Gosport c1910

[Alan_LSWR]

Gosport c1910 is a Scalefour model with a scale track plan. I cannot recall why I chose Gosport other than it was LSWR but the building is interesting architecturally and operationally it had an extension into Clarence Yard, the Navy’s victualling yard. Also, it was within a reasonable travel distance to survey.

 

Design

 

The track plan was is mainly based on a 1919 LWSR plan with elements from an 1893 plan, both obtained many years ago from the engineers department at Waterloo. This has now been drawn in Inkscape using 15 layers to record different aspects.

 

The physical model is 5.1m long, half being 750mm wide and half 435mm wide shown red below. The fiddled yard is additional off to the left (west).

 

 

This doesn’t quite accommodate all the essential elements so later I may have the extension boards shown in lilac. The reason for this shape was dictated by the size of the hall in our previous house.

 

The main station building is similarly drawn in Inkscape, where I traced the drawings submitted during a planning application in 1995. Some architectural features are drawn in Fusion 360 for 3D printing.

 

Build

 

The baseboards were constructed about 30 years ago using a ply box construction 80mm deep and topped with 9mm fibre board, possibly Sundeala. A unique feature is that the boards are stored vertically in pairs and pivot about a midway point with the “legs” swinging out. This was to store them in an alcove in the hall. Photo below is one of the wider boards temporarily propped up and joined to a narrow board.

 

 

 

 

Quite a bit of track was made using the 'Brook Smith' system and I will continue with this method.

 

A mock-up of the station building has been made using pre-printed card (printed from the Inkscape drawings) overlaid on double layer of 3mm foam board. This was to test using foam board, to check all the vertical heights and general fit of the 4 elevations, and to get advice on the roof construction from an architect friend.

 

 

Architecture

 

The station style is Italianate. It has a 13 column colonnade (probably Portland Stone), a lot of stucco, cornices, large Georgian windows and tall chimneys. The overall train shed is topped by a continuous vent/skylight. As these features will be challenging to build I have just bought a resin 3D printer. First prints are encouraging. Here is a column that is about 60mm tall.

 

 

I’ve also ordered a Silhouette Portrait cutter to cut out all the arches and windows. Forum posts by JCL on the Silhouette Cameo Cutter and Mike Trice on the Silhouette and 3D printing have been very useful.

 

Control

 

Following the high tech theme, I plan to use DCC. All points, signals and lighting will be controlled by Raspberry Pis, one on each board connected by Ethernet cables to a master Raspberry Pi and controlled by a tablet (a virtual signal box). I’ve dabbled in Home Automation and MQTT so I think this will work.

 

Other Models

 

I know of only one other model of Gosport, built by Geoff Alcock and author of “Gosport’s Railway Era”, the first definitive work on the railways of the Gosport peninsular. His OO model was set in 1930s. When he died the model went to the Gosport Museum. A few years ago it was loaned to Fareham Railway Club for restoration.

 

The next post is a brief history of Gosport Station.

 

 

[Alan_LSWR]

Brief History of Gosport Station

 

The London & Southampton Railway (L&SR) open a line in 1840 between these two places, with the London terminus being at Nine Elms. They then proposed a branch line from Bishopstoke (now Eastleigh) to Portsmouth (Portsmouth Junction Railway). However, Portsmouth objected to being on a branch line, especially one with the name Southampton in it, and wanted to be on a direct line from London.

 

Despite the L&SR changing its name to the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR) the town would not budge. So the L&SWR then proposed a branch to Gosport (Portsmouth Branch Railway), passengers then taking a short ferry journey to Portsmouth.

 

When the Act of Parliament was going through the Commons the military insisted a clause be included giving them final approval over the design. This was because they feared the railway would compromise the defences of Gosport and the Navy’s victualling yard.

 

William Tite (later Sir) was the L&SWR architect. He proposed a two storey building immediately outside one of the town’s two entrance gates and just yards from the moat and ramparts. The military objected but themselves got into an internal argument as to whether the station should be inside the ramparts (the only space being parade grounds) or 600 yards further away. Meanwhile the L&SWR commenced building!

 

Eventually the military decided to push for a single storey building and that the building should incorporate a parapet with 6 foot walkway for soldiers to take up position, along with an outer wall surrounding the station with loopholes for shooting through! Later they amended this to iron railings to stop the enemy (the French!) from taking up positions behind the wall.

 

Meanwhile building continued with Tite accommodating most of these demands. When the demand for changes kept coming the L&SWR demanded a meeting of lawyers from both sides. The lawyers agreed that the Act did not compel the L&SWR to incorporated any defensive features, but merely not to compromise the existing defences.

 

The station opened in 1841. It cost more than any other station on the L&SWR including Southampton and Nine Elms. Ironically, the owner of a nearby pub, seeing a business opportunity with the opening of the station, leased some land from the L&SWR and built a three storey hotel right next to the station! [The military even asked the L&SWR to stop the hotel building – the response was something like “on your bike”!]

 

(c) Alan_LSWR

 

In 1844 King Louis Philippe visited Great Britain, landing at Gosport and taking the train to Farnborough, accompanied by Prince Albert. A week later they and Queen Victoria returned to Gosport by train. The Queen and Prince then went on to Osborne House on the Isle of White for a holiday. They liked it so much that they bought the small Georgian house and then demolished it and built the Osborne House we know today.

 

Queen Victoria then decided to use Gosport as the departure point for visiting the IoW. However, not liking the horse carriage ride through the town, and the gawping crowds, she got Prince Albert to have a word with the Navy. In 1845 an extension line was built out of the station, over the road, across the moat and through the ramparts! Then within the victualling yard the Queen had her own private station built adjacent to the jetty.

 

In 1848 a joint LSWR & LBSCR line is opened to Portsmouth and then in 1858 Portsmouth got its Direct Line. Thereafter Gosport's lost it's prominence but coming to life again during the two World Wars, though the line must have been beneficial to the Navy for delivering stores and equipment.

 

In 1906 an electric tramway provided a faster, more frequent and more convenient service from the ferry landing point to Fareham, so passenger number further declined (other than troop trains).

 

In WWII the station was hit by an incendiary bomb and was 90% gutted and not rebuilt. Passenger services stopped in 1953 and goods in 1969. Gradually the ruin buildings fell down and trees grew up within the former station accommodation. In 1973 Hampshire County Council (HCC) purchased the station and goods yard for development of social housing but before they could demolish the station in 1975 it was listed Grade II.

 

Wikimedia (cc) CC BY-SA 2.0 by Regenittey

 

Various schemes were put forward, some harebrained, to reuse the station. Occasionally vegetation was removed and stabilisation work undertaken. In 2005 HCC held a competition to save the building with the winner buying the building for a £1. The winner was Re-Format Architects who spent £5m restoring (nay rebuilding, nay resurrecting) the station as affordable housing.

 

 

Wikimedia Michael Coppins - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

 

They did a pretty fine job. No overall roof but they did include the end fascias. They also included the arches abutting the platforms. In the early days of the railway, many carriage doors were lost (and no doubt a few passengers as well!) on these arches and they soon replaced them with cast iron pillars set back. Two pillars survived until the rebuilding. If I had known they were not to be included I would have asked for them for the garden!

 

[phixer64]

Going to watch this with much interest, as this is where I live.
Curenty the site has been redeveloped, with housing and flats. But, it still retains much of its character, as its a listed building.

 

Regards Jeff

[Alan_LSWR]

On 28/05/2019 at 16:16, phixer64 said:

Going to watch this with much interest, as this is where I live.
Curenty the site has been redeveloped, with housing and flats. But, it still retains much of its character, as its a listed building.

Regards Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff. Don't hold your breath    Are you a member of the Gosport Railway Society? I do have the occassional email with their chair, Peter Keat. Looking at their website http://grsupdate40.blogspot.com/   I'm most impressed that they have their regular meeting organised right through to April 2022 - yes 2022, about 54 events. I know many a club struggling to organise a speaker for next month!

[Alan_LSWR]

I've been doing prep work, namely building a combined 3D printing fume box and spray booth. Pictures here:

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/142773-anycubic-photon-3d-dlp-printer/&do=findComment&comment=3583105

 

Whilst I'm raring to go on the main station building, logic tells me to walk first, so I shall build the Railway Hotel that was built adjacent to the station, seen here on the right.

 

 

Built when the station opened in 1841, it seems the hotel stopped functioning by 1945 (if not decades earlier) when it came a gentlemen's club. From 1962 it was a Pickford's store but then became derelict until rescued in 1983 by the current owners who ran a guest house. More recently the owner converted it into short stay flats.

 

 

The windows, bay, cornice mouldings and chimney are quite ornate and ideal for 3D printing as are the quoins. And no, I shall not be painting the model pink!

 

 

Edited June 12, 2019 by Alan_LSWR
reorder text and photos

[phixer64]

Hiya Alan, yes its still there, I think its a listed building.

 

http://mygosport.org/gosport_railway.htm

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?newwindow=1&biw=3200&bih=1800&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=0JACXbaeKeiUlwTokLjICQ&q=gosport+railway+hotel&oq=gosport+railway+hotel&gs_l=img.3...35107.38433..38805...0.0..0.56.287.6......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......35i39j0i24.vFhT21A0d7Y#imgdii=DgnCnj8b-OcKaM:&imgrc=XFGCqczibbp-o

 

Links with images relating to your build.

 

Regards Jeff

 

[Barry SR Modeling]

This looks very impressive. Out of curiosity would you ever be open to making another set of the Columns for the Gosport Station building? Just that I am currently in the process of building my own Gosport railway Station and Finding the right Columns is a real challange.   

[Oldddudders]

On 27/05/2019 at 23:56, Alan_LSWR said:

In 1844 King Louis Philippe visited Great Britain, landing at Gosport and taking the train to Farnborough, accompanied by Prince Albert. A week later they and Queen Victoria returned to Gosport by train. The Queen and Prince then went on to Osborne House on the Isle of White for a holiday. They liked it so much that they bought the small Georgian house and then demolished it and built the Osborne House we know today.

 

Queen Victoria then decided to use Gosport as the departure point for visiting the IoW. However, not liking the horse carriage ride through the town, and the gawping crowds, she got Prince Albert to have a word with the Navy. In 1845 an extension line was built out of the station, over the road, across the moat and through the ramparts! Then within the victualling yard the Queen had her own private station built adjacent to the jetty.

I have never been to Gosport - my loss, no doubt. However, Queen Vic's love of Osborne continued throughout her life and she died there. So Gosport has an important place in railway history, by being the mainland point to which her coffin was brought, thence travelling via Fareham (reverse - a fact that seems to have been forgotten in the hasty planning!) and the LBSCR, on a train full of real dignitaries including the Kaiser, to the London terminus bearing her name.

[Chris Lincoln]

Hi, I am starting to build a N gauge layout with essentially all the stations (Foert Brockhurst/Lee-On-The-Solent/Gosport Road and Stokesbay) and the wye. I have been trying to track down the drawings for Gosport Station, I have the track plan layout which i am using 1850/1898 plans. I have tried Gosport Council  and Gosport library to no avail. Could anyone suggest where I can go to get the drawings? I am going to try to recreate in Styrene and possible 3D Printing. I plan to use Arduino or Teeny with can bus module with adafruit PWM servo driver and relay boards to control frog and lights with automatic braking. I did look into custom boards  but it does not save much money. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Chris Lincoln