Blackwater Canyon Line - September 8, 2024 - Town and Scratchbuild Planning

Mark, just watch the high winds, they might blow those shingles off the roof. Seriously though, it looks great. Great build Mark. Can't wait to see more.

Looks great Mark!! It came out so good!

Looks great, Mark.

Try model tech studios for weathered chimneys in various sizes/scales, as well as other building details (vents, meters, utility lines, etc.) - you'd have to call them to find out the exact height.

That’s a beautiful station Mark, congratulations. With a new station like that you will undoubtedly see an increase in ridership.

Well done.  It's refreshing to see scratchbuilding in O gauge.

Excellent work!

Peter

Thank you, Rubin, Bob, Dave C, Dave P, Bill, Richie, Jay, Mallard, Peter!!

Rubin, I am going to make a base out of thick styrene like David Eisinger did on his model that he showed on the last page.  The kit comes with some nice plastic sheet with stone patterns embossed and colored.  I have never used RR Track, but I would have taken a lot longer to design my layout with SCARM if it hadn't been for some forum members' help.  I hope you can get started on your layout when construction is done in August.

Dave C, I have seen them on older buildings here in Pennsylvania.  I had no idea what they are called.  I was assuming some technical name. 

Dave P, I chose slate in the hopes the roof could withstand higher winds than other shingles. 

Richie, I will certainly look at Model Tech Studios.  Thank you for the tip!

Jay, I will have to put on more passenger cars for sure! 

Mallard, well I guess you would have to call it a kitbash.    The walls were done per instructions from a lasercut kit, but the roofs, foundation, and whatever I do in the interior will be scratchbuilt.

Thank you everyone for all the comments and 'likes'!

Mark, Outstanding work on the whole project! The roof looks great and I can't wait to see the foundation come into play!

Keep up the wonderful work and take care of yourself!

Mark, that’s outstanding work! The station looks fantastic, great job. The project has moved along at a good clip, and the results are top notch, well done. Will you be doing any additional interior details or lighting?

Andy

Thank you Mike and Andy!!

I'm trying to take care of myself, Mike! 

Andy, I am leaving the interior for later.  Both roofs are removable as well as the foundation.  That will give me the ability to add lights and interior later, since I don't have anything to put in it yet.  I will round up parts for both stations I built this winter plus the signal tower I built last summer.  Then I will be able to do that maybe next winter.  I was hoping to get both stations exteriors done this winter, so I am pleased I got as far as I did.

Good plan Mark. I know you wouldn’t let a building that nice sit empty.

Andy

Thank you Andy!  Yes, I think a summer of acquiring the details for the three buildings will work nicely to ready for some winter 'interior decorating'. 

I did make a foundation base like David Eisinger did for his.  1/8" sheet styrene on top of 1/8" x 1/8" styrene stock.  I cut strips of the stone embossed plastic that came with the kit and glued them on the edges of the foundation.  When I positioned the building back on the foundation, I realized I had made it a smidgeon too long, even though I had checked it before gluing on the stone.  Typical for me.    So I shaved off the stone and some of the styrene, then glued another strip on the end. 

Well today we have had snow, sleet, rain, hail, and sunshine, all more than once!  There is a crew of roofers at a house down the road who are pulling their tarps off before they get them totally in position.  They have gotten a lot done however.  I only took the dog for his morning walk and car ride.  Otherwise, I'm staying in and going back to the layout.  This seat is starting to hurt again. 

I hear you Mark, sometimes less is more. You’re getting done what you should. Paying attention to the dog and the layout. I’d say that’s a pretty good day. 👍🏻

Andy

Mark, finally had time to check this out. Wow! You have really made a lot of progress. The contributions by other people is a great help for all of us and there are a lot of neat ideas like the snowbirds.

My first thought was, “Not needed here. But wait, we are modeling Roanoke and some years they get a ton of snow.”  Something else to order.

Keep up the good work. Uh, you know, you can have those interior lights and all the good stuff in a couple of weeks… be done by June. What a great head start for next winter. 🙄

We need sand for scenery. Making a run to OBX tomorrow to stock up. Sift it and have nice sand and pea gravel.

Thank you, Andy!  I should mention paying attention to my dear wife, Kim, too! 

Here is a closeup showing the foundation and 'cement' steps.  I still have to put in dome posts or pins to position the building on the foundation.  Right now it is free floating, as is the hip roof.  I have some scribed Evergreen sheet left over from a project 30 years ago, that would make a nice plank floor.  There isn't enough of it to cover both first floor 'rooms'.  On the other hand, I wonder if it would be noticed much even with good LED lighting inside.

I received the snowbirds from Tichy Train Group yesterday.  Yes, they will be 'fun' to work with, but I think the effect will be worth the effort.  I noticed snowbirds on the smooth, red roof of the local Sheetz convenience store while pumping gas after church.  That store was only built a couple years ago.  I liked the Bollinger Edgerly Scale Trains shingles so much, I ordered some for the Altoona Model Works Station I built earlier in the winter.  The peal and stick shingles that came with the kit were easy to apply, but keep curling up so that the edges of most leave a gap of several scale inches.  For this one I ordered Standard 12 inch 3-Tab - Dark Gray instead of the Slate shingles Slate Gray.  I also ordered some Aluminum / Tin / Lead Flashing (O).  There isn't a photograph to see what that looks like, but 10 pieces, 8 inches long for $11.95, I put it on the order too.

John "Aegis21" contacted me volunteering to design and 3D print a chimney.  I sent him a couple photographs and we discussed dimensions.  That is really kind of him.

The station is really looking great Mark! I'm having the same dilemma over how much interior detail is too much for my personal sensibilities. A structure with storefront windows--yes, a decent amount of detail--but those with smaller windows don't really need as much, especially if you hope to complete all the projects a big layout requires. Neat interior lighting effects can be achieved with faux blinds printed on regular printer paper, and with black foamboard baffles to illuminate a structure with just a couple of LEDs. I also just purchased a bulk pack of 8 gooseneck exterior lamps from Model Tech Studios and will install them in a few streetside scenes.

Bill, Thank you!  You posted just as I was posting the previous reply.

The last year I worked up on 'The Mountain' at Mount Storm Power Station, we had one snowfall over a 2-day period of 40" at our house in the valley and 48" at Mount Storm only a few miles across the ridge from Thomas.  Yes, our roof was damaged some, but Erie Insurance paid for it to actually be fixed better than it was built.

Yes, I could have the details soon, but I haven't even started looking.  What's a good source for interior details suitable for railroad buildings?

That sounds like a great plan to get some sand at OBX.  I hear they have a lot. 

Bruce, Thank you!  You are so right about using blinds on buildings like these.  The Atlas signal tower kit came with blinds right on the acetate for the windows, so there is a lot of hidden areas even though the building has big windows.  I'm assuming there were offices up on the second floor of this station, and there was no freight handled here for an interesting scene in an open freight door.  I was thinking about lights over the doors.  Do I put one over every door?  And why did this building have so many doors?  I have been thinking of searching through my archive to see if I can find any interior floorplan or description of activities in this building.  That would actually be more for curiosity, but is one reason I haven't searched for interior details.

Mark, if the interior is somewhat visible. Altoona Modelworks makes some nice looking bench seats. They are on page 8 of their detail line. If you come up with a floor plan. I’m sure a lot of it’s petitioned off into individual rooms that can be left to the imagination. I’m sure the Western Maryland has a Historical group. They may be able to supply some info. .
I found some nice door lights on eBay. Pricey at 10 bucks a light. They had ones from overseas that you got 4 for the same price.  I had 5 doors to do on a building. The lights are on hold for now. I have used the Berkshire Valley ones in the past. They don’t light up but they look good.
  Years ago I built a $30.00 gas station craftsman kit. I worked as mechanic so I knew how to detail it without doing any research. I proceeded to spend another 200 on detail castings, figures and such. Was worth it as it’s right on the edge of the layout and I get plenty of comments on it.

Well you got me motivated to start shingling again. Even though I wear glasses. I swear 2 years ago I could see the tabs on the shingles better.  

Dave, I will certainly check on Altoona Model Works.  You are right about the station being divided into rooms, and many areas wouldn't be seen (like rest rooms) or have rooms or alcoves that would be hard to see through any window.  I have some information from the WMRHS, but just need to look through it before looking elsewhere.

I can see with my glasses okay, and better with my magnifying head light, but with shaky hands I don't always get parts put where I want them.  I got evenly spaced lines drawn on the roofs okay, but kept having trouble getting certain courses of shingles closer together.  I kept pulling the shingles off and doing over, then just left it go.  I don't notice it unless I do a close inspection, which I never do once it's on the layout.

the Western Maryland Railway historical society publishes a magazine called the Blue Mountain Express.

One of the issues has elevation drawings and floor plans of the Thomas station.

Looking good Mark. The details make the model.

Thank you David and Bob!!

David, I was a member of the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society for some years but let my membership lapse.    I just got done digging in the closet under the basement steps where I have extra books, magazines, and most of my MTH and Lionel boxes.  I have the Blue Mountain Express issues that I received during my membership from 1995 to 2009.  So guess what?  Volume 25, Number 1, Spring 1996 has the drawings you referred to.  For everyone else's benefit, first are the drawings for the 1901 station that was heavily damaged by the 1944 tornado, then the drawings for the 1944 station that our models represent.  The 1919 valuation map of the area is there too.  So all the information was sitting right under my nose, and I had forgotten all about it.    It will take too long to put in as many 'blush faces' as this oversight deserves. 

So, each first floor room has one door, and the skinny door opens directly to the staircase to the second floor that has a hallway, two large rooms, one smaller room in the center with a closet? with two windows.  Those rooms aren't labeled as to their use.  The first floor has a baggage room and express office under the second floor.  The middle of the building is a waiting room with a door on each end, stairs down to the furnace room, and men's and ladies' rest rooms.  The far end has an operator room and trainmen's room.

I've been meaning to rejoin, but finally did at your prompting.  Thank you for pointing me in the right direction, David!!!!

Mark I checked our list of sources and our top three are  Model Tech Studios, Rusty Rail, and Berkshire Valley. Bar Mills has 20% off on Woodland Scenics figures.

We usually look thru each and write down what interests us and then go back the next day and make a final decision.

These things will make the station come alive. Yeah, they are not cheap. We have done interiors for 6-7 buildings in the last year including the roundhouse. Finally about done.

Good luck and have fun.

Bill, Thank you very much for your top three, plus one!  I know what you mean that they are not cheap.  Maybe that is why it will take me until next winter to get them rounded up. 

The interiors I have seen that you and Paula have done look great!

Mark,

For years I’ve stockpiled all kinds of detail parts from vents and conduits to all the equipment needed for a machine shop, not to mention oodles of industrial equipment. Now all I have to do is figure out the structures to put around and on top of them.
My train room to be now has a new concrete floor and wall studs. The drywall and ceiling goes in the next week or two. But I really won’t have access until August, when the kitchen and rest of the house are done. But progress is being made. Now all i have to is design a track plan that will accommodate my switching needs and my grandchildren’s desires for Lionel operating accessories.
I’ve got 19x20 with a 7x5 extension on one end, which is almost 3x more square footage then I’ve ever had before. So…

Rubin

Rubin, stockpiling the details over time sounds like the way to do it actually, to not break the bank.  That is a lot of space for a layout for you and the grandchildren!  Thank you for commenting!

Mark, the foundation and steps look great! Your sure doing some very nice work there!

Thank you very much, Mike!

I haven't had much time this week for the layout of station, but did make a decision to trim back the platform the station will sit on.  This will allow a little more room for putting cars on the staging ramp below and allow for the railings along the station platform and track to be right out in front in full view.  I also put on some lateral support for the thin lauan plywood. 

Looking good Mark. Still making progress even with limited time. Nice job.

Andy

Thank you, Andy!  I stopped in Hobby Express in Cranberry Township last week after visiting my 91-year old parents in a personal care home, and bought some Northeastern scribed sheet wood for the platforms.  Looking at the prototype photographs, I see they laid all the planks parallel to the sides of the station instead of perpendicular like I usually notice.  I just need to scribe in where planks would be laid end to end.  Again, I’m going to build up the platforms with strip wood to get the platforms to the right height and add strength.

Mark,

The station looks wonderful. I know it's not intentional but sometimes having to step away from a project invites new motivation and creativity. I will await the update with the platform. Seems like you have a good plan in place.

Dave

Yes! You are getting there quickly. This is going to be quite a scene when completed. Very nice!!

What are your plans for handling the space between levels one and two? I must admit that we are quite interested since we have a similar situation with a 2 level station that has been sitting awaiting work for three years.

How do you plan to handle the level 1 front and side?

Thanks for sharing all the ideas and decisions you make along the way!  Eventually I’ll build a replica of the Keokuk, IA Union Depot for my layout and I’ll have a running start with your info.

Thank you, Dave, Bill, and Dan!

Bill, the plans for the first level are sketchy at best.  Mine may sit for three years as well!   

On this end I had to lean over the benchwork to get this view, but was just planning two tunnel portals with a hillside in between.

This end and the front may just have a removable panel or wall of some sort.

Dan, I'm glad that what I have done can provide some ideas for others.  That station at Keokuk, IA is a fabulous building and will make a great model!!  I'll be glad to watch that one come together!

Sounds like a plan to me. We are close to the point where we have to complete the station and will take a look at the removable panel concept. Thanks.

Mark,

Your progress looks great!  Quick question - what size scribe sheathing did you purchase? Specifically the width or spacing of the scribed planks.

Thank-you!

-Grg

Mark that station is gorgeous really nice work and details.

Thank you, Bill, Greg, Rick!

Bill, This whole area of the layout has changed so much since I was planning it.  There wasn't even a kit available for the Thomas Station and I had no intention of even putting any station there.  Once the kit was available, then I had to come up with a logical place for it.  Now the endeavor is to make the two levels somewhat make sense.

Greg, the sheathing is scribed to represent 6" wide planks.  The platform sheathing that came with the Altoona Model Works station is scribed for 12" wide planks.  It is reasonable for an older station, but I think the 6" will look better.

Rick,  I just picked up the Western Maryland diesels picture you gave me from getting framed at Michael's.  They had a coupon for 70% off, so we got it framed along with and another picture I bought at the Greenburg show several years ago.  It looks great!  Thank you!  I was going to send it to you in a PM, but since you commented, this works.

Thanks Mark!

-Greg