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Freshwater gets a Station Building

Ian Morgan

Entry posted by Ian Morgan

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The station building that fronted Freshwater Station from 1889 until it was demolished to make way for a Co-op supermarket, was the largest and grandest of the stations of the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway. It comprised the two storey Station Master's house, with single storey booking hall, waiting rooms and conveniences, and was extended at some time to add a parcels office. It was red brick, with tiled roof rather than slates. The brickwork was quite ornate around the eaves and around the division of the two storeys, and an unusual brick bond was used - Flemish Garden Wall Bond. This is formed by 3 stretchers then one header rather than the one stretcher, one header pattern of normal Flemish Bond brickwork. The roof tiles as also not straightforward. There are 5 rows of rectangular tiles, then five rows with scalloped edges, and so forth.

 

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See http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/freshwater/ for more images of the real thing.

 

I did not fancy trying to fabricate such an ornate building from card or plastic-card, and as I had been playing with 3D printing, this seemed to be the obvious candidate for my next experiment. In the end, it took a year to complete the 3D model on the computer. Every brick and every tile is a separate 3D object, merged into an inner skeleton of walls. I duplicated rows and areas of bricks and tiles where I could, but it was still a slow and tedious process.

 

A few test prints of part of the building were purchased from Shapeways to check the proportions, and the details as it progressed. I knew the window frames and ridge tiles were beyond the current abilities of 3D printing, so I made the window apertures to suit some etched brass sash window frames available from Brassmasters, and made a groove at the top of the roofs that an etch from Scalelink fitted. The notice boards have been added from the Trackside Signs range, but apart from that, and a little paint, the building is exactly as it was delivered from Shapeways. The brick and tilework has been rendered crisply and clearly on three sides. The side that is not so good is, of course, the side that is facing the public on the layout.

 

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Ian Morgan
Hampshire

 

Edit:

 

Here is a screenshot of the 3D model in Blender:
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D869

Nice work Ian. I can imagine how much effort it took to create that 3D model.

 

How big was the file that you sent to Shapeways in the end and how many quids did they require to produce the print?

 

Regards, Andy

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Peter Bedding

With pedant mode on. Mrs PB and I were both residents of Freshwater Bay in the long distant past, and from the late 1940s Mrs PB was a regular holiday traveller from Freshwater via Newport to the main holiday spots. The Station site was undisturbed for a short time until the site was cleared to build the Acorn Spring Works. It would have been this factory that was cleared for subsequent retail activity.

 

Hth.

 

PB

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Ian Morgan
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Peter,

 

thanks for that information. I did know of the Acorn Spring Works, but I had assumed it occupied the old station building. I know that the magazine stand remained open for a while after the railway closed, which meant customers had to walk through the station building to get to it, and the toilets were used as public conveniences after the railway closed.

 

Another piece of information I am trying to determine is the brand of petrol associated with the garage over the road. I know it would still have been 'Pool Spirit' but I expect the pre-war branding would still be present. I am assured it was not Esso, because someone remembers a sign saying 'All tigers humanely removed'.

 

Ian

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Peter Bedding

I well remember the garage, but not when it ceased to sell petrol. Around 1962 it was still trading (I almost bought a second-hand car there). By 1963-ish the "showroom" had been converted to a quasi-gambling club, complete with one-armed bandits that were considered more lucrative than the motor trade. Sorry for going OT!

 

PB

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Ian Morgan
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There is still a petrol station across from the, now, 'old' Co-op site, and the main building with the chimneys and bay window is still as shown on the old O.S. maps.

 

Inserting Flickr image of Streetview screenshot is not working. Try following this link:

 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/ianm42/401md5

 

Ian

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crompton

Great looking model! Worth trying the Isle of Wight steam railway for photos and local insight. They have extensive archives and very helpful.

 

 

 

 

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Andy Y

I've only just found this due to your link on window etches but I think it's absolutely superb!

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Deltheboy

My first family holiday after the end of the second world war was at Freshwater Bay, this was my first experience of travel by train, I can still remember the station as it was in those times specially the metal fence.

 

I have travelled back there since and was surprised that the fence was still in evidence. We spent some time in the end of line café, on display were many nostalgic photos on the wall of the café.

 

Nostalgia at its best.

 

Congratulations on the layout, you have captured the ambiance perfectly,

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Blade Fisher

Lived on the Island for many years.  We walked the FYN in 1968 and I now have a flat nearby.

 

Acorn Spring Works took the station site over at the front and Tim Honour the rear - (and most of the platform) - with his garden centre.  Sadly passed on now there was a photo or two taken by Eric Toogood a well known local photographer and one of the old station was in the foyer of Acorn Spring Works.  It might be worth trying to ascertain what happened to his photographic collection.

 

The site is now up for sale again as the Co-op has moved down the road a few hundred yards and over to the western side.

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