Cholsey & Moulsford (Change for Wallingford)

[Nick Gough]

1 hour ago, ChrisN said:

 

Nick,

It is a Tortoiseshell butterfly.  Perhaps it has been hibernating in your railway room.

 

I had a few visit the room in the summer, but I didn't realise that one had taken up residence!

[Nick Gough]

I have finished gluing brickwork to the building including the corbelling at the top of the walls.

 

The platform side, again with gaps for the canopy girders and a rainwater downpipe:

 

The rear with the protruding 'wings' to each side, of the lower wall, as shewn on the drawings.

 

The drawings shew that these 'wings' extend forward, towards the platform, as buttressing:

 

At the rear they are attached to retaining walls, set at 90 degrees, to hold back the embankment sides:

 

I have tried to replicate the buttressing at the sides:

 

However, the drawings don't clearly shew the detail, especially how they are topped off.

 

My photos don't help much either:

 

I will probably do what nature has done (with a bit more restraint) and hide the tops with ground cover!

 

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[MrWolf]

I would think perhaps the walls are capped off with the same bull nosed engineering copings as is the wing wall?

[Nick Gough]

On 26/01/2022 at 13:41, MrWolf said:

I would think perhaps the walls are capped off with the same bull nosed engineering copings as is the wing wall?

 

Thanks. That sounds quite likely.

 

Although, just to confuse matters, this is what happens on the other side of the station:

However, in this case, the coping stone on top of the pillar is clearly shewn on the drawings.

 

 

 

Also interesting, on this side, the retaining wing walls are angled, bottom to top, into the embankment, whilst the down main pair are vertical.

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Siberian Snooper]

3 hours ago, Nick Gough said:

 

Thanks. That sounds quite likely.

 

Although, just to confuse matters, this is what happens on the other side of the station:

However, in this case, the coping stone on top of the pillar is clearly shewn on the drawings.

 

 

Also interesting, on this side, the retaining wing walls are angled, bottom to top, into the embankment, whilst the down main pair are vertical.

 

Probably as a result of the latter quadrupling, would introduce different building practices.

 

 

[MrWolf]

The concrete capping looks like a modern repair or alteration. The brickwork on the left-hand side looks very modern, the brickwork looks more typical of something less than forty years old. 

I think it was mentioned earlier about rebuilding that particular wall?

[Nick Gough]

13 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

 

Probably as a result of the latter quadrupling, would introduce different building practices.

 

 

Normally that would be the case - where an existing station station was enlarged or extended.

 

However, Cholsey & Moulsford was a brand new station when it was built, in 1891, as a result of the quadrupling. There was nothing there before then except for being the point where the Wallingford branch left the main line.

 

Previously the branch line had continued, as a separate track, alongside the main lines, for about three-quarters of a mile, to a bay at the original Moulsford station.

 

Moulsford closed when Cholsey & Moulsford opened.

[Nick Gough]

13 hours ago, MrWolf said:

The concrete capping looks like a modern repair or alteration. The brickwork on the left-hand side looks very modern, the brickwork looks more typical of something less than forty years old. 

I think it was mentioned earlier about rebuilding that particular wall?

Agreed.

 

The official drawings appear to shew that another brick pillar was planned to abut the wing wall on the left as well.

 

I'm not convinced that it was actually built like that though since the wing wall ends at the building line rather than leaving space for a pillar, as on the right.

 

The 1911 site plan doesn't shew a left pillar, but does have the right one.

 

All a bit pedantic, I know, but I do find it interesting to try and work it out.

[Nick Gough]

Back to the model.

 

I have glued strips of 40 thou (1mm) plasticard inside the window cut-outs to create the right depth for mounting the window frames:

 

Along with starting to fit window sills cut from 2mm square section rod:

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

I have started cutting up MDF and stripwood again:

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

I have made a start on the building for the island platform:

 

Although I am still working on the 'Down Main' I decided it would be useful to have the builds running together since all the station buildings share common features.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[MrWolf]

I like the idea, it's something that I try to do as well, it helps keep the method of construction, painting and weathering consistent. Plus you can mass produce common parts. 

[Nick Gough]

This is the down relief side of the Island platform building at Cholsey following its rebuild about 40 years ago:

 

However, originally, there were two separate brick buildings here, with a passageway between, joined by a single roof and the canopy. A similar arrangement to that seen at Goring and Streatley the next station up the line:

 

Goring had also lost its canopy by the time of my photo, however a similar one, to both Goring and Cholsey, still survives at Twyford:

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough
Spelling

[Nick Gough]

I have finished making holes in the MDF and assembled the basic structure, seen from the down relief side:

 

The side facing the up main line was a mirror image:

 

Comparing it with the remaining building at Cholsey:

 

The large open entrance, on the left, was added when the rebuild took place. The original building ended next to the notice board.

 

The currently remaining building equates to the larger, section of my model. The smaller section, which contained the Ladies' waiting room/lavatories and Gent's, no longer exists.

 

Seen from above, the demolished Ladies/Gents section:

 

The larger, still extant, section:

 

The floored part on the right is for the waiting room (still in use as such), the hole on the left - where the staircase descends to the subway.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

Again, I have made the openings for the windows and doors larger than proper size to allow these to be fitted from inside, with the windows in pairs.

Edited February 2, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

Started the plinth for the base, less gaps for the corner stones and rainwater downpipes:

 

 

Only the top 4mm or so of the plinth will be visible above the platform surface.

 

Since the rest will be 'buried' into the platform I have left the two, nominally separate parts of the building joined together below platform level. Braced with the stripwood, that supports the floors, it's fairly solid:

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[MrWolf]

"Fairly solid" might be a bit of an understatement there. It's never going to warp and will probably outlive us all. 

[Nick Gough]

A quick tour of the Island platform building.

 

From the subway the passenger ascends two flights of stairs:

 

At the top they will pass through the original exit/entrance archway at the Reading end of the building:

Which leads immediately into the 'new' extension beyond.

 

On the model, when building the baseboard, I made a hole for the staircase to rise through:

The subway is in the area to the left below.

 

Standing in the extension and looking back we see the top of the original entrance and the join to the 'new':

 

To the right of the old entrance is the doorway to a small store room:

With the end of the 'new' platform entrance above it.

 

The old entrance and store room doorway on the model:

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

Walking along the down relief platform, to the Didcot end, we can see where the original square rainwater downpipes were and the cut-off ends of the canopy supports:

 

At the Didcot end we find the door to the waiting room:

 

Before the rebuild this was in the passageway between the two sections of building and would have looked similar to Goring's building:

 

On the model it currently looks like this:

 

The inside of the passageway roof at Goring:

According to the official drawings the roofs here, and at Cholsey, were built with skylights towards the apex.

 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

Going into the waiting room - a bit shabby - but doesn't look like it's changed much for years:

I guess the tiled floor is original.

 

Looking in the opposite direction, with the bricked up fireplace:

Note: next to the chimney breast just a single window each side.

 

This means that the dividing wall between the waiting room and the staircase divides the middle pairs of windows, in this section of the building, as confirmed from the other side:

 

 

The wooden seats in the waiting room, although painted, are of Great Western heritage and probably upholstered at one time:

 

Taking a look at the other, Up main, side of the building the brickwork and bonding of the 'new' extension is clearly different. There seems to have been some reclamation of items from the demolished section to build this:

The waiting room chimney can also be seen to rise from the middle of the pair of windows below.

 

The rectangular concrete section of the lower platform wall, below the 'new' build, marks an area which had been glazed to allow natural light into the subway:

Presumably, no longer any use when the subway walls and ceiling were re-lined.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

Some good news in the March Railway Modeller, which I received this morning.

 

There was a full page illustrated advert for Peco Bullhead OO items.

 

With photos of medium radius turnouts, long crossing, single slip and double slip - headed by the message, "Arriving shortly at Peco stockists".

 

Hopefully I will be placing a large order before too much longer!

[Nick Gough]

Progress with the brickwork on the island building:

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[Nick Gough]

These are the main wall panels for the island building:

 

 

I need to do some more cutting out for the window sills, lintels and canopy supports before fixing into place.

Edited April 23, 2022 by Nick Gough

[MrWolf]

Very neat cutting out there. I'm busy cursing some 15 thou at present and not getting those kind of results. 

[Nick Gough]

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Very neat cutting out there. I'm busy cursing some 15 thou at present and not getting those kind of results. 

 

Following the brick courses for the horizontal cuts helps!