The time has come to start construction of the Hard Knox Valley Railroad. Since my woodworking abilities are somewhat limited and I don't have the tools or space to do the job correctly I am thinking of using Sievers benchwork for my layout. It seems expensive but I'm thinking the benefits, correct measurements, etc. outweigh the negatives. Has anyone had any experience with them? Also the walls in the trainroom are a cream color...I'm thinking of painting them a sky blue color. Is that a good idea? Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated.
Mainetrains
'there's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear' Modeling the Hard Knox Valley Railroad in HO scale http://photos.hardknoxvalley.com/
The nice thing about the current state of our hobby is that it can accomodate any budget and any skill level.
You can cut down your own trees, mill your own lumber, build your own electronics and scratch build every item. You can hire someone to come in and build you a turn key totally completed minature world. Or absolutely anything in between.
Benchwork is the foundation upon which you will build. It is important. It's cheaper to build, but there is nothing wrong with buying from someone like Sievers and assembling it like legos.
Yes, complete the room, including painting the walls and ceiling and hanging any lights BEFORE you install the benchwork.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
If you can paint a "fade" of very white-ish blue to the darker sky blue from the horizon on up the wall. The sky is always lighter at the horizon then when you look up........Just a thought, I see lots of railroads where the sky is to dark of a blue......I'm using aluminum framing for my benchwork.
I used Sievers benchwork for my layout (http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html), and it all went very smoothly. Yes, it might seem like a lot, but you're saving time, saving having to go out and get all the carpentry tools you'll need to build from scratch, and saving from trying to correct or replace mistakes made when cutting/drilling. I live in a townhouse with neighbors on both sides of me in my building. When doing the benchwork, it was nice to be able to work on it in the evenings after dinner and not have to worry about disturbing my neighbors with the sounds of saws and drills.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
I've used Sievers benchwork for a modular layout and I've now started construction with it on a "permanent" layout. I've been very pleased. The workmanship is top quality consistently. The Sievers people are great to work with and ship very quickly. I would recommend them highly.
Tim Fahey
Musconetcong Branch of the Lehigh Valley RR
Kevin, I enjoyed your web site.Guess I spent around a hour on it. Have you done any more work on the new section?
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Haven't done too much more. Mainly been working on operations and weeding out any track problems before doing any scenery. Have begun work though on the station platforms, tower, and I-71 overpasses. Also haven't been able to do much since I can't really afford too much right now with my one cat's heart issues as well as my other expenses.
Just an update for you. I've decided to go with Sievers and as some of you posted, I have found them to be very helpful and they also made suggestions that will save me money. It's always nice to come across a company that truly believes in customer service.
Now that you have decided on Sievers. I will suggest that you might want to take a look at Benchridge Benchworks at http://www.benchridge.com/
They seem to be a good company.
Roger Hensley= ECI Railroad - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/eci/eci_new.html == Railroads of Madison County - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ =