Finally for October, and not an exhibition as such, but Canute Road Quay has been kindly invited to be on display at the Southern Railways Group AGM at the Cornerstone Centre, Camphill Rd, West Byfleet KT14 6EH.
The Group was formed over 40 years ago to study and disseminate information about the Southern Railway, British Railways (Southern Region), its successors and minor railways in southern England. It is well worth being a member by anyone with an interest, both historical and or modelling in the Southern Railway.
If you are coming along to any of the shows, please drop by and say hello.
p.s. the title is once again a nod to a favourite band of mine…
The Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR/SR Beattie class 0298 well tank was first produced back in 2011. Incredibly for a class that since the 1930’s had only three members, with a restrictive sphere of operation, albeit into the late 1960s, on the Bodmin and Wenford branch, the model has been extremely popular resulting in no less than five production batches, the last being under the EFE Rail brand as recently as November 2020.
THE KMRC Beattie well tank 3314 with crew added
Being by nature a very small locomotive, space within the cab is quite restrictive on the real thing let alone the model, finding loco crew to fit has always been a bit of a challenge.
After receiving many requests, my friends at scanning and 3D printing specialists, MODELU have now added a bespoke Beattie well tank crew to their Loco Specific Crew range.
These MODELU crew have been actually scanned on one of the preserved locos and then modified to specifically fit the footplate of the model.
This ensures the poses are both natural, realistic and can be easily fitted to the model.
The MODELU figures as supplied and a cruel enlargement following painting
The highly detailed and crisply 3D printed MODELU crew are supplied free of all sprues and ready to paint without the need for any fettling or primer. To aid painting I lightly glue the crew to a wooden string stick to make handling easier, I then firstly paint, nowadays using acrylic paints, all clothing matt black to act as a base and eventually give shadows within creases, folds and any inside edges.
Using matt acrylics, my prefered range is Vallejo, I apply the top colours using almost a dry brush allowing the black within clothing folds and inside edges etc. to still be visible to give the effect of darker shadows etc. and to bring out the exquisite detail within the 3D print.
I was able using tweezers and a small dab of UHU glue fit the crew into place without disassembling the model in any way and immediately bring the loco to life.
As part of their quarterly British Railway Announcements for Autumn 2023 Bachmann have announced the ex London South Western Railway (LSWR) / Southern railway covered vans to Diagrams 1410, 1406 and 1408 and the ex LSWR / Southern railway 56ft non corridor cross country sets as early formation four coach sets, in 00 gauge. Those of you who watched the announcement video may have seen a familiar or strange face depending on you point of view, as I developed these models in my role with Kernow Model Rail Centre on behalf of EFE Rail. Also appearing in the Bachmann Branchline range is the Refurbished 3-CEP and 4-TEP.
LSWR / Southern railway covered vans to Diagram 1410, 1406 and 1408
E87051 D1410 LSWR Livery
The numerous LSWR 10 ton covered vans were built between 1885 and 1922 to a few different diagrams as the design was developed. Different body styles were combined with either timber or steel chassis with two axle boxes types, Panter or Warner’s, and several different brake systems.
The low roof, sliding door Diagram 1410 covered vans were the most common vehicle with well over 1000 built. Brake gear varied from: single sided double block, ‘Morton Clutch’, the rarer for this diagram ‘Lift Link’ and most commonly what the SR called ‘Freighter’ that had independent brake gear on each side.
E87052 D1410 S&DJR Livery
Ten covered vans to the Diagram 1410 were built for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) they differed from the LSWR versions as they did not have the end vents and only single sided brakes. They later were absorbed into SR stock and had end vents fitted, becoming identical to D1410 vans.
In early 1912 the roof level of covered goods vans was increased in height by 7 inches and 110 vans were built with sliding doors on either timber (D1407) or steel chassis as Diagram 1406. Lift link brake gear was fitted to all covered vans to this diagram.
E87053 D1410 SR Pre 1936 Livery
From late 1912 the sliding door design was superseded by a three-part hinged door design and used on covered wagons built from December 1912 until Grouping. The use of hinged rather than sliding doors allowed an increase in internal body width. Almost 400 were built on both timber (D1409) or steel chassis as Diagram 1408. Lift link brake gear was fitted to all covered vans to this diagram. The Diagram 1408 vans were originally built with roofs that finished flush with the sides, however, the SR modified the roofs to give an overhang at the eves.
E87054 D1406 in post 1936 SR livery
Although many were scrapped or entered departmental use before Grouping many passed into SR ownership at grouping with a number, many in departmental use surviving beyond nationalisation.
The KMRC / EFE Rail tooling suite allows for four body types across the three diagrams, four brake types (single double block, Morton Clutch, Freighter and Lift Link), two steel chassis types (D1410/06 and D1408), two axle box types (Panter and Warner) and three buffer types (tapered, ribbed and fabricated).
E87055 D1406 in BR Grey livery
The initial six releases by EFE Rail, that will be with retailers such as Kernow Model Rail Centre in the next two months or so, are as follows:
E87051 LSWR Diagram 1410 10 Ton covered van LSWR Brown livery – Morton Clutch brake, Panter axle boxes, plain tapered buffers.
E87052 SR Diagram 1410 10 Ton Covered van SDJR livery – no end vents, single sided brake, Panter axle boxes, plain tapered buffers.
E87056 D1408 with flush roof in pre 1936 SR livery
E87053 SR Diagram 1410 10 Ton Covered van SR Brown Pre 1936 livery – Freighter brakes, Warner axle boxes, plain tapered buffers.
E87054 SR Diagram 1406 10 Ton Covered van SR Brown Post 1936 livery – Lift Link brake, Panter axle boxes, plain tapered buffers.
E87055 BR(s) Diagram 1406 10 Ton Covered Van BR Grey livery – Lift Link brake, Panter axle boxes, plain tapered buffers.
E87056 SR Diagram 1408 10 Ton Covered van SR Brown Pre 1936 livery – Flush roof, Lift Link brake, Panter axle boxes, fabricated buffers, three hole disc wheels.
LSWR / Southern railway 56ft non corridor cross country sets
There were 36 sets formed wholly of 56ft vehicles and these sets were generically called ‘Cross County sets’. They were constructed between 1906 and 1910 being built originally as 4 coach sets. These sets comprised of the following:
Brake Thirds, four compartment to LSWR Drawing 1446, SR diagram 124, 2 per set
Composite (1st / 3rd class), seven compartment, to LSWR Drawing 1298, SR Diagram 274
Third LSWR Drawing 1302, SR Diagram 17, 8 compartment, (The all Thirds were originally introduced as 2nd / 3rd Composites but rebranded to all Thirds with no structural change by the end of 1919)
The set numbers were in the ranges 130-151, 253-263 and 311-314. All sets were reduced to three coaches in the mid to late 1930s by the removal of the 8 compartment Third Diagram 17 coaches which became loose stock. At the same time the number of first class compartments in the Composite, Diagram 274 was reduced from 5 to 3 (not a physical alteration just reclassification and change in class banding on the outside of the compartments)
EFE E86012 4 coach set 134 in SR Lined Olive Green
Despite the longevity of these sets, apart from the reduction from 4 to 3 coaches and the reclassification of some of the composite compartments there was no real physical changes to any of the coaches.
In terms of use, they were seen all over the SW section of the Southern and their duties were pretty well interchangeable with any other 3/4 set. They did not generally run on Brighton or SE section lines, although photographic evidence exists of them running along the south coast to Brighton.
Withdrawal of these sets was completed during 1956/7 Brake Third number LSWR 1520 SR 2975 (ex set 63 / 146) survives and is operational service on the Bluebell Railway http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/1520.html and Composite number 5065 (ex set 134) survives on the Kent and East Sussex Railway awaiting restoration.
As was standard LSWR practice not all the coaches had full electrical equipment, i.e dynamo and battery boxes the others being through wired.
E86011 ex LSWR Cross Country Set – 4 coach set 63 – LSWR Salmon Pink and Chocolate
E86012 Ex LSWR/SR Cross Country Set – 4 Coach set 134 – SR Lined Green
The coach sets are currently at Bachmann and should be with retailers such as Kernow Model Rail Centre in the next week or so.
Note: All pictures above re courtesy and copyright KMRC.
3-Cep / 4-TEP EMUs – Refurbished
The Bachmann Branchline model has been refurbished with new bodyshells portraying the work undertaken when the real units were refurbished – most notably the fitting of hopper window ventilators and the relocation of the brake compartments from the two driving vehicles to a single trailer vehicle.
Bachmann Refurbished 4-CEP
The first release to utilise this new tooling depicts Class 411/9 3-CEP No. 1199 in South West Trains livery and this is joined by a Blue & Grey-liveried Class 422/7 4-TEP – a unit formed of three refurbished CEP vehicles and an un-refurbished buffet vehicle from a BEP unit. The TEPs were formed to provide catering capacity whilst 4-BIG units were being refurbished during the 1980s. Both models require a single DCC decoder for use on DCC systems or can be purchased in SOUND FITTED format with a decoder pre-installed.
31-420 Class 411/9 3-CEP No. 1199 in South West Trains livery
31-420SF Class 411/9 3-CEP No. 1199 in South West Trains livery SOUND FITTED
31-424 Class 422/7 4-TEP Blue & Grey-liveried
31-424SF Class 422/7 4-TEP Blue & Grey-liveried SOUND FITTED
Told through over 100 historical and contemporary images, The Waterloo Story recounts the sometimes surprising history of this 175 year old railway station and will be located on the main concourse of the station. Compiled by friend Mike Lamport and Network Rail, with assistance from the South Western Circle, The Waterloo Story is well worth viewing if you are passing through Waterloo.
A ceremony to mark the occasion is being held on platform 19 at 11am this morning to unveil a plaque as well naming one of the brand new South Western Railway class 701 Arterio electric multiple units.
An early view of the original platform 9
Waterloo station opened by the then London and Southampton Railway on this day Tuesday 11th July 1848 as a ‘roadside station’, supposedly just a stop on the way to a planned for major city terminus that was never realised. This original station, known as ‘central station’, had six platforms.
Waterloo was extended in an ad-hoc way to cope with demand. In 1860 the ‘Windsor station’ was opened on the north-west side of the original central platforms. In 1878 Waterloo gained an additional two platforms on the south-east side for mainline suburban trains in an extension known as the ‘south station’.
In 1885 the ‘north’ station was opened, adding a further six platforms bringing the total at Waterloo to eighteen.
It was however a very confusing station for passengers with platforms divided between four different sections of the station, the platform numbering was unclear, four different areas which were classed as concourses along with very poor information displays. In 1899 London & South Western Railway (as the London & Southampton had become) sought permission to completely rebuild and expand the station.
One of my views taken during a helicopter ride showing the expanse of the current station, the Victory Arch and International station to the left can also be seen.
The Company sent its chief engineer J W Jacomb-Hood to America to gather information on termini buildings to assist its redesign. Following the rebuilding work, that took twenty years to fully complete, Waterloo became a spacious station with a large open concourse.
With 21 platforms under a huge ridge-and-furrow roof it became light and airy compared to the dark maze it once was. Widely praised for its architecture, the new curved building to the front of the station housed the LSWR’s offices and facilities for passengers including a large booking hall and upstairs dining room which were simple and elegant with Georgian style panelling in the dining room and Edwardian decoration in the bars.
The Victory Arch at Waterloo
As the station rebuild was drawing to a close, and as a memorial to their staff that died in the First World War, the LSWR commissioned the Victory Arch; designed by J R Scott, their chief architect and made of Portland stone and bronze it depicts War and Peace, with Britannia holding the torch of liberty above. Leading from Station Approach onto the concourse, the Victory Arch forms the main entrance to Waterloo.
Waterloo remained largely unchanged until early 1990s when platforms 20 and 21 were demolished to make way for Waterloo International. Opened in 1994 this was the terminus for Eurostar services running through the Channel Tunnel until 2007. In July 2012 a first-floor balcony opened at Waterloo to help reduce congestion at the station, additional space has been created by repositioning shops from the middle of the main concourse onto the balcony.
Please Note: The free to view exhibition that opened on the main concourse of Waterloo station at 12.00hrs on Tuesday 11 July has now closed (slightly earlier than planned). It will however return as a permanent fixture in the station later this year.
My Set 253 following a few tweaks and awaiting some light weathering
The EFE Rail ex LSWR Cross Country Sets were announced last November and as is usually the case with the Bachmann quarterly announcements arrived within a matter of weeks. This is not a full a review of the models as that would be a bit disingenuous of me, having been involved in my day job at Kernow Model Rail Centre , with their development (and yes, I hold my hand up to not spotting a couple of the gremlins that crept in to a couple of the livery details).
This post is about a few quick tweaks / improvements that I have made to my own malachite green set 253 (yes, I purchased it myself). Whilst these models have not jumped on the feature creep trend of magnetic roofs (we are yet to see how practical these might be in practice with handling etc.) and over bright interior lighting, they have a good level of detail and separately applied parts inclduing grab handles, handrails, underframe details and roof vents to look the part.
EFE E86015 coach set 314 in BR Green showing box set (Picture Courtesy and copyright KMRC)
The initial EFE Rail Releases, supplied in neat three coach book box sets are as follows:
E86013 ex LSWR Cross Country Set – 3 Coach set 253 – SR Malachite
E86014 Ex LSWR/SR Cross Country Set – 3 Coach set 130 – BR Crimson
E86015 Ex LSWR/SR Cross Country Set – 3 Coach set 314 – BR Green
So on the tweaks…
The very first thing I did was to blacken the faces of the wheelsets, I have simply and quickly used a black Sharpie permanent marker pen, this improves the look and is actually a darker finish to the eye than the brightly lit pictures show. (As an aside, a couple of Sharpie pens are always good to have in the modelling toolkit, especially when exhibiting, as they can be used to quickly touch up any chips or damage that might have occurred).
The Diagram 124 Brake Third
I have added, using HMRS Pressfix transfers, the missing class designation numbers to the brake thirds and for consistency also replaced and repositioned slightly higher those on the composite. The BR versions correctly only have ‘1’s on the first class compartments (and in the slightly lower position). To remove the factory applied class designations on the composite, I first soaked them in good quality enamel thinners and then using a cotton bud and some t-cut to gently rub them off.
For consistency, an element of individualism and personal preference, I like to brush paint all my carriage roofs with Humbrol enamel dark grey Number 33. I also took the opportunity to paint the side of the roof gutter at the same time, as these had been finished in the bodyside colour, that gives a bit of an optical illusion of the sides being too high.
Finally, a recap of the history of these sets, there were 36 sets formed wholly of 56ft vehicles and these sets were generically called ‘Cross County sets’. They were constructed between 1906 and 1910 being built originally as 4 coach sets. These sets comprised of the following:
Brake Thirds, four compartment to LSWR Drawing 1446, SR diagram 124, 2 per set
Composite (1st / 3rd class), seven compartment, to LSWR Drawing 1298, SR Diagram 274
Third LSWR Drawing 1302, SR Diagram 17, 8 compartment, (The all Thirds were originally introduced as 2nd / 3rd Composites but rebranded to all Thirds with no structural change by the end of 1919)
The Diagram 274 Composite
The set numbers were in the ranges 130-151, 253-263 and 311-314 All sets were reduced to three coaches in the mid to late 1930s by the removal of the 8 compartment Third Diagram 17 coaches which became loose stock. At the same time the number of first class compartments in the Composite, Diagram 274 was reduced from 5 to 3 (not a physical alteration just reclassification and change in class banding on the outside of the compartments)
In terms of use, they were seen all over the SW section of the Southern and their duties were pretty well interchangeable with any other 3/4 set. They did not generally run on Brighton or SE section lines, although photographic evidence exists of them running along the south coast to Brighton.
Withdrawal of these sets was completed during 1956/7 Brake Third number LSWR 1520 SR 2975 (ex Set 63 / 146) survives on the Bluebell Railway and Composite number 5065 (ex Set 134) survives on the Kent and East Sussex Railway awaiting restoration.
As was standard LSWR practice not all the coaches had full electrical equipment, i.e. dynamo and battery boxes the others being through wired.
Canute Road Quay is on the road again and appearing at two exhibitions the next two consecutive Saturdays.
B4s ‘Caen’ and ‘Trouville’ shunt on Canute Road Quay
The first this Saturday 25th March is slightly unusual as it the Guidelines Publications Spring Show. This is the first of a series of seasonal shows that bring together traders from all the modelling and collecting genres covered by its magazine titles. This will include toy soldiers and historical figures, model railways, military and aircraft modelling, fantasy and sci-fi figures and models, as well as car, truck and farm models, to name a few.
Other familiar Guidelines Railway titles that often contain excellent Southern content includes British Railways Illustrated and also Railway Bylines.
The springtime show will take place at the established venue for Guideline’s shows, Haverstock School, 24 Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, North London NW3 2BQ.
The venue has great public transport links and also free parking.
The show is open from 10.30am to 5pm with a £6 entry fee, although earlier bird access from 9.30am for £10.
Alongside Canute Road Quay will be 16 other layouts covering a wide range of genres in scales from N to 0 and including 009, 0-16.5 and 0N30. The show is open between 10.30am and 4pm entrance fee is £5.
Both venues have free parking If you are coming along to either show, please drop by and say hello.
p.s. the title is a nod to a favourite Aylesbury based band of mine…
It would be remiss of me not to mark the fact that today is 100 years since the Grouping and the formation of the Southern Railway, it also of course marks the demise of its constituent companies. This post attempts to provide a simplified potted history of the Grouping and the Southern Railway.
The Southern Railway coat of arms incorporated heraldic elements from the main constituent companies.
Although the actual Grouping occurred on 1st January 1923, it’s instigation can be traced back to the First World War where all railways were under state control until 1921. The Railways Act 1921, followed discussions at the time on potential nationalisation, had the aim of stemming the losses being occurred at the time by many of the 120 or so railway companies.
The form of Grouping originally proposed in 1920, by former North Eastern Railway executive, the Minister of Transport, Eric Geddes, was for five English and one Scottish regional companies, by 1921 this was amended to four English and two Scottish companies before the Scottish routes were incorporated in the companies that we know as the ‘Big Four’. Royal Assent for the Railways Act was in August 1921.
The first SR passenger livery was a continuation of the LSWR style in Olive Green with expanded Clarendon ‘Egyptian’ style ‘Southern’ font as seen on ex LSWR Adams A12 0-4-2. From 1937 the Bulleid malachite green and ‘Sunshine’ lettering as seen on the ex LSWR M7 in the background was introduced.
Also incorporated were the three Isle of Wight railway companies and the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway (Bere Alston and Callington section).
Some non-working or joint companies that had been previously leased or worked by the main constituent companies, including for example (not an exhaustive list): the North Cornwall Railway, Sidmouth Railway, Lee-on-the-Solent Railway, Hayling Railway, Cranbrook and Paddock Wood Railway, London and Greenwich Railway, Croydon & Oxted Joint Railway and Dover & Deal Railway, were also included, as was the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway although not covered by the Railways Act 1921, it had been absorbed by the LSWR.
The Southern Railway also was to share or jointly operate a number of lines including: the East London Railway, West London Extension Railway, Weymouth & Portland Railway and of course the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.
The Southern Railway Network
The total route mileage owned whole by the Southern Railway at Grouping was 2,186 miles, with the main constituents not surprising forming the majority with 1,020 miles ex LSWR, 457 miles ex LBSC and 637 ½ ex SECR. The SR was operated essentially as three Districts: Western, Central and Eastern based approximately on the previous main constituents.
There were two Chief Mechanical Engineers; Richard Maunsell, ex SECR, between 1923 and 1937 and Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid, ex GN / LNER, from 1937 to 1948.
And just because you can never have enough Bulleid pacifics or Southern malachite green…
Although originally three general managers were appointed from each of the main constituents, with a year Sir Herbert Walker became the single General Manager and the development of the SR was built upon many of his ex LSWR practices. Following his retirement in 1937 he was succeeded as general manager by his long-time assistant Gilbert Szlumper. In 1939, Szlumper left the Southern Railway for war service and Sir Eustace Missenden took over.
The Southern Railway officially lasted, of course until Nationalisation in 1948, although in reality, just as during the First World War, the Railways due to the outbreak of The Second World War were taken once again under Government control via The Railway Executive on 1st September 1939 and would remain so until the 1st January 1948 becoming the Southern Region of British Railways.
With the passing of the Transport Act 1947 that nationalised the Railways, Missenden became the first Chairman of the Railway Executive and John Elliot became acting General Manager of the SR and would later become Chief Regional Officer of the Southern Region of British Railways.
I hope this brief simplified history of the Southern Railway has been of interest, and appropriate to mark the 100 years since its formation. I thought it was about time that it was included on my corner of the blogsphere!
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The model railway world and mainly Southern Railway meanderings of Graham 'Muz' Muspratt
