Free-moN Staging Yard - 16"x10'

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Spent the last couple days working on the coal & sand service track next to the turntable tracks.

 First woodglued down two layers of cork to elevate it:
 


When the glue was totally set, I sanded the cork down to create the ramp up.
 Then cut out spaces for the coal (far) and sand (near) unloading pits.

 Used some Sculptamold left over from my daughter's "BFG Cave" diorama to add some hill on the right:



 Painted the cork Grimy Black, then glued stained stripwood create the retaining walls and pits.

 Cut out some ties in a piece of flextrack, painted it, then installed it with caulk:



 Built a small sand shed & installed it, then threw down some basic ground cover of dirt, cinders and a little gravel.
 I left the area around the turntable tracks bare until I build and install the coaling tower (still deciding if I want to limit the services to that right track only or have the coaling tower over the right track to be able to service both)(Leaning towards smaller & right side only).
 Of course there'll be a bumper at the end.

 Here's the other side:



 And how it works in relation to the whole area:



 [Dirt is still drying so still a bit dark]

 The water tower will be on the left between the left TT track and the yard ladder, with water spouts between the two TT tracks.

 So time to scratch a coaling tower, a sand tower, and a water tower.
 But as of now, all the track for Effett Yard has been laid and ballasted.

 My question for you: what's a good material for N scale sand?
 Seems like most stuff out there (including real sand) is much to thick.
 Thought about roughing up some pink foam and painting that sand color, but something of very fine grains would be better.
 Perhaps cement? Or grout?
 All suggestions appreciated!

 Thanks for looking.

[Philip H]

Unsanded tile grout in Sand color . . .


 

[diezmon]

Unsanded tile grout in Sand color . . .


 

ditto... and deja vu..   

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Picked up some "Haystack" color unsanded grout that I'll be trying out later.
 Meanwhile, I've been building the water tank, using stripwood, scribed sheet, music wire, and a 1 1/2" PVC cap:
 


Traced the PVC cap and then drew out placement for stringers and legs.
 Built it upside-down, which seems to work alright.
 The "door" is just the piece of scribed sheet turned around in place.
 Also went ahead and tacky-glued the concrete bases to each leg [PITA!].
 


Stuck Grandt Line O scale 1" square NBW details on the legs where the rods would stick out.
 Another PITA but looks kinda cool.
 
For the tank I loosely followed a prototype photo of one in Drummond, Montana ("Home of the World Famous Bullshippers") though painted it Grimy Black instead of Bullshipper Blue. The access door I just scratched out of 0.02" styrene and a grab handle:
 




Haven't installed it or really weathered it yet.
 Still waiting for some ladders from TrainCat.
 There will be one or two water columns between the two tracks.
 
Now onto the Coaling Tower!
 
Thanks for looking.

[Zox]

Nicely done! I love your creative repurposing of plumbing supplies.

[wm3798]

And if you bought that pipe cap at the ReStore you saved even more money!
Lee

[mcjaco]

^ Pimpin' ain't easy.   

[M.C. Fujiwara]

While waiting for some NBW details to arrive for the coaling tower, I thought I'd get started on the first of two MOW buildings.
 The second will be a plank-by-plank long shed, but the first is a brick shed with truck & rail loading docks, so I thought I'd share how to make some simple loading docks.
 
As I wanted the docks to wrap around three sides, I first traced the building on cardstock to get the space outlined:
 


Turned out to be 30', 25' and 55'.
 The lines inside the spaces are for the stringers, which are HO 6"x6" stripwood cut to length, stained in the Big Jug O' Stain (BJOS), and then placed on thin stips of double sided tape laid over the ends of each section:
 


Using the Chopper II, I cut HO 2"x4"s to 7 scale-foot lengths for the planks and then gave them a BJOS bath:
 




Dries fairly fast.
 
[cont.]

[M.C. Fujiwara]

I use a toothpick to spread woodglue along the stringers and then tweezers to place the planks across:
 


I usually work in sections of about an inch at a time, as the woodglue gets gummy rather quickly.
 It's not too hard to eyeball, but sometimes you can use a straightedge to even out the planks on the building side.
 
It's a bit tedious, but the planks look pretty decent when you're done:
 


After all planks are in place, I cover the platforms with a weights so everything dries flat:
 


Once everything's set, I flipped the platforms over and marked out the 5' intervals for the posts:
 


[cont.]

[M.C. Fujiwara]

After measuring how high I wanted the dock (about 6'), I cut more HO 6"x6"s and stained them.
 There's probably an easier way to do this, but I just dab a little woodglue on the stringer, place the post, and then use a Lego to square it up:
 


I also placed some diagonal cross-braces on the long dock.
 To fill the gap under the doors and between the columns of the DPM walls I glued a strip of HO 2"x4":
 


After sanding the dirt down, I glued the building in place (after making sure that building + dock would fit with some space at the track), and then CA'ed the docks in place:
 


Yes, the gap was intentional.
 Always good to cut & stain a few more planks than you think you need!
 (Can always use them lying around as more clutter anyway).
 
Need to get a few more Gold Metal Models stairs, but the one I do have right now gives you an idea:
 


More stairs, some barrels & crates, gravel & weeds around the ground, some tire tracks & a truck will "finish" this part.
Might add some more diagonal braces and NBW if I really get "board" 
 
Now on to make the plank-by-plank wood shed that will extend about 60' off of this one down the track!
 
Hope this helps get people scratchin', and thanks for looking.

[dnhouston]

More great work.  I really enjoy following this thread

[Zox]

I usually work in sections of about an inch at a time, as the woodglue gets gummy rather quickly.

MC, I've heard tell of people who use blue painter's tape, stuck sticky-side-up to a table, to space out ties for handlaid track before transferring them to the layout.

Might a similar technique--spacing the boards out on tape upside-down, then gluing the stringers down to them in a single operation--make assembling these decks easier? It would at least relieve the concern of the wood glue drying too quickly.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thanks, David & Zox.
Zox: I've tried doing it the other way--lining up the planks on the double-sided tape and then gluing the stringers at one go:



[That's the loading dock for the Woodstock Warehouse on my daughter's & my "Alameda-Belt-in-a-Box" layout]

It works ok, but I found that it takes a lot more time than anticipated to get all the planks in place and lined up.
And limiting the amount of wood in contact with the tape helps prevent any breaks / discoloring.
Doing it in 1"-1 1/2" sections isn't as tedious as I make it out to be
But I'm open to other methods to make it easier!

[wazzou]

But I'm open to other methods to make it easier!

Evergreen Sheet Styrene Passenger Car Siding.   

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Evergreen Sheet Styrene Passenger Car Siding.   

Yeah, but cutting out each board and then painting to look like wood is a PITA