Day 5 - Monday, June 7 (3.5 Hours)
The base was made from a piece of 1 inch "pink foam" cut from the existing scenery base. The copy paper template was then used to transfer the track center lines to the foam.
A layer of cork was glued to the foam, painted black and a "new" foundation was made using .060" styrene. The foundation was glued in place using construction adhesive. Leads were then soldered to the bottom of he code 70 flex track and run through the cork and foam to the bottom side. The track was then glued in place with Poly Seam Seal. I left about 4 inches of the track loose and little long so it could be trimmed and aligned with the turntable once it is installed
Once the Poly Seam Seal cured, I turned the base over a cut a slot for the wires to run out the side. I used construction adhesive to hold them in place. Then I turned the base over and painted the track and foundation a dark brown. Older roundhouses often had a combination of dirt and cinders for a floor. And, as they were repurposed, after more modern service facilities were built, pits were often filled in. I used a combination of HO Highball cinders and Z Scale Highball brown ballast for the floor.
Day 6 - Wednesday, June 9 (2 Hours)
After giving it considerable thought, I decided the roundhouse had to be removable in order to have access to the interior. Although it would sacrifice some structural integrity, I decided to remove the sill that runs between the posts below the roundhouse doors. Now, with access to the interior assured, from the bottom, the roof beams, rafters, and braces were all glued in place. As can be seen in the following photo, the interior detail is pretty cool.
The kit instructions are a little vague when it comes to attaching the roof. They do recommend the roof be "firmly attached" to prevent warping and I agree. I have seen many, otherwise nice models, diminished by a warped or poorly fitted roof. I decided to assemble the 4 roof sections off the model on a flat service. Per the instructions, the trim was glued to the underside of the roof. Then, tabs were glued to the underside of each roof section making sure they cleared the rafters. Once the roof is installed, the rafters will obscure the tabs from view. The roof sections were then glued together, starting with the center 2, using the tabs. Glue was also applied to the edges of the roof, where they abut up to each other, from both sides. After the glue was applied, machinist squares were used to keep everything flat and properly aligned.
After the glue had cured, both the sides were given two coats of clear sealer. Still trying to keep things straight, weight was added to the outer edges while the sealer cured.
The
instructions include a couple of options for finishing off the roof.
The prototype had a felt, tar & grit roof. The kit included some
"peel & stick" roofing that I didn't care for. The other option suggested
using a thick coating of black craft paint followed by a sprinkling of
popcorn salt to represent the fine grit. I think I'll try out the craft
paint and popcorn method.
Day 7 - Thursday, June 11 (3 Hours)
Hours)
The sills were removed from the bottom of the roundhouse doors and the windows, doors, and roof were painted. The one regret I have, so far, is the color of the trim. The window detail on the front of the roundhouse would show up a lot better painted a lighter color.
The kit includes stacks suitable for steam locomotives but not the diesels. The kit's stacks are positioned at one end of the stall where the stack of a steam locomotive would be. A more modern approach would include one or more powered exhaust fans located along the center line of the stall. I used a combination of Walthers and Rix Products roof details and tacked them in place with a small dab of glue.
With the roundhouse basically done, except for finishing off the roof and installing the doors, I went back to working on the base. The base was set in place, the track was trimmed to line up with the turntable bridge, and some basic ground cover was applied. I still need to add a couple of "garden tracks" to the left of the roundhouse.
Day 8 - Saturday June 12 (30 Minutes)
I'll conclude this post with a photo of the roundhouse set in place. That's Southern # 2815, a high nose GP-38, peeking out from Stall #2. I still need to finish the roof, install a couple of sections of track, and scenic the area behind the roundhouse.
Tomorrow, I'm off to the Home Depot for a sheet of pink foam (scenery behind roundhouse) and the craft store for some gooey black paint (roundhouse roof).
A sneak peak of what's up next
At one time, I toyed with the idea of building several HO scale modules representing industries along the BN/BNSF's Woodinville Sub. One of them included a condensed model of the Safeway Stores bread plant in Bellevue, WA. The prototype received flour in Pressure-Flo deferential covered hoppers and cooking oil in tank cars. A few years back, I gave the unfinished model to my friend Kurt Boyd. Kurt thought he might have a place for it on his layout. As it turned out, he didn't and back it came. Turns out, it fit perfectly in the corner near the west end of Preston Miller Yard.
The Prototype
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