Old GWR railway halts/works platforms questions?

[Cowley]

Afternoon everyone.

This is a railway modelling question really but there’s a broader question in this as well.
My friend is making an 0 gauge railway based on something along the lines of the Hemyock branch in the 1970s. He’s been looking at building a small halt halfway along potentially next to a bridge, and wondered if all halts would have had ramps at the end of the platform, or if any had no ramps and just a fence to stop passengers falling off instead?
I was wondering though why all halt platforms seem to have had ramps at both ends if that was the case? Would they have been purely used for the crew assuming that the halt had a path for access anyway?
Here’s a photo of High Halstow Halt taken from the Disused Stations website which shows the kind of thing I’m imagining.




Another possibility is incorporating a works platform but I must admit that I don’t know much about them. Would these have been built in a different way? And did any last into the diesel era?

Thanks for any info.

 

[DelW]

This may be an urban myth, or even something I've dreamed up myself, but I have a recollection of reading that the original reason for platform end ramps was that in the event of loose or trailing equipment, or out of gauge loads, less damage would be caused by them meeting a gently sloping ramp than if they hit a square, vertical, end of a platform.
Bearing in mind that gauging and tolerances were probably much less scientific in the early days of railway building, it seems plausible at least.

 

[Cowley]

This may be an urban myth, or even something I've dreamed up myself, but I have a recollection of reading that the original reason for platform end ramps was that in the event of loose or trailing equipment, or out of gauge loads, less damage would be caused by them meeting a gently sloping ramp than if they hit a square, vertical, end of a platform.
Bearing in mind that gauging and tolerances were probably much less scientific in the early days of railway building, it seems plausible at least.

That’s an interesting thought. Thanks for that.
I’ve amended the thread title and opening post to include works platforms now.
I feel like I’ve been a bit garbled with this but hopefully anyone reading will understand what I’m trying to say.

 

[John Webb]

Ramps at the end of platforms were a long-standing requirement of the Board of Trade who oversaw railway operations from the late 1830s until around 1919. But I've not been able, so far, to find out why they insisted on them.

 

[Dr Hoo]

I'm pretty sure that it was a Railway Inspectorate 'requirement' that platforms had to have end ramps but don't have my copy immediately to hand.

[Edit]

Just noted in the recently-published New Illustrated History of Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate from 1840 (page 37) there is a 'Memorandum of some of the Requirements of the Inspecting Officer, 1858'. This includes ramps.

[End of edit]

Remember that 'back in the day', with jointed track and bullhead rail, there was much more patrolling on foot and platelayers needed to able to walk seamlessly up onto platforms to avoid potentially being trapped (at least on double track routes).

 

[randyrippley]

As a kid I always understood platform ramps were there to allow rapid evacuation in an emergency. Just one of those snippets of info that everyone knew......whether true or not

 

[Taunton]

In the event of a slight overrun, or a train longer than the platform, it was far more acceptable then, in the days of slam doors, to jump down onto the ballast. In which case getting back up onto the platform was straightforward.

 

[30907]

One other point: fences would have been a hazard in the days of slam doors - imagine alighting and walking into the end of one!

 

[Cowley]

One other point: fences would have been a hazard in the days of slam doors - imagine alighting and walking into the end of one!

Ah yes, I suppose that could definitely be a problem...
Interestingly the only place I’ve found so far that’s had a different arrangement is the former Whitehall Halt that was actually on the Hemyock branch. There’s a couple of photos here (neither are mine but the first one is from the Disused Stations site showing what appears to be a ramp only on the one end...



I just love how ramshackle it all looks.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Is this anything to do with there being a boarded crossing rather than a footbridge to cross the line?

 

[Cowley]

Is this anything to do with there being a boarded crossing rather than a footbridge to cross the line?

I’m not sure. This is the view facing the opposite way with the level crossing.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

The reason I ask is that there's been a lot of work done recently on current stations to remove the ramps.

I'm sure that I've heard something saying that it was being done to remove the opportunity for people to get onto the track easily.

 

[30907]

The reason I ask is that there's been a lot of work done recently on current stations to remove the ramps.

I'm sure that I've heard something saying that it was being done to remove the opportunity for people to get onto the track easily.

Yes, policy has changed - without unlocked slam doors, the safety issue is now people on the platform, hence the prevalence of gates, "cattle grids" etc.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

Yes, that's what I heard; thanks.

 

[4069]

There's no actual removal of ramps, just that now when platforms are extended, the extension does not include a ramp.

Ramps are seen as facilitating trespass, and therefore to be fenced off as far as possible, and not forming part of new work.

 

[Peter C]

Apologies for such a late response to this thread, but I thought I could add that yes, it was pretty common for GWR halts to be in the style as pictured in the first post - stations on the Kingham - Banbury section of the Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway are good examples.
If you're interested in more examples, all with their own little quirks, I'd recommend a Google. Stations of note to this topic are Rollright Halt, Sarsden Halt, and Milton Halt.

Hope this helps,

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Apologies for such a late response to this thread, but I thought I could add that yes, it was pretty common for GWR halts to be in the style as pictured in the first post - stations on the Kingham - Banbury section of the Banbury & Cheltenham Direct Railway are good examples.
If you're interested in more examples, all with their own little quirks, I'd recommend a Google. Stations of note to this topic are Rollright Halt, Sarsden Halt, and Milton Halt.

Hope this helps,

-Peter

I was trying to get a few ideas for a friend really and it all helped.
He came up with this arrangement to fit into a small space in the end of the scenic part of his 0 gauge project, it’s still work in progress but I like what he’s done with it.



The railway will pass under an aqueduct at the end of the platform.

 

[Taunton]

It would be a nuisance for the p.w./anyone else walking along the ballast and wanting to get up on the platform.

 

[Peter C]

I was trying to get a few ideas for a friend really and it all helped.
He came up with this arrangement to fit into a small space in the end of the scenic part of his 0 gauge project, it’s still work in progress but I like what he’s done with it.

View attachment 79782View attachment 79783

The railway will pass under an aqueduct at the end of the platform.

That does look really good - it does have that little countryside branchline feel to it.

-Peter

 

[Bedpan]

I always thought it was so that porters could wheel trolleys from one platform to another - down the ramp, across the boarded crossing and up the ramp on the other side. Of course, this explanation makes no sense in the case of stations with only one platform and step free access outside, but the ramps were used in this way at stations in the area where I grew up. There was also a boarded crossing half way down the platforms, with a step sunk into the platform wall, so that staff could easily get from one platform to another to collect tickets. perhaps oddly ( in hindsight) I never saw any members of the public break the rules and use ether boarded crossing.