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Handcar Shed

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  • Member since
    May 2007
  • From: North Myrtle Beach, SC
  • 995 posts
Handcar Shed
Posted by Beach Bill on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 8:52 AM

Those of you who have been in model railroading for "several seasons" may recall the old maintenance shed building made by Revell in HO scale.  The same building was later offered by AHM and by Con-Cor.  Bob Brown discussed these old kits in his column for Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette in the Nov/Dec 2008 and Jan/Feb 2009 issues.  The structure was very typical of many lineside buildings.

That old Revell maintenance shed was one of the first buildings on my model railroad "several seasons" ago.  I recall that it had been assembled with altogether too much tube glue.   That old building is long gone, but when I wanted to build a handcar shed for my 1:20.3 Seashore, Horry And Georgetown (SHAG RR) here in North Myrtle Beach, I was inspired by the memory of that building.

I scratchbuilt my handcar shed, using some "board and batten" wood milled from cedar which had been purchased several years ago at the East Coast Large Scale Train Show (York, PA).  The roof is actual weathered tin roofing from a collapsed peach-packing shed down here in the Carolinas.  Nothing looks quite like weathered tin more than weathered tin, and with some careful file work on the edges to remove any sharp burrs, I have been able to work with it relatively easily.  

In the photo, the watertower is from a kit by Garden Texture.  The caboose is the Hobart Estates caboose kit from Hartford Products.  I do still need to add a potbellied stove to the back corner of the shed, so that the section gang will be able to ward off the morning chill and brew a cup of coffee.

Bill

With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost. William Lloyd Garrison
  • Member since
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  • From: Idaho
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Posted by SP Trains on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 12:38 PM

Those all look fantastic.

  • Member since
    May 2002
  • From: South Australia
  • 380 posts
Posted by toenailridgesl on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 4:48 PM
Nice modelling. You cut the floor to fit over the track inside the shed?
Phil Creer, The Toenail Ridge Shortline,  Adelaide Sth Oz http://www.trainweb.org/toenailridge toparo ergo sum
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: North, San Diego Co., CA
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Posted by ttrigg on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 9:00 PM

toenailridgesl
Nice modelling. You cut the floor to fit over the track inside the shed?

Or, did you put down fishplates on the flooring? If you tell me that you cut the floor to clear the rails and fishplates, I'm gonna ask how many years did it take to cut that fine and tight.

Tom Trigg

  • Member since
    May 2007
  • From: North Myrtle Beach, SC
  • 995 posts
Posted by Beach Bill on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:02 AM

toenailridgesl
Nice modelling. You cut the floor to fit over the track inside the shed?

 

No, my track is Sunset Valley Code 250.  I made a small section of track to reach out to the "main" from the building, but left rail without ties extending for the depth of the structure.  I then drilled some holes and hand-spiked the rail directly to the floor (with tie plates).  I thought that this looked more realistic than having the workmen stumble over full-sized ties within the shed.  When I pick up the building, the end of handcar track goes with it.

Bill

With reasonable men, I will reason; with humane men I will plead; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost. William Lloyd Garrison
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: North, San Diego Co., CA
  • 3,092 posts
Posted by ttrigg on Thursday, November 26, 2009 3:04 PM

Beach Bill
   When I pick up the building, the end of handcar track goes with it.  Bill 

Nice! I like that idea!.

Tom Trigg

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