East Grinstead Town
A Victorian London, Brighton & South Coast Railway layout; under construction: target completion date, winter 2010/11
Related sites - Rowfant Grange - LB&SCR Scratch Builds
Member: Crawley Model Railway Society and The Brighton Circle (see also their LB&SCR site)
First exhibition booking: Crawley MRS Annual Exhibition, Horsham, Sussex, 16-17th April 2011
Introduction
East Grinstead is a Sussex market town that has had three railway stations in succession, the last of which was built with high-level (east-west) platforms on a bridge over its low-level (north-south) platforms. The first station opened in 1855 as a terminus to a branch line which left the main London-Brighton route at Three Bridges, seven miles to the west. In 1866 that branch was extended to Tunbridge Wells and the second station was built in a cutting along the north side of the first. The old terminus became a goods yard until closed in 1967. When the third station opened in 1882 there was some local consternation at it being on a new site amongst the fields to the west of the town, although the second station did remain open for some months, no doubt regarded as the “Town” station. Despite being closed in 1883, the second station’s buildings were not demolished until 1908. The model called East Grinstead Town is based on the first and second stations, and is operated as if the first station continued to be used for passenger traffic well into the 1880s, and the second until 1908. Kit and scratch built models depict stock from the late 1840s through to the early 1900s, thus covering a few of Craven’s 72 locomotive classes, as well as the less diverse but equally colourful offerings of his successors, Stroudley (1870-1889) and Billinton (1890-1904). Today, all that remains of the first two stations is the 1855 building. The lines to the east, west and south of the third station closed in 1967, at the recommendation of an East Grinstead resident, and commuter on the line north. However, it’s not all bad news; the line to the south will re-open as an extension to the Bluebell Railway; the east-west line is now a by-pass taking traffic away from the narrow historic High Street, and is named after the resident responsible for line closure, as Beeching Way!
Recent Progress Photos
Note that photographs with extended depth of focus were processed using CombineZM focus stack software. No buildings are complete and there is considerable “finishing” work to do on the scenics, although the main features are all in place.
View along length towards right.jpg
View along length towards left.jpg
Newly felled coppice woodland, with wood colliers and a charcoal clamp.JPG
Timeline
East Grinstead has had two station sites, and three stations:
- Site 1 – on the west side of town (plan 1/2)
- 1855 – Station 1 – a terminus
- Opened 1855 to complete the branch from Three Bridges, about 7 miles to the west
- Closed to passenger traffic 1866 but remained open as a goods yard with simplified point work
- Closed 1967
- 1866 – Station 2 – a passing loop station immediately north of station 1
- Opened 1866 when line extended east to Tunbridge Wells
- Station closed 15th October 1883 but one line through the platforms remained open; the other line made a siding
- Platforms and buildings demolished 1908
- Route closed 1967
· Site 2 – 300 yards west of site 1 (plan 3)
- Low level platforms on new north-south (Oxted – Lewes) route opened 1882/1884
- From 1882 route opened to Lewes
- From 1884 route opened to Oxted
- High level platforms on old route (Three Bridges – Tunbridge Wells) opened 1882/1883
- From 1st August 1882 only the trains connecting with those on low level route stopped
- From 15th October 1883 fully opened; building work having been completed and all trains now stopped
- Route to south of station closed 1958
- High level (east – west) route closed 1967
- Today, low level platforms and route to north of station remain open
- Today, route to south being re-developed as part of Bluebell Railway
The third station is by far the best known, made famous by its unusual two-level structure, with platforms for the east-west line being built on a bridge over those of the north-south route, and hence being known respectively as “East Grinstead High Level” and “East Grinstead Low Level”.
The Layout
East Grinstead Town is based on a combination of the 1855 and 1866 stations, and it is operated as if they both continued to serve passenger trains well after the opening of the third station. They are signalled in such as way that any period can be depicted between 1872, when the most “modern” type of signal on the layout was first used, and 1908, when the second station was demolished and signals were being replaced by another new design. In reality there was only overlap between the opening and closing of the second and third stations, between August 1882 and October 1883, but press reports of the time indicate that the then rural site of the third station held little local appeal, as the old station had been much closer to the town centre.
The layout (plan) is not an exact model of the first two stations but the essentials of the first station’s track plan, with its separate passenger and goods loops, are retained so that operationally it should be as correct as can be in the absence of a means of modelling horse shunting! However, the station plan has been mirrored north-south, so that its passenger platform is on the north side abutting that of the second (1866 through) station, and liberties are taken with the location of some of East Grinstead’s historic buildings. Other changes to the station include a repositioning of the 1855 station house from the south to the east of the station area; slight contraction from a correctly scaled 9ft long terminus, down to 8ft; and the single road loco shed is moved to the west end of the station, so removing one of the two facing three-way points which every arriving passenger train had to negotiate to enter the platform road. The preponderance of facing points, which would have been ground frame operated and probably lacked facing point locks, would soon have been regarded as unacceptable and the old terminus is only used for models of passenger trains comprised of four- and six-wheeled stock.
There are three possible approaches to operating the layout:
A. One approach is simply to say “it’s a train set” and disregard anomalies such as stock that was scrapped in say 1885, running at the same time as something not built until 1890. The two stations could be used as follows:
- One operator runs pre-1890 stock in and out of the 1855 terminus.
- Another uses the 1866 through station for 1880 onwards stock and runs a train each time the first operator is busy in the fiddle yard, thus ensuring some continuity of running for spectators.
B. Another approach is to follow a similar plan to that used on Rowfant Grange, namely an operating sequence which moves through the decades, as follows:
· 1860s
o Craven period (1847-1870), and earlier stock
o Strictly, the model cannot depict a time before 1872 because, that being the first date when a notched distant signal was used (and it was some years before they were widespread); that little know fact will have to be ignored!
· 1870s
o Craven stock remained common throughout the 1870s
o Stroudley period (1870-1889) stock was phased-in during the 1870s, largely replacing Craven stock by 1880
· 1880s
o Stroudley stock dominated the 1880s
o Some Craven stock still used (but Craven locos all in Stroudley livery)
· 1890s
o The terminus section of East Grinstead Town is closed to passengers and the entire area becomes a goods yard
§ Passenger rated vans may be used still
§ The signals in the terminus area will be set “off” and no longer used
o Stroudley stock is still much in evidence
o Billinton (1890-1904) period stock now used, which included bogie carriages
· 1900s
o The layout can optionally be operated beyond 1900
o Stroudley and Billinton stock still used
o Marsh stock (1904-1911) introduced
o Motor trains (1906 onwards) may operate
C. Restrict working to the 1872-1883 period
- That date range would fit the mix of signalling, and is within the life of the second station
- Craven stock remained common throughout the 1870s
- Stroudley period (1870-1889) stock was phased-in during the 1870s, largely replacing Craven stock by 1880
- Only my limited range of Billinton and Marsh stock would be left out of the running
Signalling
See: Signals explained.
Signals: Photo showing down home for 1866 station; up starter and distant arm for 1866 station (notched distant arm introduced in 1872); bidirectional signal for 1855 station, with one arm “cleared” into slot; double disc turnover distant signal for 1855 station. The latter two signals being inspired by a c.1870 view of Shoreham. Inset shows signal lamp produced on the Sieg C0 lathe.
Signalling plan: The 1855 station is signalled in accordance with the 1st LB&SCR Rule Book (1856) and the 1866 station in accordance with the 2nd LB&SCR Rule Book (1886). If the layout is operated through a series of decades, any system of signalling will introduce anomalies.
The tall signal in the 1855 station is not at the stop position; drivers were expected to know the fouling positions of points and stop accordingly. Such signals were phased out in the 1880s, as were low platforms. Accordingly, the 1855 station will only be operated as a passenger station for trains appropriate to 1870-1889. Passenger trains appropriate to 1890 - 1910 will be restricted to the 1866 through platforms.
First station signals – scratch built
Second station signals – E.B.Models and Model Signal Engineering parts
Layout Construction
00 (16.5mm gauge) with SMP code 75 rail.
The 1866 inspection report (National Archives, MT 6/41/21) described the track as being in 21ft lengths with 8 sleepers per length. With suitable adjustment plastic based code 75 rail can be adjusted to fit this specification (SMP track will be used and it is supplied with 9.5 sleepers per 21ft length; Peco track has 12), and a slitting disc used to nick the rail top at 21ft intervals. A template (21ft track template) has been made for this (feel free to use this if you wish; for 4mm scale print on A4 and select “none” in the page scaling menu). Brassmasters fishplates will also be added.
Consideration was given to how points may have been timbered but given that I had already built these to standard C&L templates before I realised that early trackwork made very minimal use of long timbers on points (standard 10ft sleepers were used in an interlaced pattern, as far as practical), and that we do not know how points looked in 1855 anyway, I have decided to keep to “standard” point timbering. Most of the points were recycled from another layout.
The layout will stand on a frame (stand: photo; test of fit and lighting: photo).
Buildings
The 1855 station house still stands (then and now photos; note platform shelter at right-hand end of early photo). The 1866 building spanned the tracks (now Beeching Way) and was accessed from a bridge that carried London Road over the lines (photo of bridge today with a photograph of Holmwood Station ghosted over it to indicate the position of the building. Holmwood Station was built to an almost identical plan; Holmwood photo by N. Holliday).
Model buildings were constructed from embossed plasticard.
The 1866 station building was based on plans in Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells by D. Gould (Oakwood Locomotion paper No. 144, 1983). This building spans the track with a clearance of 13’9”; more than adequate for 1866 but 9” too low for later stock (14’6” in 1922), and consequently high roofed stock barely clears the bridge!
Other buildings were based on photographs from which TurboCAD drawings were produced, based on known sizes of ground plan, or brick counts from photos of the buildings or their immediate neighbours. All the “London Row” buildings were also combined into a single plan to allow calculation of the slope (drawing). A member of the Brighton Circle who is a historic buildings consultant gave considerable help in the interpretation of building drawings and photographs.
Non-railway buildings were based on historically important East Grinstead prototypes, most of which remain. The main source of photographs being 100 Buildings of East Grinstead, by M.J. Leppard (Phillimore, 2006). Those which are grade 2 listed all have photos in the Images of England web site showing their modern, often much altered, state.
The Old Pest House (Pest Houses were the forerunners of isolation hospitals) was based on a c.1950s photograph; now grade 2 listed (for modern photo see image 430918 in Images of England). It had ceased to be used as a place of quarantine by 1860.
The half relief buildings in “London Row” are, from left to right:
- Dorset House, 62-64 High Street; based on an 1864 photograph by William Harding (little altered and grade 2 listed; see image 430568 in Images of England).
- No. 66 High Street; based on an 1864 photograph by William Harding (now much altered and grade 2 listed; see images 430635 and 430568 in Images of England).
- Crown House (Commercial Inn), 35-37 High Street; based on an 1864 photograph by William Harding (see “East Grinstead Photographers E-L”) (now drastically altered and grade 2 listed; see image 430920 in Images of England).
- Literary and Scientific Institute, London Road; although not erected until 1888, this was an appealing basis for a model as it mimics an earlier style. It is loosely based on early 20th century photographs, including one taken in the 1930s (see “East Grinstead Photographers E-L”). For many years it was William Harding’s place of work. After demolition its clock was placed on a plinth by the London Road bridge over the railway (on right in modern photo).
An important source of reference is the online edition of The History of East Grinstead by W.H. Hills (Farncombe, 1906). There is also an East Grinstead section in an online history of The Weald.
Backscene
As with Rowfant Grange, the backscene will be photographic and based entirely on local scenes. However, East Grinstead is not the rural market town that it was is the 1870s and therefore the bulk of the backscene has had to be captured elsewhere. Views towards Highbrook, from just north of Horsted Keynes, proved a suitable basis for the background and these were stitched using Panorama Factory (v.1.6 © John Strait; see web site). A few street scenes photographed in London Road and High Street were then edited to remove all obvious post-1900 features and added onto the country background. Test prints were made and arranged on the layout; the main scenes being a mirrored view of a section of the High Street placed at the right hand end of the layout (photo); plus a montage of buildings, including the Constitutional Buildings which stand across the end of London Road, used here to stand across the end of “London Row” (photo).
Stock
The stock will largely be as my Rowfant Grange layout (and see also Scratch Builds web page).
Links and Sources
Link to Disused Stations website:
· East Grinstead Station, including photos of the original station in 1860
Sources: The 1855 plan is based on a map by Peter Winding (1986, Bluebell News 28: 64-67); the other two prototype plans are based on a variety of sources.
Text and photos copyright.
IMW