The rack (left top) contains three sizes of flue tubes made from brass tubing. Those on the upper rails are ³/₆₄″ in diameter and represent 2¹/₂″ flues; the larger flues are ³/₃₂″ diameter and represent 5¹/₂″ flues. These tubes are 16 feet in length. Because the diagonal braces for the roof (above) would interfere with the tubing on the racks, a brass plate was attached as a gus- set plate to add support. It was blackened with gun bluing and tacked in place with brads. A six-foot tall shop workman (left bottom) was placed to show that the flues were on the right level. The ends of all the rails were ground down to prevent less of a hazard for the shop’s crew.
pieces on the lower one. The picture of a workman standing at the end of the rack illustrates that the rack levels are at a convenient height for him to re- trieve a section of flue. Since the larger pieces were probably heavy and hard to handle alone, I’m sure he would have had some help. After everything was glued in place, liberal amounts of my rusty vinegar so- lution were applied to the roofing pan- els, flues, brads, wooden posts and rail pieces. When dried, they showed the ef- fects of what happens to metal when it’s exposed to the elements, even though some of them were protected by the overhead roofing.
The rusty vinegar concoction was made at least 30 years ago by forcing a couple of steel wool pads into a pint bottle of white vinegar and letting it dissolve. (Don’t use a soapy steel wool pad for this.) Over the years, the solu- tion has formed a ¹/₄″ deep residue of real rust on the bottom of the bottle. When needed, I just shake the bottle a bit to mix things up.
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
Since this rack wasn’t planned when the buildings around my enginehouse were installed, I had to make provi- sions to mount it in place. I didn’t want it permanently installed because I like being able to remove things when working on scenery in an area. Once I had a site determined, pencil marks were made in the Homasote®
covered
scenery for the four support posts. Quarter-inch deep holes were carved out with a craftsman’s wood carving chisel that were slightly larger than the posts. The lower end of the posts were covered with cellophane tape that was then coated with a little bit of household oil. Over time, I’ve learned that the oil prevents plaster from stick- ing to the tape. A small amount of white Hydrocal®
plaster was mixed
and dribbled into each hole, then the four posts were carefully pressed in place and held vertically until the plas- ter set. When hardened, the structure was carefully lifted out and set aside and excess plaster was trimmed away to ground level before it became too
hard. Ground foam, cinders and dirt, similar to what was there before, were glued in place and left to dry. It needs to be noted that while my storage rack was built to hold flues for the K-36 and K-37 engines used on my railroad, there’s no reason why the de- sign couldn’t be modified to fit whatev- er size flues your railroad shop crews require to maintain your engines. It’s generic enough in nature that it could take on all sorts of additional features. Just remember that it must be easy for shop crewmen to add and retrieve flue tubes from the rack. While this rack was built to sit outside an enginehouse and car repair shop, it would also be appropriate to be next to a machine shop where it would have held rod, pipe, tubing, angle iron and other as- sorted shapes. It would also look good near a mine where it would be holding rail, pipe and various tools. Don’t just limit it to a railroad scene. I want to express my thanks to Bill
Hobbs, Mike Conder and Jake Johnson for offering important reference infor- mation about the engine boiler flue di- mensions and other details and Mike McKenzie for assisting with the draw- ings. The little rack may be diminutive in size, but it’s already adding addi- tional atmosphere to the landscape around my enginehouse and car repair buildings. Hopefully, this article has provided inspiration for you to scratch- build one for your layout.
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