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How to scratchbuild a handcar shed


Based on plans used by the Duluth, Missabe & Northern Railway, this project is a great choice for someone looking to scratchbuild their first structure/Tracy McKibben


Sheds like this one were once a common sight along railroad rights-of-way. This HO scale model was constructed with wood and paper. PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


W


hat does a restless modeler do when one project is finished, but the parts for the next proj-


ect haven’t arrived yet? He looks for an- other project! I recently found myself in just that situation. Luckily, I had also recently purchased a book of standard drawings for structures on the Duluth Missabe & Northern Railway. This book is a veritable treasure trove of project ideas. I decided on a small handcar shed, perfect for filling a small empty spot on the layout, and also that annoy- ing void between projects. Basswood is my material of choice for structures, primarily because it’s easy to work with, but also because in the location and era that I’m modeling wood was the primary construction


RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


material. I keep a ready supply on hand in a variety of sizes, so I was ready to start building immediately.


Building the foundation


I began by constructing the founda- tion and floor joists. The diagram from the book calls for 6″×8″ timbers for the foundation, but I used 6″×6″ because that’s what I had on hand. Using two 6″×6″ timbers of 16-foot length, and two of nine-foot length I constructed a rectangular foundation 10′×16′ in size, as specified in the original DM&N diagram.


On top of this foundation I placed nine floor joists, each 10′-0″ in length, cut from 2″×6″ scale lumber stock. The joists are spaced 24″ apart, again as


specified in the original diagram. Each joist is attached to the foundation us- ing a tiny drop of yellow wood glue (ap- plied with a toothpick), which is my standard adhesive that I use for all of my wood projects. This assembly was very delicate and fragile, and I wanted to make sure the glue had a good strong hold on things before I proceed- ed, so I walked away for a couple of hours to let it dry thoroughly. Once the floor joists and foundation


had dried completely, I moved on to the floor itself. For this, I used 2″×6″ planks, each 10′-0″ in length. I chose this length because 10′-0″ is a common board length, and because I wanted the ends of the planks to align with a floor joist (ten being a multiple of two, I was


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