Liverpool Lime Street (2mm Finescale)

[Weekday Cross]

The next stage in the process of reproducing the cutting wall was to play around with various images in Photoshop. The large black & white image I have now shown numerous times has a very course grain, so it is difficult to pick out the smaller details. I decided to try and superimpose my own recent colour images over the black & white one to bring out the detail. Apart form the demolition of the wall at the top of the cutting, most of the features are still there, so whilst time consuming, it was not too difficult to do.

 

Firstly, I selected 2 of my images of the wall, taken from the platforms. I then merged them by altering the perspective and stretching them until details matched on the common details reasonably well. I overlaid the resulting image on the black & white image from Jack Nelson's book. I created a new layer above the others showing where the key features were on the Jack Nelson photo, marked with red dots. I then stretched and skewed my colour image to match. I am very pleased with the results.

 

Ignoring the modern building in the foreground and a few other modern features, I really have achieved what I wanted. Now, I have a scaled, coloured and highly detailed image to work from. The bit behind the modern building should be easy to work out from the collection of black & white photos taken around the turntable that I have managed to accumulate.

 

I guess the rock face would have been dirtier than it is now, but black & white photos do suggest some evidence of the colours we now see. It did rain in Liverpool, washing the dirt away to some extent. Also, small parts of the face would fall off occasionally, exposing the fresh orange rock underneath the grime. Then there were small seepages of water through the rock, which appear to have created small grooves in the rock face. Altogether a fascinating bit of modelling in prospect!

[Weekday Cross]

Half Time!

 

Well, that’s July over – more or less the half-way stage for the project. There are just 2 months to go! There is still a great deal to do, but I do now think I stand a fair chance of finishing the diorama in time. Finishing it at all would be amazing, given my previous track record with model railway projects in general!

 

I now have over 6,000 hits. The continued interest in my tiny little project is something I still find amazing. I have now added “2mm Finescale†to the title, as some people seemed unsure as to what scale and gauge I am working to.

 

Many thanks for looking – it does keep me motivated, as do all the kind comments expressed. So, back to the modelling…

Into the Abyss!

Today’s work involved laying the stonework towards the top of the cutting wall and then adding the rock formation below.

 

North Wall Masonry

 

In the real world, the top of the cutting in front of Cope’s Tobacco factory was finished off with masonry. I guess this was because the upper levels were less stable than the rock below. Maybe the area was peppered with old cellars and the like – the remains of the buildings that existed here before this little corner of Lime Street station was excavated. My plan was to use Wills OO scale Dressed Stonework, the same stuff I am using to construct the loco shed. Although designed for the larger scale, it is pretty close to the size I need. Interestingly, the stonework on the abutment to St Vincent Street bridge, which will just appear on the very right of the diorama, uses even larger stone blocks – so I might end up using O gauge scenic effects too!

Before starting construction, I had covered the Styrofoam base with a thin layer of “Liquid Nails†to make the surface firm and protect it from whatever adhesive I decided to use for the Wills stonework. In the end, that seems not to have been necessary. I discovered, almost by chance, that Bostik Fast Tac spray adhesive sticks very well, both to the plastic sheets and to the Styrofoam, without any apparent negative effect on the Styrofoam. Having used the Fast Tac this morning for another job, I suddenly decided to try it on a small test piece of Styrofoam. The result is very impressive – within a short while my small test piece of plastic stonework was impossible to remove from the Styrofoam – at least without major surgery!

 

The courses were laid horizontally, to match the prototype. Matching the courses at the ends of the sheets was a bit of a challenge, leading to a lot of wastage – but this has to look right and I can hopefully use the scraps elsewhere.

 

The wall at the top of the cutting, along the front of Cope’s tobacco factory. was laid with the stone courses at the same angle as the roadway behind. I will model this wall separately at a slightly later date.

 

Rock Face

 

The underlying bare rock was modelled using Ronseal wood filler, carefully chosen because it was going cheap in the local DIY store. The rock face projects out slightly and is rounded off where it meets the stone courses. I added something like 3mm of filler. I am now waiting for this to dry thoroughly before I add another layer. I will then carve out the various crevices seen on the real thing. When wet, the colour is quite good for faded sandstone, but it dries much paler – almost white!

 

East Wall

 

On the cutting wall behind the loco shed, a similar technique was used. I had no decent photo at right angles to the wall, so I just worked by eye from the images I have. Things are simpler here, so this was a perfectly adequate method to use.

The wall was continued up above road level here, as the courses above ground level are horizontal. I have made the top of the wall out of 3 layers of the plastic walling, stuck together with DL-Limonene. The road side of the wall will be modelled, even though you will only be able to see it from the back of the diorama. There are some poorly-defined stone blocks incorporated into the rock below the masonry I have modelled. These will be drawn onto the wood filler and sculpted out of the rock face. A thinner layer of wood filler was used here, as the rock face does not protrude beyond the masonry.

 

On another tack, I have now removed the lower part of the Styrofoam from the back of the loco shed. I decided it would be better to use some thick card here, as I could not get the Styrofoam thin enough (without destroying it) to give good clearance for the hidden siding immediately behind the back wall of the shed. I will hopefully finish this part tomorrow, tomorrow............

[Weekday Cross]

Unfortunately, the wood filler had not dried completely today - the bit around the turntable area was still soft. I decided to leave it another day to set. If it hasn't by then, I will take remedial action!

 

In the meantime, I have now filled in the temporary gap between the loco shed and the hidden sidings with a piece of thick cardboard. There is more than adequate clearance for locomotives on the siding immediately behind the loco shed now.

 

I have also started building the mess room that will go on the left hand side of the diorama. I need to get this finished quickly, as it sits right against the cutting wall. It is a very elaborate structure for something so ordinary in purpose. Here is the only half-decent picture of it, taken in LMS days after the turntable was removed, but before this end of the building was removed. I am using Plasticard for its construction, simply because I could see no other way of replicating the very 3-dimensional appearance of the architecture.

 

(photo courtesy of Dave Pennington)

 

I have made the basic shell, based on fairly crude estimates of the design from my collection of photos. Unfortunately, there are locos in the way on all but one of the images. Also, some are taken against the light, so the building is little more than a silhouette. As a result, much of the building will be guesswork.

 

Here is a photo of the diorama as it now stands - with the loco shed and the mess building temporarily in place. The backdrop gives a representation of Cope's tobacco factory, though the wall in front of it wll be flush with the top of the cutting wall.

 

 

The biggest question I have about the mess building is what the roof should be like. My guess is that the roof is flat and flush with the parapet top. This is based on comparing the height of the broad base of the chimney with those on other LNWR buildings.

[Weekday Cross]

Not much time for diorama building today - but at least the wood filler around the turntable well finally dried out overnight!

 

I have now added more wood filler. The area excavated by the LNWR to clear the turntable has been shaped using an improvised shaper tool, rotating in the turntable pivot hole. It needs just a little bit of finishing off, but is almost there.

 

I have also added filler up to the line where the stonework should start on the back wall of the cutting. This is very rough at the moment, as it was very tricky to do. I will touch it up and shape it once the filler has dried.

 

The cardboard at the back of the loco shed has now been painted dark grey on both sides. I will finish off the scenic side in the same colours as the rest of the rock wall eventually.

 

Hopefully, I will have more time to make progress tomorrow!

[Weekday Cross]

I treated myself to an extra long lunch break today, so I got on with refining the cutting wall and constructing the mess building.

 

I have smoothed the rock face down with sandpaper to see just how flat it really was, under the bumps. It seems to be pretty good. Now, I just need to do a tiny bit of filling in, plus finishing off the edge between the rock and the masonry above. I will also compare the turntable excavation with photos to get that area a bit more like the real thing.

 

As for the mess building, that is coming along pretty well. Most of the additional brick layers have now been added. It is really starting to look like a building. Again, there is a lot of detail work to do to finish it off. I am currently waiting for the plastic solvent to set well before the next step. I may get some more work done tonight, with a bit of luck.

[Weekday Cross]

The mess building has progressed since this afternoon, as you can see from the photos. The arches over the window and door openings are now in place.

 

 

I have also done the first layer of serrated brickwork at the top of each panel in the brickwork (sorry, haven't a clue what the architectural term is). As you can see, I found it pretty well impossible to get these all the same size - this is 2mm scale though, so i may forgive myself. I should be able to trim the more obvious ones a bit once the solvent has set.

 

There is another line of serrated brickwork to add just under the roof - oh joy!

 

 

I have also made the large ventilator panel that goes in the top of the door opening, but still need to file the top semi-circular to fit the opening. I need to wait for the solvent to set, so that may well be some time tomorrow. I have also made parts for the roof and the back wall - but these can't be put in place until the windows have been fitted.

 

I realised too late that I had made one or two mistakes in the construction - most notably, the upper protruding brickwork should all stick out one thickness more. It should be flush with the brick pillars up the middle part of the walls. Also, the flat panel on the corner is about double the width it should be. However, after careful thought I have decided to work around the first issue and ignore the second.

[StuartM]

The mess building is looking really good, nice one!

[Weekday Cross]

The mess building is looking really good, nice one!

 

Many thanks Stuart - glad you like it

 

I'm very pleased to see your own entry is progressing really well

 

Best wishes

[Weekday Cross]

Some more progress with the mess building today - The extra layer of serrated brickwork has been added just under the roof. I have taken a few photos of the building while daylight was still available.

 

Here is the side of the building, complete with a leaning chimney. The building requires a few more minor details yet. the chimney needs some extra layers of brick at top and bottom, plus a tall, tapering chimney pot. The building looks huge in this shot - but it is only 70mm long by about 30mm wide.

 

 

Then, an end view - the roof is visible here. I decided in the end to recess it and give it a slight slope to the rear. As far as I can find out, there is no photo or drawing showing the true position of the roof, so it will have to be a guess. The building will be closer to the rock face when finally installed. The doorway looks very thin and tall in this shot - in fact, the door itself will only be only just over half the height of the hole you see here. There is a substantial step to add at the bottom and a deep ventilator at the top.

 

 

.. and finally a view of the whole diorama, with the loco shed parts temporarily in place again.

 

 

The more I look at photos and maps, the more I wonder about the mess building ! It appears to have been shortened at least once, if not twice in its life - possibly at both ends. Also, much of the detail of the building is hidden in what few photos it appears in. Please do not assume what I have done is in any way accurate! Looking at a 1950s shot, it has definitely been shortened at the western (station) end - maybe by 15 feet or so. Early maps suggest it was once longer at the loco shed end too - though the size of the building does vary slightly from one map to another.

 

I plan to do the windows soon, including the ones for the loco shed. I did think about a smoke unit for the chimney, but I think that is probably a step too far?

 

I have just started work on the ash bin, which goes just behind where the loco is parked. I plan to finish all the brickwork on railway property before I do any painting. That means the platform face (only visible from the back of the diorama) will be done soon too. The nice thing about it being hidden from view is that I can use it to practice painting, before I do the more easily visible brickwork.

 

I am feeling happier with the mess building than I was yesterday. It is a relief to have got all the serrated brick bits added. in 2mm scale, these are less than 1mm square, so working with them did test my patience a bit!

[Guest Natalie Graham]

One occasion where you can say of a modeller's work, 'That looks like a mess' and mean it in a complimentary way. A bit late now, but if I were doing those serrated bits I think I would do them as a kind of castellated edge to one of the applied layers.

[Weekday Cross]

One occasion where you can say of a modeller's work, 'That looks like a mess' and mean it in a complimentary way. A bit late now, but if I were doing those serrated bits I think I would do them as a kind of castellated edge to one of the applied layers.

 

Many thanks for the compliment, Natalie

 

I did think about doing the serrated bits in the way you suggest, but the serrations are very tiny, so I doubted if I could get clean horizontal cuts. I guess some kind of punch would do it - though etching or 3D printing would seem to be much cooler for contemporary modellers.B)

 

I would have missed the smell of the solvent though - ah, DL-Limonene

[Weekday Cross]

For what its worth, here's my considered view on the mess building and how it may have changed over time. It may help anyone else modelling Lime Street.

 

If the maps are correct, the building was originally slightly longer, extending closer to the loco shed. Maybe it looked something like this?

 

 

At some stage, the end nearest the loco shed must have been shortened - quite likely to allow room for the 50 ft turntable in the early 1890s, though maps still show it long at a later date. The new turntable would probably have been impossible to operate though, if the building had stayed as it was, so I am guessing the maps were not updated until much later than the shortening of the building.

 

Then, it looked roughly like this, which is how I have modelled it.

 

 

This general appearance and proportions are confirmed by photos and later maps - though some of the detail cannot be confirmed, like the window at the far left.

 

Then, maybe after the turntable was removed, possibly in mid-LMS days, but certainly by the late 1950s, the end nearest to Lime Street (as shaded in yellow) was removed. This is confirmed by a photo shown in an earlier post.

 

 

A couple of maps suggest that the removed section was a toilet block at one time. Maybe it was no longer required, or became unusable for some reason?

 

Apart from the minor errors in my model mentioned earlier, I now think the corner nearest the camera in my model is a bit too rounded. The radius should be much smaller. It looks nice on the model though - and having got this far, I am not going to try and change it.

[Weekday Cross]

I made more progress on Friday - and also this morning, before work intervened. I had no time to write it all up though until now. I hope no one was getting withdrawal symptoms

 

The ash bin has been assembled. It just needs the coping finishing and some planks to block the access gaps before painting. There wil be a bigger gap between the ash bin and the loco shed, once I have assembled the loco shed properly and bedded it into the rock face.

 

I have also made and installed the platform. This was a slight change of plan, as my original intention was to build it, but only install it when the rest of the groundwork had been completed. The top surface you see in the photos is the foundation for the platform surface. I have still to add the slope of the platform ramp. The platform surface on the real thing was constructed using large paving slabs. These I definitely will leave until much later. I have added an extra thickness of ply at the front of the diorama, as promised some time ago, which helps to support the platform surface.

 

The ash bin and the platform were constructed using brick-embossed and plain Plasticard. I have been using DL-Limonene for all my plastic construction work. This evaporates much more slowly than Mekpak, which is great when you are assembling large parts. Apparently, it does not frost clear Plasticard either, though I have not tried this yet.

 

The red brickwork you see up on the top of the rock cutting is a spare bit of walling from the construction of the ash bin. There will be a section of brick walling up here, starting more or less at the right-hand side of the walling you see and carrying on to the far left of the scene. the rest of the wall, to the right, will be stonework. This is how I think it was on the real thing, after careful study of the photographs. The wall will be taller than the one there at the moment. It is shown in the black & white image behind the diorama.

[Weekday Cross]

The wall in front of the tobacco factory has now been added. It just needs the capping on top and a little bit of filler in a few gaps, then this too will be ready for painting!

 

The weather forecast for tomorrow evening is not particularly great, so I hope to use that as an excuse to get on a bit further with the diorama.

[Michael Delamar]

looking superb

[Weekday Cross]

Thanks Mike

 

I must admit that to me it looks really plain at the moment, but I'm determined to hold back on the painting and decorating until nearer the end.

 

Seeing the platform and buildings in place did give me a thrill though!

 

I have the colours, the weathering and the detailing in my minds eye - lets hope I can reproduce that in 3D to the standard I want!

[Guest Natalie Graham]

Finishing the rock face and adding some ground/ballast/whatever-is-appropriate is going to make all the difference. It will look nearly finished, even if it isn't.

[Weekday Cross]

Looking great! definately doesn't look plain

 

Thanks Richard - perhaps plain was the wrong word to use - but still far from the atmospheric creation I have in my mind's eye

 

I'm busy working on the rock wall this evening, trying to make the detail look more like the photos I have of the real thing - filling in holes and the like, so not much to report or photograph today!

[rcmacchipilot]

Wow, I only just realised how operational that layout is.

Very well done IMHO. Impressive fore 20 x 20 x 11

[Weekday Cross]

Hi

 

Many thanks for the compliment - though we have to thank the LNWR for most of the ingenuity - and Jack Nelson's book "LNWR Portrayed" for bringing it to people's attention

 

As I have said before, I just wish I had realised much earlier how clever it is. I have had the book for quite a few years now, but never thought of using the idea until the 2011 challenge came along. It would make a great mini layout in the larger scales - particularly for people who like making locos, but not much else. London Road Models do many of the locos typical of the scene in the 1890s or early 1900s in 4mm scale, for example.

[Weekday Cross]

Finishing the rock face and adding some ground/ballast/whatever-is-appropriate is going to make all the difference. It will look nearly finished, even if it isn't.

 

I agree, Natalie!

 

"Whatever is appropriate" is actually a complex mixture of ash, cobbles, wood and brickwork - all copied as far as possible from photographs. There are also a few other details like the 2 water columns, 2 ground signals (thankfully the revolving type) - even a bench for the enginemen to watch their colleagues turning the locos, if I understand the photos correctly.

 

The plan is to get all but a few of the the details installed by the end of the month. That way, I can spend most of September carefully colouring the scene and really bringing it to life!

 

It won't be 'til it's painted that the true character will come through though - and that's the one bit I am most anxious about. It is the finishing off that will make it truly atmospheric (I hope!). Even the rock face will have to be a serious work of art. I wonder if any of the Dutch Masters still do commissions?

 

Rembrandt, Hals, Vermeer, where are you when I need you?

[Weekday Cross]

I have not made much progress in the last couple of days, but enough to do a quick report. It is exactly 2 months now since I started construction!

 

Most of the holes and undulations in the rock wall have now been filled in and smoothed off. I have also added the coping to the top of the walls - though I still need to do a bit of filing and scribing on this when the solvent has set.. I have enlarged and printed out a copy of St Vincent Street bridge from Jack Nelson's book to give me an idea of what the bridge will look like to 2mm scale.

 

Below is a quick photo, in poor light, to show roughly what it will look like. The photo reminds me that I still have to hide the join in the stone walling The bridge is stuck on at a poor angle, which makes the perspective look a little odd - when I build the structure properly, I will be very careful to get it straight, I promise!

[Weekday Cross]

On reflection, Monday's photo was not as complimentary of my workmanship as I would like - the camera position and perspective seem to have made some of the angles look a little crazy, though I admit the impression of the bridge on the RHS was a little wonky Having checked everything carefully with a ruler and a spirit level, I am sure everything else is where it should be, so on with the modelling......

 

To be honest, I haven't done a lot in the last few days. The weekend and Monday were quite busy, work-wise. Then yesterday, I had the afternoon and evening off and went out walking. I started at about 12:30pm, intending to walk one way and catch the train back. It was such a beautiful day though that I just kept on walking and walking - until I ended up back home at 11:15pm. The last 2 hours were in darkness, though I was under street lights for most of that time. In any case, it was a beautiful moonlit night.

 

This morning, I did a crude estimate of how far I had walked using a piece of string on a map. I reckon it was at least 35 miles. That is not allowing for going up and down the hills and a few minor diversions to admire the views. No wonder my legs were so stiff I could hardly move this morning! The walk did allow me some thinking time. I was also able to do some research into sandstone cuttings, as 2 sections of the route were along old railway tracks that have been converted to footpaths - so I hope I can justify the time and effort involved

 

 

Anyway, back to the modelling....

 

I have now just about finished the rock faces. Minor blemishes have been filled in and the line where the rock meets the wall above has been carefully levelled. You may notice that the rock face behind the loco shed has now been heightened slightly, covering the plastic stone walling underneath. The face of the cutting here is very strange. Parts of it are marked with very distinct diagonal lines that even show up in photos from the early part of the 20th century. It is almost as if someone was preparing the cutting wall to face it with masonry. Other parts have been crudely chiselled with the barest outline of blocks, as if they were going to carve an imitation stone wall into the rock. Whatever their intentions, the work appears unfinished. It will be quite a challenge to reproduce this in miniature!

 

Apart from the odd stuff behind the loco shed, there are some strong features to mimic on the other rock face, below the tobacco factory. There are some long diagonal indentations - presumably due to weathering of weak layers in the sandstone. There are also a few other features, including a couple of small rectangular holes and what appears to be a diagonal piece of wood above the turntable.

 

With luck, I should get most of that done this evening.

 

The joints in the plastic walling have been filled ready for smoothing off. I dissolved some plastic in solvent to make a kind of paste. I am waiting for this to set before filing it carefully down.

[Weekday Cross]

The cracks are slowly appearing....

 

Tonight, I did most of the detailing on the rock face under Cope's Tobacco factory. A small area of brickwork was added. I also modelled the crevices and holes, plus the angled piece of wood (or whatever it was) that I mentioned before. It proved impossible to reproduce the crevices accurately, as the way the filler broke away was slightly unpredictable. I ended up doing what I hope is a reasonably believable reproduction, using files, mini-screwdrivers and the like.

 

The rock face behind the loco shed has been detailed to a limited degree. I have decided I need to work from a photo for the main details though. I will modify one or two of the photos I took on my recent visit to Liverpool in Photoshop to give a reasonable straight-on view to work from tomorrow. The area painted dark grey, at the back of the loco shed, will eventually be painted to blend in with the rest of the rock face. The lower part of this rock face will be completely hidden by the loco shed and the accumulator tower, so I have not tried to smooth this area off at all.

 

I have only partly finished smoothing off the filler in the stone walling, as the solvent has not yet set sufficiently - another job for tomorrow, I hope!

[Weekday Cross]

A few different angles, shot whilst I was waiting for other things to finish on my computer...

 

Firstly, a fairly conventional view

 

Then, a view from the other end, showing the hidden sidings...

 

 

and finally, a bird's eye view

 

 

I am generally very pleased with how things are going, but there is so little time left now to finish everything off - so I will be working hard this evening to make more progress!