Culham in model form
Our own models
Our website contains much historical information of use to a potential modeller. Additionally, a number of PDF files have been developed when making our own models of the ticket office and other buildings at Culham. These can be accessed by visiting the 'Model sheets' item under the 'ABOUT/Downloadable resources' menu tab.
Ticket Office and Down platform building in '00' scale
The first 'kit' which we produced was of course a model of the Old Ticket Office itself. It took several attempts to get the layout of the walls and slated roof right, and the chimneys were quite a challenge even in 4mm scale. We hope you agree that the effort was well worth while. This first model was made without the forecourt valance but we have produced an alternative sheet which has a valance all round. It is not clear when the forecourt valance was removed. It can be seen in photographs from 1911 and is shown on an official 'As Existing' drawing of the ticket office from 1935 but it had definitely gone by 1975. So we have covered both bases.
Whilst it has long been demolished, we have found a few photographs to give an idea what the Down building looked like. It was originally provided with a flattish overall lead roof which can be seen in various older photographs and drawings. Sometime prior to the late 1950s this was replaced with a corrugated tin roof with a slightly steeper pitch. Both options are included in our construction sheets.
The photographs below show the Down building as made with our first version of the model sheets. We have since obtained a very useful 35mm negative which helped to correct some assumptions we had made and the sheets have been amended therefore to reflect this. Most noticeable is the Gent's toilet screen which has been redrawn to be more representative of the prototype, face the right way round and also carry a cast 'Gentlemen' sign.
Ticket Office and Down platform building in 'N' scale
Before the Osborn's Models kits shown on the 'commercial kits' page, nobody seemed to have made models of the buildings at Culham in 'N' scale. We thought we would have a go and produced the 'N' scale sheets by scaling the '00' components, with the ticket office being first. The chimneys were very fiddly to make, but having experimented a bit with the larger kit they proved to be fairly straightforward. Some of the brick overlays were left off as they proved too small to handle, but it doesn't detract from the finished article. The actual model is only 9cm end to end, 11.5cm with the canopy, so it proved difficult to light and photograph with the colours not looking as vibrant as on the '00' model. Clicking on a thumbnail will reveal larger versions of the images which, on a laptop or PC, will display at twice life-size or more. Close examination will show that the forecourt valance has been included in this version of the kit. This was really to make life a little easier as it gives a bit more material to fold and glue.
There was more room to work with when laying out the A4 sheet for the 'N' scale model of the Down building, so we were able to put all the brick walls into a continuous strip with a bit extra at each end to fold under. The wood infill centre section could then be glued behind the brick ends highlighting the effect of it being a later addition. We think the first photo shows this to advantage. Maybe we'll have a rethink with the '00' scale walls one day. To be a bit different, we built this 'N' scale model with the later corrugated tin roof.
Ticket Office in 'Z' and 'O' scales
We were pleased to be invited to run a stand at the 2018 Oxford and District MRC exhibition. One special feature of their shows is that they include a 'show within a show' devoted to the diminutive 'Z' gauge. We therefore decided to do our bit towards this and have a go at making the Old Ticket Office in 'Z' scale. Again we used our sheets, but rather than produce specials in the right size we simply scaled the '00' and 'N' sheets when printing them out. In this scale the chimneys proved a bit too much of a challenge to make on the diagonal, being in fact slightly thinner than a matchstick. Whilst you can't quite see them, the model is complete with canopy roof beams and supporting brackets.
Having scaled the model sheets down we decided to see how things went if we scaled them up for a 7mm scale model. It ended up pretty big, but still worked. To give an idea of the relative sizes the photographs below show the '00', 'N' and 'Z' scale models grouped together. Open the gallery to see this group with the 'O' scale one added.
Ticket Office in 'T' scale
As an ultimate challenge we decided to have a go at making the Old Ticket Office in 'T' scale. This is the smallest commercially available scale, and the 'T' refers to the gauge which is an amazing three millimeters! the scale being 1/450th or 0.64mm to the foot.
We scaled our model sheets down and here you can see the end result. Old school card and paper, none of this modern 3D printing anywhere near it. Needless to say, the chimneys proved particulary challenging. Being so small it was difficult to photograph and give an impression of how small it actually is, so it is pictured next to a One Penny coin and a '00' scale wagon.
