Wenlock's Blog

Looking good, Dave. The chamfers around the doors and windows look very good. I do wonder about those corbel blocks at the top of the corners, though. They are a very prominent feature of Clarke's station buildings but I've not noticed them on the few goods sheds that I've looked at (e.g. Upwey). If they are present on others, I'd have expected them to be slightly larger, like those on the stations. In the last two of your photos, they start about 3" up from the base of the applied "quoin", though I'd expect a single large block starting at that base. Maybe it's just the red colour and they'll look right when painted...

 

Nick

Dave,

 

Lovely modelling as usual.  Unfortunately, I have to agree with Nick that the cobels do look like they've been stuck on and not carved from a single block that is bedded into the wall.

 

As for the office, I suspect that you could put one outside the building or incorporate a wooden / brick office in one corner, since this is your interpretation of what a Clarke Goods Shed would have looked like, then the choice as they say is yours.  I guess a driving factor will be the sheds location on the layout and whether a lean to appendage would have sufficient clearances around it relating to other sidings, etc.

 

Ian

Lovely model making.

I think the problem with the corbel is that it spans two quoins. The over hanging part needs a joint in it. I have seen stone corbeling over three stones. Or you need it to be on one stone. Rather than bridging two.

Hi guys, I thought long and hard about the corbels, as Nick says they don't appear on pictures of goods sheds that I've seen. My thinking is that as the Goods Shed will be positioned on the platform alongside the Station Building, then a similar architectural style might have been used. I can't find a similar prototype situation, so this is just my interpretation of what William Clarke might have come up with in a similar situation. I agree at present the red acrylic corbels do look stuck on, but with a bit of filler here and there, in conjunction with some paint and weathering they should look like one piece of stone.

 

Thanks for you thoughts, it all helps me on my musings and ponderings!

 

Dave

What a monster!

 

I think a lean-to outside the shed would be unlikely and inconvenient, and probably a desk and a cupboard inside would be sufficient for the paperwork. As for tea-drinking, the staff would probably have convened in the more salubrious station building itself, which was only a few yards away.

Thanks very much for sharing this, Dave. Apart from the superb modelling, your technique for modelling the windows is a great tip. Just looking at your work makes me want to havea  go at one of these (better not, though!).

 

As for the corbels, it does seem that Clarke's goods sheds were a bit more functional and no-nonsense in style than his station buildings, so if you want to capture the style of the man (and the tight budgets of the railway?) I suppose the corbels may be a bit too much. On the other hand, the design is a "might-have-been" and I can follow your reasoning that a platform-based goods shed might have had a bit more decoration.

Hi Miss P, I hope that's a "monster" in a good way! I think taking tea in the station building's a great solution and I like your suggestion of a desk and cupboard in one corner.

 

Thanks Mikkel, I'm glad you're enjoying the build. I for one would love to see your "take" on a William Clarke building. How about modelling the next station down the line from Farthing, perfect for excursions departing from the bay!

 

The corbels do seem to be causing some discussion, which I'm enjoying. I'm still undecided about them really, perhaps I should start a poll with votes for them staying or not. Lol

 

Best wishes

 

Dave

Certainly Adrian Vaughan's Signalman's Morning relates that there were a few items stored permanently in the goods shed but nothing substantial enough to require a separate office or mess room. It seems much of the work centred around the station building at a small station.

Hi Dave, well I was sort of thinking the next station down the line from Farthing was a halt (based on those lovely Lambourne branch halts), but who knows :-) 

 

Before you start a poll on the corbells, we will need to have a fifty page thread to discuss the range of voting options, including whether there should also be options for those who model Babylonian Narrow Gauge to 65.7

 

Before you start a poll on the corbells, we will need to have a fifty page thread to discuss the range of voting options, including whether there should also be options for those who model Babylonian Narrow Gauge to 65.7

Very impressive work indeed, I especially like what you've done with the window and door openings, shaving the quoins into a profile...very skillful. If I may add my voice to the debate regarding the corbels, I think the side elevation looks perfect. It's only when the eye begins to question the corbels versus the quoins on the end elevation that a false note creeps in. I think the corbels would have been one solid unit, rebated into the gable wall. But, how can I criticise work of this standard...it's nit picking really!

Hi Iain, not "nit picking" at all in my opinion. I think a bit of constructive criticism can be really helpful in raising my modelling standards. It's all too easy to loose sight of the wood from the trees and accept something that's not quite right, because it's too much effort to fix it! In light of the comments from Nick, Ian and all, I've removed the offending quoins and replaced them with one solid piece of plasticard. I'm much happier with the "Mark 2 version", I'll post some pictures shortly. Thanks for you're interest and I hope you like the "new improved corbels!"

 

Best wishes

 

Dave