24 minutes ago, Annie said:

Another wonderful research project Mike.  Once again you've pulled together what remains in the way of fragments of information and pieced it together into an excellent article.

I'm very pleased you like my investigations into the earliest days of the GWR, Annie.  I can see that a lot of early Broad Gauge modelling has been done for the Trainz simulator and perhaps someone will follow up my findings to make a virtual working layout of Paddington.  It could be a great project.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

That's some damned impressive modeling! Not only most usefully illustrated, but also written in such a way as entertains as well as informs. 

Looking forward to the next instalment very much indeed.

18 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

I'm very pleased you like my investigations into the earliest days of the GWR, Annie.  I can see that a lot of early Broad Gauge modelling has been done for the Trainz simulator and perhaps someone will follow up my findings to make a virtual working layout of Paddington.  It could be a great project.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

If you move your drawings forward 95 years you could as I'm always looking for materials/ info for my own Paddington project. 😊

I've included a pic of my luddite pencil plans lol.. these are 148th scale and looking from Lords Hill bridge to Praed st. I've since extended this back to Great Western Road but had to cut it into many peices as it became unmanageable lol. CAD etc wasn't an option for me but what your achieving would be invaluable to anyone building the BG period.

Nice work Mike, I had thoughts of doing a similar thing but it would have been a distraction for me. It is useful that the drawings survive, as you know I have used Fusion to draw up High Wycombe in the broad gauge although I drew the entire site up in 4mm scale. Doing the basics of buildings takes time but adding all small details and textures takes ages.

One of the original building at Paddington as seen in the illustrations matches the goods shed at Taplow so I think they are contemporary and are the same.

David

2 hours ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

Doing the basics of buildings takes time but adding all small details and textures takes ages.

Indeed it does and I've done very little detailing so far.  The good thing though is that once the basics are in place, one can go on adding details as much as one feels like.  I have a lot to lean still about rendering and your results are inspirational 😃

4 hours ago, Mikkel said:

How close can you zoom in, e.g. is it possible to stand beneath the canopies and look out at the track?

Very close indeed if you wish!  I haven't done very much detailing yet but here's a view from the Arrivals platform with 'Vulcan'.  It's great fun moving around to seek new angles 🙂

Eventually, the carriage shed and other building should be in the background.  As I said to David, I've a long way to go in learning the possibilities with this software.

Another potential application is to use it for planning the layout/diorama that I hope to build 'one day'

Mike

13 hours ago, Annie said:

The NRCA were the source of the plans, but they were such a mixed up old lot of different amended versions it was difficult for Steve to tell what the GWR had actually intended for Cheltenham.

It's just the same in the case of Paddington.  Some plans were for designs that never materialised, while others show alterations that were made quite early on.  For example the arrangements on the Arrivals side were already changing by 1842.  It was a steep learning curve for those working on the prototype as well as those trying to model it 🙂

For those who haven't see this sort of thing, here's an example of what one has to work with:

Mike

Do you plan to include the stables, cattle sheds and grain stores which survived til closure of the goods depot?

I have struggled to find much pic wise of these areas, although i have achieved a general arrangement of the various structures , roads etc.

8 minutes ago, Long Line said:

Do you plan to include the stables, cattle sheds and grain stores which survived til closure of the goods depot?

 

'Plan' is not a word that applies to much of my modelling. 

At present, I'm thinking about the Engine House and Carriage shed to the West of Bishop's Road.  I haven't given any thoughts yet to the Goods Depot to the East but probably will 'one day'.  I am looking at the earliest period c.1840 and am not yet sure what facilities were there at the beginning.

Hi Mike

do you draw each building as it’s own model and then bring each one into another assembly as I do or are you drawing the entire thing as one model?

23 minutes ago, David Bigcheeseplant said:

Hi Mike

do you draw each building as it’s own model and then bring each one into another assembly as I do or are you drawing the entire thing as one model?

 

 

I tend to use a mixture of both.  For the relatively simple items that I've produced so far, they are all in one model file.  I create them by extruding from 'canvases' in the appropriate planes and then move them around over the groundplane 'canvas'.  For more complex structures, I create them separately and use 'insert derive' to being them together for assembly.  This was how I brought in different models, such as the engine and carriages.

As usual, Mike this is fantastic stuff! You have directly inspired me to investigate 3-D, modelling and printing for railways, and I’m part of my way through the journey of modelling the LBSCR terminus building at Brighton circa 1841, from the RIBA archive of plans.

I wish I had the e stick to run a Mike Sharman style early era layout, but not yet!

11 hours ago, ChrisN said:

Did they keep trains there until a platform was free and move the train across then?  The end loaded luggage wagons, were they loaded and then added to the train?

All good questions, Chris.  As I wrote in a reply to Annie above: "It was a steep learning curve for those working on the prototype".  No-one had built a railway terminus like this before.  Road coaches were loaded individually and I expected this influenced the way in which 'trains' were assembled.  When there were only a few trains a day, it probably worked for a while but, gradually, the methods evolved.  The later plans show that considerable changes had already been made by 1845, with additional arrival platforms.  Building a model like mine helps in visualising the problems they faced.

Mike

What a brilliant piece of research and digital modelling - how big would it be in 4MM scale out of interest?

I hope you'll write it up for the Broadsheet in due course.

Regards,

Duncan

9 hours ago, Northroader said:

and one from the NRM, a contemporary? painting of the scene, one detail which might show how things were done is the smoke box doors opened, presumably to help the fire cool down and reduce boiler pressure?

This second one is the image I had in mind when I created my own view of the Arrivals platform, above. 

You are more charitable regarding the smokebox doors than I felt - I assumed it was what the artist thought went on behind the smokebox doors - which were, so far as I know, never like that!  In fact. I made my own version of that image, substituting my model of Firefly in place of the 'artist's impression'

My favourite part of the image is the pattern of shadows cast by the lanterns on the platform - very atmospheric 🙂

Mike

11 hours ago, drduncan said:

I hope you'll write it up for the Broadsheet in due course.

That is my intention - eventually.  there's a lot more to do on the rest of the site, yet.

Mike

The goods shed at Paddington with a photo of the goods shed at Taplow, with the Dutch hip roof I think both buildings are contemporary with each other, or are they they same building relocated? 

Just now, Northroader said:

What we now call Taplow was originally the Western terminus for Maidenhead, before the bridge over the Thames was completed. The goods shed is contemporary with the one at Paddington, sharing the same design, but the Paddington one is larger. The Taplow shed lasted until quite recently, but then demolished, which was a real pity.

Not quite, the Western terminus was originally where the A4 now passes under the Railway at Dumb Bell bridge  https://history.networkrail.co.uk/uncategorized/SO_a405f0ca-0957-46d8-8f88-6e183bf63c0a/ The current Maidenhead and Taplow stations were opened in 1872, although I think there was goods facilities at the current Taplow site from the opening of the line.

David