TFW’s workshop

[Tim Watson]

After some fairly steady and tricky work the station platforms for York Road are now sketched in. The 100% accurate artwork for the tiles is courtesy of Douglas Rose, author of the superb and very rare ‘Tiles of the Unexpected, Underground’. The patterns were printed on fairly stiff 250gsm silk-faced card.


The platform surface is currently unattached, just sitting passively in this photo.

The whole project is complicated by the compound horizontal curvature of the station platform and the tube structure itself. The main supports consist of 2mm MDF ribs cut using the Model Railway Club’s laser cutting facility: these are strategically attached to 0.8mm thick ply sub-base.
Pip is guarding the board here: last time he worked on YR he was but a puppy.

The tiled card was rolled on a soft cushion with a polished steel rod. It would probably have worked better with Piccadilly Line moquette, rather than Routemaster.
The adverse curvature of the station platforms is accommodated by breaking the tile run either side of the crossway entrances. These entrance sections were touched in with a red marker pen to avoid unsightly dodgy edges.

The area above the dado was painted white, just in case there were any gaps showing between the card sections.


The 700mm long fully tiled walls do look rather pretty (if I do say so myself) and bring a station back to life that closed 91 years ago.


There is a lot more work to do…

Tim

 

[simond]

last photo is very impressive but it makes my eyes go funny…

 

[Tim Watson]

last photo is very impressive but it makes my eyes go funny…

You should try building it Simon!

Tim

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

All looks good Tim.

Next will be the lighting as seen in this 1914 image of Liverpool St.



In order to create the gloomy atmosphere for the viewer I think a smoked perspex panel on the front might work by reducing the brightness and create a slightly hazy atmosphere.

 

[Tim Watson]

I was discussing lighting with Justin Colson today, Dave. I’ll probably use lighthouse warm white LEDs which are 2mm diameter. In the station building I used surface mounted LEDs which were needed because of space constraints but very fiddly. It will depend on light dispersion and brightness from the LEDs, but subtlety is definitely the aim…
This shows lighting on the walls as well, but I think we’ll stay with just overhead.

Interesting that there is ?ballast on the platform. Typically, not busy, hence its closure in 1932.

Tim

 

[adrian]

The 100% accurate artwork for the tiles is courtesy of Douglas Rose, author of the superb and very rare ‘Tiles of the Unexpected, Underground’

They do look rather splendid. Whilst the book appears to be quite rare they are numerous online resources and checking out his website is well worth the effort London Underground, buses, historic street furniture, Founts, Edward Johnston, Information design, Football league table A glorious mix of details regarding the underground, London buses and other minutiae. I do like his "better" underground map.

 

[adrian]

Interesting that there is ?ballast on the platform.

or is it salt for icy conditions?

 

[Tim Watson]

Douglas very kindly re-drew his YR artwork for us to be suitable for the south / westbound platform that we are modelling. He has also helped with information on the signal box which we will be modelling, albeit on the wrong platform.

Do deep level tube stations need salt on the platforms? There are so many unknowns in this modelling game - but it does make it rather fun.

Tim

 

[adrian]

Great the hear his involvement - in my paid career I have to present complex data in simple form so I admire and understand the work people like Douglas present.

Do deep level tube stations need salt on the platforms?

No idea - pure speculation on my part. Personally London is not for me but I imagine long dark underground deep caves could get rather cold at times. Although given I've travelled on the tube a grand total of 3 or 4 times in my lifetime I'm hardly any voice of authority on the matter.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

It won't be salt. It would more than likely be sand - probably to soak up any spills or for building works.

The deep level tube sections do not get icy as they are at a constant tempertature. They would get cold but not to the point of freezing.

Geologically, the deeper you go the warmer it gets.

 

[Peter Insole]

Don't forget the double action of traction motors/resistances, plus the significant air compression effect of trains running in tube tunnels that generate significant quantities of heat - all of which produce an atmosphere that is reasonably comfortable in the depths of winter, but becomes utterly intolerable during summer time!

Pete.

 

[Tim Watson]

You are absolutely correct Peter. When originally made the ventilation, on this and many other stations, was via a pipe in the middle of the emergency stairs with an inadequate fan in a plant room and a small vent at the back of the building - we have modelled this. At YR the original fan still exists, propped up against a wall in the original plant room. On many of these lesser stations they never utilised the second lift shaft, instead using it as massive ventilation pipe with a huge hood on the roof.

Tim
(P.S. I have emailed you Peter)

 

[Tim Watson]

I couldn’t resist showing this picture of the YR tube platform mounted below the lift shafts and station building. I think it will be the first time that a deep level tube model has shown the interaction of the railway, the service shafts and the overlying station building.


Thankfully, everything lines up as it should, with the lift and escape stair lobbies just about visible.


The spiral escape stairs will be modelled in time: I have a simple solution to these, using laser cut components. The stairs will be visible through a window in the shaft as with the lift.
The platform board is firmly held on to the main baseboard by two long 8mm bolts fixing into captive T nuts. Unfortunately, I made the bolts a little too short, not taking into account the longer length required for when the platform section is displayed with the small diorama scene. Rather than make longer bolts I simply milled out the bottom of the baseboard to slightly bury the wing nuts.
It makes the assembly a little less dangerous for any heads in the vicinity and there aren’t an excess number of turns to get the board in place. On CF every second counts during set up and take down.
The next job will be the track and lighting. The former will be very labour intensive as the insulators were placed every other sleeper: 300 holes for pins in the station area alone.



This photo shows the early style track and also an early pattern station name roundel. I have one of the team drawing that up for YR.



Lighting LEDs have been sourced, so there is plenty to be getting on with.

Tim

 

[oldravendale]

Tim. I clearly don't know whether these photos will be of any help but I took them on a Hidden London tour of Aldwych Station. (A wonderful experience, but that's another story). I believe these track insulators are of the original type. They appear to be similar to those in the Charing Cross photo. I'll be very happy to provide blow ups of the originals if of any help.

That model of YR is inspiring and remarkable in equal measure,

Brian














Brian

 

[Tim Watson]

Many thanks Brian, they look original. The representation of the ceramic holder will be by a brass pin, probably with the head squeezed. A drop of pale grey paint will probably suffice to make them look plausible.

Tim

 

[oldravendale]

Simon's someone else entirely.....

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Interesting that there is ?ballast on the platform. Typically, not busy, hence its closure in 1932.

Coming back to the York Road photo the pile could well be sand and cement with grout to fill/pack up the trackbed and seen on Brian's Aldwych photos and the photo of Charing Cross. The drainage 'suicide' pits on deep level tubes were a later development.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Tim. I clearly don't know whether these photos will be of any help but I took them on a Hidden London tour of Aldwych Station. (A wonderful experience, but that's another story). I believe these track insulators are of the original type. They appear to be similar to those in the Charing Cross photo. I'll be very happy to provide blow ups of the originals if of any help.

The last time I was in Aldwych the station was open as I made a point of travelling there from Holborn - but obviously not this platform.

The Aldwych branch platform at Holborn looked like this before closure.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The representation of the ceramic holder will be by a brass pin, probably with the head squeezed. A drop of pale grey paint will probably suffice to make them look plausible.

Looking at one of the earlier photos of your York Road track bed you may have to enlarge the insulating gap in the sleepers to prevent the pin accidentally creating a short.

 

[oldravendale]

The drainage 'suicide' pits on deep level tubes were a later development.

That was pointed out by the guide to the participants in the Hidden London tour. I suspect Aldwych may be unique in still having a platform with no suicide pit and with the original insulators although it's not connected to the system and has not been for many years. My photo from the other platform shows a more modern type of insulator - maybe not the current type but nonetheless a more recognisable design, a suicide pit and Pandrol rail clips.

Perhaps this is the chap who tried and failed to replace the originals and forgot to switch the power off...

Brian