Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Biddle's new engine facility and shed

After the new turnout arrived I got it cut in for the caboose track and shortened the pocket track to allow space for the shed and got the tracks repainted.  The industrial lead is still just tacked in place and will be for the foreseeable future until I decide what to do with the industrial area.

 


After deciding on using the Walthers Machine Shop for the engine shed, I figured I'd take my time and see how bad I could screw it and how fast it'd wind up in the trash?  Just the name Machine Shop conjures up a filthy place, and being used for a engine shed, an oil and grease covered floor would be a given. So some heavy weathering would be called for.



 

As for the roof, on the last building I printed the roof from Google Maps and stuck it to the plastic roof, this time I wanted to try painting one.  Although the texture detail isn't very visible in this image, I painted the roof with a grey acrylic and laid down a Kleenex, let it dry then painted over it again with a medium gray.

Once dry I used a fine black Sharpie marker for the tar lines, then applies a couple different colors of gray for varying aged roofing effects.  Finally I came back with some Pan Pastels to vary the overall color, eventually I may come back with some Ochre and browns to lighten things up a bit more and add some dirt and rust stains.

 


The sad part of all this is that the roof will be locked in place and will not be removable, so much for the dirty floor.  Oh well, it was good practice for some exterior concrete pads that will be needed.

Once I got the shed assembled far enough along I was able to set it in place to test fit it to make sure things would work as planned.  I also added some back ground images to hide all the layout clutter in the background. 



I've still got a lot to do the shed before sticking a fork in it, but I think it's going to work as intended?  

Next I'm going to have to decide where the concrete pads  will be placed.  I've got a couple of sanding towers to play around with and will have to make some simple fueling racks.  I think what I've got for the vertical fuel tanks will work just fine.  I'm gonna have to jostle things around and see if I can find a place for everything.

The amount of detail that I'll be able to add to this place alone should keep me busy for a long time:  A couple of sheds and an office extension, parts on pallets (brake shoes and stuff) and general junk,  fuel pumps, sanding tower, 55 gallon drums, spare wheel sets, a few spare trucks.  

Then there are ground level power poles with transformer and then perhaps crew vehicles and a couple of heavy breakdown vehicles could round things out.  The building would likely only do general light repairs & trip inspections but no major overhauls or heavy work.




7 comments:

  1. Good, whatever you did worked.
    Rod.

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  2. The concrete floor and the roof both look fabulous. It's a pity the floor isn't visible.
    But those GP18s are still my favourites. Have you seen that Atlas is about to re-release the GP20s with sound? I expect the mechs will fit right under the old LL GP18/20 shells.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Ron! I hear ya, but I hope that I can get the same results for the concrete pads for the sand towers and fuel racks.
      Hadn't seen that? I'll keep and eye for them, but not sure I'm ready to take the plunge into sound just yet.

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  3. Nice job Allen. Have you thought about adding some interior lighting ? With all the windows it might show off the floor and any interior details you might add.

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    1. Hi Brad, thanks!
      I've never been one for lighting on a layout, that would require more wiring!
      Seriously though, it would probably help show things off a bit more, even if it was just a slight glow? I'll have to think about it...

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