Leek station- an O Gauge project

Difficult decisions.

having looked at the previous photos of the stairs being constructed and a new photo coming to light today, I have decided that I had my road at the wrong angle, it being too steep. So as an experiment, I’ve doubled its length. This had resulted in the first draw of the steps actually needing to be placed higher up the embankment wall now.
This knock on effect means I can have more of a incline away from the station towards Junction Road (where the photos are taken from of the new build bridge)

this article posted to our Facebook group today also shows why the bridge we know now was replaced. The original one was shall we say, life expired).

anyway, back to the virtual model.

work on the steps. This was pre lengthening of the Newcastle Road embankment.

And the raw skeleton, (the cream areas are actually used as the mortar with the bricks.



A render of the earlier version. I will post an updated picture tomorrow.

 

Oh dear. Well that will teach me to do modelling after a 9 hrs shift and starting at 2am (and then at 7am after 2 night shifts!)

I decided to look at the railings and after the above photo measured it all out, but something was wrong.. so I back tracked and found for some reason I had twice the amount of bricks so the stairs were twice the distance from the station building and thus making the lengths all wrong.

I’m fortunate at work to have a modern detailed mapping system and a measuring tool. I could measure from where the surviving brick abutment was to the approx corner of Junction Road. And it came out at 34m approx…

so go back to the model, and from the stairs gate post (no longer existing in reality) was 53m… oh dear oh dear.

so another check, and moved back some 260+ mm the stairs should now be in the right spot. It’s given me the fence sizes as 7 1/2 ft long.
However I now worry that depth between the yard and bridge will now be too large a difference.
And who never saved the old version!
Oh blow.. back to the drawing board.

 

I opted to adjust the length of the bridge and moved the stairs to where it needed to be. I had no option.
This has actually solved two issues. The bridge being a more shallow decent is now better (I just shortened it so it wasn’t the steep angle of the first version) which means the climb up from the station yard is more realistic up to the main road.

looking back from the corner of Junction Road with Newcastle Road. The post has gone today and the walk now curves toward where we are looking from and the yard lowered for the supermarket car park. Some of this top end when the new curved wall was made was lost to pavement and the road widened and the post seen here would just be on the edge of the mini roundabout now.


If we had drones back then!

and to complete this section I’ve now added the hooped railings. 9 ft sections which matched the brick counting I had previously done.
The stairs are now bricked but awaiting calling stones.

with this done, I’ve moved back to the main building as per Paul. Adding similar details as he has done to the parcels office and the brick arch. Photos to follow later.

 

A few hours yesterday spent on the stairs to brick it out. Pictures taken mid way.


Once this was complete, I’ve worked today on the arch to the platform from the station approach, added a light we recently discovered and I’ve revisited the support posts for the canopy beams.
Finally, the last main detail missing was the notice boards dotted around the site.


v1 of the arch and we realised that i’d made it too wide. So each side was pulled in by 2.5mm and it looked more like.


And after the work on the notice boards and the support columns I made this picture.


the lights have been dimmed from earlier pictures. They may go dimmer yet!

 

A little bit of site history

Having recently spoken to @Gary re this project, to some its not quite clear where we are physically and virtually modelling between us, so with a little help from Google Streetview and maps from National Library of Scotland, here we go...

Georeferenced Maps viewer - Map images - National Library of Scotland is the map location in Leek, Staffordshire. This shows the Churnet Valley main line running almost North to South through the town and up against the A53 Newcastle Road. Running parallel to the right is Junction Road.


As seen in the early 1900 mapping, the station site was remote from the town with a nearby canal wharf. Its also located at the bottom of a hill, with the road going to the top right being a steep climb in to town.


The same modern day view with google. After the station site was cleared in the 1970's the warehouse remained for a number of years in industrial use. This then gave way in the 1980's to all cleared and become the site of the supermarket and the industrial units seen there today. The railway bridge remains and is in use as an exit point for the car park and a petrol station built on the opposite corner.


During site clearing with the warehouse still in situe. Both sets of platform steps either side the bridge can be seen. the left had set are still in situe today giving access to the car park., these can be seen in the next picture.

Moving closer in, this is the A53 road bridge as viewed from the 4FT..

the posts for the fuel and service sign are approx the edges of where the platform was, infact if you walk under the bridge, your at platform height still.


Moving along the embankment, where the "kids eat free" banner sits on some stand out bricks is the site of the former steps.


as can be seen here.. Its clear that the land is going up to the entrance at Junction road.


Almost the same angle, its now much flatter and no longer climbs to the roundabout.

The modern roadside shot shows how this now curves around with the roundabout road profile.
A similar view in 1951 when the A53 road bridge was renewed (see post #321)

And there we have it. Some bits are there, others gone. So we have some reference points, but there are some bits that are pure guess work.

Andy

 

Around 2009/2010 before I retired, I worked on an extension to the (if I remember correctly) "Dairy Crest" factory which looks from your maps to be somewhere between the goods shed and wharf as shown on the early map. Morrisons was certainly there at that time, more or less opposite the "Dairy Crest" factory and car park fronting the factory.
Keith.

 

I’m not sure for certain which building it would be..
It’s a while since I did a site visit.

 

After completing the artwork, I felt is was time for a few renders..


A winters night. Is it obvious I’ve just added the lamps?

An evening view waiting for the last service.

a comparison photo.

Work has now moved on to inside details for a short while. These are the barriers for the booking hall. Deciding which type we will go for.

Although there is more work to do on the one in the background, that is the preferd type to use.

Andy

 

After scouring the net for suitable photos of the booking foyer barriers and not finding anything that would have been NSR and used at Leek I suddenly came across a partial photo of the one in Alton Station (aka Alton Towers as in the theme park)
The station still survives but is part of a trust who rent it out for holidays.

thankfully there was enough to work out the rest.

Setting the render in B&W gives quite the setting atmospherically to the booking office area

The ladies waiting room with is central stove

The clerks room (back of the booking office

And turning 180, his desk, still needs ticket dispenser and date stamp to add.

 

Thought for the other side of the ticket windows I draw a ticket rack..


I was quite pleased. Around an hours work on the laptop (probably quicker on a more powerful tower computer) and each ticket is individual! So the fuller racks have around 150’tickets.


However, when moved on the desk it just looked lost. So today I’m spending some time drawing up one of the larger cupboard.

6 rows of 10 tickets. (No idea how many they hold) and see how we go from there. More pictures later.

then it’s the round metal date stamps.


glad I’m not drawing that interior for once!

 

So the larger cupboard has been drawn and coloured. The actual cupboard took around an hour to draw up, but the tickets and then colouring took a further 2 hrs!



I drew only one, but there will be two on the desk as shown below. Other than position of doors, they are identical but tickets are coloured differently.

I’ve done the right hand side with the door partially closed as otherwise it obscures the glass serving window..

and in situe (although not quite finished here)
There are a few more details to add such as the brass coin trays in the bench in the glass serving windows. I’m still debating re the handles as the example (from Cheddleton) has wooden handles for the draws but Paul says Leek had brass (no one knows if I have the draws etc correct as no one remembers. But the model can still be changed. I have a feeling that there were two deep draws at some point and also an open storage area under the desk. But it’s a guess work.

more soon.

 

Interesting. I had wondered. It can still be amended. It was only a mock up anyway so
I’ll make amendments.

 

The Edmonsons ticket date stamp was drawn yesterday. I’ve had to guess measurements as couldn’t find much on the interweb. I wonder if I’m slightly under size although proportionally I think it’s right.? and in situe on the soon to be refurbished booking office desk

 

Marvellous. Thanks Gary!

yesterday I was sent this by a fellow CVR volunteer.


It’s the box that keeps the date stamps in. I have agreed with Ken to model it. But we both agreed under normal circs it probably would have been in the draw.

sizes are
lid is 6 1/4 x 4 3/8 x 3/8
Main box 5 7/8 x 4 1/16 x 1 1/2
Wall thickness 9/16

Keep you posted.

Andy.