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Tenement buildings


gelboy45

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wally (ˈwælɪ)

adj
1. (Ceramics) made of china: a wally dug; a wally vase.
2. (Ceramics) lined with ceramic tiles: a wally close.
[from obsolete dialect wallow faded, adjectival use of wallow to fade, from Old English wealwian]
 
It was also a slang term for false teeth (wallys), as at one time the teeth were made from ceramic material, usually porcelain.
 
The "wally dugs" are back in fashion, and an antiques dealer will charge you a fair price for a pair in good condition (the wife

has hers on the mantlepiece)

 

Jim

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Ahem!, getting along back to the subject matter there are some superb colour tenament photographs recently posted in the sub-forum of the "Urban Glasgow" site http://urbanglasgow.co.uk/ftopic4028-0-asc-0.php  well worth a look. (And not a wally dug in sight)

 

Jim

Thanks for the reminder of that site but had to laugh a little at the second post down

Soot seems to be absent here at gentrified photo of Blythswood Square RSAC Club HQ

I had many a good meal there and I would never have called Blythswood Square as "gentrified" definitely not the place to visit on a dark night the reputation for kerb crawling (driving round and round the square) and not so young "ladies" was renown. Best avoided unless in a big hurry to get to the bus station.
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 Thanks for the reminder of that site but had to laugh a little at the second post down I had many a good meal there and I would never have called Blythswood Square as "gentrified" definitely not the place to visit on a dark night the reputation for kerb crawling (driving round and round the square) and not so young "ladies" was renown. Best avoided unless in a big hurry to get to the bus station.

 

Things have changed now Kenton, the "professional ladies" have been moved away from Blythswood Square, the area to avoid now is slightly further south around Anderston, very seedy there now.

 

Jim

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  • 3 weeks later...

Is this any use to anyone, I made a similar enquiry on "Urban Glasgow and was given this diagram.

 

Jim

This is s splendid drawing of a Glasgow tenement of the better kind. Most of the surviving tenements are of this sort. Very definitely 'Wally close' There is a very famous painting called 'A window on the west' of a tenement of this sort with the bay windows.

May I say that there are plenty of photo albums now available with tenements from all over Scotland. Stenlake now publish a landscape format booklet of 'old photos' for almost every town and district in Scotland and many in England as well. They also now publish larger books. There are also the 'Glasgow' books published by the Glasgow Herald.

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  • 2 months later...

I can definitely confirm that the term 'Wally Close', pronounced 'wah-lay' was definitely in colloquial Glasgow use. It may have been more common in the East End and North than elsewhere, but my ma, a Blackhill lassie certainly used it.

Not that Blackhill was known for decorative opulence...

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  • 9 months later...

Hi, I hope you find this helpful. http://www.rmweb.co....-street/page-3?OK it is Edinburgh but it has got some of the best models of tenements I have ever seen. Another developing source of inspiration, again Edinburgh  is this super model of Princes Street station and its environs, page 3 is very Tenements.  THis guy has some nice cheap but very effective modelling methods.  http://modellersunit...ps-t521-50.html  Regards.

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  • 1 year later...

Over the past few years I've been in conversation with a Scottish firm called Warbases who first produced laser cut MDF bases for wargamers but in recent months and years have developed into buildings, vehicles and lots of other interesting areas. http://war-bases.co.uk/ Apart from my interest in wargaming I wanted to find out if they could cut wagon sides in different scales.  I've managed to get done some GNSR wagons using 3D printing, resin and even brass in the past (mentioned variously on RMWeb) but I wanted to make more sides and ends using laser cut materials if possible.  The problem was that, at that time, they couldn't find and cut material thin enough for the layers of strapping.etc., though that situation is changing as we speak.

 

However in the course of this ongoing conversation I brought up the possibility of doing Scottish tenemental fronts and backs.  Every architect has drawn hundreds of these in his career. I had the thought of a three storey front with variable additional ground floor of shops or flats either as a flat piece (with separate windows, doors and dormers) and a flat perspective roof plus another version with half sides and a real roof with chimney stack etc.  My architect friend even suggests it would be easy enough to do a tenement back with toilet extension which could be fitted onto the front to make a whole building if wanted.  Warbases are keen to investigate this further.  But what would be the demand?  How many people would actually buy these for their layout rather than think its a great idea - but for someone else?

 

And back to wagons - what Scottish wagon is top of the list of wants?

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Over the past few years I've been in conversation with a Scottish firm called Warbases who first produced laser cut MDF bases for wargamers but in recent months and years have developed into buildings, vehicles and lots of other interesting areas. http://war-bases.co.uk/ Apart from my interest in wargaming I wanted to find out if they could cut wagon sides in different scales.  I've managed to get done some GNSR wagons using 3D printing, resin and even brass in the past (mentioned variously on RMWeb) but I wanted to make more sides and ends using laser cut materials if possible.  The problem was that, at that time, they couldn't find and cut material thin enough for the layers of strapping.etc., though that situation is changing as we speak.

 

However in the course of this ongoing conversation I brought up the possibility of doing Scottish tenemental fronts and backs.  Every architect has drawn hundreds of these in his career. I had the thought of a three storey front with variable additional ground floor of shops or flats either as a flat piece (with separate windows, doors and dormers) and a flat perspective roof plus another version with half sides and a real roof with chimney stack etc.  My architect friend even suggests it would be easy enough to do a tenement back with toilet extension which could be fitted onto the front to make a whole building if wanted.  Warbases are keen to investigate this further.  But what would be the demand?  How many people would actually buy these for their layout rather than think its a great idea - but for someone else?

 

And back to wagons - what Scottish wagon is top of the list of wants?

 

I  for one would certainly buy a good few tenements for my layout ( based on Glasgow station) if they were on the market.

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I've managed to get done some GNSR wagons using 3D printing, resin and even brass in the past (mentioned variously on RMWeb) but I wanted to make more sides and ends using laser cut materials if possible.  The problem was that, at that time, they couldn't find and cut material thin enough for the layers of strapping.etc., though that situation is changing as we speak.

 

 

And back to wagons - what Scottish wagon is top of the list of wants?

 

Hold up there Hoss.

 

I would like to know more about the GNSR wagons please, as they fall somewhere between 'Hen's teeth' and 'Rockin-horse poo'. Is there anything still available? And/or can they be repeated? Any info welcome.

 

Regards the Scottish wagon topping the list, it was probably the NB/PO Jubilee wagon. I need to have a closer look at the Oxford version to see if I can do anything with it, or can live with the inaccuracies. If only we still had the Pete Westwater kits available.

 

Cheers

 

John

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The brass GNSR brake vans can be found here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88210-gnsrlner-brake-van-brass-etch-kit/ I'm sure George still has some - if not Des of the GNSRA certainly took some with a view to selling them to members.

 

The 3D printed sides and ends for the GNSR vans (four versions can be made) are still available in 4mm from CWR: www.chrisjward.co.uk.  They were originally done in 3.5mm for my layout in that scale but I know he has sold some in 4mm and some in 0 as I've seen them.  They are sides and ends only - you have to make a roof and chassis etc yourself.

 

The cattle wagon was a resin kit in 3.5mm only, I'm afraid.

 

If you email me directly I can provide photos of all these - in 3.5mm/H0 of course but it will show you what they make up in the 4mm versions as well.  kennclark@btinternet.com   I don't know where you are in Scotland but finished versions of these should be on the GNSRA stand at the Aberdeen Model Railway Show this weekend.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Most Scottish towns of any size had their share of tenements - here's my take on a block in Dishlandtown Street in Arbroath, made from the local red sandstone - no wally close in this one, but just a practical paint job in the close of dark for the lower half and lighter for the upper, giving dark where the most dirt would be and lighter where you want more light to brighten up an otherwise dark passageway.

I haven't dressed the ground floor shop windows - that'll need a long dark winter evening with nothing better to do.............

Chimneys made from brick, being harder wearing and less porous than stone.

 

 post-21954-0-68549800-1480085230_thumb.jpg

 

Incidentally, the building on the left is a former chapel, now converted to flats, but that can't be described as a tenement!

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