A corner of Oswestry Works

[alanbuttler]

Thanks to Phil's Challenge I might actually do some modelling this side of 2020... It was October 2013 when I first posted about Oswestry Works, my first serious diorama/project since returning to the hobby in 2012.  Researching a model of Oswestry Works took me on a long journey which ultimately led to me starting Modelu in 2014, at which point progress pretty much ceased!

 

So my vague plan is to create a corner of the works in 8" square, which is enough for about 3 bays of the erecting shop.  Something of this scale will be less daunting that blowing the dust of the full size model and might even get me making a bit of time to model now and then!

 

Here are some CAD screen grabs from Sketchup and a Photoshopped real life image with a Bachmann Prairie to give an idea of what I hope to create.  The original thread is here on the diorama forum!

 

 

 

[Stubby47]

Best of luck with this, quite a complex scene but should be fun to detail.

[KNP]

Looks good, detailing looks complex so will be following this with interest.

[RJS1977]

Good job it's Oswestry and not Wolverhampton Stafford Road.

 

When the first 'small Prairies' were built at WSR, it was suddenly discovered that the works traverser wasn't long enough to get the finished locos out! In the words of CJF "All of a sudden, the joke about the boat built in a shed wasn't funny any more...."

[Hroth]

Good job it's Oswestry and not Wolverhampton Stafford Road.

 

When the first 'small Prairies' were built at WSR, it was suddenly discovered that the works traverser wasn't long enough to get the finished locos out! In the words of CJF "All of a sudden, the joke about the boat built in a shed wasn't funny any more...."

Well, as a family we've built two boats in pretty limited places.  The first was a wooden 16ft speedboat that was built in a front room, steaming the ribs in a cast iron drainpipe with an electric kettle at one end.  Luckily there were french windows that allowed it to be removed from the house relatively easily.  The other was a 35ft steel narrowboat of traditional shape, build in a shed that wasn't deep enough.  The bows of the boat actually poked through a narrow door at the end of the shed and the stern was off-centre to the main doors of the shed (there were reasons for this).  It was removed from the shed by rolling it on the oxy-acetylene gas cylinders....  Not recommended!

 

In addition, it was craned into the canal during a major drought. We got it back to the moorings through water that might be better described as "thin mud" in places.

 

(There IS a railway connection to this anecdote, the narrowboats bottom was laid on railway sleepers...)

Edited November 10, 2017 by Hroth

[BlueLightning]

Well there goes my idea of Brighton Works Erecting Shop!!

 

Never mind I have other ideas and I shall enjoy following this!!!

 

Gary

[Mikkel]

Looks very promising, Alan. If we're lucky it might even contribute some hooks and other similar details to your range!

 

But entirely devoid of figures. Are you doing a detox? 

[alanbuttler]

Looks very promising, Alan. If we're lucky it might even contribute some hooks and other similar details to your range!

 

But entirely devoid of figures. Are you doing a detox? 

 

I might have a little something up my sleeve the whole reason I got into scanning in the first place was to make figures of the guys who worked at Oswestry in the 1950's & 1960's, so with a bit a luck I can finally make that idea come true 

[barrowroad]

Thanks to Phil's Challenge I might actually do some modelling this side of 2020... It was October 2013 when I first posted about Oswestry Works, my first serious diorama/project since returning to the hobby in 2012.  Researching a model of Oswestry Works took me on a long journey which ultimately led to me starting Modelu in 2014, at which point progress pretty much ceased!

 

So my vague plan is to create a corner of the works in 8" square, which is enough for about 3 bays of the erecting shop.  Something of this scale will be less daunting that blowing the dust of the full size model and might even get me making a bit of time to model now and then!

 

Here are some CAD screen grabs from Sketchup and a Photoshopped real life image with a Bachmann Prairie to give an idea of what I hope to create.  The original thread is here on the diorama forum!

 

Hi Alan,

 

Are you proposing to produce a model of the 15ton travelling crane for the works?

Keep up the good work.

 

Robin

[alanbuttler]

Hi Alan,

 

Are you proposing to produce a model of the 15ton travelling crane for the works?

Keep up the good work.

 

Robin

Hi Robin, yes that's the plan, I've got some measurements and reference photos of the one at the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry which was almost identical to the one at Oswestry.   I've not forgotten your turntable stops btw!

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambrian_al/albums/72157641667887453

[alanbuttler]

I had a good chat with Geoff Taylor today about adapting the artwork I have already for the works for the Cakebox challenge and using some of the test cuts from 2014 (!!) to try out some painting methods. The works walls were whitewashed and relatively clean, with just a little grime where the walls met the floor.  Colour pictures from inside the works are hard to come by, but this one from Flickr should give an idea:

 

Oswestry Works by David Faircloth, on Flickr

 

Before I do anything else I thought best to check I comply with the rules! As I thought the 3 bays were a little too wide for an 8" base, so I've pulled the North West wall in and moved the traverser pit closer to the erecting shop wall.

 

 

Whilst trying to dig out the colour photo by David Faircloth I came across a couple of others I'd forgotten about. These give another perspective on the kind of details and photograph angles I'll be looking to recreate:

 

48289 + 6879 by Peter, on Flickr

 

 

75053 by Peter, on Flickr