PRR/Conrail Juniata Division Engineering Report

[chicken45]

For better or for worse, here's Lewistown Station, ready for delivery:














Incidentally, that slight dip in the canopy across the front wasn't there originally... I dropped the camera on it. 

I hope this makes it into TKM!

[GaryHinshaw]

Nice job DKS - good to see a Dream Team at work.  This may have been covered already, but when (and why) was the tower added to this depot?

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=247628&nseq=4

[Dave V]

Nice job DKS - good to see a Dream Team at work.  This may have been covered already, but when (and why) was the tower added to this depot?

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=247628&nseq=4

Actually, the tower existed for most of the depot's life.  For the latter half of the 19th century, the tower housed the interlocking plant that controlled Lewistown Junction and its yard.  By the 1900s, new towers were established, first just northeast of the station and then later at the south end of the yard.  The tower went unused for a good part of the 20th century.

I'm away from my library so I can't tell you offhand the exact date the tower came down, but I want to say it was around 1953, give or take a few years.  Even though for both my 1956 and 1980 eras, the depot should have no tower, I think it really makes the station.  It was added back during the 1980s restoration.

[DKS]

To be sure, this model is a loose adaptation of the prototype, with a number of significant compromises applied to suit the layout, plus other deviations taken in order to avoid a lengthy ground-up scratchbuiding project. The core structure is a heavily-bashed Walthers Water Street Freight Terminal kit (actually, two of them). The separate baggage room and the ornate canopy on the right end were omitted owing to space constraints. But even with these alterations, I think the basic structure shape and especially the signature tower still carry the identity of the station well.

[Dave V]

David, anyone who's ever read a book about Pennsy let alone railfanned at Lewistown will immediately identify it as such.

You, sir, have won the Internet.

[chicken45]

David, anyone who's ever read a book about Pennsy let alone railfanned at Lewistown will immediately identify it as such.

You, sir, have won the Internet.

This is like his fourth or fifth Internet win?

[davefoxx]

Okay, first, the station looks fantastic, DKS.  My kudos to you.  Dr. Vollmer is very lucky to have you build this for him.

Now, the big question.  How are you getting this to Florida?  We know what your opinion on UPS is (or was it FedEx that destroyed the James River Branch?).

Are we going to have to pass it down the Railwire East Coast a$$hat telegraph to get it there?   

[DKS]

This is like his fourth or fifth Internet win?

I intend to win them all. 

How are you getting this to Florida?  We know what your opinion on UPS is (or was it FedEx that destroyed the James River Branch?).

UPS destroyed the JRB (FedEx delivered it safely to Denver). The station is already in the hands of the USPS. I have a high degree of confidence it will survive the trip to Florida.

[Hornwrecker]

Beautiful station, David.  It will really help set the tone of the layout for that area, Dave. 

Are there construction images of it in any thread?

[davidgray1974]

I can't wait to see the station on Dave's layout.  Really looking forward to it! 

[DKS]

Are there construction images of it in any thread?

Some, not a lot, I didn't document it heavily. They're sprinkled around the Weekend Updates, so I rolled them all into this one post:

[Hornwrecker]

Thanks for the photos, David.   I like the idea of leaving the top of the 1st level as one piece.  I don't think I would have thought of doing it that way, but I can see the benefits of doing it to make a stronger structure; not have to do all sorts of weird internal bracing to keep the kitbash square and together.

[pjm20]

[quote
I hope this makes it into TKM!
[/quote

+1

[wm3798]

Beautifully rendered, sir.  Dr. Vollmer, you have a showpiece that will further cement your increasingly famous HCD layout as a PRR landmark model.

I'd love to see a bunch of lighting added to it to make some dusky photo shoots possible....

Lee

[Dave V]

Lee, I don't do "dusky.."  My signals are driven by optical sensors.     

The station arrived today in perfect shape!  Here it is, not yet installed.  Please excuse my quick iPhone grabs...





My photos do not do it justice.  However, thanks to DKS, I now feel confident in calling my town "Lewistown."

Thank you, Mr Smith.  You are gentleman of the first order and a peerless craftsman to boot.