CSX Cumberland Division

[Bob]

On the corner of High Street and Hog Alley is True Treats Historic Candy - the 4th Harpers Ferry building I have constructed. The way this building will be situated on the layout makes the back of the building and the side facing Hog Alley the most visible - Google Street view (below left) is close to the angle at which you would view the building if you were standing in front of Harpers Ferry on the layout.  As a result, I am not really modeling the other two walls – if when standing in the layout aisle you crane your neck or look at a really acute angle you will see these sides are not modeled, but this town will take forever to construct if I model 4 sides of every building with two of these being difficult to see, and judicious placement of trees might screen some of the plain brick walls.

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I’m getting better at putting buildings together – this went together more quickly than the others. I mocked-up the structure by cutting walls from index cards and taping these together – this gave me a good idea of how the structure fit in the town scene and if I needed to make any adjustments.  I then use the paper walls as a guide to cut the styrene walls.  For the most part, I am using black sheet styrene for the walls, either .02 or 0.3 inches thick.  I reason that I will put lights in many of the buildings, and the black styrene will help prevent light leaks and so saves me from painting the interior walls black if I had used white styrene sheets.  I am using thinner styrene so that it is easier to cut window and door openings, and then brace the interior of the walls with strip styrene to prevent warping. Thinner styrene also makes the seam where two walls join at a 90—degree angle thinner – I tend to paint these seams (which show black styrene and the white edge of the paper) brick red and then further mask these seams with downspouts. I’ve decided that installing rain gutters is not worth the bother, though I will likely do this on buildings very close to the aisle such as the HF train station. On the first HF buildings, I laminated printed photos of either brick walls or photos of the actual building (as for the White Hall Tavern and M. Lewis museum) and then cut any needed openings.  Now, I cut the openings on blank styrene because I can draw lines that help guide the cuts.  Then, if this goes well, I laminate the photo paper – this has made the tedious task of cutting openings somewhat faster and easier. Also, if I mess up an opening I can just make a new wall without also ruining a printed sheet.

In the second photo I show the 4 completed buildings as they will be arranged with the road/sidewalks.  Potomac street is pretty flat, but Hog Alley (to the right of the Meriweather Lewis museum) rises up one story where it joins High Street (see the Google street view image).  True Treats abuts a somewhat larger building with a rough stone wall, but I don’t have room to model this.  Instead, I’ll construct the really tiny clock repair shop and then a compressed version of the Stephenson Hotel, after which the structures for this historic block will be complete.  I’ve decided I am going to work my way up the hill next, constructing the African American History Museum, the Civil War Museum, and then Harper House, which is the first large building on the hill that looms over the lower town and has many interesting features (3rd photo).  After that I may tackle St. Peter’s Church, which will be a major challenge but it simply has to be done as this is such a landmark structure.

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[Ed Kapuscinski]

This is incredible.

[wm3798]

I second that emotion.

[mu26aeh]

I'd say we could interchange freight traffic with you from the Hanover Sub but I don't think we're going to be on the same level as you. 

Knocking it out of the park

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I'd say we could interchange freight traffic with you from the Hanover Sub but I don't think we're going to be on the same level as you. 

We all just need a helix to the stratosphere.

[amato1969]

Really well done!!!

  Frank

[Bob]

Thanks guys!  Building Harpers Ferry is fun - I am pretty analytical so having photos to work from really helps me.  If I had to  free-lance this, I'ld be plagued by indecision.  Hope to meet you all in person - I know some of you are mid-Atlantic.  Is the N Scale Altoona meeting on for this summer, does anyone know?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Thanks guys!  Building Harpers Ferry is fun - I am pretty analytical so having photos to work from really helps me.  If I had to  free-lance this, I'ld be plagued by indecision.  Hope to meet you all in person - I know some of you are mid-Atlantic.  Is the N Scale Altoona meeting on for this summer, does anyone know?

Sadly it's not. Mike hasn't been able to find a good venue.

[Bob]

Rats!  I attended two years ago and really enjoyed it - stayed at the Tunnel Inn for two night. 

[wm3798]

Any updates @Bob ?

[packers#1]

We all just need a helix to the stratosphere.

I mean freight railroads cross cross the country, why not model train tracks as well?

[Bob]

Alas, no, but I am getting started again.  Our son turned my workroom into a pottery but he has moved to Philadelphia and I have just gotten my workroom back again.  I will start on additional Harpers Ferry buildings so should start posting again before much longer.  Did anyone notice on the last weekend update the post on the brass bridge from Traincat2?  This is the guy who use to sell all those great brass structures yes?  I have dreamed of getting my hands on 3 of his B&O truss bridges as they are a really good match for the 1896 bridge that crosses the Potomac at Harpers Ferry.

[wm3798]

You two should talk more...   

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=54763.0

[LIRR]

very nice work.

[TrainCat2]

You two should talk more...   

PM sent to Bob. Thanks Lee.