absence

Not a lot of posts lately; too busy with a variety of domestic tasks.

The workshop has languished largely unused. Recreational project progress is virtually non-existent.

However, a certain amount of work was accomplished in preparation for the 2010 Copetown Train Show. The fact that the module carrier I had devised did not fit through the back door of the new house necessitated a rebuild of the unit to permit movement in to and out of safe storage. This was accomplished using scraps of material saved from other fabrication jobs. The three-section module is now handled in two carriers, each of which are manageable by a single person.

Also, in preparation for the show, a mock-up of the sugar beet loader was made using Mt. Albert strip wood and a slightly modified O scale "Red Devil" coal loader. A liberal amount of artistic license was exercised in the creation of the basic structure, primarily due to space restrictions on the module base.



In spite of a tight fit, the loader gives a suitable impression of the method of loading the rail cars for shipment to a processing facility. It is a shame that the local sugar beet industry essentially died out in the late 50's.

lineside structure redux

The shed is complete enough to appear on the layout. As a concession to available modelling time, the tarpaper roof was simulated using 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper, cut grit side down with a guillotine. Gray dust is Bragdon Enterprises weathering powder.

Very glad I checked the paint scheme before painting; only the window sashes were Yellow, the window frames were #11 Green. Once the proper style of window has been obtained, I'll be able to add the sash details.

Possible & probable improvements/additions:
- correct 3-tab shingles
- oil tank & chimney (Scale Structure Ltd. p/n #2411 HO tank casting)
- replacement of side-sliding windows with proper, 6-pane style
- window glazing (microscope slide covers)
- sign board
- rain gutters/eave details
- a speeder to pose in front

I took some liberties with the construction; not having pictures of the structure in the timeframe being modelled forces me to fall back on both typical & assumed building methods of the era.

to air is humane

I felt that the speeder shed needed better treatment than a brush-coat finish so I unpacked one of my old airbrushes (a Badger 350) and cabinet, fitted the coarse tip and had a go at it. One of the traditional complaints about airbrushing is the amount of prep and cleanup time & effort compared to the actual time spent painting. Using a single-action brush saves a lot of hassle and, unless you are doing very delicate weathering that requires minute paint flow control, is perfectly adequate for most hobby work.

The cabinet is made from a clear plastic, flip-top storage container which lies on its side. Furnace filter material is tacked over a frame in front of the extraction fan. The fan is an amazingly powerful, squirrel cage blower that came off a huge piece of stone-age computing equipment. The fan is attached to one end of the container where a circular hole is cut, and exhausts through flexible dryer vent tubing to a multi-flap dryer vent. The vent body is stuck through a piece of 1.5" thick extruded styrofoam sheet which is cut to snuggly fit the window opening. When the fan and compressor (Badger 280-1) are running it is bearably loud and there is absolutely no paint smell.



Badger ModelFlex CN Red #11 was used straight from the bottle. For future work I'll need to punch a larger hole in the top of a Badger #50-2016 "in-jar paint filter" as this version only fits the old, smaller diameter siphon tube. Having to strain the paint is a royal pain but it's a good way to keep the airbrush from clogging up as you work.

The shed trim and window frames will be painted Polly Scale ATSF Catwhisker Yellow, which is a near match to CN's off-white colour, prior to installation. This saves a lot of time-consuming masking and makes for a cleaner finish.

A separate base for the shed has been built and blended into the scenery on the module, along with a short stretch of code 55 trackage. The shed will be removable for protection between shows.

a small lineside structure

This speeder/MoW shed is based on the one at Madoc, ON. I've added an extra window to the back wall of the "lunchroom/office" end to add a bit of visual interest as our modules are viewable from both sides. Siding is 6" wide scribed sheet that I found in a box of leftovers. Door and windows are Grandt Line castings (note the especially old black plastic door).

In the 50's the shed was heated by an oil stove so a suitable oval tank will need to be built outside the structure and a metal chimney will be poked through the roof. Later in life the shed lost the chimney (for unknown reasons) and the sides were covered in Insulbrick. Luckily, I'm modelling the 50's so I won't have to deal with the incredibly ugly appearance of Insulbrick siding.