York station in the 1950's.

[kirtleypete]

I've added the small plates that strengthen the join behind the main girders - I forgot all about them earlier on.  They can easily be brush painted when the glue is dry.

 

 

 

Meanwhile I've made a start on painting all those pillars!

 

 

Peter

 

 

[kirtleypete]

I've weathered the painted roof pillars:

 

 

Work has started on the brick walls that support the roof. 

 

 

The wall was marked out on a piece of 2mm plastic sheet and the tops of the arched opening have been drilled with a 20mm wood drill. 

 

 

 

With the arches cut out and cleaned up the sheet has been glued to another layer, and when it was dry to the same was done again to bring the thickness up to 6mm.

 

 

The arches on the other side were then cut out in the same way and that piece glued to the back to give an 8mm thickness, and then the circular openings were drilled using a 16mm drill. The wall has kept it's curve but I am also going to drill it and put in brass rods to locate in holes in the platform, just to make sure it stays curved!

 

Peter

[Rowsley17D]

You seem to be making up for lost time, Peter. Will your brick textures be covering the walls?

[kirtleypete]

Yes, the same as on the hotel and portico Jonathan; fortunately I had a large amount printed while I was able to. 

 

Here is the finished section of wall; I won't decorate it until it has been tried in position.

 

 

This is the platform side; the roof will rest on the protruding rectangles. 

 

 

This is the outside face with the heavy buttresses. I've missed off a raised section of stone that runs along above the arches, I'll add that now.

 

Now I know that the technique works I'll do the longer section that goes at the far side of the roof. 

 

Peter

 

 

[kirtleypete]

The roof at York has decorative perforated panels between the girders and panels with the city coat of arms below them.

 

 

I was going to use my photo's to reproduce these but they looked too dark so I've done artwork for them using the coloured section only. 

 

 

 

I will fill in the gaps beneath the guttering.

 

Peter

Edited April 11, 2021 by kirtleypete

[Rowsley17D]

Most impressive.

[kirtleypete]

Since putting together the roof I've been concerned about how fragile it is, especially as I have to keep moving it, so I have decided to add the cladding from 0.9mm aluminium sheet. I originally thought this might be a bit heavy, but it keeps it's shape, is easy to cut and will make the structure good and strong once the glue is dry. 

 

 

 

 

I'll be a lot happier about moving the roof once this is in place.

 

Peter

 

 

[Adam88]

The coats of arms in the cast iron spandrels are those of the North Eastern Railway.  However they do include the arms for the city and the white rose of Yorkshire.

 

Keep up the good work.  Perhaps one day soon your client will be able to invest in some pre-grouping stock and roll back the clock to recreate the famous F Moore image.

 

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/painted-photograph-by-f-moore-showing-york-station-from-the-news-photo/90746189

 

 

[kirtleypete]

I would love to see that! By coincidence the end of the station I am doing at the moment is going to have the original roof covering, with the more recent arrangement at the other end. 

 

 

I have finished a small section so that I know it will work OK before I cover the rest:

 

 

That glazing is going to be an interesting challenge,

 

Peter

 

 

[David Bell]

Lovely work Peter. Very impressive

Cheers

David

[iands]

8 minutes ago, kirtleypete said:

I would love to see that! By coincidence the end of the station I am doing at the moment is going to have the original roof covering, with the more recent arrangement at the other end. 

 

 

I have finished a small section so that I know it will work OK before I cover the rest:

 

 

That glazing is going to be an interesting challenge,

 

Peter

 

 

That's an interesting b&w photo you've posted Peter. I've not realised until now that the Leeman Road "Marble Arch" was originally in two sections - just goes to show you can learn something new every day!

[Michael Hodgson]

My recollection of all stations in the early BR era is that they were soot-encrusted and the coats of arms etc weren't nicely painted up like that.  A thick coat of paint seemed to be applied hastily every decade or two just to protect against corrosion every decade or two.  I don't recall York as being any different.

 

But I much prefer them cleaned up and beautifully decorated like that.  First place I saw the ornate detail of the ironwork all carefully painted was at Great Malvern in the early 1970s, where I was told that the work had been done between trains by the station staff and that the paint had "fallen off a passing train"!

[kirtleypete]

Modeller's licence Michael!

 

I made a mistake with the roof yesterday, the original glazed section should be at the other end so I've removed the planking. The solid areas at this end appear to gave been covered with wide strips of roofing felt although frankly it's not easy to tell what it was. Working on that assumption I covered the aluminium with pieces of thin black card and once that was dry laid strips of Ducktape to simulate the felt as it has a slightly textured surface. This has been painted with Tamiya German Grey as it would have been pretty filthy, and when the paint is dry I will add the black lines that seem to separate the strips. I haven't been able to do the outside sections as I have run out of Aluminium but more is on order. 

 

 

Sheets of thin card glued to the aluminium with Evostick. This smooths out any slight unevenness where the metal sheets meet.

 

 

the card covered with vertical strips of Ducktape, overlapped to give two thicknesses all the way across. 

 

 

By this point the structure is really strong and I have no qualms about moving it.  The curve of the roof is really evident.

 

 

The tape has been painted in dark grey. 

 

 

There are walkways to add as well as the glazing. This will only extend a short way leaving the opening clear so the internal detail can be seen clearly, but looking realistic when the model is viewed from the ends.

 

Peter

[kirtleypete]

I've begun adding the lines with a black permanent marker pen; when they are all in place I'll touch up the paint, seal the roof with Dullcote and then dry brush it to give some variety to the finish. 

 

 

 

Peter

[kirtleypete]

Last two pictures for today,

 

 

 

Peter

[acg5324]

Superb.

[Roger Sunderland]

Even superb doesn’t do it justice.

[Denbridge]

One word....WOW

[kirtleypete]

I've been working on the roof again this morning; I need more materials to arrive to finish the walkways now. Once they are in place I'll do the weathering. 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter

 

 

[30368]

Absolutely amazing work, well done. One of the finest stations in the world.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Waverley West]

As others have said, wonderful modelling. I spent many a happy hour at the station during the late 70s and 80s.

 

Will be watching your progress with interest.

 

Regards

Dave

[JSModels]

Another wonderful model - I was in York on Saturday, and as we walked past the station I paid far more attention to the hotel, station, and roof, than I ever have done on my (many) previous visits. Due wholeheartedly to this thread!!!

 

Jonathan

[Jaggzuk]

On 31/01/2021 at 18:23, kirtleypete said:

Peter Kirmond and I have been trying to get out heads around the sequence of events with the signal box and footbridge and finally we seem to have it pinned down, so if anyone is interested here is the sequence; 

 

SIGNAL BOX. This was called the 'Platform' box, not the station box, and operated until 20th May 1951. It was damaged in the 1942 bombing raid and was out of action for some time. The bookstall backed onto it but was not part of the structure. The box became a staff office in 1951. The roof originally had a skylight but this was replaced with two metal ventilators, presumably as a result of the bomb damage.

 

FOOTBRIDGE. This was first built in 1900, replacing the subways built when the station opened...these were retained for use by trolleys and would again be used by passengers when work was being done on the footbridge. The bridge was a metal structure and was partly supported by suspension cables attached to the roof girders.

 

The bridge was moved in 1930; having originally run alongside the signal box it now stood in front of it with steps running on both directions. Why it was moved does not seem to have been recorded. The bridge only ran as far as Platforms 10 and 12 as it had since 1900.  There was no access to the signal box from the bridge.

 

In 1938 the bridge was extended to run through the brick wall to serve new platforms built outside the train shed. The bridge was damaged in the 1942 raid but was repaired. 

 

In 1952 and entirely new footbridge was built in the same position, the subways being reopened for passengers while the work was done. This is the bridge I have modelled and which remains in use today. The old signal box, now staff offices, was given a door leading onto the footbridge. 

 

When the railways were electrified the footbridge was again upgraded but remains essentially the 1952 structure. 

 

I am sure that none of this will be of interest to many people, but if like Peter you are modelling the mid 1930's it is quite important to get the sequence correct. At least now the information is in the public domain and available to all. 

 

Peter

Hi Pete

 

This is a fantastic model and a VERY good repetition of York station!!  Awesome work and with such build speed too.  Your end screens and the internal wind bracing form of construction  are great to see as there are not many photos of the wind bracing out there.

 

I may be able to offer some further details on the various footbridges. 

 

The first bridge was a "temporary" construction and as you say it was suspended from the roof barrels.  From the drawings I have seen it would appear to have been structurally made from timber.

 

It was replaced by, I believe, by the current version sometime before 1930.  This was then extended to the current platform 11 circa 1936.  There was a temporary span over the 4 track main lines, which was again suspended from the barrel roof, after the war damage until it was repaired.  I do not believe that a "new" bridge was rebuilt.  But I would be very interets to know what you have found regarding this?

 

The extension outside to Plat 11 was covered and clad at a later date to form the box footbridge we have today. 

 

Incidently, if you walk along the footbridge over Plat 5, you will notice that they cut away the bottom of 2 intermediate ribs to provide head clearance for pedestrians on the bridge.

 

As with all things, railway history, I still have some gaps in the timeline and form of construction, but in Ken Appleby's book York, Britain's Rail Super Centres, you can see photos of both the first an and the wartime temporary versions.

 

One thing that I learnt recently, which has always bugged me on my pre Covid daily commute to York, was what the small round room which protrudes out over the current Platform 8 was for.  It was part of the 1952 power signal upgrade.  there is a corresponding one looking out along to Plat 9.  These were observation rooms for the single box. To me they look like the outposts on a ships bridge.

 

 

 

Watching the project with great interest.

 

Paul

 

 

[hmrspaul]

2 hours ago, Jaggzuk said:

 

The extension outside to Plat 11 was covered and clad at a later date to form the box footbridge we have today. 

 

This was installed for the NRM Railfest towards the end of May 2004. Wonderful addition to York, as it took 10 minutes off my walk home, which when off the 00.45 ex KX was very welcome. 

 

Lovely & intelligent modelling as always. 

 

Paul

[kirtleypete]

It's fascinating how much information is coming out about York station - someone ought to write a book! 

 

I've begun weathering the finished end of the roof while I wait to be able to complete the walkways.

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I'm going to build the second side wall - I've been waiting for a delivery from Slater's - and then hopefully it will be possible to photograph the roof at the correct height. I'm taking it on Saturday to put in place on the layout. 

 

Peter