Station Building Query

[FPH 603]

Hi all,

 

I thought I might also ask about a station building too. I'm thinking of something similar to Cockfield station as a basis, but I feel the roof should be peaked instead.

 

I'm thinking of making the main building 110 - 130 mm in length x 70 mm in width, and as for height I've still yet to determine that.

 

Also what circumstances does a station need to be to have a refreshment/buffet area? And how should the building be laid out?

 

EDIT: Just to clarify, I model the North Eastern Region of BR, set in the North Yorkshire area, on a small branch line, in the form of an island platform terminus.

Edited March 2, 2018 by DoubleDeckInterurban

[allan downes]

Nice looking station though more typical as seen on a branch line so I would doubt very much that there would have been a buffet/cafe service. Bring your own sandwiches and flask situation more like !

 

Cheers.

 

Allan.

[Nick Holliday]

Assuming you are modelling in 4mm, I suspect your 7mm wide building will look a bit skinny - 70mm is more like it!  I think your length is a bit short for the building in the photo.  I modelled Fittleworth on the LBSCR, and its building looks similarly proportioned, and it comes out at around 240mm in 4mm (60 feet) by 60mm (15 feet).  This photo of it comes from the Scalefour Society pages, copyright as shown.

You could reduce the length to that you have suggested, but it would look rather small, like something on a Colonel Stephens light railway.

I can't help regarding the refreshment room idea, as Fittleworth didn't have one,but if you were to have one you would certainly need something of this size or larger.  However, they did appear in all sorts of weird places that wouldn't seem to justify the investment, so if you want one, go ahead.

 

[FPH 603]

Assuming you are modelling in 4mm, I suspect your 7mm wide building will look a bit skinny - 70mm is more like it!  I think your length is a bit short for the building in the photo.  I modelled Fittleworth on the LBSCR, and its building looks similarly proportioned, and it comes out at around 240mm in 4mm (60 feet) by 60mm (15 feet).  This photo of it comes from the Scalefour Society pages, copyright as shown.

fittleworth02.jpg

You could reduce the length to that you have suggested, but it would look rather small, like something on a Colonel Stephens light railway.

I can't help regarding the refreshment room idea, as Fittleworth didn't have one,but if you were to have one you would certainly need something of this size or larger.  However, they did appear in all sorts of weird places that wouldn't seem to justify the investment, so if you want one, go ahead.

I'm very limited on space due to a short platform (both narrow in width and can only fit a standard 3 carriage train in each platform). I did mean 70mm, post edited. As for the refreshment room I probably will put one in anyway. When I get a chance I'll post the layout of the building.

[FPH 603]

 

The intended layout of the building. Retains 70 x 130 mm dimensions.

[DCB]

There seems to be a lot crammed in to this small building. I would have thought the width 12 ft inside 14f/15ft outside would have been about right but the accommodation especially  buffet area is far too cramped and should be a waiting room with a fireplace. Your design is very 20th century with electric heating whereas steam age stations had lots of fireplaces to keep staff and passengers warm.  Many older UK buildings have a narrow span due to poor availability of indigenous long straight timbers. 

Waiting rooms were pretty much universal no body wants to stand in the freezing cold waiting for a train (or bus) so privatised railways reliant on traffic receipts provided warm waiting facilities. Nationalised and Quasi nationalised railways reliant on government handouts don't bother but Buffets were less common, a station Hotel or nearby Inn was a more usual supplier of hot and cold food and beverages. 

[FPH 603]

Just had another measure on the platform, turns out 70mm width is far too big! Guess I will have to omit the Buffet anyway. The platform width (excluding the tiled edges) is approximately 53mm at it's longest. I think I'll remake the plan to work at 130 x 40 mm.

 

EDIT: Some backdating will help too...

Edited March 2, 2018 by DoubleDeckInterurban

[Oldddudders]

Do put a doorway from ticket office to parcels office. A small station, even then, would not have justified a full-time parcels clerk covering all the hours of station opening, and so someone in the TO would double up as needed. The link from the TO to the SMs office is good.

[doilum]

Might want to consider access from outside the station. Main hallway could have doors on both sides with access to road and platform. A visit to most heritage railways will confirm this layout.

[FPH 603]

Since last posting I decided to make a paper mock up and came up with this:

 

I simplified the layout, and have merged the booking office with the parcels office. I've added a fireplace to the waiting room (indicated by the box with the cross in it) and have put the station master's office behind the booking office/parcels office. Amendments may still need to be made but this is only a mock up. Note base next to the waiting room. This is to become the toilets however I'm suspicious that this would be too small. I feel like I need to put another fireplace somewhere too...

 

Please excuse the scabby photos and mock up.

[doilum]

Sorry, I didn't realise it was a double sided platform.

Some years ago, I built a 7mm model of Easingwold that was adapted for an island platform on our club layout Hardwick.

An accurate simple building is better than an underscale compromised one.

[Ray H]

Do remember that you need 6ft clearance (almost an inch in OO) between the platform edge and any permanent structure's outside walls.

 

I think there's also a chance that there would have been a ladies waiting room/toilet not to mention a gents toilet, probably external to the rest of the building.

 

I'd also suggest that there would need to be a store of some kind in which as an example, they'd keep fuel for the lamps (and fire?).

 

You'd probably also need a porter's room and the waiting room would be a room with a wall between it and any thoroughfare - i.e. not exposed to draughts and the like from the external (passenger) doors from the platform and the street.

 

Its not obvious whether this is an island platform of a through station or of a terminus. However, I would have thought it unusual (?) to have he ticket office on the platform.

[Nick Holliday]

From the initial photo I wasn't expecting an island platform location! I was going to suggest that your refreshment room might best be achieved with a grounded coach body nearby, catering for the tourist trade to the nearby abbey/waterfall/whatever. A similar situation occurred at The Dyke station, and this month's BRM has an article on how to use the Triang/Hornby 4-wheel coach for this. However,it doesn't look as if this would be a goer.

Although it did happen, most stations like this would have had the actual station building close to the approach road, perhaps on a bridge across the lines, with a ramp down to the platform, as it's not clear how passengers and goods are otherwise meant to reach the platform. If the passengers were lucky there would be a small waiting room actually on the platform, and, if very lucky, they would have a toilet. A refreshment room in such a remote location does seem a little optimistic, although I seem to recall at last one did exist in a most unlikely spot, which was well patronised by locals who appreciated the different opening hours that a licensed premises on railway property could adopt, even if few, if any, passengers did.

It might be worth looking at a Colonel Stephens website to see how an impecunious railway provided minimal facilities. http://colonelstephenssociety.co.uk/light%20railway%20modelling/light%20railway%20modelling%20keslr.html for example.

[Pete the Elaner]

Since last posting I decided to make a paper mock up and came up with this:

image.jpeg

 

image.jpeg

I simplified the layout, and have merged the booking office with the parcels office. I've added a fireplace to the waiting room (indicated by the box with the cross in it) and have put the station master's office behind the booking office/parcels office. Amendments may still need to be made but this is only a mock up. Note base next to the waiting room. This is to become the toilets however I'm suspicious that this would be too small. I feel like I need to put another fireplace somewhere too...

 

Please excuse the scabby photos and mock up.

Paper mock ups.. I find them useful too.

I consider buildings to be a weak area of my modelling which I would very much like to improve.

I am currently working on an LNWR station building & am finding the roof challenging, I have found that a card template is a cheap & quick way of getting things right by trial & error.

[mdh1950]

Hi, I am in the (early) process of producing a 4mm OO layout based on Cockfield (link to thread below) which I have photographed and measured.

 

The main building excluding the store and Ladies extension at the southern end is 12ft x 46ft (scale 48 x 184mm). The southern extension is 15ft 8in x 9ft 3in - the Gents was a cast iron urinal which is now at the East Anglian Railway Museum at Chappel in Essex. The platform width is 20ft 6in so the building lies 8ft 6in from the platform edge. This was a small country station and is most unlikely to have had any eating and drinking facilities. There was no back entrance. 

 

 

I have had a go at building something along these lines from bits and pieces produced by LCUT.co.uk. Once painted and weathered it will do for the time being but in due course I will try to scratch-build.

 

 

Cheers, Michael

Edited March 2, 2018 by mdh1950

[FPH 603]

Do remember that you need 6ft clearance (almost an inch in OO) between the platform edge and any permanent structure's outside walls.

 

I think there's also a chance that there would have been a ladies waiting room/toilet not to mention a gents toilet, probably external to the rest of the building.

 

I'd also suggest that there would need to be a store of some kind in which as an example, they'd keep fuel for the lamps (and fire?).

 

You'd probably also need a porter's room and the waiting room would be a room with a wall between it and any thoroughfare - i.e. not exposed to draughts and the like from the external (passenger) doors from the platform and the street.

 

Its not obvious whether this is an island platform of a through station or of a terminus. However, I would have thought it unusual (?) to have he ticket office on the platform.

1 inch clearance? The building's going to look skinny now! The only way I could keep this is to move the building back even further right to the edge of the other platform (in reality just a storage road which may get fenced off), but I'm suspicious that this will cause clearance issues with that road. As for a lamp/fuel store that can be a separate building, maybe a grounded van? And if a ticket office is unusual on the platform where would it normally go? This is a terminus, and I've edited the first post to clarify this.

[Ray H]

The ticket office would most likely be at the terminal end of the platform together with any other facilities. The platform would probably devoid of most things other than seats although a small shelter might be provided. The good thing (possibly from your point of view) is that the main building structures could be modelled in low relief if space is at a premium. 

[FPH 603]

The ticket office would most likely be at the terminal end of the platform together with any other facilities. The platform would probably devoid of most things other than seats although a small shelter might be provided. The good thing (possibly from your point of view) is that the main building structures could be modelled in low relief if space is at a premium.

 

Thanks, but personally since I've already placed the building near the termination end of the platform I think I'll just leave it as is. Edited March 3, 2018 by DoubleDeckInterurban

[hayfield]

Other than at large main line stations, most railway stations from memory had no refreshment rooms, there must have been exceptions but I would guess only at places where you would get a large footfall or passengers waiting for connections.

 

Remember mainline trains had their own refreshment cars, for small country stations it was the pub across the road

[FPH 603]

Ok I've changed my mind about the building. Perhaps that can be made for my next layout. I think a shelter may be better. Any ideas?

[hayfield]

Throwing a cat amongst the pigeons, quite often in these smaller branchlines that grew up station buildings were quite grand buildings, Stanmore (from Harrow and Wealdstone had a Gothic style building. Maldon East was also quite grand with a row of white round columns at the front. I think this relates to Termini mostly 

 

On the other hand a small halt may have had the equivalent of a bus shelter

[FPH 603]

Did a little search online and I found this:

 

 

Could make a good little shelter.

Edited March 4, 2018 by DoubleDeckInterurban