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A possible scratch build project for richotrain.

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Posted by zstripe on Thursday, January 8, 2015 6:05 AM

Good Morning, Rich and JaBear.

I've had to compromise....but I am well on my way after this pic'. Had to sacrifice the one track and everything else that was there and am adding another building in foreground. Am redirecting switches and track work now.

Take Care! Big Smile

Frank

EDIT: Oops Forgot MKE_railscenes. Welcome To The Forums.

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:09 AM

I see Rich is currently having fun exploring the parameters of his new mini camera, so am not sure how this project is progressing.

Good morning, JaBear.  I never got much further along on that freight house project.  I lacked the 4 foot long space to do it right on my current layout, so I decided to hold off until I build my Dream Layout.
 
Rich

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:07 AM

mke_railscenes

Not sure if Rich or anyone else is still following this thread on the C&EI freight house (hope your build is going well, Rich) but here is a ground-level shot I recently found on flickr showing the freight house:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3312880270/

Taken by Mark Llanuza, caption is: "N.W SD-45 withcommuter train Chicago Dearborn station 1974"

 

Hey, nice photo.  I had never seen that before.  That is a commuter train from Orland Park, not that far from my place. After Dearborn Station closed to intra-city passenger trains, the commuter train continued to run into Dearborn Station for a few more years.  The photographer, Mark Llanuza, has been a prolific provider of photos of the trains and track work in the area from Dearborn Station to Alton Junction - - an inspiration for my yet to be built Dream Layout.

Rich

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Posted by "JaBear" on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 6:38 PM

mke_railscenes
but here is a ground-level shot I recently found on flickr showing the freight house:

Gidday, a belated Welcome to the forum.
That photo is a good find.
While looking for something else I came across this which I believe shows a very fleeting glimpse of the freight house.
I see Rich is currently having fun exploring the parameters of his new mini camera, so am not sure how this project is progressing.
Besides this is a hobby, not a race.Smile, Wink & Grin
Cheers, the Bear.Smile

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by mke_railscenes on Wednesday, December 31, 2014 1:16 PM

Not sure if Rich or anyone else is still following this thread on the C&EI freight house (hope your build is going well, Rich) but here is a ground-level shot I recently found on flickr showing the freight house:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7547061@N02/3312880270/

Taken by Mark Llanuza, caption is: "N.W SD-45 withcommuter train Chicago Dearborn station 1974"

 

 

 

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 9:47 AM

Doughless, I see that now in the illustrations in the instructions.  They show wider pilasters and a space between the wall panels.   Thanks for that heads up.

Rich

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Posted by Doughless on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 7:54 AM

richhotrain
 

 

So, with the wider pilasters, there is a space between the panels, albeit, unseen when viewed from the front?

 

Rich

Yes.  The pilasters end up being the structural element to hold things together horizontally. 

Because of that, I like to glue a long styrene strip, or a long sprue tree from the scrap box, along the back length of the wall at a place that won't interefere with the door/window installation, to give the wall some rigidity.  I would want to overlap those strips for your project since the wall will be so long.

I also use styrene strips to make a foundation, and a sprue tree somewhere at the top near the cornice (to support the roof).  With those three horizontal strips along the back side, the wall becomes pretty stiff.  

I think Wayne's pictures show that he uses bits of styrene at several four corners area of the back of the wall.  I've done that too. 

There are probably other ways to assemble the modules, but I like to string together 5 or 6 modules and pilasters, then flip it over to install the styrene along the back.  This is why I use drops of CA (along with solvent based glue).  The CA sets up quickly and allows the wall panel to be moved around some while I work with it.

- Douglas

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 6:45 AM

Doughless

The wider pilasters are designed for the fronts of the buildings.  The narrower ones are for turning the corner on a full 3D building. 

One side of the narrower pilasters is smooth, where it glues to the smooth back of the wider ones.  Together they make a corner and result in the same width pilaster on both sides.

 

So, with the wider pilasters, there is a space between the panels, albeit, unseen when viewed from the front?

Rich

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Posted by Doughless on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 6:27 AM

richhotrain
 
Doughless

Remember, those sections will stand apart abit as you install the pilasters...they won't touch each other.

Just wanted to remind you of this before you cemented 52 inches of those things together before you decided to install the first pilaster!!Black Eye

 

 

 

I need to study the instructions a little more.  The kit that I initially bought to experiment with came with a large bag of parts including two different widths of pilasters.  The wider pilaster forces the panels apart with a small space in between, so I assume that I want to use the narrower pilasters which fit over panels that touch one another without any space in between.

 

Rich

 

The wider pilasters are designed for the fronts of the buildings.  The narrower ones are for turning the corner on a full 3D building. 

One side of the narrower pilasters is smooth, where it glues to the smooth back of the wider ones.  Together they make a corner and result in the same width pilaster on both sides.

- Douglas

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 6:08 AM

Doughless

Remember, those sections will stand apart abit as you install the pilasters...they won't touch each other.

Just wanted to remind you of this before you cemented 52 inches of those things together before you decided to install the first pilaster!!Black Eye

 

I need to study the instructions a little more.  The kit that I initially bought to experiment with came with a large bag of parts including two different widths of pilasters.  The wider pilaster forces the panels apart with a small space in between, so I assume that I want to use the narrower pilasters which fit over panels that touch one another without any space in between.

Rich

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Posted by richhotrain on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 6:03 AM

hon30critter

Looks good Rich. I like it better without the brick line across the wall in the second story.

I'm glad you found the walls easy to cut. I had visions of you having to use a razor saw which would have been a messy PITA.

Dave

 

Dave, I wound up using an Exacto knife.  Once the blade is pressed down on a mortar line between rows of bricks, it stays in place.  Once scored and snapped, I just lightly sand the cut surface by rubbing the cut modular piece back and forth on a piece of light grid sandpaper a few times.

Rich

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Posted by "JaBear" on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 1:08 AM

zstripe
Doing a little range practice, just in case

I surrender!!!!

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by zstripe on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 12:47 AM

richhotrain

 

 
 

Didn't realise that Frank looked so dapper!

 

 

 

He normally doesn't.   I loaned him my suit.   Laugh

 

Rich

 

Rich,

Yeah, thanks for the loan of the suit....but why did you have to give me the fat one?  Laugh

I do like the way it will look now.

Btw: Say ''hello'' to my little friend. Doing a little range practice, just in case. Smile, Wink & Grin

Take Care! Big Smile

Frank

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Posted by hon30critter on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 9:00 PM

Looks good Rich. I like it better without the brick line across the wall in the second story.

I'm glad you found the walls easy to cut. I had visions of you having to use a razor saw which would have been a messy PITA.

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by Motley on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 8:29 PM

I agree, that looks great Rich! Can't wait to see this huge building completed, gonna be SWEEET!

Michael


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Posted by Doughless on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 5:55 PM

richhotrain

 

Looks great!  I definitely think the extra trouble of cutting each 2 story section is well worth it.  It looks much better than having the horizontal lines the other pieces cause.

Remember, those sections will stand apart abit as you install the pilasters...they won't touch each other.

Just wanted to remind you of this before you cemented 52 inches of those things together before you decided to install the first pilaster!!Black Eye

- Douglas

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Posted by richhotrain on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 5:19 PM

Didn't realise that Frank looked so dapper!

 

He normally doesn't.   I loaned him my suit.   Laugh

Rich

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Posted by "JaBear" on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 4:49 PM

Yeah, that looks better IMO. Didn't realise that Frank looked so dapper!

richhotrain
Sorry that it took so long to reach this point,

With the glacial pace of my scratch built ferry project, I understand.Smile, Wink & Grin

Cheers, the Bear.

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by richhotrain on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 3:19 PM

I decided to cut off some rows of bricks on the 2-story double window section to bring it down to the same height as the 1st story dock section.  Using an Optivisor to stay properly aligned, I scored the row of bricks and snapped off the scored section.  No problemo!

In the atttached photo, ignore the outer 2nd story sections which I added just to fill the void.  The inner two 2nd story sections are the ones that I cut down.  The 1st story will consist of large freight doors, smaller entry doors, and double sets of windows.

Frank, I added you caricature in the doorway to show scale.    Smile, Wink & Grin

Sorry that it took so long to reach this point, but until I got the kit yesterday, I could not make any final decisions.  Now, I know what I need to order in terms of individual parts.

Thanks to all for all of your constructive comments.  Most appreciated !  

Rich

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Posted by zstripe on Monday, November 17, 2014 11:25 PM

I also would go with #3, along with dock doors like #4. Could You take a couple of pic's with a scale standing figure in the dock door's and window? The first floor window's look a little low to me for a dock window. About waist high for the second story. The floor/foundation would be even with the lower bottom opening of the dock door. Might just be my eyes, but a figure would help.

Might be a good idea, to get going, while we're young. LOL.

Take Care! Big Smile

Frank

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Posted by hon30critter on Monday, November 17, 2014 11:16 PM

JaBear:

Thanks for the support!Smile, Wink & GrinLaughLaughLaugh

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by "JaBear" on Monday, November 17, 2014 10:51 PM
No: 5! That’s #3 but with Daves cornice.Whistling
Just my 2 bobs worth,
Cheers, the Bear.

"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."

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Posted by hon30critter on Monday, November 17, 2014 8:44 PM

Rich:

IIRC you said you would rather not get into a bunch of cutting, so my preference would be #3, with the addition of a cornice to the top of the wall.

IMHO #4 looks like the windows are too high in the wall, but that's just me.

#2 is almost the same as #3 except that you will have to do a bit of work to make the seam between the dock riser and the upper wall invisible. I'd personally rather have the line of raised bricks in #3 even though they aren't in keeping with the prototype. Having that line of raised bricks might also make the building appear longer than it would with just a plain wall.

I agree - #1 is ugh!

Dave

I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!

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Posted by middleman on Monday, November 17, 2014 6:21 PM

Hey Rich,

What if you cut out a chunk of the tall second story sections?

Then you could go with any height you want,and still just have the single row of vertical bricks,like the prototype.

EDIT: Upon closer inspection,what I thought was an row of vertical brick is just the roofline for the dock.Embarrassed

 

Mike

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Posted by richhotrain on Monday, November 17, 2014 5:15 PM

I'm baaaack!   Laugh

Got my DPM Modulars Planning Kit today.

I see four possibilities, as pictured from left to right in the photo.

1.  The 1st story dock and a simple 2nd story set of windows.

2.  The 1st story dock, a dock spacer, and a simple 2nd story set of windows.

3.  The 1st story dock and a 2nd story set of windows using a 1st story dock.

4.  The 1st story dock and a 2-story 2nd story set of windows.

My preference is #4, then #3, not so much #2, and, ugh, #1.

Notice the different heights of the four combinations.

Waddya think?

Rich

 

 

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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:56 PM

Motley

Geeeezus! Its about time, 6 pages later and Rich decides to build it. Nice.

 

Ya see, folks, this is the type of intimidation and ridicule that I have to put up with.   Super Angry

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Posted by Motley on Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:55 PM

Geeeezus! Its about time, 6 pages later and Rich decides to build it. Nice.

Michael


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Posted by richhotrain on Thursday, November 13, 2014 12:49 PM

After repeated threats from Wayne and Frank unless I got going on this project, I got going on this project.   Laugh

I ordered one of the large kits of DPM modulars today and should receive it early next week.   Cool

Then, I will spend more time overthinking Bang Head this issue and report back to all of you.  

Rich

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Posted by zstripe on Saturday, November 8, 2014 6:15 AM

Rich,

While You're being cool.....give some thought on a solid foundation to start the building on. Wayne's way, I would not trust for 52'' long,and even with styrene butts, iffy! Even if You build it in sections, they will have to match up perfect. My suggection I gave in a earlier post. Spend some money and get a piece of 1x6 #1 grade pine and use that as your base, it will also act as Your dock on the rail side and build Your building on it. Then You can move it anywhere You want, without worrying about the building coming apart. I do that all the time and then screw it to my layout or I even bolt it in some cases.

Some more to think about!?! LOL

Have Fun, I am, BTW: I already have 150.00 invested in my project building and it's 22 inches shorter Big Smile and that's not total yet.

Frank

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