The Groudle Glen Railway - A walk along the line

Lehn Coan

Photograph by James Waite 1969 - Narrow Gauge Heaven

Photograph taken by Dr Neil Clifton 1971

The Isle of Man

The Isle of Man was some where I visited as a child in 1993. I think my Dad rather convienently managed  to time our visit with the 100th Aniversary celebrations of the year of railways 1893-1993. I too have picked up this quality of holidaying in certain locations next to railways and steam galas, much to the annoyance of my girl friend.

I remember having a super holiday, riding on The I.O.M Steam Railway, The Manx Electric Railway, Snafel Mountain Railway and the Groudle Glen. It really felt like going back in time. There were many events such as steam on the Manx Electric Railway and passenger trips on the ex Donegal Rail Bus. One of my fondest memories was walking around the engine sheds at Douglas with my Dad. We ventrured into the now demolished Coach sheds and at the back found to No 5 Mona and No 9 Douglas. Both locomotives have since been moved and cacooned inplastic because of asbestos.

Isle of Man photographs July 2010 and August 2010

Groudle Glen Railway - The beginnings of an 09 project

The Groudle Glen Railway has always been a fascination of mine since visiting the railway as a small boy in 1993. I can remember walking through the gates to the Glen and wondering our way through the wooded valley to Lhen Coan station. A magical place with a small stream running through the middle and sunlight streaming through the gaps in the trees. The first sight of the railway or first indication a railway existed was a small puff of smoke rising high through the trees

Brief History of the Line 

The Groudle Glen Railway dates back to the 1890's when the true narrow gauge railway was built to cater for a holiday population whose ideals were short walks and the taking of bracing sea airs.

In the late 1890's local entrepreneur Richard Maltby Broadbent obtained a lease on the land surrounding the Groudle river from the Howstrake Estate. The area was developed as an attraction for visitors. In 1893 the Groudle Hotel was completed and the Manx Electric Railway officially opened as far as Groudle in September of the same year. The Glen was developed with rustic bridges over tumbling streams. A rocky inlet in the cliffs was dammed and closed off with sea lions and polar bears being introduced. The construction of a two foot gauge railway from the upper part of the Glen at Lhen Coan to the new zoo atttractions began. The line was built using entirely local labour during the winter of 1895-1896. A steam locomotive 'Sea Lion' and three passenger coaches arrived for the opening of the new railway on the 23rd of May 1896. The new railway was an immediate success, so much so that extra coaches and a second steam locomotive 'Polar Bear' were acquired in 1905.

Following the first world war the two steam locomotives were replaced for a short period by battery electric locomotives. The battery locomotives proved unsuccessful and the steam locomotives were overhauled and returned to service. Following the second world war the railway re-opened with only 'Polar Bear' operating as far as the headland. The line to the terminus at Sea Lion Rocks was unsafe and the zoo had closed. The railway continued operating summer seasons up until 1962.

The following years saw the removal of the two steam locomotives and the remains of the coaches. The buildings were demolished and the rails removed, the line became overgrown and forgotten.

Preservation

In 1982, the Isle of Man Supporters Association launched a plan to restore the line and work began clearing twenty years worth of undergrowth that had reclaimed the trackbed. In time for December 1983 a short section from the old lime kiln to the headland had been re-built and the railway commenced its operation. Gradually the line was relaid to the glen terminus of Lhen Coan and a station was created at the headland with run-round facilities. The railway was officially re-opened on 23 May 1986 by Carolyn Rawson as part of the Manx Heritage Year. The most significant event at this time was the return of the original steam locomotive "Sea Lion" in September 1987. By 1991 the decision had been made to excavate the final section of the line from the headland loop to the former terminus at Sea Lion Rocks and the run-round loop was lifted at the end of the 1991 season when the major earthworks began to relay the original section to the outer terminus.

The extension, recreating the line to its original three quarter-mile length was duly opened on 23 July 1992, and this was followed in 1993 with the opening of the distinctive Swiss-style station canopy at Lhen Coan. It was during this year that "Polar Bear" also returned to the glen for a visit. It was a time of great change for the line, with many improvements being introduced by the volunteers. Visiting locomotives were a feature in 1995 (Chaloner andRishra) and in 1998 as part of the Steam 125 event marking the anniversary of the island's main railway. Planning permission was granted in 1999 for the volunteers to erect a replacement station building at Sea Lion Rocks and by the summer of 2000 work was well in hand. The station building opened the following year but it was in 2003 that the interior of the station was completed and since this time it has proved to be the major draw to the railway, aside from the unique steam locomotives. The station and surrounding area have since received much attention as ongoing projects and the development of the site has also revived interest in the amazing zoo that once drew in the crowds, the remains of which are still viewable from the station site.

A selection of photographs taken in August 2010

Hockenhull Platts Railway - 7mm Narrow Gauge

'Bear' shunts the remaining stock as the sun sets, the final day the line ran before it was closed for good.

The Build

I have transferred this over from ngrm-online to show thoughts and the decision making process.

Post subject: Hockenhall Platts Railway 7mm 0-16.5                       Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 7:30 pm


Hockenhull Platts Railway

7mm Narrow gauge on 00 Track


I have decided to kick start my interest in model railways again and commit to a

project for 2010. The layout needs to be small 56iches x 12 inches (space an issue)

simple (haven???t built a layout for 15 years) interesting (no generic boring terminus)

 detailed (finescaleish) and Cheap (I have pennies rather than pounds!). So with this in

mind I have racked my brains to try and come up with something. After a few failed

track plans in 7mm it became very obvious there was no space, not even for my

diminutive 0-4-0 tanks to chug on, so I moved to 4mm. This seemed like a logical

step but I have got a little used to the larger scale and was keen to stay there. So back

to the drawing board. Then after seeing an article on the Sand Hutton Railway I

thought, 7mm narrow gauge on

HO track this is the answer! 

I have toyed with welsh narrow gauge in the past but with the space limit I felt I

couldn???t recreate a typical welsh scene so I put it on the back burner. Seeing the

Sand Hutton Railway reminded me of pictures of Estate railways such as the Eaton

Hall line, they were all a bit of a hotch potch and would allow me to have some artistic

licence with the stock and track plan. I had also seen some pictures of Rev Teddy

Boston???s railway with the locomotives surrounded by trees and bushes. I realised I

could squash a layout in a confined space, make it believable but also create

something quite unique. So this is where I am up to.

The Fictitious Hockenhull railway runs along the river Gowy, Cheshire from

Hockenhall to connect with the main line at Saighton. The line serves local Estates

a number of flour mills and a Salt works. It was originally intended that the railway

would continue east but financial restraints quashed any progress. The motive power

consists of worn-out Hunslet and Peckett tank engines from the welsh quarries.

These like the stock have seen better days and will no doubt see there final days on

the Line.

I have included a map of the line

Post subject: Re: Hockenhall Platts Railway 7mm 0-16.5 Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 7:34 pm Posted 05 January 2010 - 19:35  Over the last few days I have built the base boards for the railway. Originally the layout was only one board but this has since doubled in size. Because of space limitations I have had to build two base boards 52 inches by 12inches, these fit together to produce an overall length of 104inches. Although it is quite narrow I believe I will be able to produce a reasonably spacious layout. The baseboards are built firstly by constructing a 52 x 12 inch grid frame using 3 x 1 inch pine. This is glued and screwed together with middle brace bars to stop warping. On top of this 10mm plywood has been again screwed and glued into place. I was not sure about all the scenic elements so I sunk a lower board in to form part of the river and cut a hole for a turntable. After a cuppa I found I had a lot of wood left over so I built another 52 inch by 12inch grid frame and then called it a day. After some quickly drawn plans I decided the second board would be a scenic run to a salt works and in the future perhaps lead to a third board but that is a distant future dream besides I have no wood left! I cut out another river/stream and cut two large lakes either side of the proposed track bed to form a wharf. At one end there will be a quay? This will look something like the Lion salt works. Anyway I have attached some pictures of the boards and some ideas of the track plan Post subject: Re: Hockenhall Platts Railway 7mm 0-16.5 Posted: Mon May 24, 2010 7:36 pm Posted 05 January 2010 - 20:00  Thought I should include a quick sketch of the layout plans from above and what it  should look like from the sides going to build some building mock ups tonight! Posted 18 April 2010 - 13:24 Thank you for all the comments, I am sorry not to have replied but a house move, bad internet connections and a holiday have prevented any modeling progress and replies. I have now finally been able to get around to some modeling and I can now update the latest progress. Since my last post I have built, painted and weathered some of the locomotives and stock see link LOCOMOTIVES. I have made attachments to fix the boards together and have now begun to tackle track work and Buildings. I decided to use peco track, I have seen some wonderful handmade 7mm track on this site but due to limited amounts of time it seemed more sensible to use off the shelf items to ease the construction of the layout. The track has been laid to my original plan but slightly modified so there is enough room for stock to pass one another and give an impression of unplanned narrow gauge line. The layout has been partially wired up with isolated sections in the sidings and allow for two operaters to run trains. Due to my descision to have a number of bridges and not really planning to scale my intentions the railway has shrunk somewhat. I think I hadn't accounted for the size of the points which has resulted in a rather cramped yard, but despite this I feel it gives a prototypical impression of estate narrow gauge lines. The track plan has also been modified between the two bridges to include another siding this is still being developed but will be laid in the next week or so. Once this is completed the track will be filled so only the rails can be seen, giving the impression of a rather rundown railway. Other developments include the building of one bridge, water tower and turntable. The bridge is made of plasticard strips and is loosly based on one shown on the Sand Hutton Railway, I am currently constructing another but this will be planked I think (just to add interest). The turntable is the second I built the first resembling something you might get on a standard gauge line, this prooved very tricky and fragile and was later modified with the addision of planking as seen now. The water tower is again scratch built using wills bridge sections and plasticard, it needs detailing and painting. I have also made mockups of two of the other buildings on the line, one is going to be a wooden workshop/lifting shop and the other a corrugated light maintainance shed. I am also going to build a covered section near the turntable. I have afree day so its time to crack on with the layout, more pictures to come Any comments welcome best Tim Posted 20 April 2010 - 10:50  Thank you for the comments I have been quite busy, I have nearly completed a number of the buildings on  the layout : 1. The maintainance Shed just needs some corrugated plastic card for the roof  and brick work sides. It is built out of layered 1mm plasticard with the details  scorn onto the top to simulate wooden planking. The size was determinded by  the largest lcomotive I have and the space in the siding 2. The little covered section is made out of strips of plastic and only requires  corrugated plastic card for the roof. This is quite small and provides shelter  for one of my hunslet style locomotives. 3. The engine shed/lifting shop just needs a tiled roof or corugated not sure  which? It again was built out of 1mm plastic card which was scorn to simulate  wood. I am really happy with this one, I added some very simple beams inside  and swinging doors at either end to let the light in. The roof has small windows  cut in that allow just enough light to illuminate the space. I decided to paint it  dark grey inside to add contrast between the light and the dark. I love seeing  pictures of little engines hidden in old crampt sheds. The space to the side will  be filled with machine equipment etc I can just squeeze 2 small hunslet type  locomotives inside, I think one will have to be in a part built condition, perhaps  poking out the back? 4. The water tower still requires the hose etc but these are on there way. I have included some shots of the shed and buildings during construction. Next job is to design and build the salt works, a bit of research and some  careful planning I think over the next few weeks. Posted Today, 18:39 Its been quite a hectic one this last month or so and unfortunately not on the model front but I have managed to catch up with things. Progress has resumed on the track plan which now may I say has again been halted. I am not sure a bout the second base board and may even include a third, (very small, basically a strip of track to a small station). I am thinking about this after the turntable. It would allow more scope for stock and also allow a station which has gradually disapeared from the original. While I ponder on these 2 boards I thought it best to begin working on the one I am most happy with. The track has all been wired up with at least 2 isolated sections in each siding, this is to allow locos to be exchanged to run on different trains. I could not afford point motors so I attached strong wire to the point motion and covered it in brass tube, on the operater side a small knob has been added so points can be changed without the big hand in the sky! The knobs are concelled behind lumps of scenary and prove very affective if alittle time consuming to install, ( picture shows knob end with scenary over top). Next job was to bury the track this was done with self drying clay, carefully pushing it in to the sleepers, very boring and difficult when tackling points, but again effective. Next job was to bring the landscape upto track level. I opted for a rather haphasard solution. I built up layers of card soaked in pv and water, this dries hard but also warps and bends allowing small hills and slopes to appear. This is not ideal if you know what your after but it certainly creates some intersting sections that can develop naturally. I then added a liberal speading of poly filler, this is sometimes poured, which again creates some interesting sections especially by the river. Unfortunatley I didn't take any photos of this but I think it all comes out in the set of photos below. The land was all painted in dark colours, this was to allow depth when adding the lighter mini nature scenary and sand track bed. I used system 3 acrylic which when mixed creates a lovely base coat. I have been playing around with some of the buildings in different positions as it became clear areas where getting overcrowded. Anyway I have attached the images of where I am up to but I will put some more on tomorrow which shows an almost complete board with scenary and buildings. I have also included some pictures of the locomotive fleet which have been growing slowly when I have a spare moment or too I have taken some pictures of the first board with most of the scenary complete. I need to add fense posts, a number of trees, some large bushes on the back section, paint 2 of the buildings, add ponit levers, add general mess and locomotive parts barrels etc around the work shop and insert some people in and about the buildings and static lcomotives. The buildings, water tower, buffer stops etc need to be fixed in place, they were only placed to give some idea of where things are going. I have added a coaling stage and added a scrap junk pile by the workshops. The scenary is all mini nature, using spring and winter grass mixed together and then adding various scales of foilage on top. The little river is very overgrown and has had sand to form the base. I will probably add some varnish in and about the place to look like water and oil. The ballast is very fine sand and grit from the garden which I think looks pretty good. I have also bought some mini nature tufts of grass but the spring version looks a bit bright so I have ordered some winter tufts instead. A thankyou must go to Dave and his 2010 entry Waton, without that I would never have seen the mini nature products used so effectively, cheers. Progress on the locomotives has been alittle slow, but they are taking shape. 2 of them are static but they can be shunted around the yard. I plan to have at least 4 part built locomotives for shunting around the different sidings. These will all be in different states of repair etc I have started work on the second board, slightly modifying the track plan and buring the track. There will be a small station/halt to service the line and perhaps a terminus after the end with the turntable, but we will have to see. I think like any layout I have ever had I have over indulged on the locomotive front, still the line up of hunslets does remind me of some pictures taken by Ivo Peters in Dinorwic I have posted a number of images of progress  Post subject: Re: Hockenhall Platts Railway 7mm 0-16.5Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:05 am Unfortunately progress has been slow on the layout. The second board is  still without scenery and it has been put in store. When I built the layout I  had a good space to work and run it, but like many things the space was  required for something else. I hope to get the main board finish by  Christmas as I should have somewhere more accessible by then. Part of  the reason why I have begun a new layout in 09 (The Cutlery box) was so  I could continue modeling. I have also found that although 7mm is a lovely  scale to work on it does take up a lot of room and 009/09 is becoming a  much more appealing option. I do have a number of 0-16.5 locos that are  about to come out of the paint shop, maybe a photo opportunity this week  but we will see. The Last Post made.  The layout now sold on to a new owner May 2011