The Only Way is Romford (Part 4)
One of the more iconic features of Romford station are the overbridges. Bridge 102A (footbridge) was built in 1893 to link the Great Eastern Station to the London Tilbury & Southend Station. Bridge(s) 102 (Main and Electric lines) were built in 1931 as part of the four tracking and replaced the original brick arch structure, albeit some of the abutments were reused.
I managed to ascertain the span length from scale drawings that I had acquired. The depth of the main girders was calculated from counting bricks on the adjacent abutments. The main web plates were constructed from 0.5mm thick Plasticard. The flanges were built up with 1mm plastic angle sections and a 0.5mm thick flange plate. The web stiffeners were made from 1.2mm plastic T” sections. I sprayed each complete girder with Halfords grey primer. The south span carried a number of cable troughs. These were constructed from 3mm square tube sections and were supported on brackets cut from chrome staples. When complete, the girder and associated cable runs were weathered. Archer rivet transfers were added to the top and side plates.
The notable feature of the bridge was the large fluorescent lettering which featured on the north and south sides of the main girders. The wording read, “British Railways, Romford Station, Frequent Electric Trains to London”. I recreated the wording with 3mm and 5mm Slaters lettering, which was stuck to 0.5mm brass wires. The south span (Electric Lines) also incorporated a dual track overhead line (OLE) gantry (12/22) and integral signal gantry (R64). This was a highly unusual arrangement and one that has now been phased out, probably due to Electricity at Work regulations. The OLE gantry was constructed using brass sections and Weismann insulators (see my previous blog: The Only Way is….Romford – Part 3).
The signal gantry (Electric Lines) was built from 1mm brass angle and 0.5mm brass wire to form the railings. I modified a Berko 4-aspect signal head to match to curved back plate that was prevalent on this stretch of line. The signal wires were threaded through 1.5mm brass tube, which was bent to recreate the dog-leg profile. The signal gantry deck was constructed from scored card and was suitably weathered. The OLE/signal gantry was sprayed with grey primer and fixed to the main girders on pre-assembled Plasticard supports. The whole structure was weathered and glued in to position on the baseboard.
The footbridge was constructed using the same methodology as the main girders and incorporated a corrugated roof. Supporting arches for the roof were formed from laser cut Romark and included a channel for a longitudinal stiffening beam and lighting conduit. Three LEDs were wired along the length of the bridge and additional one for the height restriction sign. I used Ambis corrugated sheets for the roof which was formed over the supporting arches and glued into position.
Edited by gazzaday
Photos have not uploaded properly
-
11
-
2
4 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now