BR Southern Region Wokingham station sign

[Alex27]

Hello everybody, I am thinking about getting a replica station sign of Wokingham for my grandad for Christmas, and was wondering what these would've looked like in the 50s and 60s. I'm assuming it would've been a southern region totem sign with just 'Wokingham' in the centre, but I've also seen a picture of a 'roundel' style sign (attached), so was unsure as to what it would've been. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[WesternLancer]

Hello everybody, I am thinking about getting a replica station sign of Wokingham for my grandad for Christmas, and was wondering what these would've looked like in the 50s and 60s. I'm assuming it would've been a southern region totem sign with just 'Wokingham' in the centre, but I've also seen a picture of a 'roundel' style sign (attached), so was unsure as to what it would've been. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've always through the roundel style was the Southern Railway signage, Totems in green being BR Southern Region.

I don't know enough to easily date that picture you posted, but if I am correct that means the sign is from Southern Railway days in the image.
So question is, did Wokingham get BR totems at some point - I assume it probably did, and depending on your grandad's age what is he most likely to remember in his association with the station I guess. I suspect replica Totem style signs are easier to get hold of maybe.

Looks like what you call a roundel design appears to be called an SR 'Target' type name sign
eg

Railway Station Target Signs, Shoreham by Sea: A Southern Railway target sign, SHOREHAM BY SEA, f

Bid Live on Lot 137 in the Great Central Railwayana Auction from Great Central Railwayana Auctions.

www.the-saleroom.com

 

[Beebman]

Hello everybody, I am thinking about getting a replica station sign of Wokingham for my grandad for Christmas, and was wondering what these would've looked like in the 50s and 60s. I'm assuming it would've been a southern region totem sign with just 'Wokingham' in the centre, but I've also seen a picture of a 'roundel' style sign (attached), so was unsure as to what it would've been. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

There's a colour photo on Flickr of the station in 1970 which shows that SR roundel sign still in place:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/malcolmbott/30630585840

The BR Totem Rarity Guide at Railwayana.net doesn't list one for Wokingham:
http://www.railwayana.net/rarity/totems/w.htm

Living quite locally at the time I can just about remember the old station building sometime around 1970 and I'm pretty sure it still had an old SR 'Southern Electric' enamel sign on the exterior so I'd guess that BR never made any of their own green signs for the station.

 

[WesternLancer]

There's a colour photo on Flickr of the station in 1970 which shows that SR roundel sign still in place:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/malcolmbott/30630585840

The BR Totem Rarity Guide at Railwayana.net doesn't list one for Wokingham:
http://www.railwayana.net/rarity/totems/w.htm

Living quite locally at the time I can just about remember the old station building sometime around 1970 and I'm pretty sure it still had an old SR 'Southern Electric' enamel sign on the exterior so I'd guess that BR never made any of their own green signs for the station.

Great link there Beebman - helps answer my musings!
V interesting pic - the most modern thing in the 1970 image seems to be that yellow litter bin!

And ref that guide link, maybe indeed Wokingham never had totems? Going straight from SR signage to the standard black and white BR(SR) signs common across the network in the 1970s? And since in the equivalent 'Target' rarity list page the Target is listed as not in the rarest category, that would suggest they survived until late in the day and got acquired by collectors etc.

see: http://www.railwayana.net/rarity/targets/w.htm

 

[30907]

Great link there Beebman - helps answer my musings!
V interesting pic - the most modern thing in the 1970 image seems to be that yellow litter bin!

And ref that guide link, maybe indeed Wokingham never had totems?

If it still had Targets in 1970, the change would be to black on white - and IIRC the main building was replaced by a CLASP prefab anyway shortly after.

 

[Alex27]

Thanks everybody for your help - super useful!

 

[Taunton]

I got the impression that the Southern "target" style (similar to London Underground) lasted a significant length of time into BR days, and were not routinely replaced by a green BR "totem" (which I have always called the "double sausage") unless they were actually broken. Certainly the residual stations on the lines taken over by the WR at the end of 1962 had kept their targets right through the green totem era, and never got any brown ones either, right through to the post-1965 corporate image black/white era. And even then not for a long time afterwards.

The WR in contrast had replaced many signs with the double sausage. The old GWR had not put up a lot of signs on their stations anyway, not the one-per-lamppost SR approach. And I remember being astounded on my first ever trip from Manchester to Leeds, must have been about 1965. As soon as we left Standedge tunnel there were vivid orange totems, running in boards, timetable covers, everything, as the onetime North Eastern Region stamped its independence everywhere.

 

[30907]

I got the impression that the Southern "target" style (similar to London Underground) lasted a significant length of time into BR days, and were not routinely replaced by a green BR "totem" (which I have always called the "double sausage") unless they were actually broken. Certainly the residual stations on the lines taken over by the WR at the end of 1962 had kept their targets right through the green totem era, and never got any brown ones either, right through to the post-1965 corporate image black/white era. And even then not for a long time afterwards.

You are undoubtedly right. A lot of re-signing must have taken place when platforms were extended for electrification schemes or wood replaced with concrete, requiring additional lamp posts, and memory says that the whole platform signage would be replaced along with the targets - so the frameless BR platform numbers etc - but only if something needed changing!

For example, Shortlands and Bromley South werewere completely re-signed around 1959, complete with new concrete lamp posts (and some platform realignment), but Bickley and Beckenham Junction were left unaltered.

 

[32475]

Hello everybody, I am thinking about getting a replica station sign of Wokingham for my grandad for Christmas, and was wondering what these would've looked like in the 50s and 60s. I'm assuming it would've been a southern region totem sign with just 'Wokingham' in the centre, but I've also seen a picture of a 'roundel' style sign (attached), so was unsure as to what it would've been. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I've checked my copy of The book of British Railways Station Totems by Dave Brennand and Richard Furness (the Bible of such matters), and Wokingham definitely never had BR totem signs so it would have kept its Southern Railway targets right the way up until BR black and white replacements in the late '60s or early/mid '70s.
This was not unusual and some significant Southern Region stations never had totems such as Horsham and Ashford (Kent)

 

[30907]

I've checked my copy of The book of British Railways Station Totems by Dave Brennand and Richard Furness (the Bible of such matters), and Wokingham definitely never had BR totem signs so it would have kept its Southern Railway targets right the way up until BR black and white replacements in the late '60s or early/mid '70s.
This was not unusual and some significant Southern Region stations never had totems such as Horsham and Ashford (Kent)

A detail: Ashford (and St Mary Cray) was rebuilt significantly for Kent Coast electrification and the targets were replaced by fluorescent lamp fittings incorporating the station name (in green, naturally).

 

[WesternLancer]

A detail: Ashford (and St Mary Cray) was rebuilt significantly for Kent Coast electrification and the targets were replaced by fluorescent lamp fittings incorporating the station name (in green, naturally).

actually - that reminds me I think such lamp fittings (or the covers) are still extant at Manchester Oxford Road - Maroon of course in that instance.

 

[Andy R. A.]

Certainly the residual stations on the lines taken over by the WR at the end of 1962 had kept their targets right through the green totem era, and never got any brown ones either, right through to the post-1965 corporate image black/white era. And even then not for a long time afterwards.

While that is generally true some of the larger stations of the former SR lines west of Exeter did get Southern totems.



This one from Okehampton is in very good condition having been added in the last 10 years of the station being open, and had them still when it closed in 1972. I had to go to the Goods/Parcels office at Okehampton to collect it soon after it closed. Ilfracombe likewise gained Southern totems, as did Barnstaple Town and Bude. What is more surprising is that Mortehoe and Woolacombe got Western Chocolate/Cream totems in place of the Southern target style signs.

 

[pdeaves]

Thanks everybody for your help - super useful!

Of course, there is nothing to stop you getting a Wokingham totem as a 'might have been' if you want!