MOC: Victorian Train Station

[The Lego Room]

Let me know what you think!

Also, please ignore the thumbnail. I've been told that putting circles and arrows in your videos gets you more views, so it is what it is!

[Alexandrina]

I'm a fan - it all looks very clean (yes, even the yellowed tile, since no train station is going to stay pristine for a century!)

My only point - and please don't think I'm being rude or anything, because that's certainly not my intention - would be that it doesn't really feel Victorian to me. I might be unduly influenced by my own local station, which is of Victorian architecture, but in my experience they tend to have red brickwork with ornate designs around the windows etc, and chimney-stacks on the roof (because nothing says 'Victorian' like pumping soot into the air!)

[The Lego Room]

13 hours ago, Alexandrina said:

I'm a fan - it all looks very clean (yes, even the yellowed tile, since no train station is going to stay pristine for a century!)

My only point - and please don't think I'm being rude or anything, because that's certainly not my intention - would be that it doesn't really feel Victorian to me. I might be unduly influenced by my own local station, which is of Victorian architecture, but in my experience they tend to have red brickwork with ornate designs around the windows etc, and chimney-stacks on the roof (because nothing says 'Victorian' like pumping soot into the air!)

Fair point. Initially I wasn't sure what type of architecture it was, but I thought it would best be characterised as Victorian since people said it sort of looks like Paddington Station and the Victorian glass houses in Kew Gardens, etc.

[Dazzzy]

That's a nice train station!   I'm not sure what style of architecture it is myself, but maybe it's something along the lines of being Regency or something.  It has a cool tea room kind of vibe to it as well. 

[The Lego Room]

11 hours ago, Dazzzy said:

That's a nice train station!   I'm not sure what style of architecture it is myself, but maybe it's something along the lines of being Regency or something.  It has a cool tea room kind of vibe to it as well. 

Cheers - yeah, that sounds about right!

[Tube Map Central]

Or perhaps the Crystal Palace

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace

But this one is more square, more Bauhaus or Brutalist

[The Lego Room]

3 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

Or perhaps the Crystal Palace

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crystal_Palace

But this one is more square, more Bauhaus or Brutalist

Brutalist? I hope not!!

[Tube Map Central]

The best brutalism is fantastic. Pleasing outside, bright and spacious inside and Lego is perfect for doing brutalism really well!

Good and bad brutalism? It's sort of the difference between the University of Sussex and the University of Essex!

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Tube Map Central
Illustrative links

[The Lego Room]

7 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

The best brutalism is fantastic. Pleasing outside, bright and spacious inside and Lego is perfect for doing brutalism really well!

Good and bad brutalism? It's sort of the difference between the University of Sussex and the University of Essex!

 

Ooh, I don't know really. I think what makes my station look a bit brutalist is the use of 4 x 3 windows on parts of the roof rather than 4 x 6 ones. Will change that up, and post it when I get round to it. Brutalism/postmodernism really isn't my style, but sadly it's really hard to build classical buildings!

[Tube Map Central]

Also, you used panels on the sides, I always think they give a modern look to a building, 1930s plus.

The trouble with Victorian railway stations is that they were massive, and glass structures had lots of curves, both problems for the Lego builder. An image search for "Lego greenhouse" and "Lego curved roof" gives lots of inspiration, the use of Lego track to give a curved roof is very clever, narrow gauge track could be used to keep the size under control.

[MAB]

I find it a bit boring. I don't think being white helps there. Tan at least makes it a bit warmer looking. I also don't like the expanse of glass on the front, but glass in much thicker supports on the sides. It looks a bit odd, mixing framless windows with heavily framed. I think it would look better using some of the building colour (so white here) between the front glass panels, either window frames or just a row of plates to break up those panels.

[The Lego Room]

7 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

Also, you used panels on the sides, I always think they give a modern look to a building, 1930s plus.

The trouble with Victorian railway stations is that they were massive, and glass structures had lots of curves, both problems for the Lego builder. An image search for "Lego greenhouse" and "Lego curved roof" gives lots of inspiration, the use of Lego track to give a curved roof is very clever, narrow gauge track could be used to keep the size under control.

Always a great technique to use track for roofs!

4 hours ago, MAB said:

I find it a bit boring. I don't think being white helps there. Tan at least makes it a bit warmer looking. I also don't like the expanse of glass on the front, but glass in much thicker supports on the sides. It looks a bit odd, mixing framless windows with heavily framed. I think it would look better using some of the building colour (so white here) between the front glass panels, either window frames or just a row of plates to break up those panels.

Well thank you for the points, but calling it boring is a bit rude, if I do say so myself. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re just trying to be as direct and therefore as helpful as possible. Besides, not worth getting into an argument over.

I am not sure why the building being white is a problem. Conveying warmth is generally not the goal of train station architecture, nor was it what I had in mind when building it. It does not look out of place in a city, in my opinion. It is similar to the colours used in London train stations. Unlike if I had made it bright pink!

And sorry but I don’t accept that the sides being different looks “odd”. If I had used the same technique for the front as for the sides it would make it look really repetitive. Especially because the roof uses a similar technique. Adds character to use large glass panels and IMO successfully fuses modern techniques within the framework of a classical style. I will attempt your suggestion of breaking the glass rows up with single plates but can’t say I think it would look all that great. One thing I am going to do for certain, however, is add arches to the three windows above the doors. They look a bit clunky and need to be more ‘demodernised’ in order to fit in with the structure below it. Then I will make sure that all of the roof windows are 4x6 rather than having some 4x3 ones as well. Will hopefully get rid of the somewhat brutalist look!

Edited March 10, 2021 by The Lego Room

[The Lego Room]

https://ibb.co/9b9nj26

So as you can see I’ve added the arch on the windows above the doors. I think I know the style now - art deco! Kind of a mix of classic and modern. And once I get the roof sorted it should look really good.

[The Lego Room]

.... and it’s sorted, folks! This is my final design. Hope you enjoy it! (I still need to buy some window panes but apart from that it’s all complete)

 

https://ibb.co/kG5RXGq

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Very cool design!

[The Lego Room]

On 3/12/2021 at 4:44 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Very cool design!

Why thank you! :)