Another Railway Map

[NewburyDrinker]

I hope you don't mind me posting this here, but over the past few years I've been working on a railway map covering the passenger railways of Great Britain and it's now at the stage where I am happy with it and want to make it available to others. It's very much a work in progress, and I will make corrections now and again when I spot an error or see something missing from it.

I wanted something to depict open and closed lines, and I wanted a bit of colour in it, but not by reusing the colours that other excellent maps have used, so I decided to settle on the 6 regional colours that were part of the Nationalised British Railways of 1948.

This isn't a detailed track atlas, but more of a simplified route map, however I have tried to depict most junctions in sufficient detail albeit with some minor adjustment of lines to show the general layout of a junction. Most stations are shown but there's bound to be a few that I have missed, probably because they were short lived and never appeared on historical maps that are publicly available. There's also bound to be some misspelled names and where stations have been renamed, I am not showing the different names.

The regional colour allocation is generally correct for lines that actually were around in 1948 when nationalisation happened, but for lines that closed before nationalisation then it is pure fantasy on my behalf as to what colour they are shown in and that includes lines that remained private. Also, it's not always obvious where the boundary between 2 regions was actually placed, for example did the Scottish Region actually extend into England or was the Scottish/Midland and Scottish/North Eastern boundaries bang on the national border. Quite a few lines also were transferred from one region to another over time since the initial nationalisation.

I hope this map is of use to someone and any feedback or comments, positive or negative, gratefully received.

On a technical note, the map is in PDF format, and it is quite large, weighing in at about 4.5mb. It opens and displays perfectly in a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Viewer. It also opens using Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera browsers although it doesn't zoom in far enough for my liking but it is still readable at maximum zoom. However, it doesn't perform with the Firefox browser - although it opens, the image remains blurred and is useless. It seems to open and zoom in quite well in a PDF viewer on an Android smartphone, but I cannot confirm how well it performs on Apple devices, it should be ok I hope.

EDIT: Removed the attachment in this post - see post #38 for the newest version of the map.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Just to clarify, is the map intended to represent the GB railway network as at 1st January 1948, ignoring any line and station openings / re-namings, etc. since then?

P.S. You've spelt Altringham and Bowdon (station) incorrectly. Should be Altrincham and Bowdon.

Similarly Dunkingfield Central should just be Dukinfield Central and Mardsen should, of course, be Marsden.

Guessing there's likely to be quite a few other typos!

 

[Gloster]

Sampford Courtenay
Lympstone Commando
Ashey (Isle of Wight)

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A few more...

Lockstock Hall should be Lostock Hall.

East Disbury should be East Didsbury.

Seaforth & Litherhand should be Seaforth & Litherland.

Hunt's Cross shouldn't have an apostrophe in it.

Dunkingfield & Ashton should just be Dukinfield and Ashton.

Harper Hill should be Harpur Hill. (By the way, was the Cromford and High Peak line still continuous from here to Whaley Bridge in 1948?)

And was 'Measurements' not known as Measurements Halt in 1948?

Bettws-y-Coed should be Betws-y-Coed.

and one or two from down South...

Honour Oak Park should be Honor Oak Park.

Mark's Tey shouldn't have an apostrophe in it.

Thorpness should be Thorpeness.

Was the Southwold railway still around/operational in 1948?

Was Moulsecoombe station open in 1948? N.B. If you're including it, it should just be spelt Moulsecoomb.

 

[DelW]

I have to say that's very impressive - I imagine a good many hours of work must have gone into it! Thank you for posting it on here.

 

[etr221]

While like DelW I do find it impressive, so second his comment, I do have a couple of comments.

The first is that the station names are minute, only legible (for me) when I go to 400% magnification (and the pale colours used for non-open lines don't help) - but on the other hand, the legend/description (top right) is I find best at 50%.

Second is that I struggle to understand quite what it is trying to show: having chosen line colours to represent BR's 1948 regions, I would have expected it to show the situation at that time, with indication of what had already closed, and what would later close, or be built. And what is intended to be shown? You say 'all passenger lines', so I am surprised at some of your choices as to what to include (or not) - in particular the omission of HS1; London Underground (and other TfL) lines (and showing transferred lines as 'closed'), also T&W metro, and Liverpool Overhead and Swansea & Mumbles railways; while on the other hand Manx Electric is included (and I would point out the the Isle of Man is not part of Great Britain). And 'preserved' lines are included as open, but not otherwise distinguished - which makes the lines to and from Epping appear a bit odd to my way of thinking.

 

[Railsigns]

Achternsed -> Achterneed
Ballieston -> Baillieston
Belgrove -> Bellgrove
Cogar -> Gogar
Elvenfoot -> Elvanfoot
Fenceshouses -> Fencehouses
Garelochead -> Garelochhead
Glasgow Buchannan Street -> Glasgow Buchanan Street
Glimerton -> Gilmerton
Goodmanchester -> Godmanchester
Hitchen -> Hitchin
Kennetmont -> Kennethmont
Langholme -> Langholm
Larkhill -> Larkhall
Pollockshaws -> Pollokshaws
Pollockshields -> Pollokshields
Rushy Platt -> Rushey Platt

 

[jumble]

I hope you don't mind me posting this here, but over the past few years I've been working on a railway map covering the passenger railways of Great Britain and it's now at the stage where I am happy with it and want to make it available to others. It's very much a work in progress, and I will make corrections now and again when I spot an error or see something missing from it.

I wanted something to depict open and closed lines, and I wanted a bit of colour in it, but not by reusing the colours that other excellent maps have used, so I decided to settle on the 6 regional colours that were part of the Nationalised British Railways of 1948.

This isn't a detailed track atlas, but more of a simplified route map, however I have tried to depict most junctions in sufficient detail albeit with some minor adjustment of lines to show the general layout of a junction. Most stations are shown but there's bound to be a few that I have missed, probably because they were short lived and never appeared on historical maps that are publicly available. There's also bound to be some misspelled names and where stations have been renamed, I am not showing the different names.

The regional colour allocation is generally correct for lines that actually were around in 1948 when nationalisation happened, but for lines that closed before nationalisation then it is pure fantasy on my behalf as to what colour they are shown in and that includes lines that remained private. Also, it's not always obvious where the boundary between 2 regions was actually placed, for example did the Scottish Region actually extend into England or was the Scottish/Midland and Scottish/North Eastern boundaries bang on the national border. Quite a few lines also were transferred from one region to another over time since the initial nationalisation.

I hope this map is of use to someone and any feedback or comments, positive or negative, gratefully received.

On a technical note, the map is in PDF format, and it is quite large, weighing in at about 4.5mb. It opens and displays perfectly in a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat Viewer. It also opens using Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Opera browsers although it doesn't zoom in far enough for my liking but it is still readable at maximum zoom. However, it doesn't perform with the Firefox browser - although it opens, the image remains blurred and is useless. It seems to open and zoom in quite well in a PDF viewer on an Android smartphone, but I cannot confirm how well it performs on Apple devices, it should be ok I hope.

Romney Sands on RHDR
West Ruislip
Not sure Northwood should be there
Great effort mind.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I hope this map is of use to someone and any feedback or comments, positive or negative, gratefully received.

Be good now to hear back from @NewburyDrinker.

 

[NewburyDrinker]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

I knew I would have some spelling errors in the names, no matter how many times I went over this map, there were bound some I'd missed. I will of course correct them. Some are genuine fat finger mistakes or me reading one word and fingers adding or leaving out a letter. Others have come from following the names depicted in timetables too closely - eg Marks Tey - is in early Eastern Region timetables as Mark's Tey.

As for the period it covers - the 6 regional colours were meant to depict the state of the railways and what region a line ended up in as of 1st Jan 1948 with 2 obvious intentional errors - lines closed before 1st Jan 1948 didn't exist so weren't around to fall into a region, and lines built after the end of British Railways/British Rail again (eg the Selby diversion) didn't belong to a region in the traditional sense. Both should really be depicted with an alternative colour, but I wanted to stick to just the 6 colours so some fantasy has been used. Also I could have picked some other date after some lines had been transferred between a region, but then which reorganisation date? a few re-organisations happened after 1948.

As for the open or closed status of a line, bright or faded colour, that's based on the current day (ish) situation not 1st Jan 1948 or any other period. So to answer one question no the Southwold railway wasn't around in 1948 so shouldn't really be in blue, but in my fantasy it would have been part of the nationalised British Railways!

As for what passenger services should be included, the map started off as just showing standard gauge Big Four lines becoming British Railways, but then I wanted to include closed lines, so closed lines from the Big Four, and pre-grouping and constituent companies were included. Then there was the Southern Railway narrow gauge Lynton & Barnstable - what if that had lasted long enough and became part of the Southern Region. Then you can't there, the GWR's Vale of Rheidol, then what about the other Welsh narrow gauge. At the last minute I decided to include the IOM even though I know it's not part of Great Britain. Having then including all these "non British Railways" lines then yes I should also add the Liverpool Overhead Railway and the Mumbles - I did think about them including them, but for the LoR I wasn't sure I could fit it into neatly into the Liverpool area.

As for the zoomability, it's annoying that some browsers won't go beyond 500%, whereas true PDF viewers do go in much closer. I am experimenting with making the lines, the station circles and the station names a little bit larger, but that does then make it very cluttered and many junction areas then lose detail. From the start I did not want any station names sitting on top of track lines nor did I want load of names with arrows pointing to the actual station. If I were to enlarge the size of the text, then some names will have to sit over lines. I may drop all detail of junctions as well as bridge over indications and have lots of insert areas where the detail can then be seen.

The map was only ever done as a bit of fun, to kill time during lockdown, and to learn how to use vector graphic software. It's never going to be an accurate, historical record of Britain's railways of a given date.

Thanks again for the feedback and I will correct the errors and post a second version shortly, and I hope I have explained the questions asked, although I probably don't make much sense!

 

[NewburyDrinker]

Be good now to hear back from @NewburyDrinker.

I could only get round to replying this afternoon, and I've been typing a reply on and off for the past 2-3 hours! Hope I've answered now.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I could only get round to replying this afternoon, and I've been typing a reply on and off for the past 2-3 hours! Hope I've answered now.

No worries. Just trying to ascertain what you were intending to include in the map, and what you weren't.

The various place name typos are one thing, and can fairly straightforwardly be fixed in a revised version.

From the start I did not want any station names sitting on top of track lines nor did I want load of names with arrows pointing to the actual station.

Personal preference would be for the name of "principal" stations to be shown in situ, not just a number that is only explained in a marginal note, as is possibly the case in Central Glasgow, (as otherwise it seems a bit random to show the name of Anderston Cross (station) but not that of the nearby and much larger Glasgow Central).

However, it's your map, and your final say on what's included!

 

[NewburyDrinker]

No worries. Just trying to ascertain what you were intending to include in the map, and what wasn't.

The various place name typos are one thing, and can easily be fixed in a revised version.



Personal preference would be for the name of "principal" stations to be shown in situ, not just a number only explained in a margin note, as is possibly the case in Central Glasgow, as otherwise it seems a bit random to show Anderston Cross but not Glasgow Central.

However, it's your map, and your final say!

It's a good point - basically if the name would fit next to its station then it was placed there, but if the name wouldn't fit in the space, ie it went over the top of the actual lines, then it had to go off somewhere else and be referenced by a number. I did mull on whether to have GLASGOW in a larger font nearby and then abbreviate certain names as G. Central, G. Queen Street etc. I also wondered if to abbreviate names with HH, LL, JCT, CTRL for High Level, Low Level, Junction, Central etc.

Also to answer another point you raised - I deliberately did not want to differentiate between a halt and a station as many places changed from one to the other. Plus adding 'halt' then requires yet a bit more space for the text so 'Measurements' remains as that (I can't remember where it was anyway, I will have to search my own map to find it - found it, near Delph)

Actually that also highlights another point - station names are not based on what was displayed at a given time. If a station went through a series of renames, I may have used its first name, or I may have used its most recent name or any name in between!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

A few more possible typos..

Blairegowrie should be Blairgowrie.

Strome Ferry should be Stromeferry.

Was the Spean Bridge -> Fort Augustus line still operational in 1948?

 

[NewburyDrinker]

A few more possible typos..

Blairegowrie should be Blairgowrie.

Strome Ferry should be Stromeferry.

Was the Spean Bridge -> Fort Augustus line still operational in 1948?

Thanks for the corrections. I have corrected the errors that's been helpfully pointed out by you and others and I have an updated version, but I have a question on etiquette - is it best to delete the attachment in my original post and add the updated version into the original post, or make a fresh reply to this thread and add it there, leaving the original attachment in place?.

Fort Augustus closed to passengers in 1933 but under my "had it still been open it would have been placed in the Scottish Region of British Railways" rule, its shown as in the Scottish Region, but as closed!

 

[Bevan Price]

It opens OK with Firefox if you also have a pdf viewer set in Windows as default for viewing pdf files.
A very worthy effort.
One question - Appleby area. Was there ever a northbound connection from the NER line to the Midland line south of the Appleby stations ?

 

[DelW]

Thanks for the corrections. I have corrected the errors that's been helpfully pointed out by you and others and I have an updated version, but I have a question on etiquette - is it best to delete the attachment in my original post and add the updated version into the original post, or make a fresh reply to this thread and add it there, leaving the original attachment in place?.

I don't know what the "official" position is (if there is one?), but if it were me, I'd make a fresh reply with a link to the updated version, then go back and edit the original post to append something like "EDIT: new version incorporating corrections up to xx/Feb/2023 is linked from post XX". That way anyone coming on the thread without prior knowledge will understand the posts that followed your original posting, but won't be tempted to re-find typos that have already been corrected.

 

[NewburyDrinker]

I enclose an updated version of my map where I hope I have corrected those spelling mistakes in some station names. A few I even knew the correct spelling of, but still managed to type it wrongly. So thank you to Mcr Warrior, Gloster, Railsigns for the corrections.

I've added a few lines: the line to Ashey Racecourse on IOM (thanks to the Ashey spelling mistake being corrected) and both the Swansea and Mumbles railway and the Liverpool Overhead. thanks to etr221. Plus I've removed the false connection shown just south of Appleby - a case of not zooming in close enough to the OS maps to realise a siding almost touched the Midland line but not actually make a junction (thanks to Bevan Price).

I've looked at making lines thicker and station names larger to help zoomability, but it does make it a lot harder to get names to fit into the space available between tracks, especially in all urban area - I will experiment. Things look fine and zoom in well when using PDF viewers, but it seems web browsers seem to stop at 500%. Sorry about that.

Thanks for the compliments too.

EDIT: Removed the attachment in this post - see post #28 for the newest version of the map.

 

[etr221]

I've added a few lines: <snip> and both the Swansea and Mumbles railway and the Liverpool Overhead. thanks to etr221.

Which makes the exclusion, or treatment as closed, of TfL (and predescessors) and T&W lines even more anamolous...

Which perhaps brings me to observe that the biggest issue with any project like this is establishing (and publishing and following!) 'terms of reference' - the definition of what should be included, and what excluded, and how things should be represented... While it may have started as a fun, personal, project, publishing it is going to lead people querying these. As in many cases its not going to be obvious or easy to understand what is or was (or how they've changed). The distinction between tramway and railway may yet become a lawyer enrichment exercise...

On which might I raise (as they came up elsewhere) how you represent (or think you should) Barrow-on-Soar and Barrow-upon-Soar (new station not on site of old); and Gatwick Airport and Gatwick Racecourse (which became ~ Airport).

Then a couple of stations near me that are missing: Central Croydon (and its branch), and New Croydon (now part of East C., but used to be seperate)

 

[LLivery]

Very nice and useful! One thing I've noticed, you've missed Upper Sydenham station on the Crystal Palace High Level Line.

 

[Wivenswold]

As a lover of maps, I've got to doff my cap. You've done a fantastic job.

 

[NewburyDrinker]

Very nice and useful! One thing I've noticed, you've missed Upper Sydenham station on the Crystal Palace High Level Line.

As a lover of maps, I've got to doff my cap. You've done a fantastic job.

The distinction between tramway and railway may yet become a lawyer enrichment exercise...

On which might I raise (as they came up elsewhere) how you represent (or think you should) Barrow-on-Soar and Barrow-upon-Soar (new station not on site of old); and Gatwick Airport and Gatwick Racecourse (which became ~ Airport).

Then a couple of stations near me that are missing: Central Croydon (and its branch), and New Croydon (now part of East C., but used to be seperate)

Thank you. Upper Sydenham added to next version.

The Mumbles line was known as a railway and also a tramway, so it went in. Liverpool Overhead railway justified going in too. I am trying to avoid tramways as such, especially urban tramways. But the Grimsby & Immingham railway was owned by the LNER and hence British Railways (Eastern Region) even though it does look like a tramway so stays. One I am not sure to include was the South Shields, Marsden & Whitburn Colliery Railway - a private railway never part of pre-grouping, or big four or British Railways, but I have included other private lines, especially the one that had a passenger service for just one day so it seems fair to include this..

I will check out Barrow on Soar and Gatwick stations, Central Croydon has been added but not sure about New Croydon as East Croydon must sit on top of it.

 

[etr221]

The Mumbles line was known as a railway and also a tramway, so it went in. Liverpool Overhead railway justified going in too. I am trying to avoid tramways as such, especially urban tramways. But the Grimsby & Immingham railway was owned by the LNER and hence British Railways (Eastern Region) even though it does look like a tramway so stays. One I am not sure to include was the South Shields, Marsden & Whitburn Colliery Railway - a private railway never part of pre-grouping, or big four or British Railways, but I have included other private lines, especially the one that had a passenger service for just one day so it seems fair to include this..

I will check out Barrow on Soar and Gatwick stations, Central Croydon has been added but not sure about New Croydon as East Croydon must sit on top of it.

New Croydon was what are now East Croydon platforms 1 & 2. But originally a seperate LBSCR station, which was not covered by the LBSCR-SER receipt pooling agreement that covered East Croydon. One of the Southern Railway's first actions in 1923 was to amalgamate the two, as the reason for them being seperate had gone - all the money went straight to them!

LNER ownership should also qualify the ex GNSR Cruden Bay Tramway for inclusion. And LMSR ownership the Burton and Ashby Light Railway (which ran into Burton over Burton upon Trent Corporation Tramways tracks), and the Wolverton and Stony Stratford...

 

[Gonzoiku]

An admirable piece of work! But a few more typos for you (with the rider that in my experience there is always another typo):

Asfordby

Blisworth

Carrbridge

Chapel-en-le-Frith (Central)

Godmanchester

Pitfodels

Rothienorman

Stoke Bruerne

Etc!

GZ

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Think I'd be right in saying that the Solway viaduct between Bowness (in England) and Annan (in Scotland) was demolished sometime in the mid 1930s, and so would no longer have been in place in 1948?

 

[Basher]

Just as a side note, I have a copy of Jowetts rail atlas. Undoubtedly it the best historical railway map book that has ever been printed in my opinion. My copy is the 1989 edition and just love to look at an area when researching. They are a available on ebay and at a cheap price

 

[Efini92]

Impressive map, must have taken a lot of hard work to put that together.
I’ve only had a quick glance but I notice the current Longbridge station isn’t showing on the Bristol lines.

 

[Basil Jet]

Great work! I've noticed Mitcham Eastfields is not shown.

 

[NewburyDrinker]

Another updated version with most of the above mentioned corrections applied, plus a couple of missing stations.

New Croydon was what are now East Croydon platforms 1 & 2. But originally a seperate LBSCR station, which was not covered by the LBSCR-SER receipt pooling agreement that covered East Croydon. One of the Southern Railway's first actions in 1923 was to amalgamate the two, as the reason for them being seperate had gone - all the money went straight to them!

LNER ownership should also qualify the ex GNSR Cruden Bay Tramway for inclusion. And LMSR ownership the Burton and Ashby Light Railway (which ran into Burton over Burton upon Trent Corporation Tramways tracks), and the Wolverton and Stony Stratford...

I can't show New Croydon as East Croydon effectively replaces it. I am not planning on showing all the different names that a station might have gone through.

Cruden Bay, Burton & Ashby and Wolverton & Stoney Stratford lines are not going in, they appear more to be tramways (despite the light railway tag on the Burton & Ashby), and as far as I can see, didn't have actual stations depicted on any of the maps I have checked.

Just as a side note, I have a copy of Jowetts rail atlas. Undoubtedly it the best historical railway map book that has ever been printed in my opinion. My copy is the 1989 edition and just love to look at an area when researching. They are a available on ebay and at a cheap price

Agreed, but also the Cobb Atlas!

Think I'd be right in saying that the Solway viaduct between Bowness (in England) and Annan (in Scotland) was demolished sometime in the mid 1930s, and so would no longer have been in place in 1948?

Yes is wasn't around in 1948, but just because a line appears in my map, it won't mean it was open/existed in 1948. That year just relates to when British Railways was formed and existing lines allocated to one of the 6 regions. Lines that didn't exist in 1948 have been allocated to a region by me, purely as a fantasy. Lines shown as open or closed are based roughly on recent times, circa 2000 (ish).

Maybe I need to add this disclaimer - this map is purely for fun and it should not be used for modern day travel planning

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Think I'd be right in saying that the Solway viaduct between Bowness (in England) and Annan (in Scotland) was demolished sometime in the mid 1930s, and so would no longer have been in place in 1948?

Yes is wasn't around in 1948, but just because a line appears in my map, it won't mean it was open/existed in 1948. That year just relates to when British Railways was formed and existing lines allocated to one of the 6 regions. Lines that didn't exist in 1948 have been allocated to a region by me, purely as a fantasy. Lines shown as open or closed are based roughly on recent times, circa 2000 (ish).

Thanks for the "explanation". Not quite sure now what it is that you are hopefully intending to show with the map.