Freight cars that have been removed from service are converted to offices or storage sheds. This project used a boxcar that came from a Bachmann train set.
Holes for windows and door were made using a right angle cutter from Micro-Mark. Holes from removal of roofwalk were plugged using sprues from a plastic kit, then, filed flush. To prevent the dreaded "glowing building effect", the interior walls were primed and painted. Foundation and floor was cut from a sheet of modeling birch. It was sanded to provide a snug fit, then glued to the layout with caulk. This allows building to be removed if necessary. Window and door openings were masked from the inside to prevent overspray from getting on interior walls. Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window. Finished office.
Holes for windows and door were made using a right angle cutter from Micro-Mark.
Holes from removal of roofwalk were plugged using sprues from a plastic kit, then, filed flush.
To prevent the dreaded "glowing building effect", the interior walls were primed and painted. Foundation and floor was cut from a sheet of modeling birch. It was sanded to provide a snug fit, then glued to the layout with caulk. This allows building to be removed if necessary. Window and door openings were masked from the inside to prevent overspray from getting on interior walls. Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window. Finished office.
To prevent the dreaded "glowing building effect", the interior walls were primed and painted.
Foundation and floor was cut from a sheet of modeling birch. It was sanded to provide a snug fit, then glued to the layout with caulk. This allows building to be removed if necessary. Window and door openings were masked from the inside to prevent overspray from getting on interior walls. Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window. Finished office.
Foundation and floor was cut from a sheet of modeling birch. It was sanded to provide a snug fit, then glued to the layout with caulk. This allows building to be removed if necessary.
Window and door openings were masked from the inside to prevent overspray from getting on interior walls. Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window. Finished office.
Window and door openings were masked from the inside to prevent overspray from getting on interior walls.
Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window. Finished office.
Picture of an actual railroad map as seen through the long window.
Finished office.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Slick conversion of a car which might not otherwise be used, and the system wall map is a nice touch, too.
I'm a big fan of the old Train Miniature cars, which are very era-appropriate for my late '30s layout. However, after putting several TM cars in methyl hydrate in order to remove the factory paint, I found a couple of them to be severely cracked. Not sure why, as I've used this method to strip hundreds of Athearn, MDC, and TM cars without any problems.
While the two cars could be cemented back together with lacquer thinner, the cracks also left both cars somewhat deformed. Both represent steel cars which would have been too new to have been retired, but my story is that their frames were damaged in a wreck (amazingly leaving the bodies relatively intact ). One ended up on the team track at Elfrida. It's used there for storing LCL shipments (incoming and outgoing), and has been little modified. The cracks are on the normally unseen side:
The other car resides behind the shops in Lowbanks, and is used mostly as a storage shed for tools and supplies for the track, bridge, and telegraph maintenance crews:
Here's an over-all view of the area:
Wayne
Excellent idea! My era is more modern, so I'm going to use containers. The construction co. I retired from used containers for tool and equipment trailers. When site space was restricted, such as down town in the city of Milwaukee, or Madison, WI, the office trailer would be lifted and placed on top of the containers, complete with a deck and stairs.
Just down the road from me, a huge and prominate orchard / store / garden center / grocery store complex uses two, ex MILW mechanical reefers, placed side by side, for extra fruit and vegtable storage. The place is called "The Elegant Farmer". The East Troy Electric Railway stops there on it's way to Mukwonago, so touist can buy any of their famous treats, such as "Apple pie baked in a bag". Back in the day, when the ETERR actually moved freight on a daily basis, from it's interchange with the SOO in Mukwonago, the reefers were moved from the tracks to their present position by a house mover using dollies and jacks.
Mike.
EDIT: By the way Wayne, I sure like the detail you have on that OH crane. Looks great!
My You Tube
mbinsewiBy the way Wayne, I sure like the detail you have on that OH crane. Looks great!
Thanks Mike. It was originally intended as a cast house crane for a scratchbuilt blast furnace, but when I ran out of room and money, I modified it into a composite of a couple of cranes which I had the "pleasure" of operating.
Marlon:
Great modelling! I really like the map inside the office.
I used the same idea on an older Walthers MOW office car, but instead of a map of a real railway I used a much reduced picture of my planned layout.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critter Marlon: Great modelling! I really like the map inside the office. I used the same idea on an older Walthers MOW office car, but instead of a map of a real railway I used a much reduced picture of my planned layout. Dave
Thanks, Dave. I like your idea of the schematic of your layout, too!
Old boxcars are often seen in central Illinois on farmland, being used as sheds; I assume the railroad sold them cheaply (some are early steel cars, some are double sheathed wooden cars). And I can recall that when Milwaukee did away with its "trackless trolley" buses, some construction firms bought the buses and converted them to on-site construction offices -- they could be towed on their tires to the sites. The Excalibur automobile factory in West Allis WI used to have two old Milwaukee Road reefers still parked on the siding next to their factory, used as parts storage. The cars were there for years after Excalibur went belly up.
These days I tend to see alot of former shipping containers used as offices or for storage.
Dave Nelson
dknelsonThese days I tend to see alot of former shipping containers used as offices or for storage.
Other type of car can be used. Here is an old caboose used as a temporary engine facility office.
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
That's a great job, Guy. What I've noticed in some of the other pictures, is that I need more people..and trash. My layout is too sterile!