Thank you Mr Berners-Lee

The majority of research that I have done for Rowfant has been done from my laptop siting at home. The internet is a very powerful tool that I like to think I use responsibly. My laptop is also a tool that I use a lot as well and even goes away with us on cruises. Part of my routine is to go back and periodically recheck web sites and use various search engines using Rowfant Station and Grange Road Station as the basis. Another great source of in formation is the SEmG forum. This has answered many of my question that I have had. Well in the past week I did my trawl and on Flickr I discovered several new shots of both Rowfant and Grange Road. As normal I look through any new discoveries to see if there are any of my unanswered question that can be resolved. Well this week several items have been resolved. One for Grange Road was the wording on one sign. The SEmG forum had given me several options on what was written on the sign.

 

 

The wording is No Exit, Way out through Booking Hall. This was to ensure passengers did not escape via the level crossing. The other questions all concerned Rowfant. One was surprise. I knew there was a Scotch Derrick for use by the adjacent wood yard. I thought this would be a simple hand operated crane. One picture shows clearly that there is a cab structure. I had a few questions regarding the oil sidings and emptying equipment. Firstly there are two sidings most OS maps only showed one siding. I can also see a lot more detail of the equipment and fence so hopefully a more accurate model can be made.

 

So a moral here is the same as for measuring check check and check again oh and again..... 



M7 but not any hold ups!

Well the birthday fairy has been generous to me in the past couple of days. No I did not get held up on any part of the Motorway network just used a part of the M5 to get to Cheltenham. But I did find in the Cheltenham Model Centre a very good second-hand Hornby M7. The number of the locomotive is slightly wrong for Rowfant so it may well get a number change. However it is a long frame Pull Push fitted example so initially I can live with inaccuracy. 30108 the number of the model was stationed at both Brighton and Horsham so it could have ended up running through Rowfant at some point. So modeller's licence will come into play again. 

Rowfant 3D

Sorry its not a CGI I-Max special showing you a horror movie based on a make believe Ghost story from Rowfant House. Mind you as I progress it may turn into my own horror story but time will tell. It is in fact a brief up date on the building of the DC Kits model of the 3D Demu unit one of the major pieces of equipment needed for a model of Rowfant.

So far the bodies have been made. I need to adjust some of the sides but in essence they are complete. The next stage is to look at the underframes. I am also considering building the interiors on a piece of Plasticard adding the seats and partitions and painting before they are installed. There is a need to cover over the top of the power bogie. This is located in the engine compartment so I am going to build a higher false floor with a representation of the EE 4SRKT. I want to install DCC so will find away of locating the de-coder in the roof this may need a false ceiling as well. I have not as yet decided the colour scheme there are a couple of options or I may just have to have several units instead. 

Holiday season

Sorry for the short break but we have just been off for a cruise around the Med. However did manage to see trains in both Cadiz and Venice. Thank you Mr Cunard!
Now back to the project in hand. Whilst on-board I was able to get from the ships library and read a couple of books. One was Pete Waterman's "Just like the real thing" about his model of Leamington Spa. A good coffee table book. Its a little light but has some good suggestions and thoughts and some very good photography. His layout is magnificent but its not the kind of layout I would like. To run it properly he needs a team of operators which he has of course but what about when he's on his own. I am a one man band and therefore just want a layout that I can be comfortable with. Yes I would love to model say Redhill or Southampton Central but I could not operate it as the moves would be too complicated. However could we see in the future DCC control operating some of the moves. It may be that instead of programming a chip for a loco the chip now becomes programmed as a train describer. Could you then have a computer set the train departing as per the timetable with the operator acting as a signalman setting up the routes etc. In my mind this could be ideal for Rowfant.
Well back to the model now that summer is over more time can now be spent on the final planning. The model is going to be located in my garage so a little tidy up is called for and then baseboards can be built. I will also be getting to work on the 3D kit that is partially built. One scenery item that I am try to find out about is the Scotch Derrick that was located in the timber yard. I have been trying to find one to look at to see how it works. At long last I have now located a derelict example. This is in a garden features supply yard next to the A4 at Hungerford. So next time we are off to Southampton there may well be need for a brief comfort stop with the camera! Thank you Mr Cunard............

A couple of shots

At long last I have got around to taking a couple of photos of progress on the mock up's front.

Above are the drawings laid out on cereal packet. At the top is the outline of the signal box and below are the two main buildings.



 

Above are all three of the buildings.

 

 

 

Just a close up of the Main Station Building from the Platform side.

 

All of the buildings have been made in the best possible Blue Peter tradition. These are only to be used for planning. I am looking at the two main buildings being scratch built in Plasticard. It will be the excellent ABM kit for the Signal Box. As I have said before this kit is based on the Grange Road Box. Grange Road is a crossing box and not a signal box. Rowfant's box is a signal box as it controlled the tablet instruments. The only modification of the kit that is needed is that the steps have to be turned through 90 degrees.



 





Buildings again

Well once I completed outline models of the three buildings I was not happy. Firstly the main station building looked too small. So I tweaked the drawing and it scaled out better to a few of the dimensions on the drawing. Ok I am happy with the re-scale and built a new model. Now looking at the platform building it just does not look right. In my view it looks too big. However when I scaled out the floor plan it seams to be correct. So out with ruler again! Floor plan correct  but elevations probably wrong. So where do I go to now. Is there a point on the building that could be used as a reference. One item that stands out for me is the size of a door. So 6ft 6ins high or 26mm. What I will do is scale the elevation to get the door size correct and then re-draw the elevations to match the floor plan. Hopefully then all the buildings will match. We wait and see. 

It's all about detail.

I like to consider that being able to create the model I want is going to be about some of the small details. For some people its about running there favourite locomotives and stock for others its scenery. For others its being exact to scale that's important. I was brought up reading the Railway Modeller and must admit a couple of railways stand out for me. The first was the late Peter Denny's Buckingham Branch. This in my mind is a very believable model of what could have been the GCR branch to Buckingham. I do have the Peco book written by the late Reverend. The other was David Jenkinson's Garsdale road sometimes know as the Little Long Drag. There are many other models that stand out for me as well. Once recent model that I managed to see early this year at Bristol is Gordon Gravetts Pempoul based on the Reséau Breton. This last example I consider to be a fascinating study of how a model can be based on the style of a particular company/line.

So what are my thoughts in respect of Rowfant. I look at building this model in stages so once baseboards are completed then first stage is trackwork. I am hoping to use C&L Finescale products for all the scenic sections and Peco track for fiddle yard etc. The electrics will be installed to match DCC operation. At this stage I am looking at installing the signalling. Then the first of the structures. Firstly will be the platforms followed by the main station and platform buildings.

Then comes what I call the detail. I have for a few years been studying as many photographs of Rowfant as possible and each time it seams that I can see details that I can add. There are two relay boxes one by the Signal Box the other on the back of the platform close to the main station building. Platform furniture is also important so a couple of platform seats and several gas lamps. Then comes the barrow crossing but also a planked covering of the signal rodding as it exits the signal box. Platform fencing will also be important as well as the level crossing gates.

In the early days of my investigations the design of oil siding equipment eluded me. This was until I discovered The beginners Guide to Model railway Good services web site: 

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gansg/7-fops/fo-petrol.htm

Here before my eyes was an outline of the unloading gantry scaled for N gauge but at least a basis that can be used to model the instillation.

So what next to discover. Part of the goods yard also served as a sawmill. Several of the sawmill buildings still exists. One item that has gone is the Scotch Derrick so another item to investigate.  

Check, check and then check again!

I printed out the scaled drawings for both the main station building and the platform building. These I mounted on to card. I had raided my recycling bin for a couple of Rice Krispie packets. Away I went cutting out and building in the best Blue Peter fashion(no sticky back plastic). Each building slowly formed and individually they looked ok. I had also copied the Grange Road signal box and built this as well. But, when the buildings where put together something did not look right. It was either the platform building was too large or was the main station building too small. Ok out with the ruler and start checking. I went back to the drawings for the platform building. I honed in on one particular measurement when scaled out it appeared that the platform building was too large. But just to double check I looked for another dimension to check. This was from a plan of building and showed the width of the main waiting room. Oh dear this scaled out correctly so a double check on a couple of other measurements showed that the scale I had was correct. So I had initially picked on the one figure that was probably wrong but not a problem as the drawings I had created where reasonably accurate.
So back to the main building. I again checked against a couple of dimension. Yes I was out by a few millimetres so a quick re-scale and out with the glue and scissors again. Hopefully now I can get back onto the planning.
Moral to all of this is the check check and double check again and again! 

What am I planning

So I am going to build a model of Rowfant Station in Sussex located on the Three Bridges to Tunbridge Wells branch. How am I proposing to achieve this. It will be modelled in 4mm OO gauge. What am I going to use. For track work on the scenic section I will be using C&L finecast track(C&L just happen to be down the road) and Peco streamline in fiddle yards etc. I hope to have DCC control with possibly some sound. I would like to have working signals, there are both rail built and Southern lattice signals to add to the interest. The period will be a little bit flexible from the early 1950's to 1967 when the station closed. This covers the transition from steam and the beginnings of the rail blue era.

So what types of trains would I like. Well surprisingly there is quite a variety. A 3D a DC kits model is already on the work bench may be joined by a Kernow 2H(especially if they do the centre coach). An M7 and pull push set. Several 33's both the normal width and a slim jim. I have a three car rake of Bullied coaches and will also add some Maunsells and BR Mk1s. For the regular oil trains Class A type tankers marked Shell Mex for power a class 37. There is also rumour's that a class 31 was seen on the tanks. I will also using modellers licence to include a class 47 a class 08 and an Electro Diesel. Other trains include a mixed goods including Banana vans from Lingfield. There was a regular operation from Lingfield via East Grinstead yard on a Saturday morning. A steam era PW train and a pick up goods. The majority of the above will be proprietary models from the likes of Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol. 

I have a wish list for the mainstream manufactures please can I have the following: An "H" a "C2X" and an I3.    

Just a quick photo from Rowfant. In the beginning of July I managed a quick drive down Wallage lane. I needed to get some measurements to try and scale a drawing I already have of the main station building. Whilst there I did a quick photo shoot. Below is a shot of the porch that was built for Lamson's coachman.

So why did I have to measure? I have some drawings but without scale and only a few dimensions what I needed was one linear dimension. So driving back from Southampton via Sussex(don't ask). I managed to get a rough measurement of the north side of the building. This equated to 52ft 6ins. So I scaled this out to 209mm in OO scale. I used this on the jpeg I have of the drawing. I cropped the drawing down so that the size of side equalled the 209mm. Now I have a reasonable 4mm scale drawing. I was able to check some of the dimensions that where on the drawing and these scaled out as well. I now could use the first drawing to scale the other sides of the building. So I have now got what appears to be scale drawings not only for the main building but also the platform waiting room. 

Where do I start

Where do I start. Well what's in a name is a good point. I am a member of the SEmG The Southern E-mail group(http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/SEmG/). When ever I ask questions about Rowfant or Grange Road I normally say Rowfant again hence the name of this blog.

But why Rowfant?  Its a combination of things that have occurred over many years. I was brought up in Surrey and lived next to the Brighton Line through the late 50's and then through the swinging 60's right up to the late 70's. As a family we would go out in the car on weekend drives these would crisscross both Surrey and Sussex. As my late father was also into railways there would be the odd excursion just to cross a railway or two! So during the 60's I would have been taken down Wallage lane on at least a couple of occasions. Then in 1975 my sister and her husband bought there first house in Crawley Down(Grange Road). Now there where regular trips to see my sister firstly with my parents and then on my own once I was mobile first on a moped and then in a car. Although slightly out of the way a trip down Wallage lane seamed to happen frequently!

My interest stayed in the back of my mind until two things occurred. Firstly I bought the Vic Mitchell/Keith Smith's book "Branch Lines to East Grinstead" and I then discovered the Disused Stations web-site(http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/sites.shtml). This web-site is a fabulous mine of information and just happened to have a whole section on railways serving Tunbridge Wells West including covering the branch from Three Bridges to East Grinstead.