A scottish Signal box

A new model signal box has been started - a little off the beaten track for me, but it’s going to be done in return for the kindness Peter has shown me with his support and help with my Block instrument, so an agreement was made to recreate his local box (now gone) in 7mm for him.

The box is based on Kilmacolm, situated in Renfrewshire, a route and station which closed in 1983. Originally built by the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway in the West-Central lowlands of Scotland. It was later a line run by the Glasgow and South Western Railway.

The box itself is a brick and timber construction featuring a square bay window to the front which afforded the signalman a view up and down the line unrestricted. The lever frame was situated centrally in the building with your back to the running line. A brick chimney and fire sat along the back wall. The buildings had a wooden porch and a brick overhanging toilet to the rear.


The basis for the model.


an LMS track diagram from 1925.


some reference is taken from neighbouring boxes.

Showing the inside of East Kilbride.


this shows how the toilet was to the rear (on another box close by)

I’m fortunate that drawings were available (it really does help!) but still have to do a number of brick counts in photos!

this is the only plan that actually shows the rear toilet. It’s not shown on any other plan. However what is shown are some good dimensions and also the window layouts.


But with luck, I have some good reference material.

 

In the last few days I’ve been working on the lower half of the structure. As can be seen, there are a hell of a lot of bricks and a decorative corner brickwork.


I began with a mortar box, of which the bricks are placed on to it, or at least, the front of the brick stands 1mm proud of the mortar. This gives some depth for painting.
The blue part here is what will become the floor and initially too high.

mapping out the brick work, length and depth.

once the decorative corners had been done, I started the “English garden wall bond” style brick work. 3 courses of stretchers between every course of headers.
once done there was some filling in to do to match and gap them to the decorative ends (shown in blue at this time) I have also added in the back wall at this time.

a slight change in colours and moving on to the back wall. Here you can also see the floor has been lowered to its correct location.

adding in the concrete lintel and also to the side the base for the steps. Also the stone caps for the brick work upper before the timber is started.


Sides now done. Moving on now to the toilet next.
Once the brick work is done I will start knocking holes in it for the lower locking room windows, a locking room door and the door from the porch in to the main room.

 

Yes, 4900 bricks so far! And not even started the chimney

I HATE BRICKS! lol

 

Only an hour or so spent today on the project. We’re probably around the 10 hr mark so far.

the toilet has had its slanted roof added, doorway cut in main brick work in to the cabin and an early roof and timbers have begun (subject to alteration as we progress)


Doorway cut

Roof and the balcony

from the rear showing the toilet.

 

I’ve begun adding the timber work for the window frames.



I also like to add a virtual glass as it just finishes off the appearance rather than just open frames.
The corner windows will be modelled as sliding (although they may not be working this time as they measure out at just around 1mm thick.)

still some adjustment to do as I have found a small error that needs to be amended on the verandah, in that it wasn’t quite in the correct location and this has meant an adjustment in the front wall brick work.

 

to be fair, it varies. Normally a brick is full in size and embed in to a box “mortar”. That has started out at 1.5mm thick (I have thickened it at the moment to around 3.5 to get the full double brick thickness, but this may be reduced in some spots..

Much of the brick is copy and paste after setting the gap (usually moved 5.53mm giving a gap of .35mm for the mortar line.)

 

The timber work is almost done so next will be the porch, door ways and chimney and roof.. and the locking room windows.


Here is the model as drawn in 123d design..

and the same files in Fusion using the Render option to produce a “photo” version..

 

So an hour or so this aft has focused on amending the varandah, which was too wide. As can be seen I had it at 15.5mm between the window frames. I needed to loose 6mm! No idea where that error crept in!




as can be seen, it made a big difference if you compare back to the photo in post 1.

I then moved on to the locking room door.


a hole was made in the right spot, and then we fill it back in!

I’ve drawn a full on door here (minus hinges) and it includes the frame and diagonals on the back. (Sorry didn’t take a photo)

next up will be a mod of the bricks as this has a curved fan of stretcher bricks going upwards above it.

 

I’ve given it all a rest today, but this was final result at end of play yesterday..


peter sent me this for the locking room door as there was no reference initially with how the top of the doorway was formed. Turns out it was a fan of bricks.


a little distant (I’ll try and get a closer pic next time) but I think I’ve captured it.! and from the front…. Maybe it was too early for the name board.?

and the steps side. Still to draw.

oddly, we checking plans, it appears that the lever frame causes a step in the floor so the back is higher than the front.. I’m still to confirm if this was purely just behind the lever frame or the whole floor and we’re looking in to the chimney breast, but at the moment we have the below.

I know it doesn’t stand out too well at the moment. The blue door (means it still needs work- frame etc) is to the toilet, to the right the chimney breast and the hole at the bottom for the fire (it may need to move up a little yet and have a stone slab installed as a base.. all things still to work on..

And once the porch is done, there is still the roof to tile..

 

Yesterday was a few hours tidying up the model so far, rectifying an error Peter and I had identified in the plans (by photos) where the rear of the box is shown higher behind the frame, placing door ways higher. Photos proved this wasn’t the case, and it’s infact a small raised box section only to the rear of the frames to allow access..

this is shown below.

and here..

although we have to consider that there may be mods and variations between boxes, but we are going on what is present commonly now, even though the Kilmacolm box is no more so no direct reference.

With that, the floor was lowered at the back along with the door way and the toilet floor.

externally, showing the locking room door complete .
and for a little higher looking in.

An internal shop pre panelling.

With panelling (although I’d forgot to “paint” the stone lintel on the inside at this time. It still needs a lower trim adding as well as the skirting to complete. ) I used a “light bomb” to bring some brightness.

and without the lights on!! From the doorway.

looking across to the toilet and fire place. The back wall still needs panelling.

 

Just as a small follow up, here you can see on the drawings (it’s shown on more than one some are not sure why?) that the doorway is higher?


I’ve highlighted the two levels.

again this suggests otherwise



And again with the panels removed during S&T work.

 

I'm not knowledgeable on that side, I think its just how its arranged so the lever pull moves against the wheel to pull the wire for the signal. @York Paul may know more and advise better how the underside of a lever frame works.

 

All walls have now been timbered. Just the fire place to sort now. Awaiting what we are doing with this. (- as in what time period we are looking to replicate.)


So at the moment the lower fire place is still just plaster.

looking back the other way.

this internally will leave only door frames to the toilet and the porch door to complete (the porch will be a separate section.)

last night I spent an hour doing the locking room windows.. however I feel I’ve got a dimension wrong somewhere as they look too wide and also too high (one 3 rows to high and should have been the same level as the top of the locking room door. Some of this was not rechecking - the old cut once measure twice)
So I now need to refer back to an older file for the front bricks and start again. it was also drawn up without the top half of the model so missed some scale reference points. Lesson learned!