TFW’s workshop

[Yorkshire Dave]

Both head walls have now been made for the YR platform. The signal cabin end will get the conduits added when the box is made.

This I deduce is the head wall for the Westbound platform at the Kings Cross end. With the transposed Eastbound signal box being at the other (Finsbury Park) end.

Coming onto non-public/service cross passages shown on the GNP&BRly plan this could be a later dated plan as the other plan carries the full title of Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway.

I came across a YouTube video of an unauthorised access to York Road which in the later stages shows a brief glimpse of the alcove/doorway. From this it appears to lead into the cross passage. Any tiling would be carried around as far as the door frame as it would have been on public view.

 

[Tim Watson]

Many thanks for that Dave. Definitely a cross passage, but not for public access. Elsewhere on the station the entrance sides to the cross passages are rendered rather than tiled. It will make a nice little detail as the cross access passage opening will be visible in the tunnel lining.

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

I have been quietly working away at a building right at the very heart of CF. We have said for 40 years that it would not be possible to have Mrs Wilberforce’s house (The Ladykillers) on CF because there isn’t room.

On our model, Frederica St backs on to the Caledonian Goods & Coal Yard with more of a height difference than the prototype and with the houses finishing in a staggered layout so, strictly speaking, it would be tricky to put a substantial house at the end of the road. However, this is the famous opening view from the film.
So probably not that big after all.

Tom Marshall has changed our rationale for not including the house, by making a superb 3DP of the famous lopsided structure: his company Buggleskelly Station (Town & Country | Buggleskelly Station) was asked to produce the house by Dawn Quest who is making a 4mm scale layout based around a Ladykillers theme. On contacting Tom, he kindly sent me the drawings that he had made, using film stills to scale off the dimensions.


An elevation was used to try out the building for size, being cut out from paper backed by thin ply.


Obviously it fitted across the road OK and could probably just about wriggle into place against the northernmost range of houses. On the left hand side there should be another line of houses, but their absence will have to be a compromise. The back yard would have very little clearance from the railway, but then there wasn’t a great deal of room on the real thing.


With a bit of sleight of hand the height differences could probably be absorbed. Tom agreed to print the house off to 2mm scale and within a short time an elegant little package arrived.


The quality of the design and printing is first class: Tom has really caught the atmosphere of Mrs W’s house. My only modification made to the model was to downplay the brick sizes by judicious scraping of the plastic with a 15 scalpel blade and sharp chisels, this would help it be more in keeping with its new neighbours that don’t have any brick relief at all!


In the process I found it easier to remove most of the down pipes - fine though they were - and subsequently replace with easily-painted brass wire. The building was primed with white primer and then colours built up in acrylic washes, with some inherent irregularities.


After some to-ing and fro-ing with paints, aerosol matt varnish, weathering powders and more matt varnish, the little house had the front area modelled and suitable etched fencing tried for size. The front door was made open, as we would be portraying the opening scenes of the film and a tiled entrance porch represented (spares from a certain tube station).


The glazing was fitted and some green algal weathering applied: thus always seems to bring a building to life - for me at any rate.


This will be the railway view of the house. I will have to do sone delicate surgery to the embankment side and model the ramshackle back fence. Tom had already modelled the house props, and these were further tweaked and dressed with brick debris from the fallen wall. There will need to be evidence of further subsidence modelled in the area.


As already mentioned, we will be representing an early scene from the film.


The house is awaiting Mrs W and the Professor but has ‘Milton’ the cockatoo guarding the bay window: he took exception to Professor Marcus.

Mrs Lopsided’s house will be installed in time for the Mini Exhibition - Copenhagen Fields at 40: on November 2nd & 3rd at Keen House if you would like to see it in the flesh. Mini Exhibition - Copenhagen Fields at 40 2/3 November - The Model Railway Club

Tim

 

[Overseer]

As already mentioned, we will be representing an early scene from the film

I don’t think you will find a kit for the phone box. Looks like a film prop interpretation of a K2 with the proportions reduced and the roof dome just not right. Sir Giles would not be amused.

Congratulations on keeping CF progressing for 40 years. It is an amazing layout.

 

[Tim Watson]

I don’t think you will find a kit for the phone box. Looks like a film prop interpretation of a K2 with the proportions reduced and the roof dome just not right. Sir Giles would not be amused.

Don’t worry, we’ll move this box along the road. Correct for our period.


Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

Here we are elevating a flap of ground to make room for Mrs W’s house: delicate 2mm scale modelling.

It needed a bit of augmentation (dark blue-grey card), but gives a greater flat surface for the house, with scarcely any noticeable change in the angle of repose of the cutting side.


An extra pair of houses are being added to the street to make it more square at the end.

Boundaries, pavements and back yards are yet to be made and the new houses need significant detailing, such as an end wall, drainage pipes, hoppers and filling in of unused widow openings.

In this rough shot, the original street boundary wall is just placed and is too long; these houses will be without an area in front. I think the view is beginning to look much more prototypical.
It will be fun adding all the details and wonky fencing for Mrs W’s house.

Tim

 

[Tim Hale]

Hi,

Is the house to be available for purchase as a printed blank?

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

Hi,

Is the house to be available for purchase as a printed blank?

Tim

Here you go:

Town & Country | Buggleskelly Station

Highly detailed 3D resin printed model town & country buildings, designed from scratch to give your layout or diorama a unique look.

www.buggleskellystation.com

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

STOP PRESS! During preliminary groundworks for a new housing development in Frederica Street, not far from Battle Bridge Road at Kings Cross, remains of a chariot and the skeleton of a Romano-British female have been found. MOLA* have been brought in to investigate further…



*MOLA: Museum of London Archaeology.

 

[simond]

something like this?

 

[Tim Watson]

Not quite, chariots only have two wheels…
Good name though.

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

Mrs W’s house has a wooden fence around it on the railway side.



(Images taken as screen shots from the HD version available from Studio Canal).

The danger with making models as you think they should be rather than reality is that reality usually comes back to bite. I recalled that the fence was evenly up and down vertical planks albeit decrepit. The result looked like Fort Laramie.

A finer vertical planking was needed, whilst the tops are just randomly wonky. Some 0.75mm grooved styrene was used as the basis for the planks and 1mm square rod for the posts. The planks were cursorily scribed on the less visible back of the sheet, whilst the tops were notched with a #15 scalpel blade and the tops chopped out with a 0.7mm-wide super-sharp Japanese chisel.
The arris rails were made from thin strip and the fence built up panel by panel with the posts let into the styrene cobbled base, again using a 1mm wide chisel. The end result is a bit more convincing - or should be when painted.
The building position has also been adjusted eastwards a little so that it does not fall within the railway boundary, making the building marginally more plausible. There also needs to be some access to the tracks and so a meandering path has been cut into the cutting side: diamond discs are useful for this. Allowing differential movement of the slightly flexible scenic skin to give a suitably level path. The path also has the beneficial visual effect of reducing the out of scale height difference between the road and the railway.

The next job will be refurbishing the ‘new’ house on the end of the terrace.

Changing subject, there has always been a film crew on CF. They were originally made by Stewart Hine but regrettably succumbed to the vacuum cleaner…. Richard Wilson made a new crew who have dutifully filmed the layout - as can be seen on our TV screen out the front. These shots were background ‘can’ shots for the director, probably taken before the main filming started. So no, we won’t have a film crew on Frederica St.

(Image courtesy Studio Canal)

Tim

 

[farnetti]

Mrs W’s house has a wooden fence around it on the railway side.
View attachment 225467

View attachment 225468
(Images taken as screen shots from the HD version available from Studio Canal).

The danger with making models as you think they should be rather than reality is that reality usually comes back to bite. I recalled that the fence was evenly up and down vertical planks albeit decrepit. The result looked like Fort Laramie.
View attachment 225475
A finer vertical planking was needed, whilst the tops are just randomly wonky. Some 0.75mm grooved styrene was used as the basis for the planks and 1mm square rod for the posts. The planks were cursorily scribed on the less visible back of the sheet, whilst the tops were notched with a #15 scalpel blade and the tops chopped out with a 0.7mm-wide super-sharp Japanese chisel. View attachment 225470
The arris rails were made from thin strip and the fence built up panel by panel with the posts let into the styrene cobbled base, again using a 1mm wide chisel. The end result is a bit more convincing - or should be when painted. View attachment 225471
The building position has also been adjusted eastwards a little so that it does not fall within the railway boundary, making the building marginally more plausible. There also needs to be some access to the tracks and so a meandering path has been cut into the cutting side: diamond discs are useful for this. Allowing differential movement of the slightly flexible scenic skin to give a suitably level path. View attachment 225472 The path also has the beneficial visual effect of reducing the out of scale height difference between the road and the railway.
View attachment 225473
The next job will be refurbishing the ‘new’ house on the end of the terrace.

Changing subject, there has always been a film crew on CF. They were originally made by Stewart Hine but regrettably succumbed to the vacuum cleaner…. Richard Wilson made a new crew who have dutifully filmed the layout - as can be seen on our TV screen out the front. These shots were background ‘can’ shots for the director, probably taken before the main filming started. So no, we won’t have a film crew on Frederica St.
View attachment 225474
(Image courtesy Studio Canal)

Tim

Gorr blimey, Guv. Elfin Saifty would have a fit if 'e saw that shambles. I'd best find Bernard Cribbins, 'e knows 'ow to fix fings.

 

[Rob R]

I have just happened upon a couple of snaps I took of CF at the Manchester show way back in 2005.

 

[Tim Watson]

Thanks for the memories, Rob. It is amazing to think that this is nearly 20 years ago and was the swan song of Chee Tor. We had exhibited together the previous year in Dortmund. My lasting memory of that show was the deep layer of cigarette butts next to our barrier bottom rail. The other was an elderly gentleman saying ‘I remember zis, from up here’ (hand raised above his head).

What is obvious (to me) was the lack of goods lines track, and buildings on the front of CF. Viewers have been very forgiving for a layout that has been shown unfinished for so many years.

Of course the end of that street of houses is having a major rebuild prior to Copenhagen Fields at 40 - The Model Railway Club

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

Once upon a time, there was a sleepy by-way called ‘Frederica St’ in North London, just up the road from Kings Cross. It had suffered some bomb damage and the houses weren’t very sound. The end of the street offered an access to the nearby goods yard.

Then along came a film company and made a funny little house that was even more derelict than its neighbours. Its occupant, a Mrs Wilberforce, playing a part in an implausible bank robbery.

Once they had gone, and the film prop house had been demolished, someone noticed a disturbance in the soil and started digging. Museum of London Archaeology were soon on site as intriguing objects were unearthed.

What they discovered was a Romano British chariot burial, complete with two small horses and the earth stains from the main pole along with two 85cm diameter wheels. In the middle were the remains of a women, as judged by pelvis size and skull shape, of high warrior status.
Come along to Copenhagen Fields at 40 - The Model Railway Club
to find out more about this outstanding archaeological discovery…

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

A few pictures of Frederica St in situ. The recent additions are quite lost in the complete model, but that is typical of CF.




A view that will seldom be seen:


The film crew, made by Richard Wilson, have been re-instated, providing a live video feed to the front of the layout…




Of course, the little lopsided house at the end of Frederica St was only a film prop. The new building at the end of the street is subtly different from the rest of that row, which is how they often were/are.


And just the bare boards. Interestingly, Mike Sloan, whose head is popping up, worked in the Ebonite building in the early 1980s - that will be just above his head.


Just a few tickets still available for the weekend…

Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

With the dust now settled on a hectic last weekend I have at last made the wheels for the non-powered bogie on the Gate Stock train that Jim Watt is making. These are 5.25mm diameter.

This is the power bogie (temporary lead weight)

The train is going to be quite an incredibly small and complicated bit of kit: down to Jim’s clever use of etching.

I doubt that the modern viewer will have any inkling that, once upon a time, tube trains had staff riding at the end of each pair of carriages who were there to open the gates at each station.


Tim

 

[Tim Watson]

Fir something a little larger, the Skittle Alley had a very attractive smokebox door and fittings, with a clearly separate front to the smokebox itself from the main barrel.

The method of construction is clearly visible from the drawing.

The assembly was therefore made in two pieces, with the smokebox door a plug fit into the front ring.

The front ring was turned using a shellac chuck. This entails holding a blank for the ring on a brass faceplate using hot shellac to lock it into place. The brass plate is heated with a flame, a drop of shellac smeared onto it and the heated chuck lowered into it, roughly centred until it cools down.

Here the graver has started to define the ring more clearly.

A plug, the same diameter as the smokebox door, was used to check for the precise opening size. The seating ring for the door was carved into the front of the brass ring. My Raven pacific, 2400, always had a painted ring and so it was made from brass, otherwise the front plate would have been steel. Once the ring had been made, it was further thinned down to 0.3mm thickness by hand grinding on carborundum paper. It was then cemented to some tufnol sheet to allow holes to be drilled for the top handrail knob and lamp iron. The loco feature two steps on the smokebox ring. These were made at this stage from some filed down brass angle strip, with both made from one piece, with a rebate filed into the base to clear the raised door seating ring. The scratched line is a witness mark to show the orientation of the step strip.

The strip was sweated into place and the excess removed with a fine diamond cutting disc.

The steps were dressed with fine escapement files, protecting the brass underneath from errant filing with some shim steel sheet.

The smokebox door was turned from nickel silver bar with a 1.6mm spigot to locate and centre within the main smokebox.
The subtle shape has required quite a careful degree of accuracy in turning and fitting, but assembly should be straightforward as it all self-locates.

The next job will be the door fittings. Of course, a clever etch designer could have made the smokebox ring with a few clicks of a mouse…but fun to use a shellac chuck, all the same.

Tim

 

[michael mott]

Watchmaking type work for sure, always a pleasure to see how you resolve construction assemblies.

Michael