Old Yard area now for diesel service.


RexHea

RAIL BENDER
After tearing out the main yard and moving it to a new location, I have begun building the diesel service in this space. Also, a passenger terminal will be located at the opposite end. These photos, along with a view of the area, are of the different building stages of the Walthers diesel shop. The ground has foamboard as a cover to allow it the same height as the rail ties.

It is a very large kit, but not that difficult to build. One important thing to know is the kit needs to be recessed 1/2 inch into the sub roadbed to align with track that is on foam or cork, i.e. cut a hole. The main thing, as with all building kits, is to take extra care in keeping the building sides square. Also, don't forget to sand the "H" beam sides flat (I forgot on some and paid the price. :eek: :D )

The building is now complete and the weathering and detailing has started. I will post these later in a different thread.

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Sorry for the large photos.

Here are some more. I didn't want too many in one post, them being so large.;)

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Yeah, I know the support columns are crooked. Don't worry, they get straightened.:D :D

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Thank you Ken. Jeepers! I didn't realize that the photos were so bigggg. I will reduce them down a bit later today. ;)
 
Pretty Fliipin' outstanding Rex. Your layout reflects the amazing skills you have and how to blend it all together. Funny how history is repeating itself in your miniature world!! Bravo!

(And for an old fart like me, the pic size is wonderful.)

Johnny
 
Dang, Rex, just your diesel service facilities look bigger than my whole layout! :) Nice progress pictures too. It looks like the diesel shop was a little harder to build than you're making out though. It should be a terrific scene when it's done.
 
Thank you fellows for the compliments. My hats off to Walthers' engineering of this kit. All the parts fit good with normal sanding and care, making my work a lot easier than expected. I just gave it a bath with India Ink/alcohol and it now looks like it has had 10 years of hard service. Gads, I always hate to do that, but that is part of it. I will post some more photos as progress continues in the area. I'm still going to reduce these photos: probably to 800x. These were an oversight at 1200x:eek: a bit big for some to enjoy.:)
 
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Finally, I have reduced the all photos size. Hope this will help some visitors.

Thank you MTS. The layout has a lot to be done, but that is always a plus. It is fully operational, so I have that pleasure while the creation is taking form. ;) :D
 
I will post more progress in this area and hope to have a virtual tour of the layout posted before much longer. There has been so much tearing up and rework that I didn't have many photo worthy areas to make much of a post (and a heck of a MESS, sorry Fergie :D). Even then, much of it will be incomplete work. I still have all my photos from the old RailImages site and keep putting off the reposting to their new setup. Soon, I promise you and to myself :).
 
Rex, looks great.
Every time I see someone building a modern diesel facility, it make me want to build one too. Let's just say you didn't help deter me from this either, with your brilliant work. I love how your layout is mirroring real life... tear down, build new.
 
Thanks again everyone. I have had a few requests for a little more kit detail. Some of this is repeat, but maybe it will be helpful to those of you interested in building this kit.

The diesel house is made by Walthers and is Part #933-2916. The size is 19 3/4" x 9 1/2" footprint and 6 5/8" tall (back part). The time period is good from the 50's to present.

The one thing that isn't in the Walthers' description is the fact you have to recess it into the subroadbed approximately 1/2" for level alignment with track when you use cork or foam roadbed. This is to accommodate the well in the service floor used to service the locos from underneath. However, you could elevate the track, if you have that desire and space. I just cut a hole in the plywood and scabbed in support for underneath. Styrene shims were used to get perfect level.

The kit is well engineered and manufactured. All the parts fit well with only a little sanding needed for good fits. The "H" beams sides should be sanded flat, as with all kits. (I don't know why they don't go ahead and make them that way:confused: )

The sequence of brief but good instructions were on target for a change making the work much more enjoyable. Normally, there are some that require a lot of head scratching, but these are very good. This may not be needed to say, but with all kits, reading and understanding the instructions and identifying parts before assembly will make the work much easier. Also, trial fit a part before gluing.

Construction was relatively easy, but it is extremely important to keep the sides square. (You glue all the sides together and then lift them over and onto the base.) You have some flexibility, but the corner joints should be well matched without any gaps in the bevels. Hint: I like to use a liquid glue for the sides, like Plastruc's Plastic Weld. It flows easily into the joints and dries rather fast. To insert the window frames, I found that light sanding would allow a snug snap-in fit without having to use glue. Of course, this made it much easier than trying to prevent glue overrun.

Feel free to ask anything else that I haven't covered.:)
 
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Oh to have that much room!! New Bldg looks great! I see walthers is coming back out with their Sliding transfer table, shop and backshop kits again this fall/winter.
 



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