How to build a station platform?

[Titanius Anglesmith]

I feel a bit silly asking this. I did try searching but I think the terms “building” and “platform” are a bit too generic for a railway forum....

 

I’ve laid the up and down tracks in what is going to be the station area. I’m now thinking about how to build the platforms alongside (side platforms, not island). There is a shallow curve through the station, so one platform face will be convex and the other concave. May I ask for some advice on the following points please?

 

1. What method of construction? I suspect there are as many answers to that as there are forum members. If it helps I am a confident woodworker, but I don’t know how to address the scenic facade. I intend for the platform faces to be brick. 

 

2. How do I figure out the distance from the running line without either leaving a scale 5 foot gap or fouling the loading gauge? (especially given the end and centre throw of stock on the curve). I suspect the answer is to gauge it using the actual stock in question?

 

3. I need to lay a siding road on the outside of one of the platforms. Is it best to lay the siding first, and gauge the platform (now an island, in a sense) to suit? Or build the platform, and lay the siding to suit?

 

If it’s relevant, the scale is OO and the era is 1920s/30s (but naturally the station may exhibit architectural details from before then, eg. platform faces without an undercut). 

 

Many thanks in advance. 

[Ian Morgan]

One way of marking out the platform edges is to take a long bogie coach and hold a pencil against the side at its centre, vertical so it draws on the baseboard as you roll the carriage along. This will mark the clearance for the convex curve.

 

Repeat with the pencil at one end of the carriage side to mark the concave curve. Repeat with a locomotive which may have a large overhand at the front end, or over-wide cylinders.

 

 

 

How they do it in Germany:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Ian Morgan

[Pete the Elaner]

It is far from a silly question.

I found some drawings with dimensions by Clive Mortimore, possibly on this forum. These will give a good starting point but there are variations on the real railway.

 

I cut myself some gauges from plastic. You may want to do the same to achieve consistency, but probably to your own measurements, not necessarily mine:

I included coping stones in my gauge.

 

Platform height 12mm from top of rail (gives 3' platform height. 2'9" was also common).

Platform face from top inside of rail 13mm

Height of coping from top of platform 3mm.

Horizontal distance of coping from inside of rail 10mm

 

The station on my layout is on the straight. I was keen to achieve this because I wanted a tight clearance between train & platform. You will therefore need to increase the 2nd & 4th measurements above.

 

You will obviously need a long coach or loco to test. A BR Mk3 should be ideal for checking clearance because it has more overhang & underhang than most. I know this is out of your era but it should give you a safety margin You may also want to try a long Pacific such as an LMS Princess for overhang.

[HLT 0109]

If it is a question of getting the curve right, I find that holding a sheeto of paper firmly over the rails and running a finger along the rail nearest where the platform will be, gives the required curve.  If that is then cut out, it becomes a template for the platform top and the platform walls can be shaped to suit.  Then it is a matter of trial and error to position the finished product as near as possible to rolling stock on the line.  It is more difficult with an island platform!

 

Harold.

[Schooner]

I don't really know what I'm talking about, but the method used in this video seems to give a lot of flexibility as well as decent results.

 

The whole chanel is informative, entertaining and relaxing. Definitely becoming a favourite

 

 

[Titanius Anglesmith]

Thank you all for the useful suggestions 

[mwrosebury2000]

To decide on clearances I have used the pencil on stock, the thickness of the pencil acts as a safety margin, beware if you get larger stock it might not fit. For the platform itself I have used Dapol kits, Hornby clip together stuff and wood in the past.

 

The Dapol kits are cheap and easy to build.

 

The last time I used the Hornby stuff I clipped it all together and added filler in the joins / holes for the canopies before giving it a coat of tarmac coloured paint & then reapplied a thinner white line. I also used a Hornby canopy repainted to make it suite what I wanted. I also added some plasticard brick over the Hornby ones.

 

I have also used timber boards, just get the right thickness for your scale. I covered these with plasticard brick on the edges and flags on the top. I then cut out some stone flags from the next scale up to represent the bigger stones found at the edges before adding the white lines. I have found that some of the brick has warped, not sure if it is the glue, the wood and plastic combo or something else.

 

Mark

[DCB]

The Buckdale method shown in the video looks good, foam board should be easy to curve roughly to shape and the Wills edging should take out any irregularities.   The big mistake many / most modellers make is getting the platforms too high.  Generally passenger platforms don't exceed 3ft to the top of the surface, many are much lower especially back in the 1930s  and buffers centres are nominally 3ft 5 1/2 " inches so your platforms should be noticeably below buffer centre lines, with old small buffer heads the whole buffer head should be above the platform.

Docks not used for passenger trains, often mistaken for Bays used by passenger trains were often higher to make unloading vans and wagons easier up to 3ft 6" and even more.    I take buffer centre lines as a template.  As did Triang Hornby.  I have a chosen Hornby Dublo 00 wagon with buffers on one end only for a template, and currently arrange platforms 2mm below the buffer centres, fractionally below 12mm.  Triang / Triang-Hornby did the same but they raised their buffers to suit the tension lock couplers  and also used "Underlay" for their overscale track so their platforms ended up much too high for scale stock and scale track.   The mistake I made years ago was using 1/2" timber and laying ply as a surface. It really annoys me being too high but I can't face ripping either the platforms up to lower them or the track to raise it.

[PaulG]

One platform construction was (is) paving slabs with  a brick edging/coper, which usually appears to be a blue brick with anti-slip crisscross finish as per the photograph.

 

In 4mm scale, plasticard, paper and card paving slabs are available for the platform surface, but does anyone produce the edging?

 

Paul

[Titanius Anglesmith]

Thank you kindly for the info, all very useful

[PaulG]

Further to my post above and photo of the platform at Colchester, here is progress to date on my layout. I'm not a fan of card kits especially on a layout in a shed, which is subject to a degree of heat/cold and damp. However, the platforms are 7 feet long and on a 180deg min 3 ft radius, so chose the option as least painful! In reality, the platforms should be roughly straight, which gave a dilemma when starting the paving. The platforms are made from Metcalf kits and the coper/edging is cut from paper roof tile, which roughly the correct size and colour. Now just to add the white line!

Paul