Sand Tower Kitbash

Looks great Scott. Fits the available space too. Exactly what I would think most railroads did when designing their trackside equipment.

Bob

@Scott R posted:

While waiting for parts for my other projects I decided to tackle a sand tower for my steam locomotive servicing area.  I intended to start with the Korber tower with a few modifications, but wound up with a completely overhauled model.  The biggest change was to forgo the Korber trusswork tower and instead use basswood to construct a wooden, stilt-type tower to fit between two parallel tracks on 4 1/4" centers.  The only parts I wound up using from the Korber kit were the sand bin cylinder and top.  I used Plastruct parts for the sand supply pipe, ladder and safety cage, and sand delivery piping.  A key look I desired was a contrast between wood and steel tower parts to make it "pop" more than an all-black, steel only structure.

The model does not follow any particular prototype, it's totally a product of my imagination, but it was inspired by images of prototypes and other models.  As construction progressed, I also used a "good enough" philosophy compared to my initial vision - this is not a fine scale model, and many details are lacking or missing.  None-the-less, I'm pleased with the end result.  Pics below.

The tower looks great.

@Scott R, nice work. Just like many real railroads you built to do the job, fit the space, and used materials and equipment on hand to control costs and maximize profits of the road.  And while I admire the fine scale modeling displayed here often I definitely appreciate and usually operate under the "good enough philosophy".

Thank you all for the kind words and the likes.  This was a fun project and did not require any special skills or tools.  Next for me is to finish my Pennsy style "water bridge" (separate thread) before I tackle a new wood coal tower scratch build project!

Nice work Scott.

Well done!

Peter

I’d say that’s better than good enough. Looks great!