The train shed: Liverpool (Cheapside) G.W.R.

jonte

Western Thunderer
Hi Jonte , you will find the scriber with the scraper end very helpful. I have had one for years and it is used all the time , sometimes even for scraping solder .
Cheers Paul

Hi Paul and thank you for your contribution.

Good to know I’ve done something right in buying it (and only a couple of quid too:thumbs:)

Regards,

Jonte
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
ABF47325-3D8C-4C95-8A21-4F4138A3E0F0.jpeg

Hmmm.......a lame excuse to show yet another hackneyed image from my rather motley collection of images of not-really-a -lot-of-modelling to date? Perhaps, fellow Westerners. But it also serves as a reminder to one’s-self that I’ve yet to mention all my influences for Cheapside, and more importantly what I’m trying to achieve.

Eventually, I hope to jot something down along these lines and perhaps start a proper thread, but for now, rather than waffle on and bore you all to death in the process, here’s an image gleaned from the ‘net, to remind us of how many of our earliest railways ended up, especially those that I can recall from my early years in the City, and what I have planned for Cheapside:

E7DEA3DF-378E-44D4-B86D-5D1C25F44BF7.jpeg

This time, the same image - painted by the renowned painter of the Liverpool/Manchester Railway: T.T.Bury - but looking from the direction of the Wapping Dock Warehouse/Goods shed when first opened:

FD3F86D2-2E5D-4522-A0EF-16EBA97B908E.jpeg

My, how the years had taken their toll.

It will prove a challenge to produce this sort of realism, and I’m not quite sure whether I'm up to the job, but I shall none the less endeavour to do my best and hopefully enjoy it in the process, while employing traditional modelling methods where possible, and - like the trainshed - what I have mainly to hand.

Jonte
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
If these images are what you are trying to recreate then I am looking forward to seeing it progress
John

‘Trying’ being the operative word, John, and within my limits :)

It’s not very Great Western, but I’m sure that’s how it would have looked between the depressive years and the onset of war in probably it’s most northerly of outposts.

Fingers crossed I’m not pushing it by showing yet another gleaned image, here’s the same location from above:3479AF8A-2A05-4C4E-AC2D-298EA1E697D6.jpeg

A contagion of dereliction, decay and neglect descends upon this loneliest of outposts, to which it shall eventually succumb.

And what a scene to try and replicate.

Thanks for your interest.

Jonte
 

Alan

Western Thunderer
That lst photo would make a stunning Cameo. Don't ask me if it's got any thing to do with soldering.
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
That lst photo would make a stunning Cameo. Don't ask me if it's got any thing to do with soldering.

Thanks, Alan.

As for the soldering, hopefully that’s over for the time being following the fabrication of all those beams!

Jonte
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Perhaps you may recall, fellow Westerners, that the object of the exercise in my recent meandering posts, was to chronicle some of the influences for Cheapside and its setting.

In the absence of any photographs/paintings/illustrations to the contrary, I resorted to another Merseyside located GWR station for inspiration: Disused Stations: Birkenhead Monks Ferry Station

If you go into the link, you will see a photo of the train shed roof approximately halfway down the page, which probably shows the internal structure best. Thankfully I have in my possession a better photo of the structure which gave a clearer portrayal to work from. I deviated from the original slightly, in a time-saving effort at the time, by replacing the angled bottom beam with a horizontal one. In hindsight, with all the cuts I had to make in the rails that form the beams, I doubt it would have taken much longer; it certainly wouldn’t have hindered the final part of construction when all the beams were mated to the cross beams holding them in the vertical plain, as it would have had absolutely no bearing at all on the jig employed in the process. C’est la vie.

One major absence, is the presence of angled plates at the joints in the beams as per the original. I still haven’t summoned the courage to face the task and frankly I’m not sure I ever will. It would certainly have masked one or two of those erroneous cuts which came up short - a consequence of trial and error construction I’m afraid as I’m no engineer- and be damned the scrutiny of the photographic image:

236E9B76-657D-4F90-90AA-EC16E5623CB6.jpeg

Perhaps then, it will remain just a ‘representation’ of a GWR station roof.

As you can see, the roof covering of the original was of slate, however, as I prefer to cut out and lay 4mm scale slates individually:

CB6E4E3E-099F-427D-9407-B642FB9EF117.jpeg

and bearing in mind the area to be covered, I went easy on myself and adopted plan B which involved resorting to other methods of roof covering found on many industrial buildings in Liverpool of yore. Now, as far as I can tell, bitumen roofing only started to appear during the construction of make-shift buildings in the Klondike years. Therefore, my (rather lame) excuse is that it was re-roofed in something more appropriate some years later by an owner resigned to the questionable future of his venture. Incidentally, as far as I can tell, Goods Warehousing such as that of the LNWR in the vicinity sported something similar Disused Stations: Waterloo Goods Station

And while we’re on the subject of atmosphere, perhaps one or two of my fellow Westerners might also be interested in this Disused Stations: Liverpool Riverside Station

May I just add, that as an exponent of ‘sloppy modelling’, those dodgey looking gaps and lifting edges - as per the first photo in my recent posts - are for once reminiscent of those sported by such buildings that I recall from my early years, before the whole lot eventually came a-tumbling down (cue the Jam).

With reference to some of the pictures in my last posts, it’s interesting to note the different styles and textures of the bricks in the built environment. I’ve a number of methods in mind for attempting to achieve the different looks, which I shaln’t bore you with here, however, I feel it’s an ideal opportunity to implement a favourable method (I believe), if not for all, but for the lion’s share of the desired effect. It involves the use of tile grout, although any old Polyfilla mix would do the same job. As most of my stuff quickly ends up in the bin, I’ve only the following to try and demonstrate the effect, albeit, N. American:

1F0B99D1-C0AE-4558-B201-A55986A00385.jpeg 60A95107-E820-4F94-A8C5-2B906B9D67A2.jpeg

Okay, I agree the mortar joints in the Wills brick sheet are a little over generous - even more so at 1:87 scale - but it’s ideal for this method of representing mortar which I believe gives it a little more texture than the traditional wash on and wipe off paint method - not a criticism, just what appeals to me. It also looks the part, or at least I reckon so, for the stucco (those runs were yet to be tidied up) at the base and the stone/concrete lintels which I copied as precisely as I could from the Google Streetview of the single-storey building it represented in downtown L.A. Incidentally, the odd looking door section in the second photo, which is the trap door inside a larger door type - can’t quite think of the correct term for it at present - involved cutting sections of plastic card and the long thin sections of the same stuff (memory fading again for the correct term) then melting them in parts with copious amounts of adhesive to achieve the industrial look of the original, which when painted, would have seen different hues of the same colour, adorned in flaking paint, especially over the rickety wooden internal panels in the lower section, that still required a lot more toning down of the worn look that would have been poking through underneath (it’s still too ‘cartoon-ey’ looking in the photograph).

The grout is also ideal, I find - although takes a fairly long time to achieve - for representing the build up of mortar or whatever on the surface of the brick, characteristic of old Georgian/Regency style buildings and soot/steam soiled platform brick faces.

So there we are for now, my friends.

I hope it further served to demonstrate what I’m hoping to achieve with Cheapside, but I don’t blame you for thinking that it’s just another blag for me to show the same old images over and over...ad infinitum.

Jonte
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
The thing that sets this building apart is your excellent use of green (weathering powders?) to show mosses & lichens. It makes any building look established and not just placed.

Tim

To say nothing of the pigeon poo in the top left of the picture ;)

Many thanks for your kind comment, Tim, it’s much appreciated.

I recall experimenting with a cheap set of acrylics rather than my favoured enamels at the time, and remained lukewarm about the whole experience - dries a bit too quickly for my liking and once set.......I’ve see some smashing results with acrylics so it’s probably just my ham-fistedness with the stuff, or more than likely, a stubbornness to change.

From what I can remember, I reverted to enamels for the mossy effect which was applied via the age-old dry brush method - the blobs are the same paint mixture with a dash of talc sprinkled in, although weathering powder would probably have given a finer effect - and the model for the weathered sandstone parapet was an early Victorian property not too far away from me.

Thanks for your interest, Tim.

Jonte
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Great work there Jonte, plenty of time in lockdown though to lay individual slates:)):)):)) keep the pictures coming.

STay safe and well

regards

Mike

Hiya Mike, and hope and trust all is well with you and yours too.

I’m afraid the work never ceases, Mike, despite the lock-down, but soon I shall be out to play ;)

Thanks for your encouragement.

Jonte
 

simond

Western Thunderer
In the absence of any photographs/paintings/illustrations to the contrary, I resorted to another Merseyside located GWR station for inspiration: Disused Stations: Birkenhead Monks Ferry Station

Thanks for that link, Jonte,

Live and learn, said the Birkenhead lad... I even worked at the shipyard back in the late 70's but I have no recollection of the Monk's ferry. I knew the name, of course, but not of the station.

keep well!
Simon
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
In the absence of any photographs/paintings/illustrations to the contrary, I resorted to another Merseyside located GWR station for inspiration: Disused Stations: Birkenhead Monks Ferry Station

Thanks for that link, Jonte,

Live and learn, said the Birkenhead lad... I even worked at the shipyard back in the late 70's but I have no recollection of the Monk's ferry. I knew the name, of course, but not of the station.

keep well!
Simon

So glad that this poor excuse of a thread has served some useful purpose then, Simon ;)

As you will read from the text, it was the predecessor of Woodside, but unlike Woodside, would make a great ‘shelf’ layout with its minuscule proportions contained within high stone walls.

I believe there exist some further pictures of the station in the Birkenhead library archives, but I’ve yet to pop over and see.

Not only will I be nicking the roof, but also part of the track plan :)

I do love the simplicity of some of these old railway station layouts.

Thanks for stopping by, and stay safe.

Jonte
 

Lyndhurstman

Western Thunderer
Hello

As ever, interesting, and a testament to your suite of talents - spanning the triumvirate of physical, artistic, and literate.

Just foo interest; A proposal for a layout in a box. Or just somewhere to grow Bonsai.

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

The whole block is approx 65 x 35 m. I do like the idea of having to peer down and in, rather than from the 'normal' view.

Cheers

Jan
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Hello

As ever, interesting, and a testament to your suite of talents - spanning the triumvirate of physical, artistic, and literate.

Just foo interest; A proposal for a layout in a box. Or just somewhere to grow Bonsai.

Side by side georeferenced maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland

The whole block is approx 65 x 35 m. I do like the idea of having to peer down and in, rather than from the 'normal' view.

Cheers

Jan

Now that’s clever . Hours of fun to be had poring over that my friend :thumbs:

I thought you might like that tight-knitted setting with its once wealth of vans. Waterloo Goods was another.

Many thanks as always, Jan, for your kind and inspiring words, although I’ve absolutely no idea ‘to whom you refer’ :)

Incidentally, if you zoom in closely enough to the fork in the road at the junction of James and Jamaica Streets, you might just see the self same style of box that once guarded Cheapside. Please allow me to assist:

96E45BA0-2504-4E3E-B0B6-2165B40AC1B6.jpeg

In point of fact, the windows are here:

C32442DF-D9AC-4A53-99D1-1316A64418E8.jpeg

Not very Great Western but befitting of the region.

And the box more recently:

0319BEAE-2235-4760-92AB-8A6FFA5F2267.jpeg

The remains of its metal framed, concrete roofed replacement.

None of the images of the box are mine; I submit merely for educational purposes.

Apologies, of course, to any observers who prefer their Western lines firmly rooted in Gloucestershire or deepest Devon, but we had them too. Honest guv’nor.

Thanks for popping in with your welcome contribution and encouragement, Jan.

Wishing you the best of health as always, and btw, loving the new picture :)

Jonte
 
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