GNR Dave Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Hi Guys, I'm thinking of building a layout of Hackbridge station in Grouping days. I've lived in Carshalton all my life (50+ years) and it's my local station. I've recently discovered that it had a small goods yard and a signal box, all long since gone. I only remember it as a through station, which would be rather limiting model wise, but a goods yard adds interest and I think it could make a nice layout. I have found some photos in books and on line, but not enough to build a layout that I would be happy with yet. The station building on the up platform was 'modified' in the late '80s and turned into offices, but enough remains and I am in the process of CADing up some drawings. What I am lacking is track-side views of the down-side building (Demolished in the '80s I think, and replaced with a bus shelter !) and any information on the goods yard other than the track plan. Any help would be greatly appreciated either posting pics here, or pointing me in the direction of any published info. I'm hoping a trip to Sutton library this weekend will turn up some useful stuff.............. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Dave I, too, have lived in Carshalton, or thereabouts, most of my life. Somewhere I have colour photos I took around the station just before and during its reconstruction, and some from much earlier, so I might be able to dig those out to see if they might be useful, although the goods yard was gone by then. The Sutton Library Local Collection is fascinating, but I don't recall too many photos of the station, and I am not sure whether it is open every weekend - when I last went the opening hours were restricted but that was some time ago. Looking at old-maps for a number of eras, the goods yard was very simple, and didn't feature any substantial structures, perhaps one or maybe two LBSC lock up sheds, although by 1933 it had acquired an unusual gantry travelling crane. I have one or two photos which show parts of the yard, but the main features would appear to be the adjoining allotments, cardboard factory and, at one time, alongside the down platform, a small watercress bed! I have looked through an Index of Brighton Circle magazines covering over 30 years and sadly Hackbridge does not appear to have had a single mention! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I'm sure there were some photos of Hackbridge included on a thread on here about Carshalton Station. If it's any help, I was a frequent user of a fuel bunker in the goods yard in the 1990's. ISTR there was a goods shed still in the yard at the time as well as a fuel delivery point. I don't have any photos of the site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium brushman47544 Posted July 9, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 9, 2014 Mine's in a box somewhere so cannot check, but have you tried the Middleton Press book 'Mitcham Junction Lines' which covers Hackbridge? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon A Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Aerial photographs from English Heritage? The railway photographic collection based at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway? Gordon A Bristol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hi Andrew, Yes I have a copy. It was the book that alerted me to the history of the station in the first place. At the moment , it, and what remains of the station today are my primary reference material. I also have a large scale OS map reproduction from 1910, and a couple of pics of the net. Unfortunately the goods yard and down side station building remain 'sketchy' David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 You an get most OS maps online, but subscription is £9.99 a month. I must remember to cancel mine! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Dave Yesterday I PM'ed you some photos of the yard that may be of interest. I have also located some colour views of the main station buildings before and during the rebuilding if you are interested. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hi Nick You sir, are a star ! The two pics of the goods yard are awesome. As you guessed, I do have the book. I discovered it at The Bluebell Railway book stall a couple of weeks ago. That's what sparked the idea for the layout. I had no idea a goods yard existed. FYI the signal diagram is Mitcham Junction not Hackbridge. The tracks to the top left of the plan are the line to Hackbridge, which is a mile or two further south. If it's no trouble I would really like to see your photos of the re-building. Especially any that show the parts of the original building that are no longer visible or gone altogether, i.e. the car park side. Did the downside platform building still exist then ? A clear shot of the track facing elevation is what I am lacking. The station at Mitcham Junction is similar in a number of respects and if nothing comes to light, I may base my downside building on the up-side one at Mitcham Jct. It looks like some degree of standardisation is in evidence over and above the LB&SC 'style' Thanks again for taking the time to reply..... David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Sorry about the signal diagram - the perils of scanning from a bound book - I should have checked - I'll give it another go next week! I'll try to get the colour photos scanned too and perhaps post them here so others can marvel at the beauty of an LBSCR station. Most of my photos are of the car park elevation,but sadly the down platform shelter seems to have been removed before I got to photograph the area. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 As I haven't got access to a scanner for a while, I have taken advantage of the sunny weather to photograph the photographs. Apologies for the bits of glare, but I hope the convey the right impression. The first group were taken in October 1984, with a couple of cars to excite the autophile. The rest were taken in January 1988 during the rebuilding - I think on a rather rainy day, hence the blue cast, but I wanted to capture it before parts disappeared. The new ticket office being built before they tackled the main building. Finally a close-up of the main entrance door. Note the poly-chromatic brickwork and the built-in boot scraper underneath the rubbish bin (Mitcham Junction had one of these too). I also took a lot of digital photos of the road bridge prior to its recent replacement - not very pretty to look at but offering a few constructional details. Hope these help Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Thanks for these photos Nick, they will be invaluable for drawing the car park side of the station. I went to the National Archives at Kew last weekend and found a scale track plan of the goods yard at 40' : 1", from 1880. Sadly no buildings were indicated but it gave me an accurate guide to lay the track. A visit to Sutton library local studies dept. also turned up a few new photos, including the originals of some of the pics in the book. Sadly the down-side building is proving illusive, and the structure at Mitcham Junction may have to stand in. I'm going to try adverts in local shops to see if anything else emerges. I also realised that 2018 will be the 150th anniversary of the line opening in 1868. So that 'll give me a target date to get the model done ! Thank-you once again for all your help, it is very much appreciated, and if you find anything else please post ! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted July 12, 2014 Author Share Posted July 12, 2014 Just noticed what looks like a toilet under the window on the right in the second photo ! That's what I call a public convenience. Also, I remember being sick in a drain just to the right of that yellow bin by the door after too much beer on the night of my 21st in 1983. Never did get round to apologising to 'Scotty' (the stations main employee at the time.) Scotty if by any chance you're reading this, I really am most terribly sorry mate. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Holliday Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Just found a few more photos I took at the time the building was being rebuilt in December 1988 and thought they might be of interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Thanks for these Nick. Very useful. Especially the third picture. I had not realised there were two windows in the darker wall on the right, facing the car park. I went to a toy fair at the Bluebell Railway on Saturday and bought a 2-Bil in Southern livery for the lay-out. My first non steam loco ever ! While I was there, I took some pics of Horstead Keynes and Sheffield Park stations to get some idea of colour schemes during grouping and pre-grouping days. Given the lack of pre-grouping LB&SCr RTR, I'm leaning towards a mid '20s - mid '40s time period for the layout. I would however keep the pre-grouping style of station canopy as they look better than the 'bland' grouping ones. (Modellers licence !) David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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