4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 12

This is the elaborate cupola that sits on top of the gents toilet block. Looks a complicated piece but was quite easy to make.

The final module to design and build was a small annex at this end of the building on the platform side. It is a signal box added to the station about 1957 after BR demolished the original box that was on the 2nd platform (later rebuilt by the heritage railway). Today it is used as a porter staff room, being an extension of their room inside the toilet block.

The style of roof is unknown but there is a clue that suggests it is a flat roof because there is one hole at the top of the wall on the other side served by a drain pipe. If it was a gable roof then there would have been a drain pipe on this side too.

The notice on the door reads "This Signalbox is Private" and fixes the period of the model in the BR period from about 1957.

Below are photos of the completed model. Click an image for a larger view.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 11

The gents toilet block, whilst the same style as the main building, is shorter and narrower than the ticket office it ajoins.

Its not quite finished as there is a very ornate, almost oriental in style, cupola to design, build and fix to the roof top.

To Part 12.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 10

Two annexes for the Station Master's residence.

The stone annex is a storeroom. I started making this first and when it came to designing the wooden entrance lobby discovered that I made the store room too low. It is that lobby roof jutting into the storeroom that is critical. It has to blend into the incline of the store room roof  and not sit above it. Consequently I had to discard and remake the store room but was able to reclaim the roof.

Part of the issue was my reference drawing that is inaccurate w.r.t. the lobby compared to actual dimensions I have to hand.

The lobby architectural style is way out of character with the main building and is probably a latter addition. It is a private entrance to the house from the garden.














A little more detail - first aid stretcher cabinet.









To Part 11.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 9

One month in to a two month project. The canopy was a delight to design. It includes textured roof corrugations

and full framing underneath with photo realistc spandrels.

Pipework too is full represented

The build thus far represents about two thirds of the entire station building it seems to me that this could stand on its own as a fine Victorian country station for any Southern location :)

Four more modules to design and make. There is a complex annex to design but next I shall do one of the simpler annexes at the house end of the building.

To Part 10.

To Part 1. 

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 8

Ticket office is now complete and can join the station master's house.

Next task is the canopy.

To Part 9.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 7

I planned to complete the ticket office this week but other events caused delay and we have an unfinished model, as can be seen from the photo.

This module turned out to be more difficult than expected with the most challenging part being the dormer window that took a day alone to design and build. All those angles!

The two poster boards show a timetable and an advertisement for the west of England car carrier train. The timetable is not for the Swanage Branch but it does not matter because the text is so small it is unreadable! The advertising poster is my own design based on 1960s railway poster art.

Unfortunately the poster board on the right should have been placed between the two windows. By the time I realised this the glue had set. It could be cut off and the resulting damage to the wall stone decoration repaired but that would leave a noticeable scar. Positioned next to the door is a more logical place as it gives balance with the other board but it could not be so in practice as there is a stone ledge in the way that seems to serve no purpose other than decoration.

Postscript: The ledges were used to support a canopy over the entrance that once existed in the distant past.

To Part 8. 

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 6

The cross wing is the second module to be designed and built. It now joins the gable end module to complete the station master's residence.

The tricky part of the model cross wing design was the dormer window. It looks a complicated construction in photographs of the prototype because it cuts into the roof and has two rafters poking through its fascia that are on a different incline to the rest. It took some thought to come up with a simple construction method for the model.

Now for what is probably the most distinctive architectural feature on the platform side of the building - the highly ornate barge board. The graphic design for this was created over a photograph of the actual barge board at Swanage Station, being the same style as Corfe Castle Station (well very nearly the same. If you can spot the difference write it in the comment box and give yourself a doughnut).

The two drain pipes on the right hand side are temporarily placed and will be truncated to direct the rain they carry onto the canopy drainage gully, when that is built.

The design and build time of the cross wing was about half that of the gable end as I was able to duplicate or adapt some of its design elements.

Whilst this piece is about one third of the entire station building it seems to me that it could stand on its own as a fine Victorian detached house for either station masters or, the general public :)

To Part 7.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 5

Photo shows the almost complete Gable End module and the beginnings of the Cross Wing module. Some minor details to add to the Gable End module that have to wait for another module to ajoin it.

To Part 6.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 4

Here are those rafters poking through the side wall - just like the real thing;

and this photo shows the work involved to show them (all will be hidden from admiration when the roof tiles are fitted).

In fact they were not difficult to design and assemble. Just laborious but strangely therapeutic. 

I am particularly pleased with the roof clay tile detail. I used my existing grey slate tile design and recoloured it on the computer applying a bit of colour variation and pigeon poo!

To Part 5.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 3

An engine shed and water tower from The Swanage Railway are available from my card kit catalogue. I expected to use the same Purbeck stone decoration from their designs for Corfe. However, the shed and water tower comprise random sized blocks resulting in uneven mortar runs. At Corfe the blocks are more uniform and the mortar runs are straight. This has caused me to design a new stone decoration paper for Corfe.

By the way, I am using is Epson Durabrite ® Ultra printing ink for excellent colour retention.  Some of my own models are seven years old and show no sign of colour fading.

The windows in this assembled model are 3D printed plastic with transparent acetate faux glass. The upper sashes are separate parts glued to the frames. For the card kit the windows are part of the kit data file for printing on paper with acetate faux glass.

I'm using 3D printed plastic in this assembled model because it is easier to replicate windows and, arguably, more accurate. The downside is the mechanical CAD design takes me longer than the graphic designed versions for the card kit. This is because the plastic part has 3 dimensional relief, requiring more design effort than the flat paper version.

To Part 4.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building - 2

The building plan published in 'London & South Western Railway' by Robert Antwell, isbn 0-7110-1420-5 is the basis for the design. In common with other books of plans for modellers that I have seen it is probably not the original architects drawing. Therefore, its accuracy is questionable.

This uncertainty can be mitigated to a large degree with reference to photographs of the building, especially if a full frontal view can be found. These can be scaled and overlaid on the plan to check proportions and architectural details. Even so, the camera position, usually at about 5' off the ground, distorts dimensions due to perspective.

I have already found that the Chimneys of the Station Master's House are incorrectly positioned on the plan when compared to a photograph in the manner described above. At the end of the day (and without a site visit to measure every dimension - virtually impossible or, an architects drawing) all we can hope is to get as close as possible and there is no doubt it will be recognisable as Corfe Castle Station Building.

Importing a plan and/or photographs into a graphic editing Application and then scaling is a great way to start the design of a building because all the windows, doors and other architectural features fall into position without effort.

This building lends itself to being designed in a modular form. This, together with room dividing walls results in greater rigidity.

The photo shows the first module shell, which is the gable end of the station master's quarters, shown overlaid on the first sheet of the card kit.

The prototype has many intricate ornate details and many of the smaller ones will need to be simplified or omitted for practiality. So far, one feature that gives cause for concern is the roof rafters that (unusually) protrude through the walls. These are highly visible on the prototype and whilst time consuming parts to make I feel must be included. I could think of no easy way to represent the protrusions so, 25 rafters for this module alone will be made. You can see the slots at the top of the side walls where they will poke through.

Sometimes, having designed parts and built the first one a flaw or difficulty is revealed and the design process has to be repeated. I hope that will not arise too often but these rafters are a point in question. If they are less visible on the model than the prototype then they may be removed from the card kit to make construction simple.

To Part 3.

To Part 1.

4mm Scale Corfe Castle Station Building

Corfe Castle Station (restored) by Ben Brooksbank [CC BY-SA 2.0]

I have a small model shop offering 4mm scale card kit buildings. Recently, I started to offer assembled models, hand built from the kits.

A customer contacted me interested in buying a built up model of Corfe Castle station building, if one was available from me. Well, currently it is not available but after discussion we came to an agreement that I would design a kit of the building for inclusion in my catalogue and supply him an assembled model. This is my next project and is expected to take a couple of months to complete.

The card kits require paper, grey board, acetate and wire to build a model. The assembled model for this project will use 3D plastic printed parts for some details.

I doubt the card kit will generate many sales because it is a unique building for a specific location, unlike my other models that lend themselves to multiple localities. However, I have a cunning plan that might make it more marketable.

This posting is the first of a series that will cover the development of the kit and build of the model.

I have a 2mm scale plan of the building so, the first job is to scan this and enlarge it to 4mm scale. 

To Part 2.