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Cornerstone Union Station Help

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  • Member since
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  • From: Dallas, Ga
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Cornerstone Union Station Help
Posted by Mike50 on Sunday, February 1, 2009 10:08 PM

Hey all. New to this forum and hope someone might help me. I in the very early stages of building my first big layout in HO. I have bben building some of the structures. I am starting the Cornerstone Union Station ans was wondering if there are ant Interior structures I can use to super detail it? Thanks, Mike

  • Member since
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Posted by topcopdoc on Monday, February 2, 2009 11:13 AM

I have the same station on my layout but it is not complete yet. I have downloaded images on the web of large station interiors to get some ideas but have not found any interior items such as ticket booths, schedule boards, funrniture, etc. There are benches available but not the typical all wood solid benches used in these stations. Keep me posted.

Doc 

 

Pennsylvania Railroad The Standard Railroad of the World
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Posted by Capt. Grimek on Monday, February 2, 2009 8:39 PM
Is this a relatively easy kit to assemble? I'm considering one but would have to raise it above some tracks on a platform and have the trains run under it. If anyone has done this or it would be great to see pics. If only Walthers would issue a backdrop version of this or the Milwaukee station. I can't bring myself to saw one in half, but that day might come...well, the $40 Union maybe, but not the almost $200 Milwaukee. Anyway, reports/reviews of assembly ease are appreciated. Thanks.

Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.

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Posted by Mike50 on Monday, February 2, 2009 11:23 PM

Thanks Doc......I'll keep looking

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Posted by Mike50 on Monday, February 2, 2009 11:29 PM

So far I have not run into any problems but I reslly haven't started gluing anything. I just got finished filling in the cement lines in white. Used pink wall putty that turns white when dried. I rubbed it in the lines let it set a few minutes then started wiping it off with a damp cloth. It's a little time consuming but the results are nice. Now I trying to decide if I want to paint the upper trim gold. I think I might use one of the smaller wall for a test.

 

Mike

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  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 8:03 AM

Interior detailing doesn't have to be done with purchased detail parts, in general.  The scene will only be visible through the windows, so you can take advantage of difficulty in viewing.  Of course, there's nothing to stop you from building a highly-detailed interior, but consider its visibility.

This supermarket is detailed with a couple of Preiser figures and a bunch of cutouts.  I printed pictures of store shelves on cardstock, and cut and folded them to make the shelves in the aisles.  The floor and walls were done with cardstock, too.

From the outside, even with the big storefront windows, the cutouts suggest a complete interior.

I've also scratch-built 3 subway stations.  This one has a ticket booth made of styrene, stairs cast from Hydrocal, and "cast iron" fencing and rails made by Model Power.  This scene can't be seen from this angle with the liftoff in place, so the wiring for the lights is hidden from view.

 

 

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by topcopdoc on Tuesday, February 3, 2009 9:14 AM

My station is above 4 passenger tracks and one freight line. I will be adding stairs inside for access to the passenger platforms. Adjacent to the station at street level is a commuter line.

The station is near the edge of the layout where visitors can see it. The large windows make this model an excellant choice for a detailed interior. Lighting will also be an issue since you can see through the station exposing the wiring.    

I am busy now trying to complete a 9-stall roundhouse so I will not be working on ithe station for a few months but the lighting issues are the same. Just another new learning experiment.

Doc

Pennsylvania Railroad The Standard Railroad of the World
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Posted by Mike50 on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 1:14 AM

Wow. Nice detail......I guess for a passenger station I need to find some benches. I'd like to do a wooden floor. Guess I just need to play around with it. Thanks.

 

Mike

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Posted by Capt. Grimek on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 1:17 AM
Doc, do you have any pics you can post? I've only seen the ads from Walthers and it's a little hard to visualize how it might look on my own layout. Also would you say it's a relatively easy kit, difficult or just average? Thanks. Mr. Beasley, great tips. It's easy to forget to keep things easy sometimes!

Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.

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Posted by chateauricher on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:05 PM

I found the Cornerstone Union Station was fairly simple to assemble.  I found alligning the 4 columns with the ceiling a bit of a challenge -- the gods only saw fit to give me 2 hands.  Sigh  If you plan to illuminate the interior, you should paint the inside of the walls with a flat black paint otherwise the walls are likely to glow.

I have not reached a point where I can install the station yet.  My plans are for it to sit above the tracks.  The station itself will be at street level and the platforms in a tunnel beneath -- similar to Gare Centrale in Montreal.  Since the part of the platforms with stair access to the station will not be easily visible, I am not planning to detail that area.  However, a portion of the platforms will be outside the tunnel and that part will have details (shelters, benches, persons, etc.).  Due to the design of my layout and the orientation of the station (which will make it near impossible to see inside), I don't plan to put any scenery details inside the station itself -- other than possibly illuminating it.

Timothy The gods must love stupid people; they sure made a lot. The only insanity I suffer from is yours. Some people are so stupid, only surgery can get an idea in their heads.
IslandView Railroads On our trains, the service is surpassed only by the view !
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Posted by last mountain & eastern hogger on Thursday, February 5, 2009 10:12 AM

Mike50

Wow. Nice detail......I guess for a passenger station I need to find some benches. I'd like to do a wooden floor. Guess I just need to play around with it. Thanks.

 

Mike

Whistling

Hi Mike,

Please don't make that mistake....  These were very Classy Stations in their day and would NOT have had a wooden floor.  The floors would have been marble or perhaps terrazzo.  The wooden floors would have been in the wooden and brick stations.

At Micael's or Hobby Lobby etc. you can get printed sheets for scrapbooking that resenble tile or terrazzo and look good if you are leaving your windows clear. I have chosen to make my windows opaque as some were, I'll use tissue paper behind the clear styrene to do this. You then can illuminate certain areas and yet not have to detail the interior.

Mine as well as "Topcopdoc's" is above several tracks with the high level track being behind it and close to the wall.

BUT,  This is your station and this is just my  My 2 cents worth.

Johnboy out................

May the Rails never be Silent.

from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North.. 

We have met the enemy,  and he is us............ (Pogo)

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Posted by cbq9911a on Friday, February 6, 2009 1:45 PM

Mike50

Hey all. New to this forum and hope someone might help me. I in the very early stages of building my first big layout in HO. I have bben building some of the structures. I am starting the Cornerstone Union Station ans was wondering if there are ant Interior structures I can use to super detail it? Thanks, Mike

 

There's no "interior detail kit" for the station.  I built an interior for my station from assorted parts.  For interior walls, I created marble blocks in Microsoft word (a shape with a special fill) and assembled the blocks into wall sheets.  These sheets were cut to fit in order to line the walls.  I also dropped the ceilings around 1/4" and added ceiling tile.

The interior furnishings are station benches from Atlas station platform kits, plus some pop machines made from a digital image of a pop machine (cropped and sized to a scale 30" x 84") attached to a plastic box that's a scale 30" x 84" x 36".

For other details you can look at pictures of large stations as others have suggested.

Hope that helps.

  • Member since
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  • From: Dallas, Ga
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Posted by Mike50 on Saturday, February 7, 2009 9:52 PM

Thank you for the info. I will go looking tomorrow

 

Mike

  • Member since
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  • From: Dallas, Ga
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Posted by Mike50 on Monday, February 16, 2009 1:03 AM

Ok, so how did you up-load the pictures?????  Been trying all night but can't figure it out.

 

Mike

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  • From: Utica, OH
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Posted by jecorbett on Monday, February 16, 2009 2:14 PM

For anyone who is interested, here's a picture of the prototype, Omaha's Burlington Station:

It been vacant for a long time. There were plans to convert it to luxury condos but apparently that fell through. The developer's website hasn't been updated since 2007. Amtrak built one of their stock flat roofed stations just to the left of this picture.

As you can see, it is an above track station. The skeleton of the over track concourse still remains. The station had only two platforms but the overhead concourse connected to Omaha's Union Station on the opposite side of the tracks which I believe at one time had 7 platforms.

I intend to build mine in a similar configuration kitbashing it with a CMR concourse which will serve 5 platforms. The concourse passed under the pillars and I intend to replicate that with some minor surgery.

  • Member since
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  • From: Dallas, Ga
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Posted by Mike50 on Monday, February 16, 2009 4:11 PM

Very Nice picture, thanks. I'm trying to post the picture of the Union Station I working on now, but can't seem to get them loaded. I read the instruction but am a little confused.........Hopefully I'll work it out soon.

Mike

  • Member since
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  • From: Dallas, Ga
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Posted by Mike50 on Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:12 PM

Well here is mine in progress..........

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