What a great product. The detail is amazing and the attention to detail is on the money. Great work and thanks for posting the photos. That is going to be a real head turner when completed....heck it already is.
Kevin,
You did a beautiful job cutting out the opening for the fire doors, especially since you had to do it in place. Please give us a blow by blow on the process. Inquiring minds would like to know! It's great to see that you're having so much fun.
Thanks for the compliments, fellows. It has been a long process in bringing this kit to market. And when I see the enthusiasm exhibited by Kevin, I couldn't ask for anything more. I encourage others to try their hand at modeling. As you can see, the process provides a tremendous sense of accomplishment and pride in your handiwork. Keep up the excellent work, Kevin. I think we've created a monster!
Dennis
Thanks Dennis,
Yes, the fact that 3 of the 4 walls for the powerhouse are already epoxied into place made the installation of the fire door a bit of a challenge. I placed drop cloths over each of the walls, suspended my shop vac above the work area and cut the door way with my dremel tool. I found a thin LARGE diameter cutting wheel that allowed me to keep the dremel straight. If not for the large wheel the cut would have been even more tricky! I also used a right angle attachment for the horizontal cuts, also indispensable! After the primary cut, I used my hobby knife with a #11 blade and emery boards to sand the wall. It was a slow process. Like all the other cuts we made on the various castings, I made a pass or two with the emery board and then checked progress. It takes a little time, but you can't be in a rush. The door is pretty square and perfectly flush with the RH floor!
I did not use the dremel when I cut the man door into the front powerhouse wall. I used the technique you showed me. I scored the area with the back of the hobby knife. I also applied a little water to the casting and occasionally dipped the knife in water between cuts. Even pressure and patience are a must.
Free time has been is short supply lately. I have finally finished laying and wiring the track and installing the floor in the round house. This was a tedious and time consuming process. Take it from me, if you are purchasing this kit, laying the track and floor should be the FIRST thing you do! The print Dennis supplies was absolutely spot on, so all you really need to do is trust the print, you will save yourself a lot of time and energy.
Here are some pictures.....
Overview of the service terminal
Even though I cheated and bent the lead tracks into the RH, a large articulated engine like a Challenger can clear the doors in stalls 2 through 6. There is not adequate clearance for such a large engine in stalls 1 and 7.
I pushed the RH closer to the TT to maximize the extension of the RH the length of 1 full wall casting. Check out the distance between the front and rear of the engine and the back wall and doorway. I think it looks great...there is room to detail the interior with work benches, compressors and other tools of the trade.
A view from inside the RH....
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Kevin, The RH is AWESOME!!!! You and Dennis have done a wonderful job. Keep up this GREAT PROGRESS!!!
Kevin, thanks so much for all of your photos. I will hopefully get my kit before the end of summer ??????
I have all of the the track laid down and wired....just waiting for the kit.
Looks great, I can hardly wait to receive my 7 stall kit.
How much room did you leave between the back wall and the end of the track?
If you extended the track farther, would the Challenger fit in stalls 1 & 7?
Looks like Hayes style wheels stops???
Thanks for the compliments. It is 4.5" from the end of the track to the back wall. Tracks 1 and 7 inside the RH are plenty long enough for a Challenger, but, because I set the RH so close to the TT, I had to significantly bend the lead track into the house. This curve is too tight for articulated engines b/c their boilers will hit the door frame. Therefore stalls 1 and 7 will be reserved for Northerns, Mikes, and other smaller engines.
I know we have been waiting a long time for the kits, but I think you will agree it is worth the wait! The sheer number of individual parts in my kit was frankly mind numbing. I can't imagine producing multiple kits. I don't know how many kits Dennis is producing in his first run (he can chime in if he likes), but I can tell you however many it is, it must be a monumental task. I don't know how he is doing it, but I am sure grateful that he was insane enough to take on the task.
I've been busy organizing my workshop to accommodate packaging the myriad parts into logical constructs. Coupled with that, I'm finishing the instructions. These two final steps are no less critical or time consuming than everything up to this point. I knew bringing this kit to market was going to be a major project and believe me, it is all that! I've broken the limited edition of 100 kits into thirds. That makes it more manageable. This first run is the toughest because of the design work, writing the instructions and creating the infrastructure. However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We're almost there. I appreciate everyone's patience!
Dennis Brennan
Dennis, Your kit is a real BEAUTY. I am sure you will enjoy many moments of pride and satisfaction as you see others constructing the kits and placing them on the layout.
P R O J E C T W E L L D O N E !!!!!!!!!!!
I stumbled across this thread. Very impressive RR and TT. How big is your engine service area? How big of a foot print does this Engine service area take up?
Hello George,
The TT and RH sit on a peninsula that measures 6'4" x 9'3". In the photo below, from the wall just to the left of the switch tower to the edge of the bench behind the RH is 9'3". From the visible edge of the bench beneath the RH to the back side is 6'4".
There are 4 tracks that lead to the TT, 3 on the "service side" and 1 on the back side of the TT. On the service side will be the coaling tower, cinder hoist, water spout and oil column (all from Crescent Locomotive Works), as well as a water tower (Lionel) and sand house (not shown because it is not built yet!).
The yard occupies a 4' x 13' span. It is comprised of 7 tracks (not including the 3 service side tracks mentioned above) an Arrival/Departure track, an Icing Track, 3 Classifications tracks, a Caboose track and RIP track.
I have a lot of work to do still, but it is nice to see the Rose Lake Yard and Interchange coming together as I have planned (I am embarrassed to admit how many hours I have spent on the plan and I have lost count of the number of revisions.)
For me, the purpose or theme of the layout was the justification of the existence of Dennis Brennan's beautiful round house. The round house, for me, is the iconic structure from the golden age of the locomotive, and I simply had to model it.
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Kevin, thanks for the update, impressive engine service area! From the looks of it your room appears to be a finished attic room or similar upstairs room. I have a similar space. The only draw back is the climbing of the stairs at least in my home. Your post and keep us posted, is inspiring.
Dennis
Nice roundhouse!!
Kevin,
Thanks for posting these very informative photos.
Both of you:
As Dennis knows, I have ordered the kit and plan to make a factory from it . Do you think the castings can be cut accurately, both along the mortar lines and at angles to them, with a razor saw? If not, how would you recommend doing it?
Also, I may have to cut a circular opening about 1" diameter. Any suggestions on how to do that? I was thinking a slow turning hole saw and a drill press, but I am open to other suggestions.
Thanks to both of you!
Hi John,
You can use a razor saw but I've had good results simply using the back side of an X-Acto knife blade to score a groove. Then just keep scoring until you're through. Wetting the plaster with a small brush or simply dipping the blade in water makes the cutting very easy. As far as forming an angle, there's no reason you couldn't use the same technique. Then just clean up the edge by sliding it across 100 grit wet/dry sandpaper spray mounted to a piece of glass. I use a glass cutting board for this. When the paper needs to be changed, wet it and peel it off. Any residual glue can be removed from the glass with Goo-Gone.
To get a perfect 45 degree angle, you can use a wood block cut to a 45 as a guide to rest the back of the casting against as you're sliding the casting across the sandpaper. First, however, make sure the back of the casting is perfectly flat by sliding it back and forth on the sandpaper. Remember, a little sanding goes a long way. So always do a few swipes and then check your progress.
As far as cutting a circle, I think your idea will work as long as you do it slowly and with very little pressure. Again, wetting the casting will make for an easier cut. You may want to make the hole slightly smaller and sand it to final size for a tight fit.
Dennis
Could the castings be cut with a small table saw or band saw maybe?
Yes, they can but plaster is hard on the saw blades and there's a bit of dust.
I used both a razor saw and and exacto with a #11 blade. I much preferred the technique Dennis described above. Wetting the plaster made the cut much easier.
I used a Dremel to cut the doorway to the powerhouse (after the walls were raised), and that created a surprising amount of dust!
This was my first time I have worked with a plaster kit, I was surprised how "workable" the material was. Plus, spackle goes a long way to hide little mistakes! I love the way the hydrocal absorbs the paint....it looks so real, you just can't beat it!
Thanks Dennis and Kevin. I suppose I should practice these techniques with some scrap other hydrocal pieces I cast on my own. But then, what would be the adventure in THAT?
John, I have no doubt that you'll produce an outstanding kitbash! How's that for putting a little pressure on you!
Kevin, your yard area is coming together very nicely! I hope to get back some weekend and play trains.
Kevin, when you and Dennis put the plaster walls together, did you use epoxy? Also, is there any wood in the walls?
Yes and yes.
I now understand why this is a winter hobby. It has been difficult to find time to work on the roundhouse. I finally built the rear clerestory.
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Kevin,the RH is looking GREAT! Keep up the good work.
Kevin,
"I now understand why this is a winter hobby."
Hmm, nobody told me! 
And BTW, your roundhouse surely is looking good. 
Alex
Progress on the RH marches on.....the front and rear windows are now installed. Installation was pretty straight forward. For the number of parts I am continually amazed that everything fits the way it is supposed to. For example, there are 6 different clerestory window assemblies. Granted, I have tested, sanded and tested again (and usually sanded again!), but I have encountered no major pitfalls!
This build is pretty much a Beta test, and so far I have to say it is a huge success.
Here are some pics...
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Kevin...you are doing an expert job!! Your goal of making this the focal point of your layout has already been achieved....WOW!!
Alan
With the installation of the front and rear clerestory assemblies complete, the major assembly is pretty much complete. I spent the day on details, such as the longitudinal beams in the clerestory and the man doors in the front of the house.
With each addition the RH becomes more impressive!
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Wow! Kevin, it looks terrific. I'm not sure the handle "rookie" is appropriate. You have left the rookie stage in the dust. Full speed ahead! Keep up the great work!
Dennis
Dennis,
If one was to want to try double the size of the 7 bay RH, would it have to be a side by side set of buildings or could it be combined into 14 continous stalls? Again distance (if space isn't a big concern) from the RH to the center of the TT to keep the tracks straight would be....?
On a seperate note...sitting here reading everything I can about the TT and this awesome RH. Wow what an evolution. From the discussion of a pilot project to this final stage. Very cool to see it come to fruition. what is everybody using for the floors? Any real concrete? Ideas on the sound loop that is going to be used...any sample of that sound track? Also, what sort of inside features are all of you planning to use. A list that every body could add to for one cumulative list of items and the manufacturers or suppliers would be great. Dennis, once this is built, how fragileis th estructure if it was needed to be moved? sorry for all the questions but thought best to do one long post instead of 20 small ones. Thanks guys. Great detail and effort.
Sean B
Any progress on the RH since your last post?
Hi everyone,
Just spoke to Dennis on the phone and he is packing up the first Roundhouse kits to ship out the first of this week. I cannot wait to receive mine and to get started working on this fine roundhouse.
Just thought that any of you waiting on your kits would like to know about this news event. I hope this helps make your week. Have a great weekend everyone.
Kevin, Could you post some updated pictures of your new RH? Thank you.
Hello Pops
Sorry, but I have no new photos to post. Once I got the RH placed and the track and floor built I switched gears to installing the track and switches for the layout. I treated the RH as the epicenter for the layout, and the origin for the construction of my layout.
I have spent every free moment I could muster laying track in the past several months. I am installing Ross track and switches. I am installing lighted switch stands on each turn out. All switch motors (DZ2500s) are mounted beneath the table top. The switch stands are exceptionally cool and exceptionally time consuming to install so that they actually indicate the position of the switch. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent bending the actuating wire to make the lights functional!!!! I think mounting the switch stands is more labor intensive than the mounting the motors beneath the table. Thus far I have installed over 25 turnouts and over 30 switch motors! Once my track is done I will get back to my beautiful roundhouse! But right now I want to get my trains rolling first!!
Pardon my French, but this build (thread) was started in March. It's like 7 months into building an O gauge roundhouse. Does it really take that long? That can't be a selling point, can it? I mean, I love building craftsman kits, scratch building more these days, and that just seems extreme. Put the hammer down! Or next case scenario, superglue the crap out of it and get it built. Cheers.
KEVIN thanks for your reply. Sounds like you are very busy laying track.Keep us posted as you make progress on the RH.
William 1,
NO if the RH was my only project then of course it would not take 7 months to build Dennis Brennan's RH. As I stated in my last post, I stopped working on the RH to get my track laid so I can play with my trains.
If I post pictures in the future I will start another thread.
Wow, this an amazing, outstanding creativity. The work progress is going very nicely with every time new and amazing output. I really like the design. Appreciating the work.
Wow is right! What a beatiful model and Kevin your doing a wonderful job. Very much enjoy being able to follow your progress and I understand about wanting to get the track down so you can play with the trains. Bo
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