Recommended books for Guildford - Redhill - Tonbridge - Ashford workings

[Olive_Green1923]

As the title suggests, I'm looking to obtain some good books about the line between Guildford, Redhill, Tonbridge and Ashford in the 1920s / early 1930s.

 

Appreciate there may be different books for different sections (indeed I have just ordered three Middleton Press books for Reading-Guildford, Guildford-Redhill & Redhill-Ashford).

 

Overall, just hoping to get a good picture of how the line(s) operated post-1923. I'm particularly interested to find out whether / how :

 

- Trains ran through between Guildford and Ashford (reversing at Redhill), or were there were separate trains for different sections?

 

- And did the Southern draw on LBSCR / LSWR stock as well as SECR stock to run services on part (or all of) the route? Or were pretty much all the trains ex-SECR? + Did the workings / timetable continue to reflect pre-1923?

 

Essentially I'm scoping out potential layout locations on this route where I could model a small station & goods yard and run a mix of LBSCR and SECR stock. Gomshall or Chilworth look like potential candidates.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

[CHAZ D]

Country Railway Routes Guildford to Redhill

https://strathwood.co.uk/products/country-railway-routes-guildford-to-redhill?_pos=1&_psq=redhill&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

The Southern Way (search Strathwood)

Series many volumes (need searching by title

 

Southern Times  (search Strathwood)

Some in the first 6 volumes

 

I will check for others

 

Chaz

[bécasse]

Pre-grouping stock on the Southern Railway tended to keep to the lines of its former owners. There were exceptions, pull & push trains for example (see Mike King's book for comprehensive details although pull & push trains tended to be fairly rare on through routes) and, of course, the ex-SECR long tens which turned up as strengthening vehicles all over the network, plus other odd examples.

 

Typical stock on the Reading-Redhill-Tonbridge line, largely worked as an entity, and on stopping trains on the Tonbridge-Ashford line, would have been predominately ex-SECR birdcage 3-sets (of which there were more than one variety). Fast trains between Tonbridge and Ashford, and especially boat trains, would have been increasingly formed of Maunsell coaching stock, sometimes with Pullman Cars in the formation. Dedicated Maunsell stock would eventually have worked the odd through-to-other companies trains over the whole Reading-Ashford line, with the stock provided by the "other" company on alternate days.

 

I would add a word of warning about using historical photographs (say anything pre-mid 1950s) as they tend to give a very lopsided view of the operation of the railways. Most photographers worked Monday to Saturday lunchtime (but parsons had Monday off) and so a lot of photographs were taken on Saturday afternoons when the working of the railway tended to be rather different to the rest of the week even if the timetable looked similar. Furthermore, the sheer logistics of photography then meant that photos had to be taken sparingly and, not unnaturally, photographers tended to concentrate on the unusual rather than the everyday routine.

Edited March 5 by bécasse

[Olive_Green1923]

1 hour ago, bécasse said:

Pre-grouping stock on the Southern Railway tended to keep to the lines of its former owners. There were exceptions, pull & push trains for example (see Mike King's book for comprehensive details although pull & push trains tended to be fairly rare on through routes) and, of course, the ex-SECR long tens which turned up as strengthening vehicles all over the network, plus other off examples.

 

Typical stock on the Reading-Redhill-Tonbridge line, largely worked as an entity, and on stopping trains on the Tonbridge-Ashford line, would have been predominately ex-SECR birdcage 3-sets (of which there were more than one variety). Fast trains between Tonbridge and Ashford, and especially boat trains, would have been increasingly formed of Maunsell coaching stock, sometimes with Pullman Cars in the formation. Dedicated Maunsell stock would eventually have worked the odd through-to-other companies trains over the whole Reading-Ashford line, with the stock provided by the "other" company on alternate days.

 

I would add a word of warning about using historical photographs (say anything pre-mid 1950s) as they tend to give a very lopsided view of the operation of the railways. Most photographers worked Monday to Saturday lunchtime (but parsons had Monday off) and so a lot of photographs were taken on Saturday afternoons when the working of the railway tended to be rather different to the rest of the week even if the timetable looked similar. Furthermore, the sheer logistics of photography then meant that photos had to be taken sparingly and, not unnaturally, photographers tended to concentrate on the unusual rather than the everyday routine.

Thank you for this insight. The point about photography is one that I had never considered, but makes a lot of sense.

[Wickham Green too]

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/first-edition/Reading-Tonbridge-Line-R-W-Kidner/30981885345/bd might be of use ??!?

[Morello Cherry]

I assume you've seen these photos of Shere and Gomshall station:

 

https://www.sheredelight.com/train.html