I was anxious to see what Cody did with the coaling tower kit in the lastest issue of Model Railroader as I have been building these for about 5 years now. He used the Tichy coal chute kit like I do and also had some different ways of assembling them. I never knew exactly how the coal chute chains and weights were to be set up until now. I used a .015 bronze wire for cable to go over the pulleys and had counterweights attache to them. I used a chain with the two large pulley sheaves to form a method of rotating the upper shaft which would then lift/lower the chute. I have been selling these finished models on Ebay (over 30 so far) and thought they were very good looking for an inexpensive kit. Glad to see a professional model done this way. Here are a couple of photos of one of mine.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
Awsome !!! Nice job.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Nice looking model, and nicely assembled, too. Who's the manufacturer?
I've assembled a couple of the Tichy coaling towers, one for a friend and my own (which he gave me as thanks for assembling his), but mine is awaiting installation on an as-yet unbuilt portion of the layout.The photos on the Tichy plans show the chain and pulley set-ups for the various chutes and gates, and most of the detail parts from the Tichy kit are available separately.I used them on the small Walthers coaling tower shown below - I wanted a concrete one and it was newly released at the time, but otherwise I would have scratchbuilt it. I did substitute the nicely-done Tichy parts for the somewhat cruder castings in the kit, and added a sand house made from .060" sheet styrene.
Wayne
I am also undergoing the task of trying to replicate the model. Dr. Wayne the model is from a Life-Like kit. I will post pics when I'm done.
My Layout Photos- http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/ajwarshal/library/
Thanks for that info, Alex, and looking forward to seeing yours when it's completed. A friend with no internet access had been asking about suitable wooden coaling towers, and I had mistakenly mentioned Bachmann's version, but the LifeLike one was definitely the one I had recalled seeing. He's already started on a scratchbuilt one, but I'll keep this one in mind in case his....well, you know.
Sorry, I forgot to mention that it is a Life Like kit. I still have two kits left to build. I may try a different roof material as I never really liked the one on the kit.
farrellaa Sorry, I forgot to mention that it is a Life Like kit. I still have two kits left to build. I may try a different roof material as I never really liked the one on the kit. -Bob
farrellaaI may try a different roof material as I never really liked the one on the kit.
Campbell shingles or Campbell corrugated siding would make a good-looking roof on that coaling tower. You can use the existing roofs as a base for either, first removing any moulded-on relief details. I use contact cement for both, making sure that none of the sheets or shingle strips touch one another while the cement is set aside to dry before assembly. In fact, for the corrugated aluminum, I coat the entire sheet furnished by Campbell with contact cement, then, onces it's dried, cut the sheet into individual panels using a NWSL Chopper. Again, though, you need to insure that the cut panels don't come in contact with one another - it's called "contact cement" for a reason.
Campbell shingles:
...and corrugated sheets:
It is an irony, which I am certain is not lost on MR or Walthers, that the Life Like coaling tower was discontinued probably even as Cody Grivno was busy working on his. The first sign of that move by Walthers was when their bargain table at their showroom in Milwaukee suddenly had a stack of them for sale cheap a year or so ago -- and the packaging was not damaged which is usually why stuff ends up there.
Mt Vernon Mfg from the Life Like line has also beeen discontinued in spite of its being the subject of some of the late Art Curren's most magnificent kit bash articles. For a time Tyco had sold that kit.
I am aware from talking to folks at Walthers that there is some rethinking and reorganizing of their various brands and train lines and it might be that the Life Like buildings are being rebranded, but it is also true that they have evidently decided to retire some of the more marginal Life Like offerings. Some things marked discontinued on the Walthers website will most likely be brought back with different branding, numbers, and packaging - I think there has already been some of that. So the coaling tower might be gone forever, or it might just be that it will be brought out perhaps in the Trainline line since it is of trainset quality. Time will tell. Meanwhile they are still plentiful at swap meets, and likely on some hobby shop shelves. It is also likely that many guys with the talent to follow Cody's article have one sitting on a shelf after being retired from the layout.
Dave Nelson
rrebell farrellaa Sorry, I forgot to mention that it is a Life Like kit. I still have two kits left to build. I may try a different roof material as I never really liked the one on the kit. -Bob Fantastic job, whats your e-bay handle so I can look you up?
Fantastic job, whats your e-bay handle so I can look you up?
thanks for asking.
Wayne: I like the corrugated roof and happen to have some of the stuff in my parts box. will have to try it but will use a new .03 or .04 styrene sheet for the roof underlay. The kit roof is a little thick for my taste.
The LifeLike kits were discounted on Walthers last year for $2.98 each so I bought 10 of them. They were also sold very cheaply on Discount Trains for a while.
I may keep one of the last two and really detail it for my layout. I don't usually like to spend too much $$ or time on ones I sell on Ebay as I don't get enough to warrant that much time put in. It definately is a nice kit to start from though. Too bad they are discontinuint it.
farrellaaThe LifeLike kits were discounted on Walthers last year for $2.98 each....
At that price, I probably would have bought 10 of them, too, and I neither need even one nor have the time to dress 'em up.
I understand your concern about the overly-thick roofs, but most buildings up here in the Great White North usually get fascia and soffit, too. Part of that is to offer a more finished appearance, of course, but it also serves to keep blowing rain and especially snow out, and also flying and climbing pests. With the bottom edges of overly-thick roofs sanded to give a vertical lower edge, it can nicely represent a fascia board. I don't always even bother to sand the lower edge: painted in the structure's own colour or as contrasting trim, the contrast with the roof's colour is usually enough to trick the eye:
That said, there are plenty of structures here that don't bother with such niceties, too. This coal dealer's elevated siding is enclosed on two sides, with Campbell corrugated sheets applied to the one of those which is visible. The roof, however, consists of built-up wooden trusses (strip styrene) with only strapping (more strip styrene) supporting the Campbell sheets:
While the roof is removeable, it's stood up quite well....it probably helps that the LPBs don't often gather in sufficient numbers to raise the roof, though.
Wayne,
Your work is always top notch and one to model after. I like the concern you place on accuracy of the prototype. I don't know if I could spend the time you put into your models, I am hoping to finish my layout before I can't see or bend over to work on it.
I understand your comment about putting a facia on the edge of the roof. The LifeLike kit actually has facia parts that I use but it is the end of the roof that is too thick. I thought about putting roof rafter ends showing on the bottom edges of the model (I've done it on other scratch built models) but I would have to replace the roof with sheet styrene for it to look correct (don't think they used 5" roof boards?). For models that I sell on Ebay, they just don't pay enough for a really well detailed model. Like I mentioned earlier, I may keep one of these kits and detail it for myself even though I don't need another coal tower on my layout.
Thanks again for all your suggestions and keep showing your work, I love it.