Sevenoaks - Spring update

[lego legs]

Wow! As someone who is new to railway modelling and just getting into it, I think this is incredible. Thank you for sharing your progress, it’s really insightful.

[tjf4375]

1 minute ago, lego legs said:

Wow! As someone who is new to railway modelling and just getting into it, I think this is incredible. Thank you for sharing your progress, it’s really insightful.

Thanks mate, that's really nice to hear! Really glad you've found the pics of interest and hope you're enjoying the hobby :)

[tjf4375]

Evening all! Hope everyone's had a good weekend.

 

Firstly thank you so much for all the kind comments on the previous post - the feedback and encouragement really is much appreciated!

 

Since the last post I've planted a few figures - I ordered them from Amazon and am now wishing I'd spent a bit more, but you live and learn. The figures that turned up were extremely variable, and only about 10% were really useable! After a bit of repainting they don't look too bad, but I won't be ordering them again 😂

The roof hasn't been stuck down yet - that's the reason for the white brackets you see in the pics, which are just to keep the roof panels in alignment for the photos. Once all the requisite figures are in place, the roof will be permanently glued in place.


Overall external view


The mess of wiring that's currently sitting in the 'back offices'


Looking towards the ticket barriers from the front entrance


A couple of the 'budget' figures' looking at the station posters!


Another external view


External view looking towards the ticket machines

[Nick C]

Fantastic modelling - really captures the atmosphere of a modern station!

 

I would storngly suggest, if at all possible, not permanently gluing down the roof - otherwise if anything ever comes adrift in there, you'll have no way to fix it...

[WCML100]

As ever mate. Great modelling 👍🏻

[tjf4375]

12 hours ago, Nick C said:

Fantastic modelling - really captures the atmosphere of a modern station!

 

I would storngly suggest, if at all possible, not permanently gluing down the roof - otherwise if anything ever comes adrift in there, you'll have no way to fix it...

Thanks Nick! You actually have a very good point there. I was going down the road of gluing purely because the roof panels don't sit absolutely flat of their own accord, but I think I will investigate leaving them as removeable. Another benefit of that is that I had thought about placing a go-pro in there to try and capture some video across the carpark! 

[tjf4375]

12 hours ago, WCML100 said:

As ever mate. Great modelling 👍🏻

Cheers mate, much appreciated as always! 👍

[Nick C]

3 minutes ago, tjf4375 said:

Thanks Nick! You actually have a very good point there. I was going down the road of gluing purely because the roof panels don't sit absolutely flat of their own accord, but I think I will investigate leaving them as removeable. Another benefit of that is that I had thought about placing a go-pro in there to try and capture some video across the carpark! 

Maybe have a look at using small neodymium magnets to hold it down? Quite a few people on here have done that with coach roofs

[tjf4375]

1 minute ago, Nick C said:

Maybe have a look at using small neodymium magnets to hold it down? Quite a few people on here have done that with coach roofs

Yes I had a similar thought - I have a few of those and they are very handy 👍

[lezz01]

Neodymium magnets are my weapon of choice for coach roofs. You shouldn't have any trouble if you choose to go that route. I've not seen Sevenoaks station building in the flesh but that is an outstanding piece of modelling. If the rest of your layout comes up to anywhere near the quality of the station building you can be very proud of yourself.

Regards Lez.

Edited October 2, 2023 by lezz01

[tjf4375]

2 minutes ago, lezz01 said:

Neodymium magnets are my weapon of choice for coach roofs. You shouldn't have any trouble if you choose to go that route. I've not seen Sevenoaks station building in the flesh but that is an outstanding piece of modelling. If the rest of your layout comes up to anywhere near the quality of the station building you can be very proud of yourself.

Regards Lez.

Thanks Lez, that's really kind of you to say. I must admit I am pleased with how it's turned out so far, even though it has taken an age to get here! I think I will take a break from the station buildings after this bit's safely on the board, I feel embankments and trees are calling me 😂

[TT100 Diesels]

Interior of booking halls and gatelines are so rarely modelled, least ways I dont see many ! And such tremendously high standards of modelling. Stunning work really.

 

Cheers TT100 Diesels

[Rich_F]

Loving that Southeastern network map. Giving me first hand memories of the 377/5s (when they ran on TL) & pre-refurb 375s with them on the carriage ends. 

[tjf4375]

21 hours ago, TT100 Diesels said:

Interior of booking halls and gatelines are so rarely modelled, least ways I dont see many ! And such tremendously high standards of modelling. Stunning work really.

 

Cheers TT100 Diesels

Thank you mate, I really appreciate that. It has been an aim from the outset to include the interiors of the station, so it's really encouraging that people are enjoying the pics! 

[tjf4375]

4 hours ago, Rich_F said:

Loving that Southeastern network map. Giving me first hand memories of the 377/5s (when they ran on TL) & pre-refurb 375s with them on the carriage ends. 

Thanks Rich. Yes I think that was a poster about engineering works somewhere on the network, so I figured it wouldn't look out of place at any time! The last time I went to Sevenoaks the toilets weren't working, and neither were the lifts 😂

[tjf4375]

Good evening to all and hope you've had a peaceful and enjoyable weekend.

 

I'm pleased to report the booking hall has made its way onto the baseboard - even if only temporarily as there are bits and bobs still to do such as painting the plinth and pelmet panels. It feels like it's taken an age to get to this point and although it's kept me busy I do think I'm going to take a break from this area for a bit and come back to it when the inspiration has 'recharged'! 

 

The lighting does all still work but to be honest, I'm not convinced by how it looks from outside. For the interior shots it seemed to work really well but it's far too bright for external shots and just seems to blow out all of the detail. There are also the usual problems with light bleed at various edges which are easy to sort out but hopefully when it's not so bright, the overall effect will be much better. For the time being I'm much more convinced by the non-lit shots. I'd welcome any thoughts on this!

 

The building itself is heavy enough that it sits quite happily on the ground floor block and I won't be gluing it down. This means the interior will remain accessible even though some of the roof is glued in place. 

 

As always welcome any feedback, criticism or suggestions - thanks for looking and following! :)

[WCML100]

Looking good especially now its in situ!

[SED Freightman]

Yesterday I stumbled across this thread for the second time (previously 2017) and having seen your more recent scenic efforts I felt compelled to go back to the start and read all 17 pages again. It is quite amazing how you have managed to capture the essence of the area to the north of London Rd, including the ugly BT building, which we have Railtrack to thank for. The old coal office still lingers on in a semi derelict state, I remember sitting on the bank beneath it watching the trains go by in the early 1970's.  The internal views of the ticket hall, post its 2012 expansion, are also very realistic.  I look forward to seeing further updates as your layout progresses.

[Graham T]

Fantastic bit of modelling!  Ref the lighting and interior/exterior shots, and brightness.  Can you get something to regulate the brightness levels?  (I know nothing about electronics, might it be a resistor?)

 

Also, if you haven't already I'd consider losing some of those budget figures - everything else looks so well done that they stand out in the wrong way, to my eye.

[tjf4375]

6 hours ago, SED Freightman said:

Yesterday I stumbled across this thread for the second time (previously 2017) and having seen your more recent scenic efforts I felt compelled to go back to the start and read all 17 pages again. It is quite amazing how you have managed to capture the essence of the area to the north of London Rd, including the ugly BT building, which we have Railtrack to thank for. The old coal office still lingers on in a semi derelict state, I remember sitting on the bank beneath it watching the trains go by in the early 1970's.  The internal views of the ticket hall, post its 2012 expansion, are also very realistic.  I look forward to seeing further updates as your layout progresses.

Many thanks! Yes the BT building is certainly not to everyone's taste! Seems to be in rather a sorry state these days or at least it was when I visited earlier in the summer. I'm guessing very little of it is occupied, and noticed there is a proposal to convert it into flats which seems like a good idea.  I didn't realise Railtrack were responsible for it but that makes sense.

 

I take it the old coal office is that shed on stilts that used to be a taxi rank? I did wonder how it came to be there - it's rather nice that it's been kept for so long. Again in a very poor state of repair these days and probably won't be there much longer!

[tjf4375]

5 hours ago, Graham T said:

Fantastic bit of modelling!  Ref the lighting and interior/exterior shots, and brightness.  Can you get something to regulate the brightness levels?  (I know nothing about electronics, might it be a resistor?)

 

Also, if you haven't already I'd consider losing some of those budget figures - everything else looks so well done that they stand out in the wrong way, to my eye.

Thanks Graham. I totally agree with you - those budget figures are eye wateringly awful in every possible way. When I get time I will certainly swap them over for some nicer 3d printed ones. 

I am in process of getting some circuitry installed to regulate the brightness levels so hopefully that will help!

[SED Freightman]

27 minutes ago, tjf4375 said:

Many thanks! Yes the BT building is certainly not to everyone's taste! Seems to be in rather a sorry state these days or at least it was when I visited earlier in the summer. I'm guessing very little of it is occupied, and noticed there is a proposal to convert it into flats which seems like a good idea.  I didn't realise Railtrack were responsible for it but that makes sense.

 

I take it the old coal office is that shed on stilts that used to be a taxi rank? I did wonder how it came to be there - it's rather nice that it's been kept for so long. Again in a very poor state of repair these days and probably won't be there much longer!

The so called BT building sits on former railway land, including the site of Sevenoaks market (cattle and general), the well known property development company Railtrack  decided to sell off the land to BT, who at the time were developing a ring of offices around the M25.  By the time the building had been completed BT's plans had moved on and it was never fully occupied, various other companies like Baby Bel Cheese have leased parts of the building over the years and earlier this year it was used as a film set. Some time ago it was apparently under consideration for the location of Network Rail's Kent area office.

 

Yes, the former coal office is the buiding on legs at the end of the London Road bridge, there used to be a similar building at the other end as well. Charringtons were the last coal merchant to use the building as a sales office, following closure of the coal yard it has been used as a shop (Richer Sounds and others), a taxi office and by a coach tour company. Sadly the building has now been derelict for some time and will probably end up being demolished as I suspect Network Rail or their property agents will be seeking a totally unrealistic rent.

[37114]

That station building is amazing, great job.

[tjf4375]

Hi all and firstly thanks loads to everyone who commented on the previous posts - the feedback and kind comments were all really appreciated!

 

It feels a great deal colder and wetter than it was when I last posted - hope everyone's dealing with the weather ok.

 

This is just a quick update for this evening. Admittedly not a huge amount of progress since the last post, but I am working slowly and steadily on the footbridge structure of the main station. Anyone who's followed from the beginning will know that I started this part of the station way back in 2016. That, along with everything else, fell by the wayside when I stopped work on the layout in May 2017, but I put the structures aside until I had time to return to them.

 

I didn't realise that would be 6.5 years later! The footbridge piers that sit on the platforms were made using mount card, and I'm really pleased that in all that time, they were still intact and pretty much just as I'd left them. What had happened is the corrugated metal siding (Evergreen styrene sheet) had warped and mostly peeled away from the base, so almost all of that had to be removed. 

 

The last couple of weeks have been spent carefully cutting and remounting those corrugated panels to the piers, this time using CA instead of the bostik I used last time. Although it's a laborious process, it has kept my mind occupied and been a welcome distraction! 

 

Here's a few pics showing how things are looking this evening. Lots and lots of work to be done, but it gives an idea of how everything will eventually fit together.

 

As always comments, questions, criticism and feedback are all very welcome! 

 

Looking across from Platform 1 - the platform surface on 3-4 has warped slightly in 7 years!

 

Another view looking across from Platform 1

Closer view of the piers as they sit on the platforms. This is modelled on SEV as it was a few years ago, before the flush panelling was applied!

 

View looking south from the bridge - in the next few weeks hopefully I'll have time to complete the central section of the footbridge as well


View looking up the stairway of the up-north staircase.

 

The footbride pier on the down platforms (3-4)

 

An overall view looking from the season ticket holder's carpark on the upside of the station. The building nearest to the camera is around 6 years old and will be partially replaced! 

 

Thanks for looking - comments and feedback welcome as always
 

[WCML100]

Looking good, i feel scratchbuilt station footbridges rarely capture the staircases well. It is a tricky thing to get right, but your look bang on the money, i look forward to the rest of it coming together!