Hookwood

Owned by: Jim Bryant

Gauge: EM, Scale: 4mm-1ft, 11ft 2in x 18 in

BR Southern 1960s, Surrey/Kent Border

When the railway reached the small village of Westerham in July 1881, it was assumed by the local populace that it was only a matter of time before the line was extended to the Oxted, a mere 4 miles away. As it turned out, due to the enormous cost of the engineering works this would have entailed it did not happen.

However, for the purposes of this layout, I have assumed that the extension to Oxted was built by the South Eastern & Chatham Railway to provide them with a secondary route to the South East ports.

The model depicts the small country station of Hookwood, about 1 mile NE of Oxted as it might have appeared in the 1960s.

The station building and goods shed are scratch built and are based on the originals at Westerham.

The locos are mostly modified RTR, using Ultrascale wheels and A1 detailing kits. The 2 Bil EMU is an Ian Kirk kit with a Branch Line motor/gearbox and detailing kit. Wagons are mostly kit built with appropriate detailing and EM society wheels, Sprat & Winkle couplings are used with strategically placed electromagnets on the layout.

The layout features working signals and the flashes of simulated arcing from the third rail.