Take a look at how this signal box was scratch built using simple and cheap materials for my model railway layout, Chandwell.
Chandwell is set in Yorkshire in 1993 so the signal box is in the last few years of its life.
The signal box is of a Midland design; Midland signal boxes were very distinct as they were generally made up of standard components. The hipped roof with tall finials, and the very distinct windows with the upper triangles make it obviously a Midland box.
The box is raised taller than many, and overhangs the locking room on both sides. The particular box that I chose as a prototype is the signal box that used to be at Guiseley. This signal box is a bit longer than Guiseley though; it is more like the size that Ilkley Signal Box used to be. So the signal box at Chandwell is a mixture of Guiseley and Ilkley boxes.
The Guiseley signal box still exists today, at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey railway. This video includes how I measured the box without actually getting up close to it.
The signal box is scratch built, and is made from cheap materials such as card, paper, sticky labels, chocolate cake packaging, and tooth picks. The only non-simple material was some nickel silver rod that I used for the signal box safety rail.
The signal box is very small – it is N Gauge (1:148) because my layout is N Gauge. The techniques that I used to make this Midland Signal Box can be adapted to any scale or gauge though – not just N Gauge.
If you're interested in scratch-building model railway buildings from card in any scale, but especially N Scale, then I am sure you will be interested in this building!
I love scratch building with cardboard. I designed the building in Inkscape using textures and glazing from Scalescenes and Textures.com.
As well as showing my scratch-built Midland-style signal box, I include a little look at how I make window frames from sticky labels, and how I make hipped Midland style signal box roofs without using any maths or anything else complicated.
I show you some of the smallest details on the signal box. Some of them, in N Gauge, are REALLY tiny!
If you’re interested in using sticky labels to make window framed, then please see this video:
CHEAP AND EASY WINDOW FRAMES: https://youtu.be/_pU0WqGSH3Y
If you’d like to see how I make the signal box hipped roof without using anything complicated, then this video is for you:
HIPPED ROOFS, NO MATHS: https://youtu.be/Ne_GyXj5Jns
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Scratch Building a Signal Box from cheap and simple materials
00:00 Introduction
00:37 Inspiration - choosing the right Midland-style Signal Box
01:29 The base - making the signal box locking room
02:33 Windows - using the sticky label method to make fine window frames
03:58 Textures - adding the decoration and colour scheme to the signal box
04:36 Frame - making the frame of the signal box more defined
05:06 Floors - the upper base of the signal box
05:51 Box Walls - the supporting framework for the signal box windows
06:45 Window Position - how I decided where to place the signal box windows
07:14 Box Windows - how I made the large picture windows of the signal box
08:37 The roof - how I made the distinct Midland-style hipped roof of the signal box
09:24 Interior - making the inside of the signal box
11:08 Railing - using nickel silver rod to make the signal box safety rail
12:05 Staircase - using chocolate cake wrapping and paper to make a staircase
14:36 Weathering - making the signal box look old and dirty, and finishing it off
15:06 Cost - How much money did I have to spend to make this signal box?