Chandwell

It has been ages since I posted an update on this thread, so thought I'd pop by and add some photos. The back of Market Street is now finished. I've added a signal box inspired by the one that stood at Guiseley, scratch built from card, sticky labels, and cheesecake packaging, as usual. And I've just completed a scratch-built curved hotel based on the Crescent in Ilkley. Class 150 comes into Platform 4 behind the signal box, viewed over the rooftop of the Earl Chandfield hotel: While the morning InterCity service to Plymouth pulls out of Platform 1, seen from just beside the hotel: The same scene viewed from the roof of the department store on the other side of High Street: Some views of the front and back of the hotel:

It’s time for my annual Top 20 look at my layout. Hope you enjoy.

I have started to build the back of a low-relief commercial street that runs from behind the Royal Scot hotel, down the hill, towards High Street underneath track level near the station throat. This first building was interesting because I decided to use forced perspective to make it look like the street curved behind the hotel. I only had a tiny space of 40mm long to fit in this effect, so the building, its windows, and all the signage is all cut at an unusual shape to follow the vanishing point lines of the perspective. Here's a look from above to show what I mean: I experimented by adding a figure to one of the windows. This is juts a 11.8mm tall photo of a man on a black background, and it looks pretty ghostly: I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming together. Here are some more pictures:

Thank you Ian - this is really helpful. The box is much yellower than I would have imagined it; I'm quite surprised by that. I can't believe that after all the research I did, and when I decided on a "double overhang", that there was such a perfect example so close to me. That Bolton Abbey box is less than 8 miles from my house, and I've actually visited several times. I simply never really paid attention to the box. AND there's a perfect picture of it in my "Otley & Ilkley Joint Railway" book, standing in the vee of tracks at Guiseley. I think that before I make the box, I will take a trip over to Bolton Abbey and take a really good look. They may even let me measure, or take a look inside if I ask! Thank you for the link to your Flickr album - there is a lot of inspiration there. Happy times! Michael.

Hello Ian! Thank you so very much for your fantastic and very helpful couple of messages; especially the pictures. (I am pleased to say I can place many of them!). This is a truly inspiring read and has given me a lot of ideas, and has made me more confident in the direction I am taking my layout. I live near the old Burley Junction, so I walk the dog down the old Burley to Otley line almost daily. I've tried to read as much as I can about the old railways of the West Riding, and it was really special to see your own photos. I think I am settling on modelling the impression that a separate 2-track spur ran off from the station across the back of the layout. I'm going to model it without the bridge in place (maybe it was taken down like the one over Brook Street in Ilkley was) and with a concrete indoor market like Shipley's across the road from it. But I think you're right when you suggest I should model some of the rest of it still in place. You can still see in Ilkley now where the modern buildings and car park have filled the gap that the old viaduct left. In Chandwell maybe they've not pulled it all down yet...? Your example of Adolphus Street is all I need I think to feel more confident that I've not made the station at Chandwell too unrealistic, and there is always a story to be told when we're looking at back story. Thanks again - I really appreciate the effort you went to to help inspire me with Chandwell. Michael.

Hahaha. Thank you! As to your question… watch tomorrow at 5pm and you may get your answer!

And here's a quick BEFORE: And AFTER:

The Royal Scot - Chandwell's low-relief Victorian scratch-built hotel is finally finished. I've been working on this for 138 days, and it's taken me 170 hours of effort, with materials costing £26.30 plus inkjet printer ink. It's turned out much better than I ever thought it would. If you've watched my 16-part YouTube series on making the hotel it will be familiar to you. If not - feel free to ask any questions about the build and I will answer them!

Thank you Jim! I've not posted anything to this thread for a while, but it is really nice to see your comment! I hope Chandwell made your exercise bike a little more enjoyable! :)

That’s one lovely building! Beautiful work. The reason I use the sticky label method is two fold: I actually enjoy it! And most importantly, I can get all 124 windows onto a quarter of a sheet of sticky label and a bit of old birthday cake box, which will cost me a total of just over one and a quarter pence. And everything on Chandwell is done at absolute rock-bottom pricing!

So now that the station is complete, I am turning my attention to a low relief Victorian hotel behind the station. This is based on the really interesting, incredibly rambling, and massive Midland Hotel at the entrance to Bradford Forster Square station. This will be an exercise in interestingly intricate roofs, hexagonal towers, domes, terraces, arches, chimneys, and fancy wrought ironwork (Err... Or not...). This is the cereal packet mock up of the build. It's already taken 32 hours over 25 days to get this far but I am ready to make a start on the building itself tomorrow evening. It has 124 individual window/door openings. I will be using the Sticky Label technique for every window frame. It's going to be a long job, but I can't wait to get started.

Thank you both! Definitely give Inkscape a try, Wayne!

The station is finally finished! It has taken five months but has turned out almost exactly as I had hoped. If we compare this picture to the elevation I drew and showed in my last post, it is almost the same... It is built into a gently-rising slope from the left of the building to the right. It’s a 20mm rise in all. This makes the slope very gentle but to the naked eye it really works well. The camera doesn’t pick it up so much: It is all scratch built from card as usual. Even the tiny, 33mm high war memorial, which was made from 18 individual pieces of cereal packet and paper: I showed the graffiti in an earlier post but it has worked out really well on the back wall. I need to sweep the ballast drifts out of the fire escapes but it is hard to get round the back now that it is glued down! I am pleased with the view down the tracks to WH Smith’s on the concourse. I’m going to spend the next week or so editing the Chandwell YouTube video. I have almost four hours of footage I need to edit down into three 10-minute updates. If you watched my recent “This is Chandwell” episode that was made to look like a tourist information film from 1993 then you will know of the Visit Chandwell Tourist Board. They now occupy one of the rooms in the station, and have a cheesy “Ghost Tours” A-board out the front. In the windows, and on the walls inside are posters advertising Chandwell (“It’s not as grim as you think it is”/“a lovely place to leave”) with actual photographs of the layout as background. You can just about make out a 4mm high photo of The Weir pub on the wall next to the downspout. Next door is Pippa’s Pantry, complete with apostrophe mistakes in her egg’s and chip’s sign out front. I really enjoyed making this building and adding some personality to it. The portico has a glazed roof but I’ve not managed to get a good picture of it yet. I may post more in the coming days.

I’ve made a short video to show you what I think is the easiest way to make a hipped roof. I was always a bit daunted by trying to work out how to get the angles to work but it turns out you don’t need to worry about angles at all. You don’t need maths. Or a pair of compasses. Just a ruler will do. Hope you find it useful! https://youtu.be/Nr1BSagrwbI