I'm currently building a modified version of a Walthers diesel fueling facility (#933-2908) for my layout and I would like to put some interior details inside the pumphouse. This building is very small: the interior measures 1"x7/8". The structure has three windows and will be very near the front edge of my layout so it will be relatively easy to see inside of it. Rather than just blocking the view of the inside of the building I would like to put a pump inside, along with piping and other items that would be appropriate. I would also like to put a relatively dim LED inside under the roof. Where can I find photos of what might be inside a pumphouse like this? Does anyone make detail parts along these lines? I have only found a few photos of a pumping setup in a much larger building and have no idea what most of the items are or what purpose the individual pipes serve. Some kind of flow diagram of the pumping process with individual parts of the system might be helpful. I guess I'm also looking for advice on how basic can I make the pumphouse interior and still make it semi-realistic. This will be the first interior I've detailed and my first experience with adding lighting to a structure. Is this just a bad idea or a good way to start small?
Hi,
I don't believe that 'pump house' is anything more than a shanty to provide some place for the operator to get out of the rain or the cold.
If it is the same one I'm thinking of there's a small chimney on the roof. Any kind of stove or heat source other than steam probably wouldn't be too close to the fuel, even if it were low-ignition diesel or bunker C in the steam days.
The pump would probably be closer to the storage tank, if there even was a pump. Some were gravity-fed. A pump for filling the storage tank would be on the truck if it was refilled from a highway truck or in a small cabinet if it were filled from a tank car.
IIRC Woodland scenics made some soft-metal parts that can be cleaned up and used for a diesel fuel pad. American Limited makes a nicer-looking Snyder fuel crane than the one provided in the Walthers kit.
Fuel_pad by Edmund, on Flickr
A past discussion here:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/t/260811.aspx
.
Good Luck, Ed
That makes sense with the chimney being there. Walthers does call it a pumphouse in their instructions so I figured that's where the pump would be. I guess a wood burning stove, a chair or two, maybe a small table, etc. would be more appropriate. My storage tank is above ground so it would need a pump. Should I make a box somewhere to represent it? What about outside connections or pipes for the unloading rack?
Thanks for the link to the previous discussion.
Never dealt with fuel. Unloading liquid chemicals from either railcars of Tanker trailers we always had a rubber air line to provide a blanket pressure of about 1o psi of Nitrogen, because it was inert, and zero water content. I imagine something similar. The transfer pump can be anyplace on the unload line.
Dave
The ButcherI guess a wood burning stove,
Coal, or oil would be more likely. Probably an old caboose stove, and with all that diesel around, why not use oil to fuel the stove?
Rix/Pikestuff has some nice sheds that fir the 60s-90s era. You probably want something like a 'Butler' building.
https://rixproducts.com/product/yard-utility-building-ho/
The ButcherWhat about outside connections or pipes for the unloading rack?
95% of it was underground. Maybe a few short pipes coming above ground, protected by guard rails (scrap rail) where the truck would connect a 3" hose for pumping into the storage tank. Everything from the tank to the fuel track would be underground.
I was in a "pump house" when I worked on the Chessie (C&O)..The one I in had a small desk,a beat up office chair and a filing cabinet for the fueling records. The stove was a electric baseboard heater. I did notice a electric coffee pot on the top of the cabinet.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"