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You can't make this stuff up! (Progress Pics Added)

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Posted by Heartland Division CB&Q on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:35 AM
WOW!  I can almost smell the barn yard manure through the internet!

GARRY

HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR

EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU

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Posted by mikelhh on Wednesday, February 21, 2007 7:54 AM

Top job Simon. I like it just fine without the windows. I wish it was mine.

 Mike 

Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0

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Posted by cacole on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:59 PM

Driline,

You're right, it is not really a barn, but a large storage shed in the shape of a barn.  I think the kit was called The Little Red Barn.

 

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Posted by simon1966 on Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:03 AM

Thanks for the good words.

The weathering of the wood is just an India Ink wash and some additional marks and weathering done with a soft pencil.

Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum

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Posted by csmith9474 on Monday, February 19, 2007 9:24 PM
All I can say is "WOW"!!! Great work. I especially like the weathered wood.
Smitty
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Posted by beegle55 on Monday, February 19, 2007 8:49 PM

Looks great! Don't you love those scrap boxes in your layout area. They are the best for details and scratchbuilding. Keep up the good work!

 -beegle55

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Posted by ARTHILL on Monday, February 19, 2007 8:48 PM
That is nice work. I have a model of the family farm to build in the future. The buildings will be similar to that one. Your work is encouraging. Thanks
If you think you have it right, your standards are too low. my photos http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a235/ARTHILL/ Art
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Posted by Driline on Monday, February 19, 2007 8:47 PM
Wow, that is really good. If you find you don't have room for it on your layout I'll take it off your handsSmile [:)]
Modeling the Davenport Rock Island & Northwestern 1995 in HO
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Posted by simon1966 on Monday, February 19, 2007 8:30 PM

I managed to get quite a bit done today, adding the lean-to section and starting the weathering.  So here are some progress shots of my Illinois barn (Iowa shed).

 

I decided to leave out the windows.  They are really a recent addition to the actual structure and I think they rather spoil its look.  I might re-visit that thought though.

Here is another view of the real thing from the front

Aside from the Campbell corrugated material, this is basically just parts from the scrap box.  I cut individual boards from some scrap siding stock and laminated them over a frame cut from a box that had the boys valentine cards in them.  I think that I am going to build this into a small diorama separate from the layout and then create a space that I can drop it into.  Hopefully the scrap box will yield some materials to fill it up with.

Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum

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Posted by Driline on Monday, February 19, 2007 6:33 PM

Thats NO Barn! Thats a shed with a high pitched roof. You need to come to Iowa to see a REAL barn Big Smile [:D]

Modeling the Davenport Rock Island & Northwestern 1995 in HO
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Posted by csmith9474 on Monday, February 19, 2007 6:15 PM
 cacole wrote:

simon1966,

The barn kit had windows, but I don't recall their being like the ones that are in the barn today.  The side sheds are add-ons that were not part of the original building.

As csmith9474 mentioned, Sears Roebuck sold house kits in the early 1900's, and there are many of them still standing throughout the midwest.  Atlas' "Barb's Bungalow" (150-612) and Laser Art's "Catalog Homes" (181-621 through 181-625) are models of the Sears houses built from kits.

I remember my father saying that a boxcar would be put onto a team track nearest the location where the house was to be built, and the purchaser had to arrange for it to be unloaded, delivered, and built.  They were the forerunners of "pre-fab" structures that are so popular today.

 

I don't want to get too far off topic, but our Illinois house was built in 1926 and is VERY similar to "Barb's Bungalow".  Definately a quality home, although we outgrew it quickly.

Smitty
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Posted by cacole on Monday, February 19, 2007 5:17 PM

simon1966,

The barn kit had windows, but I don't recall their being like the ones that are in the barn today.  The side sheds are add-ons that were not part of the original building.

As csmith9474 mentioned, Sears Roebuck sold house kits in the early 1900's, and there are many of them still standing throughout the midwest.  Atlas' "Barb's Bungalow" (150-612) and Laser Art's "Catalog Homes" (181-621 through 181-625) are models of the Sears houses built from kits.

I remember my father saying that a boxcar would be put onto a team track nearest the location where the house was to be built, and the purchaser had to arrange for it to be unloaded, delivered, and built.  They were the forerunners of "pre-fab" structures that are so popular today.

 

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Posted by mikelhh on Monday, February 19, 2007 4:46 PM

 Love it! Can't wait to see how it goes.

 Mike 

Modelling the UK in 00, and New England - MEC, B&M, D&H and Guilford - in H0

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Posted by simon1966 on Monday, February 19, 2007 2:41 PM
 cacole wrote:

When I saw that photo and your location, I thought, "Hey, that's the barn my father built on his former property in Pinckneyville, Illinois!"  But closer observation nixed that thought because he had no trees growing close to it.

FYI, that barn is from a kit that was sold rather extensively throughout the midwest in the 1950's and 60's.

cacole it is about 2 hours North of Pinkneyville in Benld, Il.  Thanks for the information on the kit, I did not know that.  Do you happen to know if the kit had the windows in it?  The ones that are in the prototype structure seem much newer than the barn itself.  I don't really like the windows so I am planning to leave them out of my model.

 

It is going to be in HO by the way.

Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum

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Posted by easyaces on Monday, February 19, 2007 2:01 PM
So what scale will it be? HO, N, O?  Looks like a nice little project.
MR&L(Muncie,Rochester&Lafayette)"Serving the Hoosier Triangle" "If you lost it in the Hoosier Triangle, We probably shipped it " !!
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Posted by TrainFreak409 on Monday, February 19, 2007 2:00 PM

That ought to make for a great scratchbuild.

Can't wait to see your progress on the project. Thumbs Up [tup]

Scott - Dispatcher, Norfolk Southern

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Posted by csmith9474 on Monday, February 19, 2007 1:53 PM
I saw that at one time you could buy a house in "kit" form. They would sometimes be delivered in a boxcar, at a team track I would assume. Someone was telling me that the house we bought in Swansea, IL (Belleville) might have been one of those types of houses.
Smitty
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Posted by jondrd on Monday, February 19, 2007 1:36 PM

 "Campbell" or "Alexander" around long enough I think to have issued a kit of this barn. Didn't realize they did 1:1 scale.  Wink [;)] Whistling [:-^]

 

   Jon  Cool [8D]

 

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Posted by galaxy on Monday, February 19, 2007 1:17 PM

 Safety Valve wrote:
Half tempted to drill a junker car and plant a nice WS tree right into the middle of it.

 

Somebody has posted pics of a 40s-50s pickup i think with a tree growing up through the engine compartment.

-G .

Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.

 HO and N Scale.

After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.

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Posted by Anonymous on Monday, February 19, 2007 12:59 PM
Half tempted to drill a junker car and plant a nice WS tree right into the middle of it.
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Posted by cacole on Monday, February 19, 2007 12:56 PM

When I saw that photo and your location, I thought, "Hey, that's the barn my father built on his former property in Pinckneyville, Illinois!"  But closer observation nixed that thought because he had no trees growing close to it.

FYI, that barn is from a kit that was sold rather extensively throughout the midwest in the 1950's and 60's.

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Posted by Hoople on Monday, February 19, 2007 11:38 AM
 TA462 wrote:
Don't forget to add a really old car in the barn covered in dust and bird crap. 
Duh...
Mark.
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Posted by GAPPLEG on Monday, February 19, 2007 10:02 AM
Yep , that one is a scratchbuilders dream , it's got character.
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Posted by loathar on Monday, February 19, 2007 9:24 AM
Love the tree! Got a bulldozer near me with one half that size growing up through it.
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You can't make this stuff up! (Progress Pics Added)
Posted by simon1966 on Monday, February 19, 2007 9:21 AM

I need a barn on my layout.  Since I am now a confirmed scratch-build convert, I went looking for the right subject to model.  Last Summer I found just the barn sitting right on my Father-in-laws property.  I present to you this fabulous little structure.

Lou's Barn

Look at the warn and dilapidated siding.  Wood boards, aluminum sheet, corrugated steel and asphalt roll siding.  You could not make this up and make it look convincing.

It gets better.  Here is the front of the structure.

The weathering of the wooden boards, the streaks of rust from the iron nails and hinge fixings.

But the piece-de-la-resistance.......

The tree!  Now I think that the tree came first and the lean-to was added and built around the tree.  Lou loves his trees so I can't imagine him felling one just because it was in the way of a barn expansion project!

So this is my current project.  It is coming along nicely and I will share so pics later in the week.  In the mean time the purpose of this small photo essay is to encourage you to keep your eyes open and see what character you can bring to your layout from everyday scenes.

Simon Modelling CB&Q and Wabash See my slowly evolving layout on my picturetrail site http://www.picturetrail.com/simontrains and our videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/MrCrispybake?feature=mhum

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