Mosslanda: Denton Road - Urban grit in N…
Let me introduce you to Denton Road, the epitome of ‘urban grit’. A run down northern town, the railway weaving its way through industrial buildings and decay, over roads and canals towards a rationalised station long past its glory days…
It feels as if Denton Road may be a three dimensional poem. Fuelled by my emotions and excitement, the love of the railway and energy of change, new / old / abandoned / repurposed. The mock-up is very much a realisation of the ‘Urban Grit’ scheme, born through the kind loan of this humble blue DMU (thanks Paul). A home for the model, but itself a conduit, a vehicle for the idea. One nothing without the other.
Whilst just 55cm x 10cm it contains the sort of urban vignettes I’ve experienced first hand. The railway above casts shadows over the dirty abandoned canal and road. A blend of period architecture lines the railway whilst the viaduct remains separate, a gap between them and us for whilst the town regenerates the light railway revolution has yet to be felt at Denton Road.
In fact abandoned and rationalised are the order of the day. The former branch lifted and the main singled, nature and technology making use of the space for cable ducting and shrubbery and the trains keep running. The station still has both platforms, but the stub end of the former main ends in buffers just beyond the toe of the ramp. Services now terminate from destinations off stage, a familiar story re-told in my own hand.
Fashioned quickly from tactile materials, white cardboard itself recycled blended with the flexible brown tape and hard plastic mouldings to bring the form to life, to confirm the composition - the process an evolving and flexible way to paint, to write, to create the story - but rather than canvas or page on a shelf, in a box, on the wall.
Welcome to Denton Road. Anywhere, nowhere and yet somewhere - we’ve travelled this way, guided by steel through our northern towns, seen this picture a thousand times. A different place, a different space to become lost and remember. Until next time, more soon…
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I absolutely love that you're making this particular layout concept. Your plans really resonated with me, and had me wondering if I could pull off something similar, but ever so slightly different. In truth, not likely in the short term, but being able instead to following your build as it progresses will be a very good close second! I really look forward to seeing your final interpretation of this scene!
ReplyDeleteThank you - and I hope I can do the scheme justice!
DeleteI'm looking forward to seeing how the Urban Grit sketch translates into your model.
ReplyDeleteI think the only element I'm concerned about is the foreground. I don't think I'll have space to really show the waste ground - but that's ok.
DeleteAs a fan of the old London "Widened Lines" Im keen to see how you progress with this. I'm wondering how you're dealing with the vertical height of the layout "shadow box" when the rail level is already half way between the baseboard and the top fascia? Have you found you've had to increase the total height to retain the proportions? Im just thinking that if the track is too high from certain viewing angles the trains get blocked by the upper fascia. (Hope that made sense!)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ali, the cameo box is a touch taller than usual, but I design these with one viewing angle in mind, my own - and at home there isn’t a problem with trying to please children, those in wheelchairs, those 7ft tall and all of us in between. It’s on the shelf, on the wall. That said, there is a challenge with the track mounted a little higher and that’s relating to lighting so I’ll have to experiment with that nearer the time.
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