Modeling inside a stations overall roof?

[simon b]

Hi all, bit of an odd thread title but please bear with me...

 

I've been looking at some pics of the old Blackfriars station from the late 60's, back then the place was certainly a relic of another time. Wooden platforms, wrought ironwork everywhere, hydraulic buffer stops, it had a very interesting run down atmosphere about it. Of particular interest to me was the large gable roof that covered the station concourse area, it was nearly fully enclosed with a couple of small gaps to let the trains pass through framing the scene perfectly.

 

And so it got me thinking why not model the station from the viewpoint of someone standing on the platform inside the station roof? Effectively that would mean that the layout is set at eye level, looking across the platforms with the roof above you. Viewed from a fixed point trains would enter and exit the scene like actors on a stage.

 

Has anyone built such a layout/diorama?

 

Does this sound like a good idea for a small layout or am a I daydreaming again?

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by simon b

[Miss Prism]

Lovely pics, particularly the upper one. That flooring is great! There is a real danger though, if they were to be realised in a small scale, the magic and intimacy would be lost. I think they can work in 7mm and above. It will depend on whether you want something operational or just a static diorama. Perspective modelling would lend itself well to the 'end on' view of the upper pic. The possibilities are many.

 

Here are a few bits of inspiration:

 

https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1846
http://bambrickstudio.co.uk/temple-meads-diorama/

 

And a trio of blog articles from Mikkel relating to 'The Depot':

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/10460-the-treachery-of-images/
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/5522-mezzanine-floor/
https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/1797-sketches-of-the-depot/

 

No doubt others will chip in with examples.

 

 

Edited December 9, 2021 by Miss Prism

[St Enodoc]

 

[peach james]

I see I was just beaten !  That came immediately to mind as well St Enodoc !

[Steamport Southport]

Liverpool Lime Street.

 

See it at a quieter show rather than somewhere extremely busy like Warley and you'll get a great view from the side. I saw it at a small show and had it virtually to myself and you can watch from the station and in the cuttings.

 

 

 

 

 

Was even on the news.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-merseyside-38591121

 

Thread here.

 

 

 

No Deltics, Rats or Leccys though which is how I remember it.....  

 

 

Jason

[DCB]

There's nothing to say your viewpoint has to be outside the railway fence.  Some of my best photos are from viewpoints completely inaccessible to the human head  so inside the train shed is as good a viewpoint as any , you could even extend the train shed back over your head and only model the up or down side of a station.  Platform 1 at Edinburgh Waverley or 2/3(?)  at Carlisle Citadel would be good.  My layout was 60" nominal above the floor, I could rest my chin on the tracks and it was a really good height to watch from, like 6" loco to eyeball. . Huge space under for junk etc, but would annoy the disabled types exhibitions as they wouldn't be able to see

[Mikkel]

Mike has done it to perfection, I think:

 

 

[Miss Prism]

Wow. I'd never seen Carlisle before.

 

[Hal Nail]

Another similar one here:

 

[rovex]

1 hour ago, Hal Nail said:

Another similar one here:

 

Was just going to add this one

[Steamport Southport]

There was another large 7mm layout with views inside the station that was featured in Railway Modeller in the early 1980s. I think it was by the Manchester MRS and had a name similar to Platt Bridge.

 

I don't think it was a full layout, possibly a large diorama.

 

 

Jason

[Reorte]

7 hours ago, Miss Prism said:

Wow. I'd never seen Carlisle before.

 

I'd missed it too, absolutely stunning.

[Michael Hodgson]

There were some excellent dioramas produced by Jack Nelson, LNWR based.   There was a book IIRC

These used perspective modelling. in some cases end-on views.  

Bear in mind that in an end-on view for perspective modelling the rails are not parallel but taper towards each other as they recede into the distance, which means there isn't one consistent scale and you can't use normal rolling stock !

[Steamport Southport]

6 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

There were some excellent dioramas produced by Jack Nelson, LNWR based.   There was a book IIRC

These used perspective modelling. in some cases end-on views.  

Bear in mind that in an end-on view for perspective modelling the rails are not parallel but taper towards each other as they recede into the distance, which means there isn't one consistent scale and you can't use normal rolling stock !

 

Many are H0 which probably dates them and are now in Betws-Y-Coed. I don't know whether they all survive.

 

There was a plan for them to have been placed in the care of Liverpool Museum as part of a transport museum near the docks but the deal fell through due to lack of interest from the museum. The details were in an old Railway Modeller from the late 1960s. 

 

Click on photos for bigger versions.

 

http://www.lnwrs.org.uk/Modelling/JackNelson.php

 

 

Jason

[Jol Wilkinson]

9 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

Many are H0 which probably dates them and are now in Betws-Y-Coed. I don't know whether they all survive.

 

There was a plan for them to have been placed in the care of Liverpool Museum as part of a transport museum near the docks but the deal fell through due to lack of interest from the museum. The details were in an old Railway Modeller from the late 1960s. 

 

Click on photos for bigger versions.

 

http://www.lnwrs.org.uk/Modelling/JackNelson.php

 

 

Jason

I believe they are still in existence but there is some concern within the LNWR Society over their condition. A

 

There was debate as to who had the rights to them them some years ago when I was on the LNWRS Committee. IIRC, all but one had gone into the Betws-Y-Coed museum but there is no mention of them on their rather poor website.

[simon b]

Thanks for the replies so far, there is certainly some stunning craftsmanship on show here. Gives me some ideas of what is possible.

 

If I were to have a go at this it would be in 00 scale, O is impressive but would take up more room than I have available. I also want this to be a working diorama, perhaps automated so trains arrive and then depart after a wait on scene. A little rough working out I think the scenic area could be done inside a 2ft x 3ft baseboard, with the same size again for off scene storage. 

 

The other use for this project would be as a backdrop for photo's, so I could make certain parts removable to get different camera angles.

 

I think I've got some more thinking to do.

 

[C126]

Perhaps one style of base-board to use would be that of an '8' or an 'O', the hole(s) being where one could stick one's head through, with the scenery, etc., orientated around the vantage point.  You could also model, as the edge of the viewing side, the internal wall of a building (preferably one with many large doors for loading to look through) to simulate your 'standing' on the loading dock and looking across a fan of sidings, platforms, etc.  I considered briefly having a loading dock for parcels right on the nearest edge of my layout, with part of a canopy above, but rejected it because one would have to look through a 'comb' of pillars every 40mm. (for 10' spacing) over the rest of the layout, which would spoil any photographs.  However, this would give one an increased sense of being 'in' the layout, I think.