Hey all,
I am scratch building an HO scale steam plant using a Walthers Car Shop kit as the building, but I am having some trouble.
My goal is to have the entire 2nd floor simulate a see through metal grate like metal walkways. Etched metal walkway kits would be way too expensive given how narrow the walkways are. I have found etched walkway sheets from NJ International that would work but they are discontinued or something, never in stock anywhere.
I'm now looking into alternative options. My first idea was the wedding tule we use for chain link fencing but I feel like it would be too big and not stiff enough not to sag.
I would really appreciate any cost effective ideas you have for what I could use to simulate the metal grated floor.
Thank you all!
Have you looked at the Tichy open grating?
https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/p/8001-open-grate-platform/Default.aspx
Don Tichy might sell them as a bulk pack, I'm not sure. They are finely detailed and while fairly stiff they will require some styrene supports.
I use them in quite a few areas of the layout. I made this walkway along the raw materials hoppers behind my blast furnace:
Stock_Track by Edmund, on Flickr
Good Luck, Ed
Gold Medal Models has them in stock.
Rich
Alton Junction
I assume by "See Through Grate" you mean something similar to expanded steel mesh grating like this:
If you are lookoing at it through a window, I would not bother with scale etched material. All of the effect will be lost.
I would use the "no see-um" screening we can get in Florida, and use that on a framework from brass shapes.
I think through the windows of your building, it would look great.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Wow quick response! I didn't expect that! Thank you guys! I will look into the options you have given.
Kevin, being able to see through the floor through windows and doors is definitely a high priority. My layout is day and night capable and I have a ton of led lights...this building will be no different.
I will figure out how to post pictures when I'm done. I have already scratch built a boiler, 2 chillers, and several 250 hp distribution pumps.
Thanks again for the great suggestions!
Depending on the age of your boiler house you might want to incorporate some of the handy steel lattice work that is offered by Central Valley. Here's an example where I used it to support a walkway in a brewery:
IMG_4634 by Edmund, on Flickr
Kevin mentioned expanded metal but I believe what you're looking for is called bar grating. We used lots of it at the factory I once worked at.
Compound Steel Grating by zhigang xue, on Flickr
I know etched brass can be pricey but since Rich mentioned Gold Medal Models I thought I'd show the "catwalks" that Walthers offers:
Pipe_Span-brass by Edmund, on Flickr
Pipe_Span-brass-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I use this stuff as pipe corridors in plant areas. Here's another pipe run I made using styrene bits:
IMG_5858_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_5848_fix by Edmund, on Flickr
florida modelerKevin, being able to see through the floor through windows and doors is definitely a high priority.
That is why I suggested the no-see-um screen. You should be able to see through it when peering in through the windows.
An actual scale material might look more solid, and you might lose the desired effect.
Screen is cheap. It might be worth doing a mock-up and see if it works for you, or if it looks awful.
gmpullmanKevin mentioned expanded metal but I believe what you're looking for is called bar grating. We used lots of it at the factory I once worked at.
I hated that stuff. Small tools and parts would fall right through it.
The expanded metal style walkways were much more "technician friendly" when installed in sugar mills and refineries.
gmpullmanI know etched brass can be pricey but since Rich mentioned Gold Medal Models I thought I'd show the "catwalks" that Walthers offers.
That looks grate ().
When I get to building catwalks between buildings, that is what I will use.
I didn't know the real name of it but yes bar grating is exactly what I'm going for. The entire 2nd and 3rd floor of the steam/chiller plant I work in is bar grating supported by steel I-beams and a mix of square and round steel posts.
You learn real quick to carry spares because dropping your pen or tools means down and back up 3 floors lol.
After working most of my life in the sand and gravel industry. I learned to hate that grating. I learned early in my career to save up cardboard. The first thing I carried up or rope hauled was hunks of cardboard. Most of the time you're working on an inclined catwalk and not standing. What was worse was the stamped non slip grating. Having a bucket on the rope and a ground guy was really helpful for dropped things and fetching parts and tools.
I assume you're HO scale. I picked up some Piko fence kits and the fence material is metal and really easy to work with. They were cheap. While I didn't make fences with them. I did make screen panels for the gravel plant with styrene angle sides.
Pete.
With this much specialized area, why not etch it yourself from sheet?
I believe you could draw up the 'floor plan' of bars at full model size on a computer, print it on a laser printer, then do the 'iron-on transfer' trick to melt toner onto the sheet for resist. The etching would then be straightforward. At least in theory you could model some of the reinforcement by etching from the bottom halfway through the sheet, then reversing and etching the 'rest of the bars' from the front.
When I was a kid, my model aircraft friends used model aircraft "dope" to tense up silk or thin material or paper wings. Would dope potentially work with tulle if you make a frame for your walkways of styrene or brass and use ACC to hold it taut while it set?
Cheers from Australia
Trevor
I sure like the stone wall in your picture, Ed. Who made it please.
Jarrell
gmpullman Have you looked at the Tichy open grating? https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/p/8001-open-grate-platform/Default.aspx Don Tichy might sell them as a bulk pack, I'm not sure. They are finely detailed and while fairly stiff they will require some styrene supports. I use them in quite a few areas of the layout. I made this walkway along the raw materials hoppers behind my blast furnace: Stock_Track by Edmund, on Flickr Good Luck, Ed
To allay the cost of any form of open grating you could also use some diamond deck. I've seen sheets of it availabe from various model supply manufacturers, at modest cost.
It would be realistic, particularly in a steam plant where just about all components are likely to be heavy. Nobody in their right mind would use something like chain link in such environments because it will never carry sustained weight. Even open steel grating in such environments would need to be substantial in construction. My familiarity with such things comes from having been a Navy Machinist's Mate, whch is, aomng other things, basically a seagoing steam plant engineer-operator.
Most of our engineroom flooring was diamond deck. We used open steel flooring for things like hinged deck grates, etc. to move between levels. A main reason why solid flooring is used is because none of us wanted to wear the occasional crescent wrench or nuts & bolts the size of one's fist dropped from the deck above. Since steam plants, by their nature, require constant attention all levels are likely to be frequently occupied. I would be very antsy working all day in an open grating area, and I would always have a hardhat.
Open grating used to separate spaces as walls do, is quite likely to be insufficiently substantial to serve as flooring. Deck grating often has a tread-like profile along the rib tops.
Another advantage to using solid decking was in containing leaks and spills. Steam plants all use a good deal of lubricants. Fittings and valves especially, leak, sometimes by design. Preventing leakage dropping to other levels is a sign of good operations and maintenance.
Of course, all steel decking of any type will require appropriate support. On solid decking you can sort of cheat on the details for the supports, keeping it realistic insofar as it's visible from the undersde.
jacon12I sure like the stone wall in your picture, Ed. Who made it please. Jarrell
Really digging back into the memory banks here I bought it years ago.
I believe it was #108 made by A.I.M. models, now part of Monroe Models?
http://monroemodels.us/aim.ho.htm
It is nice stuff and I like the buttresses. I cut off one end and sand the profile to join several lengths together.
Do you need a lot? I might have some left over.
Hope that helps, Ed