SWING 2010

SELSEY TOWN STATION – 1925 - O scale and gauge

Exhibited by Keith Smith - Picture copyright Matt Hibberd

The Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway opened in August 1897 and was constructed under the supervision of its engineer, Holman F. Stephens. Built as a tramway to reduce costs, with lightweight rail and without having to provide normal safety measures at road crossings, the line was able to operate for many years without any legal authority. In 1924 the railway received a new title – the West Sussex Railway – possibly in an effort to encourage a takeover by the newly created Southern Railway. This was never to materialise and a steady decline in traffic forced this line to close finally in 1935.

The layout portrays a fairly accurate scene of Selsey as it would have appeared in 1925 and is modelled at a scale of 7mm to the foot (known as ‘O’ gauge). The baseboards for the layout were constructed professionally by Old Barn Model Craftsman, who also laid the Marcway hand built lightweight track work and installed the electrics. The back scene was painted by a friend and local artist, Lawrie Crisp, and is a good representation of the scene at this time.

Locomotives running on the layout have been constructed in the main by John Chillman, a member of the Wittering and District Railway Circle, and painted by Colin Hayward.

The scenery has been built using a variety of methods, as have the buildings which are all scratch built. The railway bungalow under construction and the blacksmith’s barn are both figments of my imagination, but have been added to create interest.