renowned writer, model builder and all-around model railroad celebrity, Dave Frary, at a much younger age. Dave, whom I have met and conversed with a number of times, along with the equally well-known Bob Hayden, de- scribed their Thatcher’s Inlet Railroad in RMC in the February through May, 1972, issues. This was one of the all time great model railroad series, and I would wager that it has influenced many narrow gauge modelers since. It certainly inspired me.
The little structure described in the 1965 piece was so neat and compact that it begged to be modeled. In his in- troduction, Dave averred that it “assem- bles easily in an evening or two,” and he wasn’t far off. Not long ago I was be- tween major layout work and other projects, so I gave the little shed a whirl. The dimensions of a building like this are not terribly critical. However, I stuck to Dave’s plans pretty closely simply to preserve the flavor of the original. The actual size of the building as Dave presented it was 8′-11″ long by 6′-10″ wide. The front wall was 9′-6″ high and the roof sloped to a rear wall that was 7′-0″ high. With the exception of the single door and window, the en- tire structure appeared to be covered with tar paper. There was a parts bin attached to the left side, looking from the front, and a storage platform, which I did not add, on the opposite side. Dave’s article also showed a draw- ing of the immediate area around the shed that contained all of the usual railroad yard effluvium—coal boxes, oil drums, car parts and the like. Construction of the basic building
was easy. I cut the four sides from photo mounting board and made the openings for the front door and the side window. I braced these with ¹⁄₈″ stripwood to pre- vent warping. In retrospect, a little warpage in a building like this just might add a little character. Anyway, once the glue was dry, I started to tar paper the outside walls. To represent this material, I simply use black con- struction paper, available at any art or office supply store, or your local elemen- tary school classroom. I tried to follow the drawings as far as the size and loca- tion of the paper strips, but there really isn’t a wrong way to do this. I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue as an adhesive for the sheathing. It grabs quickly but still allows some work time. It also doesn’t seem to cause warping as much as white glue. Once the various courses of paper had dried, I used my trusty Vin- tage Reproductions rivet tool to emboss nail holes where the sheets overlap. The next step was to paint the four
walls with Floquil Weathered Black. I feel that this gives an appropriately
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 77
aged look to the paper. Next, I glued the four sides together, making sure that they were relatively square. For three of the corners, I added trim made from ¹₁₆″ stripwood angle stained with an alcohol and india ink wash. On the front wall I added the door. This is a Grandt Line part, No. 3602, that doesn’t match the original, but which I had on hand. I dis- tressed the casting’s frame and panels
with a fine razor saw, and then painted it with Floquil Foundation. When this was set, I drybrushed the door with Flo- quil Concrete and then submerged it in the alcohol/ink wash. This gave it a suit- ably weathered appearance. Concur- rently, I did the same thing to the Grandt No. 3761 window. Next, I glued the door in place and added trim boards to finish off the wall.
This repair shed (bottom left and above) was located in the B&M yard in Salem, Massachu- setts. It’s small size and simple construction make it an ideal modeling project. It was cov- ered with tar paper, had unpainted wood trim and was surrounded by piles of parts. While not an exact replica, the author’s O scale model certainly captures the look of the prototype.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100