The Friargate Line

[briyeo]

Just when you think you have got away with it, someone turns up with the drawings.

[Rockdoc2174]

It's been a long time since the last post but there hasn't been a lot happening, I'm afraid. I've been working on the area between Awsworth and Kimberley whenever the mood takes me but Kimberley itself is going to be a nightmare so I'm avoiding that as much as I can. The issue is the sandstone the station and its surroundings are cut into, which leads to more or less vertical sides to cuttings. I haven't worked out how to do those yet but there's still a lot that needs to be done. This is what I'm up against. The line crossed the road about half way along Main Street.

Main Street today

A lot of the line between Awsworth Junction and Kimberley sat on an embankment or high ground so you can see for a long way in both directions. It was quite rural in the fifties so there is a lot of ground to lay with hedges and then ground to paint. I suspect that a lot of it would have been grazing but acres of meadow would be just as boring as doing nothing so I'm experimenting. So far there isn't much new to show, at least that you'll notice.

On a more positive note we finally came across a clear picture of one of the two types of roof support at Derby Friargate and it's in colour! Friargate is not well represented in the photographic archive and we don't want to use too much guesswork or risk having to redo significant parts of a building when, as it will, new evidence comes to light. This piqued Brian's interest and he came up with this lovely piece of work. I think he's captured the almost lace-like feel perfectly. There is a second type of support that ran up into the pitch of the roof at right angles to these. That's quite a different design so we are still hoping to find something better than we have.

Friargate roof not long before it closed.

Support for the horizontal timbers of the roof.

Keith

[VictoryWorks]

Fantastic attention to detail! The modelled frame with the alpha'd latice work in it should look very effective in game.

[Rockdoc2174]

These supported the horizontal timbers under the roof. There were others, a completely different shape, that supported the 14 pitches or, perhaps, the horizontal timber at the apex of each pitch. This is the best photo we have of the others. Brian might be able to come up with something from it but he hates bodging things because it always seems to bite you on the backside eventually.

The problems with modelling Friargate are down to its location - on a viaduct away from public roads - and the overall roof so images showing the platform buildings make rocking-horse muck look like a common sight! Brian's musing about trying to make the entire station and, probably, the amazing bridges over Friar Gate as one model. It makes my head ache to think about it.

Keith

[jp4712]

I am in ecstasy looking at that lower picture...

Paul

[Rockdoc2174]

It's very evocative of the late 1950s, isn't it? It's post-1958, when the station was repainted from what I think was the first (1924-37) LNER colour scheme of dark brown and stone into LM Region maroon and cream. It can't be later than 1967 when the trolley buses stopped running.

Keith

[Rockdoc2174]

There was a wide section of embankment near Ilkeston GNR goods shed that never had tracks laid on it. From this 1949 aerial shot it looks as if it was used for engineers' stores and that the area was secured by a high fence that was creosoted from the colour so was probably made from old sleepers or something very similar. I can remember quite a few of these in the fifties when I was growing up. I can't find a suitable loft in the UKTS archives. Can anyone point me towards one?

Keith

Cotmanhay Road in Ilkeston in 1949. Images cropped from Britain From Above photo.

My WIP version of the same area.

[Rockdoc2174]

I discovered I can record video using the NVidia software so I used that when I ran a test scenario earlier today as much as anything to see what turned up. Here is, via YouTube, for your delectation and delight a run between Kimberley and Ilkeston. It's very much WIP but I hope you'll enjoy seeing it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/s2Sqp5GKMjE

Keith

[FoggyMorning]

That is some seriously impressive route building

[AndiS]

Now this is really amazing. Makes me sweat.