Inside the roundhouse one track is dedicated to the machine shop for re- pairs of the locomotives or tenders. The floor was finished with wood planking, although it seems the prototype never had such a luxury. The track inspection pits are lined with wood timbers. The machines are various SS-Ltd. castings and are connected with a belt and shaft system powered by a small steam en- gine in the boilerhouse at the back. The interior of a roundhouse can consume an almost infinite collection of parts and its detailing is an ongoing project. The boiler house was in the back of stall number one. Inside is a boiler from a Model Masterpieces kit. The floor here is made from brick sheet. Various pipes were added to represent the water and steam plumbing. This was assumed to run through the floor to the machine shop in the round- house. A piece of HO etched freight car roofwalk simulates the grating over the pipes. In the back corner is the bin for the coal for the boiler. No trace of the boiler house remains today. The roundhouse doors were assem- bled from styrene sheet and strips us- ing the strap-iron hinges from the Model Masterpieces
kit. There are
about 35 separate pieces in each door as each one has different bracing and tie rod details. The prototype doors took a beating in use and so were re- paired often. The doors are fitted to open to the full height of the arch to en- sure clearance for the C&S “bear trap” cinder catchers. The doors swing out and are carefully positioned to leave the whole opening clear to ensure the locomotives will fit through. As it is, the locomotive cab awnings sometimes still brush on the stonework. In the early days at Como, a couple of retired locomotive headlights were at- tached to the front walls and used to illu- minate the turntable after dark. These were modeled with PSC oil-headlight castings supported on strip-wood plat- forms. Later, but still long before grid power was available to the Como resi- dents, the Como roundhouse featured a coal-fired steam/electric generator set to provide lighting for the railroad’s facili- ties. The lights are fitted with 1.5 volt bulbs and can be operated with the rest of the roundhouse lighting.
The turntable The turntable is a hybrid of a Dia- mond Scale 50-foot kit for the pit and a Model Masterpieces 65-foot Durango turntable kit. The wooden “gallows” frame of the Diamond Scale kit was re- placed with the shortened steel girder table from the Durango kit. Even the earliest photos of Como show a girder turntable and this is more practical for
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
The roundhouse features wooden floors and a belt-driven machine shop (above and be- low). The machines and many of the small detail castings are from SS Limited.
a model layout. The pit rail was bent from a piece of code-55 rail and glued to the ties cast into the pit base. Care is needed to get this support rail perfectly circular and level. The pit floor has been covered with cinders and vegetation in the form of green ground foam. Turntable pits usually collected an as- sortment of weeds, junk, water and oth- er stuff that sometimes falls in by acci-
dent. However, during heavy winter snows, the pit must be shovelled out, so it cannot be too untidy. As with any model having moving parts, careful con- struction and alignment is rewarded by smooth operation. The “Armstrong” turning handles are yet to be added. They break off very easily during model construction and operation and so they have remained on the “to do” list.
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