andyscouse

India Mill Chimney, Lancashire England

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India Mill Chimney - Darwen, Lancashire

India Mill chimney was the tallest and most expensive in England when it was completed in 1867. India Mill Chimney stands 303' in Darwen, Lancashire. The Lego version stands 5'6½".

Back then, mill owners had more money than they knew what to do with ... so when they built their new mill, they'd want it build with fancier brickwork, a taller tower, etc, than the mill owned by another guy in the next town. This means that many of those old buildings were great architectural works of art. Many were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, but fortunately not all were. The ones that remain are now listed buildings. India Mill Tower is a Grade II* listed building.

This building had its debut at the Amherst Railway Show in West Springfield MA on Jan 30-31, 2016.

This rendition of India Mill Chimney in Lego is the latest in my series of Real Life buildings.

Detailed view of top:

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Close-up of the upper section showing detail in Lego & real-life. Note the bare brick top. When originally built, there was about 20 tons of ornate wrought-iron atop to crown the building nicely. This was removed during World War II to be melted down (along with railings from houses, parks and other sources) to be used in the war effort. My rendering brings a semblance of this ironwork back!

View of base & a perspective from bottom looking up:

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Enjoy!

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Yes, yes it is! Turned out a little taller than I was expecting it to be when I started - I was aiming for 5'0". Of course, for the €uropeans here, 5'6½" is about 169cm (1.69m).

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Its size does make it 1.69M seems incredibly small when comparing to the completed build.

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I think part of it is perspective. That picture was taken with the building on tables that are about 3' tall (almost 1.0m), and the gap behind to the far tables is about 10' or so - so the guy you see is actually about 12' behind the Chimney.

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Thank you, Venuder! Yes, it took me 5 weeks to build, with photos of the building close by so I could ensure it matched as close as possible. Took existing stock of dk red and tan 1xN bricks and some other pieces, and then 4 Bricklink orders for other elements!

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Fantastic model!

Have you seen this film of Fred Dibnah climbing all the way to the top?

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Dear Andy

My name is Dave Owen and I live in the small town of Darwen, I am the founder of Darwen Days which is a group in Darwen trying to save our history before it’s lost in time.

You can find us on Face book or darwendays.co.uk I would like to use your images if possible on our site to show the people of Darwen what you have built.

Best wishes Dave

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22 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

What a huge masterpiece! :wub:

Thank you! It was delightful to plan and build - and overall, it's quite a sight to see.

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