Scratch-built card and styrene structures (based on real buildings around London Bridge)

[Jim Martin]

On 31/08/2020 at 09:20, grahame said:

Damn, damn, damn. I forgot that today is a bank holiday. The model shop is going to be closed. I'm not going to be able to get super glue. The cinema will have to wait. 

 

I'll have to consider what I can do. Perhaps I could make the ABC letters sign from styrene. Here's a pic of how it looked in 1963 and the sign:

 

 

 

This might have been taken in 1964. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow was released in 1964 and won the Academy Award for "Best Foreign Language Film" in 1965. Marcelo Mastroianni won the "Best Foreign Actor" Bafta in 1965 for his performance.

 

Jim

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Jim Martin

[grahame]

I'd managed to acquire an N scale Walthers Cornerstone kit of a gasholder for a decent price quite some years ago. And I thought I'd take a look at it with a view to building it. I've not made an Airfix style plastic kit for many years. The box is relatively large (although a bit battered now) with quite nice box art and the rather American terminology of 'Gas Storage Tank'. 

 

The building instructions include a nice amount of text giving the history of gas holders and their use. And how you can use them on a model railway layout. However, what was surprising was that the box was stuffed with sprues of parts and there are quite a number of them - not the simplest of kits:

 

 

 

[grahame]

Although this gasholder kit is quite large, especially compared with other N gauge kits, at a diameter of 6" and 6" tall it's still quite small scale-wise. Gasholders are big structures, even the small ones. The ‘number 13’ holder, one of three still standing (although all now decommissioned), at the Old Kent Road site was, when built in 1879-81, the largest in the world and is now grade II listed. At 160ft tall with a diameter of over 210ft it could hold 5.5m cubic feet of gas. It has 22 wrought iron standards (columns) supporting the frame-work and is an example of a frame guided type. As a scale N gauge model it would be 13 inches tall and 1.5ft wide although of course it was a big one and others were smaller, although generally not the tiny efforts from RTP producers such as Hornby Lyddle End.

 

Here's a pic of the Old Kent Road site taken in January 2018 (the No13 holder is right) which are probably the closest holders to London Bridge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grahame]

I've started on the main structure. You work around the base adding the standards and infill tank sections. There is a choice of standards with the tank at different heights - I've chosen the ones with the lower (less full) holder:

 

[phil_sutters]

On 10/09/2020 at 18:44, grahame said:

Although this gasholder kit is quite large, especially compared with other N gauge kits, at a diameter of 6" and 6" tall it's still quite small scale-wise. Gasholders are big structures, even the small ones. The ‘number 13’ holder, one of three still standing (although all now decommissioned), at the Old Kent Road site was, when built in 1879-81, the largest in the world and is now grade II listed. At 160ft tall with a diameter of over 210ft it could hold 5.5m cubic feet of gas. It has 22 wrought iron standards (columns) supporting the frame-work and is an example of a frame guided type. As a scale N gauge model it would be 13 inches tall and 1.5ft wide although of course it was a big one and others were smaller, although generally not the tiny efforts from RTP producers such as Hornby Lyddle End.

 

Here's a pic of the Old Kent Road site taken in January 2018 (the No13 holder is right) which are probably the closest holders to London Bridge:

 

and here is the same one I photographed earlier - in 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by phil_sutters

[grahame]

This morning I've finished getting all the standards and holder sections in place. And have even glued the top on, hopefully to add some rigidity, although according to the instructions it is the last piece to be added. I need to add a little filler to some of the section joints although in general it all butts up acceptably neatly and the joints are behind the standards.

 

 

I'm going to give a little thought as to how to make it look more in keeping with the holders I have photographed - with the bottom lift section moveable (disappearing down to ground level) rather than fixed above, and to make and add cross bracing for the lower level. I'm also considering not adding the platform walkway - it's rather chunky and you don't see them on all holders:

 

Battersea:

 

Sydenham:

 

The Oval

 

Croydon:

 

 

 

[grahame]

To make it look like the bottom lift section would sink down below ground level I've added a dwarf wall around the bottom to represent the water seal at that level. Annoyingly I've discovered that the curvature of the holder at the bottom would foul any bracing struts between the standards so I'm having to thicken them up at this level to move the cross bracing (I make and add) away from the holder. Above the thicker section there are cross bracing parts supplied in the kit. Overall I hope it doesn't make the holder look like it is too staggered inward towards the top:

 

 

[grahame]

I've cut down the height of the bottom holder section to give the impression that it is a lift section partially below ground level. The model as supplied gives the impression the bottom section is rigid and fixed above ground and the two lifts above collapse down in to it rather than all three being able to sink down to be at ground level as with most British gasholders. The dwarf wall I've added also helps give the impression it is part of a water seal for the bottom lift .

 

I've now also got all the cross bracing on as supplied in the kit. I need to make some for the bottom section as that is not included (presumably as that section has rigid fixed walls rather than being a lift section). However, I need to get some appropriate sized styrene strip for that. Nonetheless I've given it a blast of  grey primer to tie it together:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grahame]

No progress for a while, while I wait for the delivery of some styrene strip that I've ordered - I'd run out of the required size.

 

In the meantime I'm thinking through the best way to assemble the cross bracing without it being flexed in to too much of a curve.

 

 

[grahame]

While waiting for the styrene strip to arrive to make the bottom level cross bracing, I've had a bash at trying to reduce the height of the bottom section (formally an above ground water tank as in the kit) so that it looks like it is a lift that is partially below ground level.

 

Unfortunately, despite cutting as much off the top of the tank as possible it’s still not quite sufficient. The upper lifts would extend upward to their full height before the lower lift engages (though a ‘cup’ on the bottom of the upper lift and ‘grip’ on the top of the lower lift to form a seal) and gets drawn up. I can't cut anymore off as the middle lift is not moulded to it's full height and anymore would be below the bottom of it. Nonetheless, hopefully it does now give an impression of being a three-lift holder with below ground water tank.

 

 

 

[queensquare]

Gas holder looks great Grahame. Ive been looking for one of these kits for ages for the gasworks at Bath but all the ebay ones Ive spotted have exorbitant postage from the states.

 

Jerry

[grahame]

Thanks.

 

I was lucky and picked up the kit from a UK based retailer for a good price some years ago (it might have been eBay, although it was so long ago I can't remember). But I have noticed that now on eBay they all seem to be from the states with high postage.

 

Having tried to bash it in to a more typical (for London and the SE at least) below ground water tank version (with three lifts), I'd tackle it differently if I were to do it again.

 

 

[grahame]

That looks to be a rigid type of gasholder with internal dry seal diaphragm (like a piston that moves up and down). The one at Battersea was 295ft tall and could hold 6.5m cubic feet of gas. It dominated the skyline and was built 1930-2 but succumbed to demolition at the end of 2017:

 

 

 

 

 

[grahame]

The styrene strip turned up in the post this morning.

 

I've drawn up a 'template' on a piece of card and made a start on making the cross bracing, hopefully to replicate, or at least look very similar to, that supplied in the kit for the upper levels:

 

[grahame]

I've finally got all the bottom level cross-bracing on. And I don't fancy doing it again. Not only was it fiddly to make but also fiddly and difficult to fit. Being fragile and able to flex, plus with little gluing area, it was easy to touch them and they'd ping off or fall to pieces. Or because they flexed you'd measure carefully (twice) and cut just a tad oversize and then when trimming off a tiny bit (less than 0.25mm) to fit exactly they'd then suddenly be too small or the wrong angle.

 

Plus they are a little chunky compared with the other kit part cross-bracing. And that's because the next size down of styrene strip was too small and this size is a very small amount larger than I'd have liked (but is probably the closest). Consequently, with the fiddlyness I've not made a very good job, but hopefully when I've got some paint on and it's at the back of a layout it won't be too obvious:

 

 

Still, at least it now looks more like a frame guided, below ground water tank, with three lift sections, gas holder more akin to those one typically sees (or saw) in London. Even if a little small. Now for a break while I contemplate the best way to paint it - it's difficult enough to handle being all covered with fragile cross-bracing as well as having to paint behind it.

 

 

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

Looks ok to me, if there is a difference, it would be more prototypical to have a larger section on the bottom, as that is where the greater load is. 

 

 

[grahame]

I'm resigned to the fact that with the framework fixed in place, painting and weathering the holder body would be rather tricky behind the framing and I'll need to carefully hand paint the standards and bracing after the holder lifts have been painted. Consequently the sides of the holder body has been given a coat of Humbrol acrylic dark brown from an aerosol. Although it is called ‘dark’ brown the finish is actually quite light and fortunately very much like rust, making it a good base for adding washes and powders to represent weathering effects.

 

 

 

 

[grahame]

On top of the brown I've added some very thin black washes and then tied it together with a light dusting of the brown. I'm quite pleased with the look - I'm hoping to capture a look between that of the dark greasy Old Kent Road holder (as Phil posted earlier) and the very rusty look of many when full:

 

 

 

 

 

The crown and top lip needs painting grey, but I've also made a start on painting the framing a blue/grey colour. It seems to be rather like painting the Forth bridge and is probably taking as long as painting a real gasholder. I've managed two standards and two sets of framing this afternoon so I've only undertaken one fifth of it. Then there's painting the dwarf wall a concrete colour as well as the crown to do . . . 

 

 

 

[Ramrig]

On 14/09/2020 at 12:52, JimRead said:

I recalled a gas holder from when I used to travel around, in Swan Village not far from West Bromwich.

Unfortunately this gas holder (the one close to Bilhay Lane) met its end at the hands of the gas axe last year.

Edited September 19, 2020 by Ramrig
Add in Bilhay lane

[grahame]

I think I've got all the paint on now . . . 

 

 

 

[sb67]

That looks superb! 

[grahame]

While searching the internet for pics of the Old Kent Road gasworks I came across this fantastic photo:

 

 

IMO it's a great inspirational urban scene that cries out to be modelled. There's a fantastic range of interesting building types and two class 33s on an engineer's train.  And the detail on view is staggering. The bridge is over the Old Kent Road (near its south/east end). Cantor Motors no longer exists - demolished to make the junction with Ilderton Road wider. The prison looking buildings at the top left are the old New Cross hospital - also now gone - although the long angled building with a wall along the road is part of an ambulance station. The petrol station across the Old Kent Road almost opposite that angled road is still there although there is now a large overall canopy.

 

One odd thing is that the car (Anglia?) and Transit van look like they are driving on the wrong side of the road. And there are cars parked at an angle to the kerb a little further up restricting the road width with what looks like a temporary barrier preventing vehicles coming the other way. The pic is from the late 60s and I lived a little further up the road in the early 70s.

 

 

 

 

[westerhamstation]

Hi Grahame, what a superb photo and thanks for posting it. All the best Adrian.

[Siberian Snooper]

It's amazing how little traffic there is for such a major thoroughfare, back then, I bet it's pretty much nose to tail in more normal times, these days.

 

 

[grahame]

1 hour ago, Siberian Snooper said:

It's amazing how little traffic there is for such a major thoroughfare, back then, 

 

 

 And not a truck or bus to be seen . . . . 

 

The main road is the A2. To the right of the bridge it's the Old Kent Road and the other side (left/top) it's the New Cross Road.