the overseas railway ...

BRADING

Brading 30.12.1974 Copyright Rail Thing/Steve Sainsbury

FACEBOOK - REVERSING BEECHING - THE ISLE OF WIGHT

Back on 1974 the Isle of Wight was exotic and practically abroad - and was covered by the SR Rover ticket including the ferry crossing!

Late December 1974 and I found myself travelling from Littlehampton to Portsmouth Harbour, across the water to Ryde and then down to Brading (for the wax museum, now defunct). Brading had been the junction for the Bembridge branch, which sadly had closed 21 years before I reached there! A shame, as I'd like to have taken the trip to Bembridge!

Back in 1974 the station was still full of atmosphere and seemed well kept. The second platform where the Bembridge trains departed from was still intact with its buildings and the station has a passing loop. The signalbox still stood as well.

All in all a nice hit and run day to the island despite there only being about 8 hours of daylight available.

I haven't been back to Brading since 1975, except on a passing train. I need to get over to the island again, the last time I was there was before the reopening of Smallbrook Junction and the link to the steam railway.

Links

Rail Thing - Island Railways and Tramways

Hampshire Transport History

Southern Region Scene - 1970s

Rail Thing - Southern Electrics and DMUs

More info (from Wikipedia)

History

The station was opened in 1864 by the Isle of Wight Railway on the Ryde-Shanklin-Ventnor line. In 1882 it became a junction station, when the Brading-Bembridge branch line as part of the Brading Haven reclamation scheme. The branch line closed to passengers in 1953 and completely in 1957.

Under Southern Railway ownership, the passing loop was extended southwards from Brading to Sandown in 1927, forming a second section of double trackon the Island Line.

By the early 1980s Brading was one of the last stations on British Rail to retain gas lighting. In 1985 this changed; although the fittings were retained, they were converted from gas to mercury vapour usage. A few survive in 2010, now using compact fluorescent bulbs.

Brading signalbox closed on 28 October 1988. At this time, the passing loop at Brading station was removed, meaning that only one platform remained in use. This meant the end of 30-minute interval service on the line for over 25 years. By 1998 the signal box and branch platforms were very overgrown and the buildings were threatened with demolition. Brading Town Council stepped in and with the help of grants and volunteers the restored signal box and station buildings are home to a heritage centre, museum and Tourist Information Point.

Facilities

In August 2007 Brading Town Council announced a plan to revamp the exterior of the station buildings and former signal box. The station building houses a café, visitors' centre and bike hire shop. There is no railway staff presence at the station, tickets are issued from an automatic machine or from the guard on board the train. Trains for both directions leave from the same platform, as the line is presently single track.

In an online discussion, South West Trains' Managing Director Stewart Palmer stated that the company hoped Network Rail might reinstate the passing loop at Brading station by the middle of 2014, although the exact timescale depends on the line's resignalling.

Website - BRADING STATION HERITAGE EXHIBITION & VISITOR CENTRE

A closed station in south London

(Both 11.8.1973  Copyright Rail Thing/Steve Sainsbury)

FACEBOOK - DISUSED RAILWAYS

Just a few days after my 16th birthday I was using a Southern Region Rover ticket to get around some of the suburban lines in south London. One of the lines visited, in what was a haze of blue trains and green signed stations, was Addiscombe. This was on a very short branch line and was on the outskirts of Croydon (the 'threepenny bit' building by East Croydon station can be clearly seen in the second picture).

I had no idea at the time that this line was under threat, and I don't think anyone else did either. It was absorbed by Croydon Tramlink which now provides an excellent service around the area. I've no idea whether there are any remains as this was the only time I visited the line. In fact I've still to visit Tramlink though I did once glimpse a tram in the distance at Croydon when I was in the area on a non-rail visit!

Addiscombe tram stop (copyright Peter Trimming)

More info (via Wikipedia)

Addiscombe PC c1900

Area map 1908

Addiscombe railway station was a terminus to the east of central Croydon, on Lower Addiscombe Road between Hastings Road and Grant Road. The East India Way housing development stands on the site.

It was built with three platforms with extensive canopies, a fairly large station building and concourse, but the station was slowly run down. In 1956 platform 3 was closed and removed, and the goods yard closed in 1968. Through trains to London were withdrawn and the service reduced to a shuttle service to and from Elmers End. In 1993 the carriage depot was closed and around the same time the station became unstaffed with a PERTIS ticket machine outside the entrance.

When the signal box was burnt down in 1996 the line was reduced to single track and only platform 2 was used. The last train (an enthusiasts' railtour) was on the evening of Saturday 31 May 1997, which also visited the West Croydon–Wimbledon line, also closed that day.

After closure the station was derelict until its demolition in 2001.

History

Opened by the Mid-Kent Railway, it was part of the South Eastern Railway, which became part of the Southern Railway at the Grouping of 1923. After nationalisation in 1948 the line became part of the Southern Region of British Railways. When sectorisation was introduced, the station was part of Network SouthEast until the privatisation of British Rail. During its last years it received the railcode "NWW" and was in travelcard zone 5.

Addiscombe station in 1990

The station underwent several changes of name:

• 1 April 1864 - opened as Croydon (Addiscombe Road)
• 1 April 1925 - renamed Croydon (Addiscombe)
• 28 February 1926 - renamed Addiscombe (Croydon)
• 13 June 1955 - renamed Addiscombe
• 31 May 1997 - last train

The station was closed in preparation for the construction of Tramlink, opening in 2000 along the former line from Elmers End to Woodside, then following the line towards Sanderstead, which had closed in 1983. Addiscombe tram stop is half a mile to the east.

The site was used for the East India Way housing development. All that survives are sections of the walls formerly supporting the canopy and station buildings. Part of the line beyond has become Addiscombe Railway Park. In spite of the building being granted Grade II Listed status, the building was demolished to make way for the housing development. There had been a bid for the station to house a working railway museum, which Croydon Council opposed. So far, nobody has been prosecuted.

Baynards in 1977

FACEBOOK - REVERSING BEECHING - HORSHAM TO GUILDFORD LINE

Back in 1987 and armed with a motorbike and a light-leaking Zenith E camera I managed to visit a lot of closed lines around southern England.

Baynards was a strange little place on the useful Horsham to Guildford line, which closed in 1965. I did actually see this line being lifted, at Slinfold, a year or so later. By 1977 of course the track had been lifted for around ten years. The station was well preserved, with even the concrete nameboards still in place. There was no access to the station itself, but it was easy to get pictures.

These shots are now 38 years old  but recent shots of the station show it to be pretty much the same. Like many stations serving tiny places the building itself was substantial, and many have been converted to homes. Perhaps that's how many of these stations would have ended up, had not the energy crisis come knocking on all our doors!

This was a useful line, linking a number of smaller places, plus the larger town of Cranleigh, to both Guildford and Horsham. It was a commuter line and with hindsight an unbelievable closure taking this into account. Cranleigh is one of the larger towns still off the network and calls for reconnection have been uttered almost from the day the line closed. It is daft that even now in 2015 a town like Cranleigh should lack modern and sustainable transport. A recent ATOC report had Cranleigh as one of its top ten targets for quick reconnection - yet still there is procrastination. There are the beginnings of a revival group but with so many lines up for reopening it is still slow going. If you live in the area why not join the Facebook group and get a feel for what's happening. It would be great to see trains calling at Baynards again!

Surrey Border and Camberley Railway

FACEBOOK - RAIL THING - MINIATURE RAILWAYS

When I first started to take an interest in railways I quickly found that, even in pre-internet days - there was loads of information available, certainly on railways in Britain.

A few lines were a little more difficult to find information on. That hydro-electric line up in Scotland, the Rye and Camber, some of the Welsh NG lines. 

The SBCR was in a different league! I'd heard about it of course, there were even rumours that an ex-SBCR loco was running on the miniature railway less than a mile from my house. But real hard info was scarce. Had it really only been open for a year? Did it really have stations with overall roofs, double track and enormous debts? Did the war close it? Was there anything left (in 1970)?

Forty five years on and info is STILL hard to find on this line. There is a book, which I must try to get, and I suspect everything I want to know is in there. But a comprehensive Google search has ONLY got me this far -

'This interesting passenger carrying 10.25 inch gauge line.....recently changed its name to the Surrey Border &Camberley Railway. It will be recalled that the Farnborough Miniature Railway was built in some fields close by the road between Frimley and Farnborough. In the spring of the present year it sold the whole of its assets to a new limited liability company called the Surrey Border & Camberley Railway Limited, which was incorporated on January 22 last with an authorised capital of £15,000. The staff and management remain unchanged, however, and preserve the atmosphere and spirit of the original venture. A new line has now been built and extends about two miles from Frimley (on the London-Aldershot road) to Camberley, with stations named Farnborough Green, Cove Wood, Watchetts Wood, and Camberley (York Town). This line, which is of double track for the one mile between Farnborough Green and Cove Wood, was formally opened on July 23'

The SB&CR, to which the FMR gave birth, was a truly massive enterprise for a 10.25" gauge railway, which would not be repeated until the latter part of the 20th Century (with the Wells & Walsingham LR). It was a microcosm of a full scale public passenger railway. It ran a distance of more than two miles; was double track in part; was fully signalled; usually had more than one engine in steam; operated to a year round timetable; ran into monumental debt; ended up operating on a shoestring; closed on the outbreak of war; did not re-open afterwards; had a life of little more than a year; and is still spoken of today, in miniature railway circles, in tones of reverence and awe!'

TheI did have a wonderful stroke of luck when messing about on eBay. Somebody was selling a range of postcards, and that's what is illustrating this article! So a little more info is falling into place - any more info will be very welcome!

rover ticket 1973

6070 Sittingbourne 10.8.1973

1205 Redhill 10.8.1973

 7794 Littlehampton 11.8.1973

7048 Littlehampton 11.8.1973

FACEBOOK - 70s UK RAILSCENE

Back in August 1973 I'd just turned 17 and was beginning to explore the rail network in southern England. I think the Rover ticket cost about £15 (well over a week's wages back then!) There were two choices from where I lived in Littlehampton - westwards to Weymouth, up to Yeovil and across to Salisbury or eastwards into East Sussex and Kent.

These were a few shots taken on an eastwards trip over a couple of days. The top pic is Sittingbourne, I'd also covered the Sheerness branch and remember finding a disused miniature railway down by the seafront (no photos unfortunately - film was expensive!), and obviously returned via Redhill as that's where the second picture (of a 'Tadpole' unit) was taken later that day.

The next day I was back at Littlehampton for my onward trip - no doubt more pics will follow as I've found an old album from the attic!

These pics remind me that back in 1973 I was still cross I'd just missed the steam period - ten years earlier and who knows what lines I'd have travelled on and what shots I'd have got? At the same time looking back on these it strikes me just how much has changed since, and also just how much classic steam-era infrastructure still remained. I was lucky in a way that the glamour stuff didn't really interest me (then or now) but rather the everyday, and I hope my pics manage to convey some of the ordinariness of the times. Following on from that I think we should all be out photographing the everyday on our rail network - believe me you won't regret it. Forget steam specials, heritage lines and the obvious locations - your local line will have plenty of interest even now, if you look closely enough!

Trafford Park again

All copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing 13.5.1986

FACEBOOK - RAILS OF MANCHESTER

Five more shots from the industrial lines at the Trafford Park Estate in Manchester, taken on 13 May 1986. They all display the rather intimate nature of the mainly roadside route, though signs of disuse are rife as well!

There were at one time 18 miles of routes through the estate. Hopefully the lines will see further use in the future!

Further information

Bristol Temple Meads 1st April 2015

66 756 

66 756

43 004

158 956

150 106

150 106

All 1.4.2015 copyright Steve Sainsbury/Rail Thing

FACEBOOK  BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS STATION

Once a month I get to wait an hour or so at Bristol Temple Meads to meet my son off the train to Sway. He's blind so gets assistance on the trains, and I must say the service is fantastic. He loves travelling by train and gets all over the country. We sometimes forget that the railways are still a service, no matter how much they pretend to be 'just' a business, and they should be applauded for this.

So I get to record the station every time and even in the last six months a lot has happened. The vile parcels conveyor has gone and the towers that it connected are now beginning to go as well. The magnificence of Brunel's roof is now visible from that end of the station. Soon we'll also be seeing the physical signs of the electrification, and then of course the trains themselves. I also understand the original Brunel station, currently a car park, is also going to see tracks relaid, increasing the capacity of the station for trains if not cars!

I even got to see a class 66 hauled train, a nice bonus!