I'm looking for a good detailed icing station with platform kit for my PRR layout circa 1953. It will at the front so I want it to be detailed and look really good. The track alongside this is a single 48" long track. I know Tichy, Walthers and others produce models and I'm happy with plastic or laser, kit bashing and modifying. Anyone out there recommend a good kit or kits to help me start?
Also, anyone know of any good pictures they can aim me towards?
Thanks!
Barry
Sorry guys! It's HO.
Thanks Barry
I don't have any personal experience with the models, but based on the photos on the Walther's website, I'd say the Suncoast Valley model looks like the most detailed of the ones they carry. The Walthers kit looks pretty good, too, but it's hard to tell because the photo is taken from so far away.
When you say you're looking for photos, I assume you mean better ones than Walthers has in their catalog / website, right?
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Hi!
I was really excited when the Cornerstone kits came out and bought the basic kit (house and platform) and a second platform. I put the two platforms together and they came out pretty nice and have potential for more detailing. The icehouse itself is not much more than a big box and needs a lot of help (IMHO). If there is another better one out there, I would get it and use a few of the cornerstone platforms with it.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Anyone built the Tichy kit?
Here's my version of the Walthers kit. I used a couple of add-on platforms, and altered the stair layout somewhat.
I also added chains to all of the drop-down platforms:
...and added a couple of ground-level platforms for receiving ice shipments from the distribution plant, located elsewhere on the layout:
The distribution plant was scratchbuilt from styrene:
Not normally used for car icing, I nevertheless include a short icing platform should an in-transit reefer require re-icing:
I'll need one more ice house for car icing, and will probably scratchbuild it - there's not much to the building, and the platform uses a lot of similar assemblies for support. You can add a roof, or not.
Wayne
I've got one of the Walthers kits, too.
The platforms are the interesting part. The building itself is huge and almost featureless. However, because it's so plain, it wouldn't be too hard to cut it down in size. Of course, if you've got room for it, go ahead and build it as designed. I put a lot of greenery in front of mine, and surrounded it with other structures so it doesn't dominate the scene. I like Wayne's idea of putting the building against the backdrop.
Here's a view from the other side. As I said, almost featureless.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Excellent Wayne. The length of the platforms looks just what I'm looking for. Good work!
Thanks, bsteel4065. Because of the space which I had available, I was forced to put the platform extensions all to the same end. If you have room, the icehouse could be at the mid-point, with the platform extending in both directions. The deck of the Walthers platform has moulded-in detail representing a chain-type conveyor to move the block-ice along the platform, so the length of the platform, within reason, shouldn't be a problem. If the ice blocks are moved manually, though, there'd be a shorter limit to the platform length.