For this reason, many of the RPS concentrated their efforts in a relatively confined geography.  Even Maurice Earley, who had more access than most, concentrated his work in a relatively few locations that he knew well.  The Southern was much more generous in that permits were for all non-electrified areas. Of course, when one was well-known in an area, the boundaries could often be pushed in those days.  Hence my father's access to signal boxes at Oxford Road and Southcote not to mention Reading MPD, and the limited geographical range of his surviving output.  The actual permit was for the line between Reading and Southcote.

 

I think that when railway photography became a widespread phenomenon, many of the RPS lost interest.  Maurice Earley, for example, liked to be alone at the trackside beyond the fence and didn't really like the crowds at preservation events.  The proliferation of people with cameras largely coincided with the advent of (relatively) cheap 35mm cameras, which made it possible to fire off multiple shots in the hope of achieving one decent result.  Again Maurice Earley never accepted the smaller 35mm format as providing "decent" quality.  My father also never really got to grips with 35mm and his later efforts do not match the early black and white work in large format, in my opinion. Although Dad lived long enough to own a digital camera, I wonder what all those photographers of the past would make of things today:  Photoshop and all.

[Froxfield2012]

Well, I missed The Stationmaster's last post whilst composing my own essay!  His comments on the NRM are a bit disturbing.  They were chosen as a repository for Earley's work because people thought they could be trusted to look after it!  As I recall, Evelyn was keen that the collection be preserved as there were no children to take it on.  Mike also deals with the STEAM question.

 

Richard

Edited October 28, 2015 by Froxfield2012

[Neal Ball]

Hi Neal 

I see your layout is growing abound, I recall someone had a Henley layout in Railway Modeller can't remember when there were from memory several sots of the station from the throat and of the turntable, Chrisf of this parish might have the relative mag I know he's a great collector of books, magazines etc 

 

Thanks for that Bob. 

 

Paul Karau ex-Wild Swan was also building a Henley layout in P4. Although that was ages ago, no idea how he got on.

[Neal Ball]

Re: The photo answers, thanks for the replies.

 

I also managed to get some good photos from Transport Treasury a while ago that were not used in the Wild Swan book.

 

Let's hope the NRM and Steam manage to catalogue everything soon.

 

Neal 

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks for that Bob. 

 

Paul Karau ex-Wild Swan was also building a Henley layout in P4. Although that was ages ago, no idea how he got on.

Still progressing - various linked oddments appear in MRJ from time to time (last edition and the latest plus another fairly recent one) and currently i am trying to delve out soem colour illustrations of the various posters (not the actual ones at Henley but similar ones elsewhere).  

Edited October 28, 2015 by The Stationmaster

[Neal Ball]

Thanks for that Mike, I stopped taking MRJ quite a while ago. Its a bit too high-brow for my limited modelling talents :-)

 

How is Paul's layout progressing?

 

I will be interested in seeing some of your posters.

 

Thanks and Regards, Neal.

[Neal Ball]

By special request... some W7 vans...

 

Rooting around in the various boxes this evening on a mission for Bob aka 81c, came across loads of "oh I need that" items... which is clearly why they were all boxed up when we moved! Including my new never used ballast implement, which nearly set me off doing some ballast...

 

But the mission centred around getting out the W7 van, mission accomplished I show a few of the photos. The van closest to the camera in the above shot is the Parkside Dundas model, still needs a few bits to finish and now that I have seen it close up, a bit of extra paint as well. Grab handles, fix the roof and transfers to complete. The W7 vans were given the telegraphic code of Beetle and were built from 1909.

 

The Hornby Horse box is the van to the right in the shot below:

 

 

2023 Note: 

There should have been another photo of the W7 Beetle van which I am not able to find.

Instead I include a link to the GWR.org site: http://www.gwr.org.uk/probeetle.html

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 photos updated

[The Stationmaster]

Thanks for that Mike, I stopped taking MRJ quite a while ago. Its a bit too high-brow for my limited modelling talents :-)

 

How is Paul's layout progressing?

 

I will be interested in seeing some of your posters.

 

Thanks and Regards, Neal.

Odd bits & pieces appear in MRJ but not much of the whole layout (which I presume extends to Mill Lane bridge but possibly not that far.  I saw one photo which looked as if he had missed the slight kink in the platform (the one still in use) but he assured me he's got it when I last saw hime to speak to.  I've yet to get delving on the adverts but if I come across any which match those I know were at Henley I'll post them here for you.

There was a considerable debate about the colour of the shop front of the tobacconist/sweetshop and fortunately our memories matched on that for teh 1950s - but we could both have been wrong of course!

[Neal Ball]

Thanks as ever Mike

[Neal Ball]

It was BR Blue last night.... not sure the photos fit here in GWR 1930's territory! - I might set up another thread so I can indulge in some diesels from time to time.

 

Anyway today, up with the lark and off for some line-side photos at the Bluebell for Giants of Steam.

 

This afternoon then saw us back home and some wood-work which saw Mill Lane bridge fabricated... or at least the scenic break that will be Mill Lane Bridge. Plus I fixed the carriage sidings and managed to extend them so they now accept 6 carriages, which I'm very pleased with, (previously one was 6 the other 5). 

 

At the moment neither look pretty so no photos until the scenery is completed.

 

The focus then moved to the station and the platforms, which is what I wanted to do when I went out to the railway room, but as ever got diverted.

 

I needed a train running:

 

 

 

The loco of choice was the GWR Castle class loco No 4073 Caerphilly Castle with a rake of 6 carriages. Seen here in what will become Platform 1. The loco is fitted with a Howes / ESU sound decoder which sounded great as it came up the incline. Sadly though 6 is a bit much for this light loco, so it will need some magnets and maybe some extra weight. It also needs some red headlamps, crew and some real coal in the tender.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

In order to ensure the platform would not foul any stock, whilst the Castle was in Platform 1; I drew a line with a felt pen using a Mark 3 carriage. The Mk3 is probably the longest carriage for the layout so its probably the best for the job.

 

The platform walls will be fixed onto the line that the pen has made, which will allow some overhang as per the prototype.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

It then became a very productive couple of hours fixing the walls for the platforms.

 

I am using the Scalescenes platform kit again as it is just so easy and versatile to use. Last night when running the HST(s) and Blue Pullman I was fixing the wall formers onto some stiff card, ready to cut out.

 

Using the standard railway dimensions, I made up some formers to get the right position for the platform walls, then fixed the walls into place with cross-bracing.

 

 

This then shows the platform moving along. This will be the same process for both platforms, the station booking hall area and the road outside, then eventually the cattle dock as well.

 

 

thats it for tonight, let me know if you want to see the BR Blue as a separate thread :-)

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

Today has seen the second line laid on the lower level, all wired up, cleaned and scrubbed with the Dapol track cleaner. 

 

Locos on the line at the head of a track cleaning special was a 47 and a 52 - both sound fitted, all very atmospheric in the model railway room today.

 

Having done that, attention then turned to more platform work... platform 1 is long - seems to go on for ever!

 

photos tomorrow.

 

Off topic, but still topical are the photos I have just sorted out from last weekends Giants of Steam at the Bluebell. Great to see Camelot back in steam, it's always been a favourite at the railway: 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

Sunday's news:

 

The bridge at Mill Lane needed to be re-built today - this was after a 9 mile run this morning :-)

 

Unfortunately, as this section also doubles up as the holder / stop for the lift up flap, it was thrown together quickly last weekend. I had a BR Blue running day yesterday, with a sound class 47 & 52 Western. This afternoon, I decided to run my Hornby King to use as a track gauge... and found that it was a bit of a tight squeeze under the bridge. It was therefore demolished and re-built, this time in card. 

 

I mocked up everything using some old cereal packets and used these as templates when cutting the card. This was then covered in scalescenes brick paper and stuck into place - simple!

 

This will be the scenic break for this corner of  the layout.

 

 

 

I also made a small quick ruler so I could easily check dimensions. Plus also made templates to ensure the walls under the bridge are kept at an even distance form the track.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

Attention then turned to the platforms, specifically making the walls that will support Platforms 3 & 4.

 

King Class loco 4-6-0 No 6029 King Stephen is seen in the arrivals Platform 2/3 at the end of a long afternoon. The train is a six carriage train, which fits in the station quite nicely. The Platforms here look very long, but obviously nothing compared to the originals which could take up to 15 carriages for excursions.

 

 

As the 19:05 departs from Henley on Thames, it is shewn approaching Mill Lane Bridge. Once this area is back-filled with scenery and the road made up it should look good.

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

Tonight is all about platform walls - again - they seem to go on for ever!

 

It's now the third day of walls and I'm not done yet. But at least the walls are now down for all the platforms and in this shot also for the Cattle dock.

 

Old bottles of paint are used as props to keep it all upright and a Bachmann Cattle Wagon is used as another means of checking the gauge.

 

 

The Cattle dock is at the end of this dock, which extends behind the gods shed, lorries will be able to pull right up onto the dock to take cattle straight out. the bay round in front has an end loading facility to disgorge cars etc. straight from a Mogo van.

 

The next walls to be built will contain the station approach roads and surrounding area in front of the goods yard. as it is such a large area, I might see if I can find some wood of the right depth. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Neal Ball
Sept 2023 - photos updated

[Neal Ball]

Tonight has been about Platform surfaces...

 

All the Platforms and the Cattle Dock have surfaces, cut to shape and in the case of the dock, glued into place. It was such an awkward space that it is the only way to do it and trim it after it has gone off.

 

The rest will be fettled for a bit more before being fixed.

 

I have also tentatively laid out the lamps as holes will be cut etc. before the surface is glued down. I might even make up the running in boards and fix them into place.

 

Brickwork and paving slabs will need to be cut yet from the Scalescenes range, but hopefully that will be a straight-forward job....

 

More soon

[Richard Mawer]

What lamps are you using Neal?

[The Stationmaster]

What lamps are you using Neal?

A variety if he's trying to replicate the real thing

[Neal Ball]

What lamps are you using Neal?

 

 

A variety if he's trying to replicate the real thing

 

 

Hmm - Yes - Both from DCC concepts, the Swan neck and the Gas ones... left over from the last layout. I think Swan neck might be wrong for Henley. :-(