Some History, It’s been done before, and Track and Steps being made.

Since my last up-date, I have been attempting to produce CAD drawings of the various buildings adjacent to the lower station at Bridgnorth. This has highlighted the gaps in my information on every one of the buildings, but at least I have established their footprints and wall dimensions, and (in general) their relative alignment to each other. I am short of details of things like size and shape of windows and doors for at least one wall for each of the buildings, and roof details are needed, especially of the flat roof of the large shop facing on to the road. Also details of how some of them meet the cliff face.

Some History

As an aside, this large, square building, which is shown on the 1905 OS Map, and in an early 1900s Photo with chimneys, a pitched roof, and much smaller windows in the ground floor. http://www.bridgnorthmuseum.org.uk/index.asp?page=item&mwsquery={Identity%20number}={BDNNM:1000-2314}

I had assumed that it had always been a furniture shop, and most Web photos show it with a name board “Phillips and Jones” fully across the front of the building. However, I discovered during this week, in the Shropshire Council Archives, an undated (but tagged as “late 20^th Century”) photo showing it without the name board and carved into the façade above the central door “Electricity Supply”! The photo shows a workman painting the white lines on the centre of the road by hand!! The low-sided lorry in the background looks to me to be of 1950s vintage?? Any views??

http://www.shropshirehistory.org.uk/ and put CCA_XPH_B_25_7_10/ in the search box.

It’s been done before

Also in the archives, a photo of a 7mm/ft model of the (as in 1900s) Cliff Railway made in the 1950s and exhibited at the Model Engineers exhibition in London in 1960. The size of the 7mm model in the photo has reinforced my decision to model in 4mm scale!

http://www.bridgnorthmuseum.org.uk/index.asp?page=item&mwsquery={Identity%20number}={BDNNM:1000-1358/1}

Track and Steps being made.

On a more positive note I have assembled a metre length of the 14.2mm gauge track, and made a start on the steps which go between the two tracks from bottom to top of the whole length. The prototype steps are made from approximately 15” square x 30”long blue-brick blocks.You need to be fit the climb these 95 steps!

I had thought of having sections of the steps 50mm long cast in resin, (and approached Phil Traxson just before he went on holiday), but an attempt at making a pattern for moulding was not satisfactory. So, having made a simple jig and a trial 150mm length from styrene section, I think that I will continue with this fairly tedious job, slowed down by the difficulty in getting decent ventilation in this cold weather, to avoid becoming a “glue sniffer”!

Sorry about the colour, the Styrene is white (Honest!) ... picture taken with illumination by our domestic wall lights, no flash.