Volks Electric Black Rock Station diorama (and other early electric traction)

[Dunalastair]

Yesterday's 'diorama a day' featured my model of Volks' shortlived 'Daddylonglegs' seagoing electric car. For today, it is back on land for the associated and historic narrow gauge Volks Electric Railway. Note the open topped bus in the background of this image.

 

https://dewi.ca/trains/brighton/volks.html

 

So the bus also features in my diorama, based on a similar preserved vehicle. I'm not a bus expert or a bus modeller, but this fine example rather appealed. 

 

https://www.showbus.co.uk/gallery/south/bh&d6.htm

 

As I remember, it started off as one of these, before a repaint and detailing with railings and bespoke blinds.

 

from ebay

 

So after all that bus stuff, here is the 1:76 diorama, with a 3D printed art deco station building and rolling stock. The track is 9mm Peco, and the platform a proprietary moulding from the rummage box at a show. The grassy bank was hanging basket liner, and the sandy beach was sand from the local river (or was it? I think the base might have been Poundland sandpaper). The scene is rather compressed (no car park!) but hopefully captures the essentials.

 

 

I have visited Brighton, but I got there by bicycle on the organised London to Brighton ride, so there was no chance to ride on or even visit the iconic first narrow gauge electric railway on the UK mainland.

Edited June 30, 2023 by Dunalastair

[Paul H Vigor]

1 hour ago, Dunalastair said:

Yesterday's 'diorama a day' featured my model of Volks' shortlived 'Daddylonglegs' seagoing electric car. For today, it is back on land for the associated and historic narrow gauge Volks Electric Railway. Note the open topped bus in the background of this image.

 

https://dewi.ca/trains/brighton/volks.html

 

So the bus also features in my diorama, based on a similar preserved vehicle. I'm not a bus expert or a bus modeller, but this fine example rather appealed. 

 

https://www.showbus.co.uk/gallery/south/bh&d6.htm

 

As I remember, it started off as one of these, before a repaint and detailing with railings and bespoke blinds.

 

from ebay

 

So after all that bus stuff, here is the 1:76 diorama, with a 3D printed art deco station building and rolling stock. The track is 9mm Peco, and the platform a proprietary moulding from the rummage box at a show. The grassy bank was hanging basket liner, and the sandy beach was sand from the local river. The scene is rather compressed (no car park!) but hopefully captures the essentials.

 

 

I have visited Brighton, but I got there by bicycle on the organised London to Brighton ride, so there was no chance to ride on or even visit the iconic first narrow gauge electric railway on the UK mainland.

On the rare occassions I find myself in Brighton, a ride on the Volk's is a must! Same goes for Hythe Pier in Hampshire.

[Dunalastair]

1 hour ago, Paul H Vigor said:

On the rare occassions I find myself in Brighton, a ride on the Volk's is a must! Same goes for Hythe Pier in Hampshire.

 

Sounds good. I've not been to the Hythe Pier railway, but have modelled the rolling stock. Not a diorama - just a photograph behind the loco and tank car (used to fuel the ferry). 

 

 

[45655]

Thanks for this, and the link to the very interesting historic photos.

 

I have fond memories of Volk's Railway in the early 1960s, before coupled car operation and the reduction of the terminals to single track stubs.  I see that the first photo dates from 1953 when the cars were in an all over varnished livery, as I first knew them.  (The more familiar yellow and brown dates from the 80th anniversary year in 1963.) 

 

Black Rock station on this site dates from a truncation of the line when the open air swimming pool was built at Black Rock before WW2.  I think the building shown here dates from the post War reconstruction, though.

 

Nowadays, following the Marina development,  all this (including the rather magnificent swimming pool) has been swept away and the line truncated again to terminate at a pumping station...

 

Keith

Alton.

[Nearholmer]

Cracking stuff.

 

Last few times I’ve been through Brighton it’s been by bike too, but I always stop to worship at the VER. This was a few years back now:

 

 

Very picky, but you do need to add the word ‘permanent’ when talking about the VER as the first electric railway. There were demonstration and experimental electric railways in GB before the VER, and I’m fairly sure the when Magnus Volk put the first iteration of the VER into use he wasn’t sure whether it was going to become a permanent thing, or not.

For me, your bus is as much a nostalgia-fest as the VER, because Brighton used to see a glorious selection of buses and coaches in the 1960s, and the line-ups along the prom, each bus with a pavement notice board alongside tempting punters onto some wonderful excursion, were very special.

 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Dunalastair]

10 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

 

Very picky, but you do need to add the word ‘permanent’ when talking about the VER as the first electric railway. There were demonstration and experimental electric railways in GB before the VER, and I’m fairly sure the when Magnus Volk put the first iteration of the VER into use he wasn’t sure whether it was going to become a permanent thing, or not.

 

 

Indeed, and I have modelled some of them, e.g. 

 

Percival

 

 

Holroyd

 

 

Rogier / Siemens

 

 

Binko

 

 

Among the 200+ models of locos which have come off my 3D printers (and Shapeways in the early days) I don't think there is much which is narrow gauge and electric from the UK which has not been tackled, albeit in simplified form. 

[Nearholmer]

This is brilliant!

 

I didn’t realise that anyone modelled these animals. In fact, I wonder whether the work of Henry Bock Binko, if the core of it really was his work, has ever been immortalised in model form before.

 

Well done Sir!

[phil_sutters]

3 hours ago, Dunalastair said:

 

Sounds good. I've not been to the Hythe Pier railway, but have modelled the rolling stock. Not a diorama - just a photograph behind the loco and tank car (used to fuel the ferry). 

 

 

There are some good photos of the Hythe Pier railway in this photographer's gallery on my other, photo-sharing website -  http://www.ipernity.com/doc/berny/47957824/in/group/1000131

[DaveF]

By sheer coincidence I have posted a couple of photos of Volks electric railway at Brighton in my photo thread at lunchtime today

 

They are at:  

 

 

David

[Dunalastair]

Thankyou for the kind words. I fear that OCD might be the best way to describe my interest in modelling obscure railways, especially electric, and preferably narrow gauge. I suspect that not many others take an interest in Mr Binko, or in the complicated, unclear and disputed provenance of the earliest electric railways.

 

A better known pioneer (with a small 'p') was the Bessbrook & Newry - half tramway and half railway. This is my 3D printed version, posed against a photograph of the broad gauge railway viaduct it ran under.

 

 

[Dunalastair]

Another early adopter of electric traction was the Croesor Quarry in North Wales. This was my simplified printed version of Moses Kellow's overhead electric locomotive, albeit running on another layout so without any overhead wires. Gauge was 16.5mm.

 

 

[Dunalastair]

And this was the Kellow loco posed against an image of a slate quarry adit.

 

 

[Dunalastair]

Two images of the Moses Kellow prototype

 

http://www.llechicymru.info/images/ZM486.3.4.jpg

 

http://www.penmorfa.com/Slate/croesor1.jpg