New Street

David Knight
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Re: New Street progress

Postby David Knight » Tue Oct 01, 2013 8:16 pm

Jim,

Sorry if this has been asked before, but given that you are going to be stringing overhead wires and all the complications that that can entail, will you be building access hatches to the roof or will it be in removable sections? The scope of you project is absolutely amazing :thumb

Cheers,

David

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Wed Oct 16, 2013 4:05 pm

Hi David

I do appologise, I seem to have missed your post for some reason.

I will be doing overhead yes (I built the plank as a test bed for it - you can see more here but please excuse the crudeness - http://www.p4newstreet.com/the-plank also http://www.p4newstreet.com/ohle)

The plan is to have reach through panels to rescue trains stuck under the roof (the building will be in 2 parts anyway) and the overhead will not be visible in that area anyway so my thoughts are to omit it and have skates either end for the pantographs. The first platforms will have it as you might just get to see it as a viewer but train rescue will be easier there anyway.

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Wed Oct 16, 2013 4:09 pm

Hi All

Ive started work on the platform canopies and lighting, its starting to get suitably moody I think!

Image

See my workbench for more details - http://www.p4newstreet.com/category/workbench

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

DougN
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Re: New Street progress

Postby DougN » Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:56 pm

Fantastic Jim, looks suitably modern... bad fluro lighting! Makes me think of the scene in the last harry Potter film where Harry is sitting in a Cafe on a station.... I wonder if they got the idea from BNS orginally? :D
Doug
Still not doing enough modelling

John Maclean

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Maclean » Thu Oct 17, 2013 3:31 am

Absolutely superb! Inspirational stuff. From memory, the only thing missing now is the grime :D

John.

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Thu Oct 17, 2013 1:21 pm

Thanks Gents

When you start something like this you have an idea what it will look like. I'm pretty pleased with the results so far

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

John Fitton

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Fitton » Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:24 pm

John Mac wrote:Absolutely superb! Inspirational stuff. From memory, the only thing missing now is the grime :D

John.


It would be nice to see the occasional visiting preserved steam loco, say, 46235 City of Birmingham!!

essdee
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Re: New Street progress

Postby essdee » Thu Oct 17, 2013 7:47 pm

Jim,

I have admired for long now, without commenting, though it's well outside my period - but this latest view just brings back so many memories; absolutely brilliant execution.

I regularly travelled between Glasgow and Bristol/Bath 1981-1991, and the change at New Street had a certain ...'flavour' to it; a combination of dank cavern and acrid fumes, as I awaited a 47-hauled connection to Bristol.

My particular remembrance is of a typically packed Friday evening train, and me shouldering my rucksack the full length of the corridors in despondence, hauling open yet another heavy wooden door - and just saving myself from stepping into (I dread to think what) ....as my eyes adjusted slowly to the unexpected sight of a view very similar to your shot here. Someone had failed to seal the end door during engine changeover, presumably a vehicle had been removed from the formation.

I presume you are working on that 'subtle aroma'? Looking forward to further developments with great interest.

Thanks for the memories!

BW

Steve

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Thu Oct 17, 2013 10:33 pm

jf2682 wrote:It would be nice to see the occasional visiting preserved steam loco, say, 46235 City of Birmingham!!


Afraid steam was banned from new street during the 1980s.

essdee wrote:Thanks for the memories


Thanks Steve

That's ultimately what it's all about isn't it?

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Tue Oct 22, 2013 1:47 pm

Hi all

Ever wondered where the ramps towards the western end of New Streets platforms go?

Image

The story of what's under the city might be of interest

www.p4newstreet.com/category/workbench

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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Andy W
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Re: New Street progress

Postby Andy W » Tue Oct 22, 2013 2:11 pm

Very interesting Jim. There was always speculation that the almost constant re-building of the Bullring in the sixties and seventies (giving rise to Birmingham being nick-named the biggest Logo city in the world), was needed to allow rebuilding of the nuclear bunkers beneath. Maybe this wasn't so far-fetched?
Make Worcestershire great again.
Build a wall along the Herefordshire border and make them pay for it.

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:35 pm

One of the most common questions I get asked when I tell people I am going to model the shopping centre is 'What will we actually see?'  So far I have had to try to describe that the intention is to leave off the rear wall of Platform 12 to give the viewer the impression that they are standing on the platform.  With work complete on all of the canopies for board three I can now just show you what you will see if you ever come to see New Street at a show somewhere.

Image
This is the view from just under the roof at the Wolverhampton end, looking into the station.

Image
The view from the middle of the platforms looking towards the Wolverhampton end

Image

A few signs of life!

Hopefully these views demonstrate why I felt I have to have the roof on as it just wouldn't be New Street without it.
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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Will L
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Re: New Street progress

Postby Will L » Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:44 pm

Your going to need a few hundred figures Jim. I've never seen New Street that empty

Will

John Fitton

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Fitton » Fri Nov 15, 2013 8:51 pm

jim s-w wrote:
jf2682 wrote:It would be nice to see the occasional visiting preserved steam loco, say, 46235 City of Birmingham!!


Afraid steam was banned from new street during the 1980s.

Jim,

I saw a YouTube clip recently of Tornado at what was stated to be BNS. Are you certain steam is banned from there?

PS, I have yet to make a working P4 steam engine, so I am sort of hoping you will take the bait here and convert a Duchess.....(Red of course)

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:25 pm

jf2682 wrote:
I saw a YouTube clip recently of Tornado at what was stated to be BNS. Are you certain steam is banned from there?

PS, I have yet to make a working P4 steam engine, so I am sort of hoping you will take the bait here and convert a Duchess.....(Red of course)


It was in the 80s yes. It was banned from the late 60s until the mid 2000s and I believe even now steam isn't allowed under the roof. They have to be dragged in backwards I'm told.

Jim

If I was ever to do a steam loco it would be a duchess. Good job brassmasters don't do one.
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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Andy W
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Re: New Street progress

Postby Andy W » Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:05 am

Brilliant Jim. I love the fallen traffic cone.
Make Worcestershire great again.
Build a wall along the Herefordshire border and make them pay for it.

JFS
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Re: New Street progress

Postby JFS » Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:20 am

jim s-w wrote:Hopefully these views demonstrate why I felt I have to have the roof on as it just wouldn't be New Street without it.


Hello Jim,

You are spot on - absolutely captures the [dreadful] atmosphere of the place!

But I fear your fans will get restless at shows with a serious risk that fights will break out over access to prime viewing spots.

My suggestion is that you should install a few miniature cctv cameras at strategic points on a few of the platforms and display the results on monitors in front of or above the layout. That will give viewers the experience of actually standing on the platforms as trains arrive and depart without the misery that visiting the real BNS brings! These days, such technology is very cheap and yours is, for me, an excellent example of a layout which would benefit from its use (AND is of a quality that will stand up to the close scrutiny which comes with it!)

Best wishes,

Howard.

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:58 pm

Thanks chaps

I think I'll need cameras for operational purposes Howard. Each platform at New street can b used as 2 with different services in the A and B ends. With about a scale mile of scenic front I don't think I'll be short of space for people to watch the trains.

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

John Fitton

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Fitton » Sun Nov 17, 2013 2:32 pm

jim s-w wrote:Thanks chaps

I think I'll need cameras for operational purposes Howard. Each platform at New street can b used as 2 with different services in the A and B ends. With about a scale mile of scenic front I don't think I'll be short of space for people to watch the trains.

Cheers

Jim


That would be a stunning use of miniature cameras Jim!

John Fitton

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Fitton » Sun Nov 17, 2013 2:38 pm

jim s-w wrote:
jf2682 wrote:
I saw a YouTube clip recently of Tornado at what was stated to be BNS. Are you certain steam is banned from there?

PS, I have yet to make a working P4 steam engine, so I am sort of hoping you will take the bait here and convert a Duchess.....(Red of course)


It was in the 80s yes. It was banned from the late 60s until the mid 2000s and I believe even now steam isn't allowed under the roof. They have to be dragged in backwards I'm told.

Jim

If I was ever to do a steam loco it would be a duchess. Good job brassmasters don't do one.



Jim:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzanQuF3L88

Nice view at 1:01

John

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Sun Nov 17, 2013 6:14 pm

Thanks John

Here's how it was done before

[youtube]o3DXRwMEx68&feature[/youtube]

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

John Fitton

Re: New Street progress

Postby John Fitton » Sun Nov 17, 2013 7:20 pm

jim s-w wrote:Thanks John

Here's how it was done before

[youtube]o3DXRwMEx68&feature[/youtube]

Cheers

Jim


Brush type 4 in green, SYP, Princess in red; all I need now to achieve Nirvana are some AL1-6 locos in electric blue!!

John

johnWM
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Re: New Street progress

Postby johnWM » Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:35 pm

Isn't it odd that you sometimes need a prompt to bring back details in memories.
Further back up this thread someone commented about weathering and I thought "I'm not so sure, the views undercover are looking pretty good to me" These pictures reminded me that when I knew New Street 1978-82 I felt the staff where making a good effort to keep the platform areas quite clean. These pictures provide evidence for that memory. The platforms look v clean compared with the filthy end ramps to the platforms. That's exactly what I remember.

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jim s-w
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Re: New Street progress

Postby jim s-w » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:58 pm

Hi All

Some more under the roof pictures just for the hell of it.

Image

Image

Image

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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Paul Willis
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Re: New Street progress

Postby Paul Willis » Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:13 pm

jim s-w wrote:Hi All

Some more under the roof pictures just for the hell of it.

Cheers

Jim


Lovely stuff Jim, lovely stuff...

I'll be back up staying with the Oldies for this weekend's Warley show, but I don't know if my travels will take me through BNS. Last year I spent a wet and cold hour in the late evening at Snow Hill, which made even the dankness of BNS seem appealing! The trains from Rowley Regis no longer go there, so no more memories of mis-spent Saturdays browsing the punk clothing stalls and record shops in the markets...

Cheers
Flymo
Beware of Trains - occasional modelling in progress!
www.5522models.co.uk


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