CTT Grand Canyon Layout Santa Fe Station

[Anonymous]

The Santa Fe Station in the recent CTT Grand Canyon Layout article captures all of the "look and feel" of a Southwestern Santa Fe station with the advantage of a relatively small footprint. About the only thing I would change is to use red clay roof tiles, but that is my preference and not intended as a ding on the craftsmanship. Something I would not have thought of is the log beams emanating from the adobe walls.

My first attempt at such a structure ended up something better than the mission projects that California grade school children make in class, but still left a lot to be desired.

In the interest of improving, I would like to hear of any techniques used in this or similar buildings..

San Diegan

[Roger Bielen]

During trips to Colorado the station at Glenwood Springs intrigued me. During one trip I brought a 1/4" grid sketch pad, and tape measure. I took a number of photos of details and faces of the building. I measured doors and windows so that I could use them for scaling a drawing from the photes. After getting home I drew up a set of 1:48 plans, built a cardboard mock up to see how it fit on my layout. I did a bit of selective compression to fit it in.

For building it I used 1/2" sq. pieces to frame the structure and 1/4" foam core art board to construct the walls and roof. For the walls I used the textured field stone paper from Scenic Express, scratch built the windows and doors and used styrene clay roofing tiles. The project turned out better than I expected it would.

I keep a frame with the photos I worked from on the wall in my train room, at my wife's request, and the first thing she does is call the station to the attention of anyone visiting for the first time.

Don't be afraid to try scratch building something that catches your eye, if it doesn't turn out who'se to know?

[Anonymous]

You did your homework, Roger. It sounds especially nice to have pictures/sketches of the prototype and your model of it. A nice tie-in with train room art, and, it's your work.

I have not tried the fieldstone paper over foamcore. I have been using my own "bricks" cast from dental plaster using Hirst Arts molds (www.hirstarts.com). Sounds like you are pretty confident with the foamcore. When I was first starting out, I found a wonderful tutorial over at http://www.horailroad.com/clinic2/cl2_005.htm It's called the foamcore/veneer method. and I learned a lot from it.

I did find a CTT article recently on a wonderful looking "greenhouse" station canopy that used foam core and card stock. It's on my "to do" list.. Wi***here was some way I could combine the two, the Santa Fe Adobe station and the greenhouse. I don't know of any prototypical examples, but I have never let reality stop me before.

San Diegan