the lower level. A turnout immediately west of the crossovers leads to a CNJ/LV interchange track and siding serving the LV freight station.
Modeling the tower
When I decided to make a model of the tower, I could not find plans for it and, naturally, it had been torn down a few years earlier. Even the foundation had been removed. I only had three photos to work from which showed the front, left side, and the upper part of the right side. Fortunately, one photo was taken almost perpendicular to the left side (see photo page 63), which helped in preparing a drawing. By us- ing 36″×80″ for dimensions of the door and 4″×8″ for the bricks and mortar, I was able to make a rough sketch. A mock-up followed using scrap styrene to test the plans and the location on the layout. I thought the proportions looked pretty close with the exception of the roof thickness. The mockup sat on the layout for several months mark- ing the location. After building the tower I sent Bobb Losse the photos and sketch I made to do the drawing. He immediately no- ticed that the windows on the side of the tower also angled outward. Shortly after that, my friend, Wayne Sittner, sent me drawings of the tower he made from measurements he took in 1983 af- ter the tower was closed. Bobb’s draw- ing reflects the tower’s actual measure- ments and the windows and doors located on the rear of the building. While I was only off 1′-0″ on the width and correct on the height because the photo I used was almost perpendicular to the end, I was off 12 feet, basically six feet on each of the ends. I also real- ly guessed wrong on the back as far as the windows, but correctly guessed there would be a door to the furnace room. Although I was disappointed, I decided I could live with the inaccura- cies in the model I had made.
Walls and floor The tower appeared to follow typical
1950’s commercial construction: con- crete slab floor, concrete block walls with a brick exterior, and aluminum- framed windows. As the tower was built in 1952, it would represent one of the newest buildings on my layout and I wanted it to look as if it was recently constructed.
I started by cutting the rectangular slab floor one foot wider and longer than the building from .060″ sheet styrene, which is a little over 5″ in HO scale, and painted it with Polly Scale Concrete. For the walls I used Walthers (933-3522) brick sheets. After cutting the four exterior walls and cutting out
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN 65
the doors and windows, I beveled the corner edges to 45 degrees. This job is made easier using Squadron large files, which are 6³₄″׳⁄₄″. After test fit- ting them several times to insure there was no gap in the corner and that the bricks lined up, I glued them using Tamiya
Extra Thin liquid
top of the inner walls on the wings since this area will be visible after the roof is inserted. Now was a good time to finish the
cement,
which I really like. It sets very quickly, forms a strong bond, and will not mar details. The inner walls for the tower were then cut to fit and added. The sides of the chimney were notched to rest on top of the side wall. I added a small scrap piece inside at the top and bottom to keep the chimney square be- fore gluing it to the wall. Sections of brick five rows high were added at the
brick. I sprayed the entire structure with Polly Scale Mineral Red. I have used several methods to finish brick, and my favorite had been using a 10:1 wash of SP Lettering Gray or Aged Concrete with a drop of liquid deter- gent for the mortar. I saw a new method on Railroad Line Forums (
www.railroad-line.com) of rubbing flour, yes flour, over the walls with your finger and a little water. After wiping it down, a coat of Dullcote was applied. I was very happy with the re- sults.
Walthers brick sheets were used for the walls. After cutting the exterior walls and the window and door openings, the corner edges were beveled to a 45° angle. The opening on the second floor at the front of the tower (above) is where the aluminum-framed windows will go. The rear of the tower has a solid brick wall (below). Note the mortar lines made from flour and water.
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