Construction Update #24 - Westmoreland, TN Part 4, Details around Tunnel 2

The Maintenance of Way shed, storage yard and company housing near Tunnel 2

 

Two CSX GP-38's spliced by a FURX SD40-2 drift downgrade out of Tunnel 2 and by the two company houses, MOW storage yard and shed, in route from Chattanooga, TN to Bowling Green, KY.

I tend to model individual scenes, in no particular sequence, and then connect the scenes with generic scenery.  Such is the case with the small triangle of space outside Tunnel 2 between the main line in the foreground and the backdrop.  I didn't really have a preconceived plan for the space nor was it on my short term "to do" list.  The scene just evolved in my mind as I was planting trees on the hill above the tunnel portal.  The usable area is about 18" wide, 6" deep on the narrow end, and about 9'' deep adjacent to the tunnel portal.

I initially settled on a small shanty/storage shed and MOW storage yard.  After looking around for a suitable shed, I settled for one of the Atlas "Track Side Shanty" kits left over from my store inventory.  I painted the building two-tone gray with a black roof and weathered it with Bragdon's powdered pigments.

The storage yard was built using Woodland Scenics chain link fencing.  While the end result turned out OK, it took several attempts and two packages ($12each) of fencing to produce an acceptable model.  The fencing came warped right out of the package and proved almost impossible to straighten without breaking the plastic parts.  The mounting pins are also very fragile and break easily.  I suspect the problem has something to do with the manufacturing process and differences in expansion/contraction rates between the metal and plastic parts.  .

Initially, I tried mounting mounting a larger version right on the pink foam base.  The mounting pins broke and each section of fence, three panels on one side, bowed unrealistically.  The second attempt involved building a smaller yard with one panel on each side.  Two sections were glued together to make two corners like the one shown below.

This time, I drew a outline of the fence on a piece of .0080" styrene and drilled holes along the perimeter to line up with mounting pins on the fencing.  The two resulting section were then straightened out, under tension, and the mounting pins were slid into the pre-drilled holes in the styrene base.  ACC was used to hold them in place.  As can be seen in the following photo, this method kept the fencing reasonably straight.  Finally, I wouldn't recommend the purchase of Woodland Scenics chain link fencing.  There are far better alternatives on the market.

.

 

I moved the shed and storage around on the layout before deciding on their final location.  Once I was satisfied, they were set in place with paving sand and diluted mat medium.  After the initial ground cover has set up, the inside of the storage yard and the vehicle parking and loading area in front of both the shed and storage yard will a get a overlay of screened (fine) paving sand and N-Scale cinders ballast.  And, eventually some weed, grass, and other details.

At one time, section houses were located near or next to a section of railroad and used for housing railroad workers.  By the 1970's, mechanization and system gangs eliminated most of the need for section gangs and company housing.  The houses were slowly phased out and many were sold off and converted to private residences, moved, or demolished.

Two company houses fill out the scene to the west of the storage yard.  Shown still under construction in the following photo, the two house were built from the Walthers "Company Houses" kit.

The houses, built per the kit's instruction, were painted in the same two-tone gray scheme as the storage shed.  The roofs were painted green.  A little soot was added to the roof around the chimneys but other than that, very little weathering was applied.  In order to raise their elevation a bit, I mounted the two houses on a piece of 1/4" cork.

  

.

Details make the difference.  Figures were added to both company houses.  A man standing at the top of the stairs along with his dog are out front of the house on the left.  Two gents playing checkers along with an observer are on the covered porch on the right.  I added a grade crossing along with a pair of cross-bucks on the right.

 

 

 

This small scene is just about done.  I still need to add some "stuff" to the storage yard and do a little landscaping around the two company houses.